The Mystery of the Incarnation - Pastor Stephen Bohr

where are all my little friends oh there you are [Music] it's so good to see all of you even little Stevie came down today isn't that nice happy Sabbath it's so good to see all of you in your growing up way too fast maybe we could just put a little brick on your head and keep you from growing up too fast do you know I used to tell stories to some of your parents can you believe it and now they're all grown up well today I want to tell you about something that's called a common wombat now common wombat well we don't know what a wombat is it's kind of silly but they're from Australia and Tasmania and they can get up to 90 pounds that's pretty big that's more than what some of you kids way and they look like they're across kind of between a pig and a bear because they're short and chubby and furry kind of like a bear and they are vegetarians and they also have teeth that never stop growing so it's good that they chew on their vegetables a lot because it helps them to stay down here's another picture right here they look really cute but I really don't think they're the cuddly kind I really don't think so they have very sharp teeth and very sharp claws now they're a marsupial and they also make burrows and they go down and sometimes their burrows or maybe their tunnels are maybe 15 feet or they can be up to a hundred depending on what they feel like and they make several of them but the area they sleep in this is gonna sound kind of different they line it with bark now I don't think any of us want to line our beds with bark it just doesn't sound like it would be comfortable but it seems comfortable to them here's one with the baby now they will dig down in if they see or they think they're being threatened they go into their burrow and they stick their hind in in the hole right there like that because they make them really small and if their enemy does not go away they take their really strong hind legs and they kick them really good they they don't want to mess around with anybody that might harm them and that usually sends them scurrying away now they also have the mama has one baby a year one baby and when the baby's born it scoots along and gets up in the Mama's pouch and hooks on a nipple and it stays there for three months and after three months the mommy teaches it how to forage that means teaches it how to go out and hunt for its own food and helps it find food and do you know when it's 18 months old and there might be some one here 18 months old they're considered on their own aren't you glad mama doesn't kick you out at 18 months man that'd be kind of hard there'd be eating off the sidewalk and stores and everything when they're no the 18 months they're grown they're considered grown well one of the things that we might do that's kind of like them is when we bury and we scratch and we cover make a tunnel and we hide do sometimes you do that like maybe you break something and you don't want anybody to know so you kind of cover it up you do some or you make a mess and you don't want anybody to know and you try to hide it because you're like I don't want anybody to know what I just did and so maybe all the people around you are fooled and they don't know that you did something bad but who's watching and knows Jesus knows so when we do something wrong it's better if we just say I did something wrong I always tell my children and grandchildren you won't get in as much trouble if you just tell me about something then if you try to hide it or lie about it it's much better just to confess and get it over with and you'll feel better too because you won't have that hurt in your heart that feels so bad when you do something wrong you know it's better just to tell your mom or dad or grandma grandpa what happened and Jesus will forgive you and so while they let's say a little prayer that will help us should really try hard to always do what's right okay close your eyes thank you Jesus for helping us to do what's right please help us to be strong not try to cover our mistakes but to tell the truth and to go ahead and just confess and say I'm sorry I broke that or I'm sorry I lied because we know you will always forgive us and so will our parents keep us strong all week and help us to be faithful to you we thank you for hearing and answering our prayers Jesus amen okay I have a picture for you here's a picture come and get a picture come and get a picture and take it back to your seats and you can color it and you can take it home with you thank you sweetheart yes and your friends can have one everybody we have we have enough for everybody and the Deacons will pass out some for the big kids there's some that are a little bit different for the older kids here you go pastor made these nice pictures he wanted you to have these okay thank you you may go sit down you did a good job [Music] [Music] this church has had a tradition for many many years it was Norma that started this so you can blame her but I think it's really interesting tradition where on the Sabbath closes to Christmas the pastor's get together and sing silent night we're just sharing in the back room in the Adventist Church it's unusual to have six pastors in a local church so there are six of us we for those that don't normally know we have pastor yaroslav's with our Russian congregation pastor Conable in with our Armenian group pastor Bohr who's preaching today our former revered pastor and myself retired and and pastor Gouveia and so we're going to do our best to sings yes didn't one leave him out yeah so close I couldn't see him yeah so we're gonna sing everybody's favorite Christmas song silent night [Music] this wasn't planned but I would like to invite the congregation to sing that last verse again with us and we'll sing with you number 142 The Last Stand service 143 on [Music] for those who would like to read along the scripture reading is from John one one two three and also verse 14 John one one two three and then verse 14 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God the same was in the beginning with God all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made in verse 14 and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth may God bless the reading and hearing of his word greetings everyone happy Sabbath and may the lord give you a wonderful holiday season it's good to see all of you nice and dressed up what an elegant Church feels kind of strange being up here you know people say they never see me here in church but I've been here the last three Sabbath's plus this one plus the next one so this is the season to be home before we begin our study today we want to have a word of Prayer and so I invite you reverently to bow your heads as we invoke the Lord's presence with us father in heaven we come before your awesome throne and we come boldly in the name of Jesus because you listen to your beloved son father as we open your holy book on your holy day in your holy house we ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit open our minds that we might understand in our hearts that we might receive and empower us Lord to live the life that you would have us live we thank you for the privilege of Prayer you have promised that when we come in faith you will hear and we claim that promise in the precious and beloved name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen before Jesus came to this earth there was already a calendar of events that had been set up by the father and the son in eternity past every event of the life of Christ on this earth was choreographed before he came course while Jesus was here he had to decide whether he would fit in with the plan that had been devised from the ceaseless ages of eternity past now there was a date set in God's calendar for the birth of Jesus you say how do we know from the Bible that there was a specific moment for Jesus to be born in Galatians chapter 4 and verse 4 we have the answer it says there in a very well-known verse but when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law that expression when the fullness of time had come indicates that there was a date for the birth of Jesus in God's calendar you say how do we know that because a very similar expression is used when Jesus began his ministry and he said the time is fulfilled repent and receive the gospel and then of course referred to the specific moment when the 69th week of Daniel chapter 9 would reach its conclusion and the 70th week would begin however even though God had a date in his calendar for the birth of Jesus he did not reveal that date to us now I'm going to begin by being somewhat of a Grinch but as we go along he'll forgive me why didn't God reveal the specific date we all know it wasn't December 25 let me read you this statement from adventist home page 4 77 and 478 why god did not reveal the date that he had set in his calendar it reads in the following way in his wisdom the Lord concealed the place where he buried Moses God buried him and God resurrected him and took him to heaven this secrecy regarding where he was buried was to prevent idolatry he against whom they rebelled while he was in active service whom they provoked almost beyond human endurance was almost worshipped as God after his separation from them by death for the very same purpose he has concealed the precise day of Christ's birth that the day should not receive the honor that should be given to Christ as the Redeemer of the world one to be received to be trusted to be relied on as he who could save to the uttermost all who come unto God through him the soul's adoration should be given to Jesus as the son of the infinite God is that it true that many times this year we forget the reason why we even have a special remembrance there in this season we have a tendency to kind of romanticize if you please the birth of Jesus we talked about the Shepherd's in the field we talk about the angels singing at his birth we talk about the wise men coming from the east no place in the inn and little baby Jesus resting in the manger but perhaps we miss the most important point so this morning we are going to focus on several questions who is Jesus who was he before he came to this earth and why did he have to become one of us I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to Genesis chapter 28 you probably guess that we were going to go somewhere in Genesis today Genesis 28 and in a moment we're going to read verse 12 but let me give you a little historical background to the verse that we are going to read as you remember Jacob stole his brothers birthright and he deceived his father and as a result Jacob had to flee from home because his brother had said I am going to find Jacob and I am going to kill him as Jacob was traveling away from home towards Laban house because he feared his brother he also felt an intense guilt because of the sins that he had committed against his brother and against his father he feared that his sins were so great that the separation between him and God could never be bridged and so as he's travelling evening arrives and the Bible tells us that Jacob lays down on the ground takes a stone and uses it as his pillow and as Jacob is going to sleep or perhaps when he was already asleep God gave Jacob a dream now undoubtedly Jacobs sleep was restless because he had an intense sense of guilt but as he went to sleep God gave him this beautiful dream and we find it in Genesis 28 and verse 12 then he dreamed and behold a ladder was set up on the earth important detail the ladder was set up on the earth and it stopped reached to heaven so there's a bottom on earth and there's a top in heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it now you say what does this have to do with the season that we are celebrating the fact is that this ladder that Jacob saw in his dream was a symbol of Christ Jesus himself said so go with me to John chapter 1 and verse 51 where Jesus is alluding to this dream that was given to Jacob it says there in John 1 and verse 51 and he said to him Jesus is speaking to Nathaniel one of his disciples most assuredly I say to you hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man so the ladder represents the Son of Man a ladder set up firmly on the earth reaching to the highest heaven now there's a song that we sing which is we are climbing Jacob's Ladder I have never liked the title of that song because this is not Jacob's Ladder this is the Lord's ladder furthermore we talked about Noah's Ark no it was God's art built by Noah we speak about Solomon's Temple no it was God's temple built by Solomon and so this is not Jacob's Ladder this is the Lord's ladder it is a symbol of Jesus Christ now why did God give this dream to Jacob I want to read a statement that we find in the book Christ triumphant page 86 as to the reason why God gave this specific dream to Jacob as he lay there with that stone as his pillow it reads as follows God looked upon Jacob in his hopeless condition he saw his disappointment and he saw there was material there that would render glory back to God no sooner does God see his condition then he presents the mystic ladder which represents Jesus Christ here is a man who had lost all connection with God that is Jacob he had lost all connection with God because of his sins and the God of heaven looks upon him and consents that Christ shall bridge the gulf that sin has made what a beautiful thought that God knew what Jacob was feeling God knew that he was depressed he was filled with guilt because of his sins so now he when he's sleeping God says Jacob the communication between heaven and earth is open Jesus Christ is the ladder now why was the ladder set up on the earth and why did it reach to the highest heaven well once we know that the ladder represents Jesus Christ we can understand the reason why it's set up on earth and it reaches to the highest heaven now at my house every Christmas season one of my tasks is to put up the lights around the roof of the house and you know I used to have this this kind of short ladder where I would have to go to the last rung of the ladder and reach super high to put the top lights on well last year I believe my son gave me a real fancy ladder so now I'm able to go all the way to the top but you know one very important point when you're using a ladder is you want to make sure that it's firmly grounded on the earth and at the top is where you want it to go first we set up the ladder on the ground and then we put it up but with this ladder it's different because this is not a ladder that it's set up on earth to reach heaven it's a ladder that is lowered from heaven to earth and set down on the earth because the top of a ladder represents the divinity of Christ and the bottom of the ladder represents his humanity and because Jesus is God and is man he is able to bridge the gap between heaven and earth in the book confrontation page 46 we find this magnificent statement about what the top and the bottom of the ladder represent I read in Christ's humiliation he descended to the very depths of human woe in sympathy and pity for fallen man which was represented to Jacob by one end of the ladder resting upon the earth did you notice that the humanity of Christ she says he descended to the very depths of human woe in sympathy and pity for man which was represented to Jacob by one end of the ladder resting upon the earth what about the top of the ladder while the top of the ladder reaching unto heaven represents the divine power of Christ grasping the infinite and thus linking earth to heaven and finite men to the infinite God through Christ the communication is opened between God and man angels may pass to and fro from heaven to earth with messages of love for fallen man and to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation it is through Christ alone that the heavenly messengers ministered to men and as you know when we pray our prayers are borne by the Angels to Christ and Christ presents them to the Father and the answers also come from the father through Christ and the angels to us so that's the reason why the angels are mentioned going up and down the ladder because they are the messengers of Jesus in taking our prayers to God and bringing answers from God to us so the ladder wanted to teach the deep truth that Jesus before he came to this earth was God and still is God let's notice some verses in the Bible that speaks about that speak about the godhood of Jesus Christ we read in our scripture reading today in John chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God so Jesus is a distinct person from his father because you can't be with someone and also be that someone so it says in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God in every sense of the word before Jesus came here Jesus was God here's a beautiful statement from the spirit of prophecy the words of Christ I and my father are one were full of deep meaning as he put forth the claim that he and the father were of one substance possessing the same attributes in other words the father and the son are the same substance they are both fully God in every sense of the word they have the same attributes we also find the same truth taught in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 23 this is a very well-known verse we read it every year during this season behold the Virgin shall be with child it's a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah and bear a son they shall call his name Emmanuel we have someone in this church who is called Emmanuel and I'm sure she knows what that name means it's very difficult to live up to that name I'm sure so his name shall be called Emmanuel which is translated what God with us so before Jesus came to this earth Jesus had the nature of God he was a member of the Godhead family and the Bible tells us that there are three members in the Godhead family only three in the Godhead family but Jesus took upon himself another nature when he came to this earth John chapter 1 verse 14 which was also in our scripture reading States and the word became flesh we call that the Incarnation it's a word that's not in the Bible but it appropriately describes what happened with Jesus and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth so Jesus who was in eternity past God took on another nature he took on human nature Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11 described both the deity and the humanity of Christ in one passage I'm going to read from chapter 2 and verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God we need to understand what that word form means it's the Greek word morphe it doesn't mean that he just had the form the outward form of God in the Greek the word means the substance of God everything that makes God God in other words being in the form of God having all of the essence of God the attributes of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God a better translation is he did not consider equality with God as something to be hung on to he did not say I'm God and I'm hanging on to my divine nature and I'm not going to become a human let somebody else do it no he did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped or to be hung on to but made himself of no reputation now comes the humanity of Christ taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in the appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death of the cross so in this passage we have the divinity of Christ and the humanity of Christ now this is something that we cannot explain how in one person there are two natures the divine nature and the human nature Ellen White in the devotional book lift him up page 76 said this about the unity of the humanity and the divinity of Christ was the human nature of the Son of Mary changed into the divine nature of the Son of God no the two natures were mysteriously blended in one person so Jesus is not two persons a god person and a human person Jesus is one person with two natures the human nature in the divine nature she ends the statement by saying in him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily God and man a mystery that cannot be explained how can we understand one person with two natures well there are many mysteries that we can't explain for example I have I think I still have here in my Bible yeah I wasn't able to find a Sequoia seed probably you've seen Sequoia seeds before so what I did was I got us a black bean seed and I'm sure that you're not gonna be able to see it let me see here if I can get it out without dropping it it's about similar size can you see it yeah pretty good eyes right to see it well let me share this with you but you probably know this the biggest of the Sequoias is in Sequoia National Park the General Sherman tree it's 275 feet tall it has a circumference of 102 feet and it weighs 2.7 million tons and it all came from this can you explain that I can't explain it it's a mystery but we accept it as true we can see that it's true why do why do trees produce after their kind why do apple seeds produce apple seeds and not oranges because there's a code in them DNA and scientists really can't understand DNA they're studying it they're racking their brains to try and explain DNA it's almost an impossible thing to explain for human beings Ellen White wrote this the entrance of sin into the world the incarnation of Christ regeneration the resurrection and many other subjects presented in the Bible are mysteries too deep for the human mind to explain or even to fully comprehend can you explain the resurrection of the dead can you explain how someone who went to the grave who decomposed in an instant in the twinkling of an eye Jesus calls that person forth and the person comes forth fifteen feet tall as the original race with all of the physiological function functioning instantaneously can you explain that I can't it's a mystery in the hands of God can you explain how someone who is a Unruh generated sinner in an instant can be touched by the Holy Spirit and his life can be totally changed we can't can we explain why sin entered the universe no how could a perfect being like Lucifer suddenly choose to sin hello it says it's a mystery if it could be explained then there would be a reason for it and so we accept that Jesus is God and Jesus is man because the Bible tells us so and because the spirit of prophecy tells us soul but this morning in the time that we have remaining I would like to speak about the humanity of Christ primarily I want to begin by reading a statement that we find in selected messages volume 1 page 244 the humanity of the Son of God is everything to us what is the humanity of the Son of God what does everything mean everything it is the golden chain now here's a different a different illustration than the ladder but that teaches the same lesson it is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ and through Christ to God this is to be our study Christ was a real man he gave proof of his humility in becoming a man yet he was God in the flesh why did Jesus have to be born in Bethlehem with a human nature well there are several reasons let me share them with you first so that Jesus could show us what God is really like you see the Bible tells us that God is a consuming fire no eye has seen him nor can't see him he lives in unapproachable light and so how could God let us know what his character is like he couldn't do it himself we would be destroyed so what he did is he veiled the divine nature of Christ with a human nature and in this way Jesus as a human being was able to reveal what God is like so one one reason why Jesus had to become a man and why he had to be born in Bethlehem and take our nature is so that we could understand what God is really like and you read the Gospels and you see the contrast between the religious leaders in Christ the religious leaders have the character of Satan Jesus Christ has the character of God he's healing people he's touching people he's ministering to people and as Jesus does this people are saying this is the way that God is second Jesus had to become a man because he needed to die for our sins the Bible tells us that God is immortal that means that God cannot die so Jesus couldn't come as God to die because God is immortal so it was necessary for Jesus to assume human nature a human nature that could die so that Jesus could die for our sins Jesus also came lived in our flesh so that we could understand that he can sympathize with because he's walked in our shoes you see folks we do not need a mother figure the Virgin Mary or the Saints who have died to intercede for us because they're from among us and they know what we're like and they can sympathize and prep resent us before God we don't need that Jesus understands our trials and our temptations and our difficulties he's walked in our shoes he can sympathize with us because he has our nature and has walked in our paths and therefore we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with us 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 5 says for there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Jesus Christ incidentally the Roman Church teaches that you know you need priests to intercede with God however there's a problem with that in order for a priest to occupy that position that person needs three qualities number one the priest needs to be a man they meet that quality the the bottom of the ladder but they also need to be God because they need to be able to connect with God and number three they need to be sinless do you know any man in this world that has all three of those characteristics the only one is Jesus Christ there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus Jesus also had to assume human nature so that he could be tempted and he could help us when we're tempted you say why let me ask you can God be tempted can the devil deceive God can they get the key and the devil lead God into sin no in the book of James it says God cannot tempt anyone and he is not tempted so if Jesus had come as God and overcome temptation Satan would have said big deal God can't be tempted every time I come to you to tempt you you know it's me it's the devil so Jesus had to come as a man so that he could suffer temptation and help us when we are tempted another reason why Jesus had to come as a man was because by living a perfect life he could do two things first of all two sinners who repent and confess their sins and trust in Jesus Jesus takes his perfect life and accredits that life to the account of that person and God looks upon that person as if he or she had never sinned so there had to be a perfect life to take the place of our imperfect life so that we can be accepted in the beloved but Jesus came for another reason he came to live his holy life so that he can then live in us not only for us but so that he could develop his life in us through the Holy Spirit that developed his life in him so in other words Jesus had to become a man in order to live a life that he could impute or credit to our account and so that he would have a life to impart to us through the ministration of the Holy Spirit now somebody might say but pastor Bohr Jesus had an advantage we don't have Jesus was good yes Jesus was God and man but jesus never used his divine nature to overcome temptation let me read you this statement signs of the times April 10 1893 somewhat of a long statement by very profound we need not place the obedience of Christ by itself as something for which he was particularly adapted because of his divine nature for he stood before God as man's representative and was tempted as man's substitute and surety if Christ had a special power which it is not the privilege of man to have Satan would have made a capital matter of this thing however the work of Christ was to take from Satan his control of man and he could do this only in a straightforward way he came as a man to be tempted as a man rendering the obedience of a man Christ rendered obedience to God and overcame as humanity as humanity overcome we reached wrong conclusions because of erroneous views of the nature of our Lord to attribute to his nature a power that it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan is to destroy the completeness of his humanity and these days there's a lot of even of our own scholars in the church that are saying you know we're gonna be sinning until Jesus comes because it's impossible to overcome sin you know Jesus had advantages that we don't have he had a divine nature you know have you ever heard people say well I'm just human as an excuse but the fact is the Bible says that sin can be overcome totally and completely we will have a sinful nature until Jesus comes but the sinful nature will not manifest itself in sinful thoughts and acts and you say passed before that's an impossibility yes it is for man it is impossible but for God all things are possible and there will be a victorious endtime generation over sin that depends totally and completely on Jesus so once again to attribute to his nature a power that is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan is to destroy the completeness of his humanity the obedience of Christ to his father was the same obedience that is required of man man cannot overcome Satan's temptation temptations except as divine power works through humanity the Lord Jesus came to our world not to reveal what God in his own divine person could do but what he could do through humanity through faith man is to be a partaker of the divine nature see God is going to give us divine power and to overcome every temptation wherewith he has be set it was the majesty of heaven who became a man who humbled himself to our human nature it was he who was tempted in the wilderness and who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself you know that famous verse I can do some things through Christ who strengthens me well that's not the way it reads I can do most things through Christ who strengthens me no I can do what all things through Christ who strengthens me except overcomes in that's not what it says you know what we're really saying when we're saying that we can't overcome sin totally and completely we're not saying that we are weak we're saying that God isn't strong because if your flesh if your fleshly nature is so powerful that even the power of God cannot give you victory we are not saying that man is weak we're saying that God is not strong we're rubbing it in the face of God is what we're doing Jesus had to become a man also so that he could be our judge a sympathetic judge you know Jesus in the Old Testament in the Bible times the judge was also the defense attorney how would you like to have the judge be your defense attorney that would really be nice wouldn't it and that's the way it was in the Bible the purpose of the judge was to defend the innocent and so could Jesus sympathize with us in representing us unless he had walked in our shoes you know if he said well you know you're gonna be condemned and you're gonna be saved well why well because you are you know you you gave in to taking drugs and you gave in to stealing and so on and the the sinner might say yeah that's true but do you really understand the the genetic makeup that I had do you understand the environment I grew up in there'll be no excuse because Jesus went through all the trials and temptations that we went through there'll be no excuse and also it'll be comforting to know that we have a lawyer who is also a judge there to defend us and finally Jesus had to become a man so that he could come again could Jesus come again and let's he took care of the guilt of sin no could Jesus come again unless he took care of the power of sin no so all of the previous steps of Jesus as a man makes it possible for him to come for the second time now I'm going to ask you a question was Jesus our brother before he came to this earth no Jesus was not our brother before he came to this earth you say no what do you mean well did he belong to our family well if he didn't belong to our family he couldn't be our brother he belonged to the Godhead family three members so he was not our brother but now here comes the beautiful thing and it is that by Jesus becoming incarnate he becomes our blood brother and when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior we both have the same father because he's our brother would that have happened unless Jesus had become incarnate absolutely not now the Bible makes a very interesting statement do you know that Jesus is both the father of David and the son of David do you know anybody who's who's someone's father and son that would be a tall order right but the Bible says that Jesus was David's father and David's son and he was Abraham's father and Abraham's son how does that work well let's read Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1 it says the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David the son of Abraham so was Jesus the son of David yes was he the son of Abraham absolutely but now notice revelation 22 and verse 16 revelation 22 and verse 16 here Jesus is speaking I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches I am the root and the offspring of David the bright and Morning Star so Jesus is David's root and Jay David offspring how is it that Jesus can be David's father and David's son he's David's father because he's God and He created David through the lineage of a of Adam so how is Jesus David son by the fact that he was born as a human being the same is true of Abraham we've read that jesus is the son of Abraham but jesus said to the Jews of his day before Abraham was I am so Jesus is David's father and son he is Abraham's father and son and when he assumed human nature he became my brother God assumed human nature through Jesus Christ and because Jesus is blood of our blood and became our brother we both have the same father are you understanding my point there's this beautiful passage in desire of Ages pages 25 and 26 phenomenal do you know that God will be closer to us in eternity then if we had never sent you say how's that listen to this fantastic statement by his life and his death Christ has achieved even more than the recovery from ruin wrought by sin it was Satan's listen carefully now it was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation from God between God and man so Satan his intent was to eternally separate God from men but in Christ we become more closely United to God then F then if we had never fallen in taking our nature the Savior has bound himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken Jesus will be our brother throughout eternity in other words through the eternal ages he is linked with us God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son he gave him not only to bear our sins and to die as our sacrifice he gave him to the Fallen rings to assure us of his immutable counselor peace God gave his only begotten son to become one of the human family forever to retain his human nature let me ask you is God closer to us after the Incarnation than before yes because God has assumed human nature through Jesus she continues this is the pledge that God will fulfill his word and to us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder God has a listen listen to this God has adopted human nature in the person of his son and has carried the same into the highest heaven it is the son of man who shares the throne of the universe it is a son of man whose name shall be called wonderful counsellor the mighty God the everlasting father the Prince of Peace the I am is the day's 'men between God and humanity laying his hand upon both he who is holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners is not ashamed to call us brethren imagine that God calling us brethren could Jesus had called us brethren if he did not become incarnate no because he would be from the Godhead family not from the human family she continues in Christ the family of Earth and the family of heaven are bound together Christ glorified is our brother that's what the Incarnation is all about so Jesus is the Son of God he takes humanity when we receive Jesus Christ we become his brother his sister and we being brothers and sisters of Jesus becomes sons and daughters of God through Jesus that's why Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no man comes unto the Father except by me or through me but here as we draw this to a close is the important point even though in our human nature we are all brothers of Jesus in the technical sense of the term only those who receive Jesus as Savior and Lord our brothers in the technical sense you say how's that well John at 1 verses 11 and 12 says he came to his own and his own did not receive him now listen carefully but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God to those who believed in his name so how do we become children of God we become children of God by receiving Jesus which means that technically speaking before we receive Jesus we are what we're children of God by creation but not children of God by redemption now how do we become children of God well we have to unite with Jesus I want you to notice that there's a specific point at which officially we become linked with Jesus we become his brothers and his sisters it is through a right that is known as baptism Galatians 3:26 and 27 it says for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus so when is it that were linked with Jesus Christ as our brother at the moment of baptism for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ so at the moment of our baptism we become brothers and sisters of Jesus and through him because he's the son of God we become sons and daughters of God and at that point he is not ashamed to call us brethren Hebrews chapter 2 verses 10 through 12 and I'm reading from the New International Version in brimmy bringing many sons to glory this is God the Father in bringing many sons to glory it was fitting that god that is the father for whom and through whom everything exists should make the they'll salvation that is Jesus perfect zoo suffering both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers he says I will declare your name to my brothers that is he will proclaim the father's name to his brothers in the presence of a congregation I will sing your praises so God gave us not things he gave us a person have you ever heard the song all I want for Christmas is what is you that's what Jesus says all I want for Christmas is not your money not your house not anything else all I want is you heaven gave everything it had and our response should be giving to God everything that we are everything that we have Romans chapter 6 verse 23 says the wages of sin is death you know this verse is an interesting verse this verse actually is speaking of two of to employ equal opportunity employers mister sin is an equal opportunity employer mr. sin sin says if you work for me I'm gonna pay your wages and what are the wages death do we earn them yeah because we work but for mister sin so you know we can't say to mr. sin I work for free no mr. sin says if you work for me tough luck you get paid the payment is death but you'll notice that the second half of the verse says the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and that's what this season is all about it's about the gift the gift that God gave us not to take it away the gift that will endure throughout eternity because Jesus will have his human nature eternally he will be one of us our brother and we his brothers and sisters literally by blood because he assumed our nature how how can we ever say no to him is the big question all he wants from us during this season is us the question is will we give him what he longs for Ellen White explained that the father gave and she uses this expression God gave his darling son at the risk of eternal loss she says it was a struggle even for the father to give up his son but you know what the father loves us as much as he loves Jesus because the Bible says that he was willing to deliver him up for us so the father was willing to deliver up Jesus for us He loves us as much as he loves him so folks let's give our hearts to the Lord Jesus everything because when God has our heart he has everything let's remember the reason for the season we'll sing now I'll bet you can't guess what we're going to sing you know what I called Lin this church secretary actually didn't call her I sent her an email and she sent me an email back she says I already had put it in the bulletin number 214 even before I contacted her so let's see we have this hope which really the only reason we can have this hope is because of what Jesus did when he came to this earth so let's stand and sing with the utmost enthusiasm everybody use all of the strength that God has given you the scene [Music] [Music] in the coming [Music] [Music] everybody [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] amen let's my father in heaven we thank you for Jesus we're thankful for all of the things that you give us too but we're thankful for the person because with the person comes everything else thank you that during this time of the year even though your son was not born at this particular time we are able to remember the importance of the incarnation of Christ Oh father thank you so much for your gift I ask Lord that if there's anyone here this afternoon that has not given him or herself totally without reservations to Jesus that before they leave this place they will raise up a little prayer to the Lord giving their life without reservation to the beloved Savior be with us as we leave this place we ask that your presence will be with us wherever we go and we thank you for hearing our prayer for we ask it in Jesus name Amen [Music]

Channel: Fresno Central Seventh-day Adventist Church

Views: 2,414

Rating: 4.9230771 out of 5

Keywords: incarnation, humanity of Christ, Jesus Christ

Id: 0U35A_wSjOM

Length: 70min 15sec (4215 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 22 2018