1 00:00:01,570 --> 00:00:03,690 My voice is not very strong this morning 2 00:00:03,690 --> 00:00:09,010 for some reason, which is never very strong, 3 00:00:09,330 --> 00:00:10,930 so you can guess what the reason is. 4 00:00:11,930 --> 00:00:14,130 I'd like you to turn with me, please, 5 00:00:14,650 --> 00:00:24,330 to 2nd Kings, 2nd book of Kings, and 6 00:00:26,090 --> 00:00:28,770 chapter 4, 2nd Kings chapter 4. 7 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,140 Appreciate it, Mary's playing this morning, thank you, 8 00:00:44,220 --> 00:00:46,320 thank you. 9 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,760 All right, I'm in chapter 4, and looking 10 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:51,080 down to verse 8. 11 00:00:52,380 --> 00:00:55,420 Now there came a day when Elisha passed 12 00:00:55,420 --> 00:00:59,020 over Shunam, where there was a prominent woman, 13 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,300 and she persuaded him to eat food. 14 00:01:03,319 --> 00:01:05,780 And so it was, as often as he 15 00:01:05,780 --> 00:01:09,060 passed by, he turned in there to eat 16 00:01:09,060 --> 00:01:09,660 food. 17 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,220 She said to her husband, Behold now, I 18 00:01:14,220 --> 00:01:16,880 perceived that this is a holy man of 19 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:18,840 God passing by us continually. 20 00:01:19,860 --> 00:01:22,520 Please let us make a little walled upper 21 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,140 chamber, and let us set a bed for 22 00:01:26,140 --> 00:01:28,980 him there, and a table, and a chair, 23 00:01:29,140 --> 00:01:32,200 and a lampstand, and it shall be when 24 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,060 he comes to us that he can turn 25 00:01:35,060 --> 00:01:35,920 in there. 26 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,800 And the story continues, but I will not 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:43,860 continue to read. 28 00:01:44,220 --> 00:01:45,860 Let's just leave it there for now. 29 00:01:47,460 --> 00:01:49,660 I think what I want to say, more 30 00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:56,300 than anything else, is our exposure and our 31 00:01:56,300 --> 00:02:05,640 interaction with others inevitably deposits an impression upon 32 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,760 them for better or for worse, and that's 33 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,120 how it is, isn't it, in life. 34 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:16,760 I suppose common features that we could think 35 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,260 of are, well, perhaps our dress, the way 36 00:02:20,260 --> 00:02:26,100 we present ourselves, the manner of our speech 37 00:02:26,100 --> 00:02:29,180 will make its own unique impression. 38 00:02:30,180 --> 00:02:34,860 Perhaps the topics that we commonly choose to 39 00:02:34,860 --> 00:02:38,200 discuss will also make an impression. 40 00:02:41,030 --> 00:02:47,310 Some people will leave the impression that they're 41 00:02:47,310 --> 00:02:50,990 a very humble person or individual. 42 00:02:51,730 --> 00:02:55,330 There will be others who will give the 43 00:02:55,330 --> 00:03:00,170 impression that they're anxious to impress one way 44 00:03:00,170 --> 00:03:00,850 or another. 45 00:03:02,930 --> 00:03:05,210 I think there will be yet others who 46 00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:14,260 will be discerned to be insecure, maybe even 47 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:16,600 spiritually unclean. 48 00:03:19,380 --> 00:03:22,180 Maybe from time to time we will sense 49 00:03:22,180 --> 00:03:25,640 that there's some demonic darkness involved in the 50 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:25,960 life. 51 00:03:26,580 --> 00:03:28,500 So there's a whole variety of ways in 52 00:03:28,500 --> 00:03:34,460 which impressions are made that are unavoidable. 53 00:03:34,620 --> 00:03:36,180 For the most part, they're not being made 54 00:03:36,180 --> 00:03:36,680 deliberately. 55 00:03:37,140 --> 00:03:39,660 They're just the impressions of who we are 56 00:03:39,660 --> 00:03:42,140 and how we present ourselves and how we 57 00:03:42,140 --> 00:03:43,460 interact with other people. 58 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,900 We're reading here about this woman, and she 59 00:03:50,900 --> 00:03:54,520 has a husband, and, of course, Elisha is 60 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,860 the prophet of God in the story. 61 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:07,120 The woman didn't see an Elisha, I'm sure 62 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:11,120 of this, she didn't see a cross hanging 63 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:11,860 around his neck. 64 00:04:11,860 --> 00:04:13,380 Well, of course, she wouldn't. 65 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,760 Anyway, that particular stage in history. 66 00:04:17,820 --> 00:04:20,279 She wasn't looking at a T-shirt with 67 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:24,640 some religious slogan or statement or even scripture 68 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:25,140 on it. 69 00:04:26,820 --> 00:04:30,100 And I'm equally certain that she didn't pick 70 00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:31,820 up on the bumper sticker he had on 71 00:04:31,820 --> 00:04:32,300 his car. 72 00:04:36,220 --> 00:04:39,080 But she picked up this, that he was 73 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:39,940 a man of God. 74 00:04:40,420 --> 00:04:41,840 That's the first thing. 75 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,360 And I've asked myself, you know, perhaps, and 76 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,200 I have to use my imagination, what was 77 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:53,620 it about him that created that impression? 78 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,440 I can't be sure that I'm accurate about 79 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,460 this, but perhaps it was the cloak that 80 00:05:01,460 --> 00:05:07,300 he was wearing and the ritual fringes around 81 00:05:07,300 --> 00:05:10,560 the cloak, which are prescribed in the book 82 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,080 of Leviticus, the fringes which would remind the 83 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:16,400 wearer of the commandments of God. 84 00:05:19,500 --> 00:05:21,960 That would be, I think, a giveaway. 85 00:05:24,900 --> 00:05:26,780 But more than that, it says here in 86 00:05:26,780 --> 00:05:29,580 the scripture that she said to her husband, 87 00:05:29,580 --> 00:05:32,560 I perceive that this is a holy man 88 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:37,160 of God that passes by us continually. 89 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:39,640 There was more to it. 90 00:05:39,740 --> 00:05:43,180 There was, once again, no one can be 91 00:05:43,180 --> 00:05:45,960 dogmatic about, well, it was this or it 92 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,940 was that in particular that impressed her. 93 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,440 But clearly there was an observation that she 94 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:57,000 made of this man that led us to 95 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:57,800 this conclusion. 96 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,720 There's no record given to us of the 97 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:02,780 first event that they met. 98 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:05,880 He passed by regularly. 99 00:06:06,100 --> 00:06:07,320 Some of you will have heard me say 100 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,820 this before, commenting on this text, that a 101 00:06:11,820 --> 00:06:15,440 memory I have was when I was still 102 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,880 yet a policeman and I was invited, I 103 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,000 was part of something called the Christian Police 104 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,680 Association and I was invited to speak to 105 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:30,260 a group of professing Christian policemen and I 106 00:06:30,260 --> 00:06:31,680 chose this as my text. 107 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,760 I perceive that this is a holy man 108 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,120 of God that passes by us continually. 109 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,760 Clearly there was, as I say, we don't 110 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:45,760 know what happened on the first meeting, but 111 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:50,660 at some stage they decided, she and her 112 00:06:50,660 --> 00:06:53,080 husband, to invite him in for a meal 113 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,540 as he traveled past and were led to 114 00:06:55,540 --> 00:06:57,640 believe that that happened on a number of 115 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:58,100 occasions. 116 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,400 So this would give opportunity, sitting around a 117 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,000 table, there would be conversation and interaction with 118 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:10,040 him and clearly there was something more than 119 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,080 just his clothing that was impressing her about 120 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,540 him and led her to this conclusion that 121 00:07:15,540 --> 00:07:18,300 this man is not merely a man of 122 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:20,320 God in a sort of a broad generic 123 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,620 sense of that term, but she said this 124 00:07:23,620 --> 00:07:28,560 is a holy man of God, something deeper. 125 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,560 She had a sense that there was a 126 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:35,160 depth about this man spiritually that she was 127 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,920 picking up on and that was impressing her 128 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:40,080 and so on. 129 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,540 Before going any further, I want to ask 130 00:07:45,540 --> 00:07:48,980 you to just use your own, perhaps it's 131 00:07:48,980 --> 00:07:51,840 going to be your imagination, because you will 132 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,660 not be the best judge of this, but 133 00:07:54,660 --> 00:07:58,360 I'm wondering how you may sense that people 134 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:05,740 discern you as you interact with them, the 135 00:08:05,740 --> 00:08:06,840 people that you meet. 136 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:08,580 What impression do you make? 137 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,620 I've been talking to some of you for 138 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:14,120 a long time, so one or two of 139 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,360 the things that I use to illustrate particular 140 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,900 points will be repeated. 141 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,300 But when I was reading through the scripture 142 00:08:23,300 --> 00:08:25,940 and thinking about this particular feature in it, 143 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,000 I thought about something that took place in 144 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:37,919 1966 when my brother had climbed over the 145 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:40,980 Brethren Wall and gone to a meeting on 146 00:08:40,980 --> 00:08:44,980 the outside of our group of assemblies, which 147 00:08:44,980 --> 00:08:46,760 was not common in those days and we 148 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,700 didn't have exposure to other denominations at all, 149 00:08:50,820 --> 00:08:52,620 so we were pretty exclusive. 150 00:08:54,340 --> 00:08:57,220 And my brother came home seven years younger 151 00:08:57,220 --> 00:08:58,820 than me, he was 17 at the time, 152 00:09:00,820 --> 00:09:03,240 and he was trying to convince me that 153 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,400 I needed to go to one of these 154 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,440 meetings and meet some of these people and 155 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,780 I was resisting it because we were brethren 156 00:09:11,780 --> 00:09:13,600 and we don't do those kinds of things 157 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,320 and so on. 158 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:19,380 But on one occasion I remember he said 159 00:09:19,380 --> 00:09:22,840 to me, he said, Fred, he said, the 160 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,020 man who was preaching had white hair. 161 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:27,320 Don't forget, he was 17. 162 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:29,880 He said, the man who was preaching had 163 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,880 white hair, but as I looked at him 164 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,040 and as I listened to him, more than 165 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,020 anything else in the world, I wanted to 166 00:09:38,020 --> 00:09:39,120 be like that man. 167 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:43,840 That's quite something. 168 00:09:45,380 --> 00:09:48,640 And I'm speaking to quite a few people 169 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,180 here who have grey hair or no hair 170 00:09:53,180 --> 00:09:55,900 maybe, one or two of us, or very 171 00:09:55,900 --> 00:09:56,180 little. 172 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,200 But the point is, isn't that something? 173 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,060 And I'm asking you the question, how do 174 00:10:02,060 --> 00:10:03,200 people perceive you? 175 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,680 What is it they detect about your life 176 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:08,040 that distinguishes you in a particular way? 177 00:10:08,300 --> 00:10:12,840 Could it be that a teenager meeting you 178 00:10:13,980 --> 00:10:16,380 for a little while would go home and 179 00:10:16,380 --> 00:10:19,500 say to his older brother, I've just met 180 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:23,260 a man of God, a holy man of 181 00:10:23,260 --> 00:10:26,380 God, and more than anything else in the 182 00:10:26,380 --> 00:10:28,660 world, I found I wanted to be like 183 00:10:28,660 --> 00:10:29,340 that man. 184 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,600 That's an amazing statement. 185 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,540 And he said it with full sincerity. 186 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,280 There was nothing trite about it at all. 187 00:10:38,940 --> 00:10:41,600 So this is a really important question. 188 00:10:42,980 --> 00:10:45,700 What is the manner and conduct of my 189 00:10:45,700 --> 00:10:48,880 life and my interaction, my conversation? 190 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,760 Is it holy, my conversation? 191 00:10:53,380 --> 00:10:55,440 Peter uses that word in the Old King 192 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:55,820 James. 193 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,620 Other translations have it, your manner of life. 194 00:10:59,620 --> 00:11:03,000 But it's to be godly, holy and godly. 195 00:11:03,740 --> 00:11:07,120 Could it be an accurate description of your 196 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:08,160 life, do you think? 197 00:11:08,980 --> 00:11:10,720 And again, we can have sort of our 198 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,980 own ideas about it and using our imagination, 199 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,540 perhaps we could be foolish and imagine, well, 200 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,520 it probably is the way people see us. 201 00:11:18,580 --> 00:11:21,240 But the real test, of course, is how 202 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:23,620 the people out there, whoever they are, and 203 00:11:23,620 --> 00:11:26,120 in whatever context, whether they're members of your 204 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,780 own family or whether they're people that you 205 00:11:29,780 --> 00:11:32,620 meet in the place where you work or 206 00:11:32,620 --> 00:11:34,800 in the neighborhood or wherever it is. 207 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,620 I'm certain of this one thing for each 208 00:11:41,620 --> 00:11:43,880 and every one of us here, that that 209 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,540 would be the desire, a deep burning desire 210 00:11:47,540 --> 00:11:49,260 of your heart, that that would be true. 211 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,900 We all recognize immediately that that is how 212 00:11:53,900 --> 00:11:54,920 it ought to be. 213 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,840 That is how we ought to be living 214 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,900 in such a manner and be so Christ 215 00:12:00,900 --> 00:12:05,040 -like that people actually sense something of the 216 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,860 aroma of Christ or the presence of Christ 217 00:12:07,860 --> 00:12:10,120 or the Word of God in the context 218 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,220 of our speaking or whatever. 219 00:12:13,220 --> 00:12:18,660 And that's the real question that occurs to 220 00:12:18,660 --> 00:12:20,540 me as I read this passage. 221 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,900 Let's just sort of pivot away from this 222 00:12:24,900 --> 00:12:27,420 for just a moment or two. 223 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:33,920 When we find ourselves confronted with the word 224 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,940 holy, what really crosses our mind, and I 225 00:12:37,940 --> 00:12:39,300 don't want to spend a long time, we're 226 00:12:39,300 --> 00:12:41,220 not doing a big word search in scripture 227 00:12:41,220 --> 00:12:43,160 to sort of get an answer to this, 228 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,880 but how do we understand the concept of 229 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:48,320 holy? 230 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,300 When I said a holy man of God, 231 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,020 something resonates within us. 232 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:54,720 What is it? 233 00:12:54,780 --> 00:12:56,980 How could we describe that, do you think? 234 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:03,220 I know that God said concerning himself, two 235 00:13:03,220 --> 00:13:05,880 very specific occasions I find in scripture where 236 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,740 we read God speaking. 237 00:13:07,900 --> 00:13:13,500 He said, I am holy, and there are 238 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:15,440 other variations on that, but two of those 239 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,040 very clear statements, I am holy, we know 240 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:19,500 that God is a holy God. 241 00:13:20,940 --> 00:13:23,300 The psalmist certainly was very clear on that 242 00:13:23,300 --> 00:13:25,200 with a number of his own statements and 243 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:25,700 so on. 244 00:13:26,780 --> 00:13:29,780 We keep in mind as we step into 245 00:13:29,780 --> 00:13:38,480 this area of questioning that the holiness of 246 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:43,920 God is something that is utterly unknown in 247 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:47,580 this world. 248 00:13:49,020 --> 00:13:52,060 If I can use the word carefully, it's 249 00:13:52,060 --> 00:13:53,300 alien to this world. 250 00:13:54,260 --> 00:13:56,060 It's something else. 251 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,040 Frankly, I feel, and I just did this 252 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,640 down as a note of my own, when 253 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:09,440 I think of the topic of the holiness 254 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,140 of God, I think rather than being able 255 00:14:13,140 --> 00:14:16,060 to define it specifically, because I don't believe 256 00:14:16,060 --> 00:14:17,780 that any of us are capable of doing 257 00:14:17,780 --> 00:14:21,460 that, because it's something outside of this world. 258 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,540 It's outside the framework of anything that we 259 00:14:24,540 --> 00:14:25,760 can comprehend and understand. 260 00:14:26,020 --> 00:14:28,260 We can come up with a few neat 261 00:14:28,260 --> 00:14:34,320 little definitions that are temporally satisfying in a 262 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,800 very limited way, but the thought that comes 263 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,320 to my mind is it's like a signpost 264 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,380 that's pointing into a thick mist. 265 00:14:46,220 --> 00:14:49,300 In my early growing up days, living near 266 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:55,860 to the Irish Sea, and also taking into 267 00:14:55,860 --> 00:15:01,860 account that we had a serious problem with 268 00:15:01,860 --> 00:15:03,680 smog, as we called it. 269 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,180 Fog, you know, London fog. 270 00:15:06,820 --> 00:15:07,980 Well, I came from Liverpool. 271 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,360 But fog was common in those days. 272 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,780 Almost everyone burned coal for their heating, and 273 00:15:15,780 --> 00:15:18,880 the smoke would go up with whatever pollutants. 274 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,020 And, of course, with all the heavy mist 275 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:23,200 being near to the water and so on, 276 00:15:23,460 --> 00:15:24,640 it would hang there. 277 00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:29,480 And you've all heard the term P super. 278 00:15:29,700 --> 00:15:31,900 Well, that's because very often it was like 279 00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:33,080 a green mist. 280 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,140 And there's more to be said about that. 281 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,360 Sometimes we'd be told at work that all 282 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:43,580 the transportation was being canceled, and so we 283 00:15:43,580 --> 00:15:44,440 could go home early. 284 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:47,320 If you were sensible, you brought a flashlight 285 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:48,840 with you to work to help you find 286 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:49,220 your way home. 287 00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:53,460 But anyway, I know what a fog is. 288 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,020 This is not a green smog that I'm 289 00:15:57,020 --> 00:15:57,740 thinking about. 290 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:00,460 I think this is a mist that is 291 00:16:00,460 --> 00:16:03,300 more defined as the glory of God. 292 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,580 It's the mystery of the true identity of 293 00:16:06,580 --> 00:16:08,560 God that is beyond us. 294 00:16:08,660 --> 00:16:10,460 And so we have words of Scripture and 295 00:16:10,460 --> 00:16:12,760 statements, which are like signposts. 296 00:16:12,820 --> 00:16:17,160 They point us in that direction, that God 297 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,320 is holy or the holiness of God. 298 00:16:20,820 --> 00:16:23,560 And we say, yes, I believe that. 299 00:16:23,980 --> 00:16:26,140 And we try our best to say, well, 300 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:26,960 I understand it. 301 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,860 But really we don't because it's too great 302 00:16:30,860 --> 00:16:31,740 for us. 303 00:16:32,580 --> 00:16:36,360 Because what we quickly pick up from our 304 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,940 reading is that really holiness identifies who he 305 00:16:40,940 --> 00:16:41,420 is. 306 00:16:41,580 --> 00:16:42,920 He is holy. 307 00:16:43,100 --> 00:16:47,000 I am holy, says the Scripture. 308 00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:53,140 And so really we've got a term here 309 00:16:53,140 --> 00:16:56,600 in our language that is given to us 310 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,720 biblically or in the words of Scripture to 311 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:03,760 identify something of the very essence of who 312 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:04,880 God is. 313 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,920 It's not a reference to what he does. 314 00:17:11,940 --> 00:17:14,720 It's a reference to who he is. 315 00:17:15,140 --> 00:17:20,240 Our God is holy with whatever that means 316 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,740 and includes, which is beyond my comprehension. 317 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:24,619 That's God. 318 00:17:24,619 --> 00:17:33,280 There comes a time as we read through 319 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,260 the Scriptures where we turn that last page 320 00:17:36,260 --> 00:17:38,760 of the book of Malachi and we move 321 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:40,280 on into the New Testament. 322 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,980 It starts out the book of the generation 323 00:17:43,980 --> 00:17:45,880 of Jesus Christ. 324 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:48,780 And we've moved at that point, although it's 325 00:17:48,780 --> 00:17:51,980 not yet been inaugurated and certainly not explained 326 00:17:51,980 --> 00:17:54,600 yet, but we've moved at that point out 327 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,560 from under the old covenant and we're moving 328 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:03,260 step by step into the new covenant that 329 00:18:03,260 --> 00:18:06,560 God would make through the purchase of the 330 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:08,740 shed blood of Christ as we've been thinking 331 00:18:08,740 --> 00:18:12,400 as we've broken bread this morning and so 332 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:12,760 on. 333 00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:16,700 And so what I'm saying here is that 334 00:18:16,700 --> 00:18:20,740 with this mystery concerning the identity of God 335 00:18:20,740 --> 00:18:24,340 which has persisted before us as we've read 336 00:18:24,340 --> 00:18:27,900 through the Old Testament Scriptures, we finally turn 337 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:32,500 to the New Testament and the person, Jesus 338 00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:39,020 Christ, steps onto the stage of history and 339 00:18:39,020 --> 00:18:40,400 he's put before us. 340 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:43,860 And we know how that there are a 341 00:18:43,860 --> 00:18:45,860 variety of statements that we find then in 342 00:18:45,860 --> 00:18:48,740 the New Testament that speak of him in 343 00:18:48,740 --> 00:18:49,740 particular ways. 344 00:18:50,580 --> 00:18:54,880 Not least of those would be the statement 345 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,840 that the word was made or the word 346 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,640 became flesh and dwelt among us. 347 00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:06,740 The word of God, the logos of God, 348 00:19:07,460 --> 00:19:11,480 the one who created all things and without 349 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,380 him nothing was created. 350 00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:17,860 This eternal being stepped onto the stage of 351 00:19:17,860 --> 00:19:22,000 history and lived among us. 352 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,200 The apostle John said we beheld his glory. 353 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,560 Again, he makes a variety of statements where 354 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,900 he speaks about we not only saw him 355 00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:34,180 but we gazed upon him, he says in 356 00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:35,460 his first epistle. 357 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,060 He says our hands have handled the word 358 00:19:39,060 --> 00:19:46,320 of life and the writer to the Hebrews 359 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,760 says concerning him that he was the radiance 360 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:57,120 of his father's glory, the exact representation of 361 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:58,440 his nature. 362 00:19:59,940 --> 00:20:03,860 And the hymn writer says, God in man, 363 00:20:04,140 --> 00:20:05,740 the oneless blending. 364 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,660 The person of Jesus Christ or in the 365 00:20:10,660 --> 00:20:13,460 person of Jesus Christ, heaven came down to 366 00:20:13,460 --> 00:20:14,020 us. 367 00:20:14,020 --> 00:20:20,060 God came down and chose to reveal himself 368 00:20:20,060 --> 00:20:22,320 in human form. 369 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,720 This was entirely new. 370 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,520 We know that he came at that stage 371 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:31,620 in order to die and in order to 372 00:20:31,620 --> 00:20:32,460 give his life. 373 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,780 He did live but he didn't come into 374 00:20:35,780 --> 00:20:38,820 this world just to live as we came 375 00:20:38,820 --> 00:20:39,640 into this world. 376 00:20:40,060 --> 00:20:42,320 He came into this world to die. 377 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,780 He came so that he could as a 378 00:20:44,780 --> 00:20:47,760 man, as a pure man, a sinless man, 379 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,160 present his life as an offering for us 380 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:50,320 all. 381 00:20:50,380 --> 00:20:51,400 We understand that. 382 00:20:51,900 --> 00:20:54,180 But the fact is during this period which 383 00:20:54,180 --> 00:20:58,620 is recorded through the Gospels, God was manifested 384 00:20:58,620 --> 00:21:04,500 in a manner that was formerly unknown to 385 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:07,440 men and women in the entirety of history. 386 00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:11,120 God was revealed in human flesh. 387 00:21:12,260 --> 00:21:14,680 And John, as I've been quoting him, he 388 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:19,340 would speak in these terms of astonishment and 389 00:21:19,340 --> 00:21:23,660 amazement, of being transfixed, of not just looking 390 00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:26,740 and glancing and seeing but gazing upon him 391 00:21:26,740 --> 00:21:28,340 is the one word that he uses in 392 00:21:28,340 --> 00:21:31,000 particular in his first chapter of 1 John. 393 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,220 He says, we've gazed upon him, suggesting that 394 00:21:34,220 --> 00:21:37,660 we've gazed with wonder and amazement at this 395 00:21:37,660 --> 00:21:41,220 mystery, the mystery that the God of creation, 396 00:21:41,460 --> 00:21:45,000 the God of eternity, would come among us 397 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:46,960 and that we could be so honored, so 398 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,520 privileged as to be chosen to walk with 399 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:51,940 him and be fellowshipping with him, to hear 400 00:21:51,940 --> 00:21:54,060 his word, to be exposed to his life 401 00:21:54,060 --> 00:21:57,300 and more yet than that. 402 00:21:58,520 --> 00:21:59,720 Glory to God. 403 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:05,860 And as he lived out his life, he 404 00:22:05,860 --> 00:22:10,460 lived out his life as the ultimate Jewish 405 00:22:10,460 --> 00:22:11,140 man. 406 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:16,680 That is, he kept and fulfilled all of 407 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,840 the various rituals and the commandments of God 408 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:25,560 as was required of the Jewish people. 409 00:22:25,740 --> 00:22:28,320 At that time, of course, no one fulfilled 410 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:29,240 them as he did. 411 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,420 He fulfilled everything perfectly. 412 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,280 Every jot and tittle, he fulfilled it perfectly. 413 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,380 Not all the whims of the Pharisees, but 414 00:22:39,380 --> 00:22:42,740 that which had been the word of God. 415 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:47,580 He kept that in every detail. 416 00:22:48,460 --> 00:22:53,100 And he walked in absolute obedience to his 417 00:22:53,100 --> 00:22:55,800 Father through the entirety of the journey of 418 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,160 those years that he lived on this earth. 419 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,840 He was undoubtedly the first and the ultimate 420 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:08,820 and most holy man to walk upon the 421 00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:09,960 face of this earth. 422 00:23:11,310 --> 00:23:12,960 He was impeccable. 423 00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:15,520 He was flawless. 424 00:23:18,890 --> 00:23:21,330 He walked perfectly before his Father. 425 00:23:22,910 --> 00:23:26,410 He honored his Father in everything. 426 00:23:27,250 --> 00:23:33,210 And what we're looking at here and trying 427 00:23:33,210 --> 00:23:37,990 to consider is God incarnate, God incarnated. 428 00:23:38,530 --> 00:23:44,910 Wesley said God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly 429 00:23:44,910 --> 00:23:46,590 made man. 430 00:23:47,550 --> 00:23:53,470 That this could be is an amazing concept, 431 00:23:53,590 --> 00:23:54,070 certainly. 432 00:23:54,530 --> 00:23:57,270 That he could walk among us as a 433 00:23:57,270 --> 00:24:01,570 man and yet never cease to be God. 434 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:09,200 He took this step himself. 435 00:24:10,300 --> 00:24:11,500 He made himself. 436 00:24:12,260 --> 00:24:15,260 Paul tells us that, Philippians chapter 2. 437 00:24:16,580 --> 00:24:22,320 And he was everything and did everything that 438 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:26,740 makes a man human except sin. 439 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,080 He was not of the seed of the 440 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:31,760 first Adam. 441 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:37,540 Had he been that, had Mary made a 442 00:24:37,540 --> 00:24:43,910 contribution to him, he would not have qualified 443 00:24:43,910 --> 00:24:45,110 to become our Savior. 444 00:24:45,810 --> 00:24:49,090 He had to be completely man, but he 445 00:24:49,090 --> 00:24:52,230 had to be pure and spotless and sinless 446 00:24:52,230 --> 00:24:54,830 in order for his shed blood to be 447 00:24:54,830 --> 00:25:00,530 a satisfactory offering to his Father. 448 00:25:01,030 --> 00:25:06,290 And we know that he willingly surrendered himself. 449 00:25:06,450 --> 00:25:07,610 This awesome God. 450 00:25:08,110 --> 00:25:13,170 He willingly surrendered himself to human limitations. 451 00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:19,490 God in Christ became tired. 452 00:25:20,990 --> 00:25:22,710 He became hungry. 453 00:25:25,110 --> 00:25:26,090 He thirst. 454 00:25:27,610 --> 00:25:28,830 He wept. 455 00:25:32,030 --> 00:25:33,030 He had faith. 456 00:25:34,190 --> 00:25:36,050 He felt pain. 457 00:25:37,630 --> 00:25:39,910 And ultimately he died. 458 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:48,320 That dense fog that I referred to, that 459 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,460 heavy mist that I find in the Old 460 00:25:50,460 --> 00:25:53,960 Testament that surrounds the being of God and 461 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:59,380 the holiness of God was somehow lifting during 462 00:25:59,380 --> 00:26:04,120 the period of the life and ministry of 463 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:05,600 the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. 464 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,520 As he walked upon this earth. 465 00:26:09,380 --> 00:26:12,900 And man was able to gain a grasp 466 00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:16,620 of the holiness of God to a higher 467 00:26:16,620 --> 00:26:21,740 level than was possible in the past because 468 00:26:21,740 --> 00:26:24,560 they saw God in human terms. 469 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:26,520 Yes, he was restricted. 470 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,680 He was contracted, etc. 471 00:26:29,940 --> 00:26:34,360 But the fact is his life was distinctive. 472 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,420 This was the mystery. 473 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,260 He was one of us and yet he 474 00:26:38,260 --> 00:26:39,700 was not one of us. 475 00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:44,020 He was altogether separate from us and yet 476 00:26:44,020 --> 00:26:47,840 in a sense he came in the form 477 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,980 that we could relate to and understand as 478 00:26:50,980 --> 00:26:53,480 we watch the behavior of his life and 479 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:53,980 so on. 480 00:26:54,720 --> 00:27:02,620 And man in studying these things begins in 481 00:27:02,620 --> 00:27:10,320 some small degree to comprehend the incomprehensible, the 482 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,120 identity of our God. 483 00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:18,400 We could look at some of the things 484 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,000 that he said but I'm wanting to focus 485 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,380 for a minute here on one of his 486 00:27:22,380 --> 00:27:26,540 statements which I think of as it's like 487 00:27:26,540 --> 00:27:29,780 a verbal explosion to us. 488 00:27:30,540 --> 00:27:33,720 When he said, you'll remember the statement immediately, 489 00:27:34,380 --> 00:27:39,780 he said, I am with you but I 490 00:27:39,780 --> 00:27:41,880 shall be in you. 491 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,240 I don't know a better way to describe 492 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,180 that statement as being explosive. 493 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:59,260 This very God, this almighty, this I'm describing 494 00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:02,400 or attempted to describe him as this spaceless, 495 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:10,180 beginningless God who spoke and creation sprang into 496 00:28:10,180 --> 00:28:17,820 being and becoming a man walking about in 497 00:28:17,820 --> 00:28:22,260 the area of Israel and Galilee and talking 498 00:28:22,260 --> 00:28:26,320 to ordinary people and holding their babies and 499 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,540 blessing them and so on and so on. 500 00:28:28,820 --> 00:28:32,640 But then as we begin to gain some 501 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:37,960 sense and understanding, albeit very small, of the 502 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:42,320 fact that this man is the Messiah, he 503 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:48,840 is the God, he's the almighty God somehow 504 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,580 here in flesh and we struggle to get 505 00:28:51,580 --> 00:28:53,480 hold of it but then I hear him 506 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:57,600 say, I am with you but I shall 507 00:28:57,600 --> 00:28:58,880 be in you. 508 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:06,840 Really, I sensed as I'm speaking to you 509 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,440 that it would be most appropriate for us 510 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:11,960 all to fall on our faces at the 511 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,080 very thought of such a thing. 512 00:29:17,580 --> 00:29:21,700 I believe that this statement lies right at 513 00:29:21,700 --> 00:29:26,820 the central core of the Christian Gospel and 514 00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:30,340 frankly, I believe it is a great truth 515 00:29:30,340 --> 00:29:33,280 that is commonly missed. 516 00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:41,620 I think in our sincere efforts to make 517 00:29:41,620 --> 00:29:47,200 the Gospel known to the multitudes, there's been 518 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,880 such an emphasis on trying to somehow make 519 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:57,340 it all simple and understandable and so we 520 00:29:57,340 --> 00:30:00,100 have phrases like seeker-friendly and so on. 521 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:07,780 But what we've been doing, notwithstanding a degree 522 00:30:07,780 --> 00:30:13,860 of sincerity, but we've reduced the irreducible truth 523 00:30:13,860 --> 00:30:18,640 to some kind of lowest common denominator. 524 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:24,020 We've discounted the mysteries and the challenges and 525 00:30:24,020 --> 00:30:26,960 the costs and all those things and we've 526 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,760 brought it right down so it's a most 527 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:33,600 attractive simple thing and we say with sincerity, 528 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:34,900 I'm not being foolish. 529 00:30:34,900 --> 00:30:37,860 We say if you just follow this prayer 530 00:30:37,860 --> 00:30:39,720 now that I'm going to pray, follow my 531 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:41,960 words and pray this prayer which we've chosen 532 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:45,760 to call the sinner's prayer and accept Christ 533 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,700 as your Saviour even though we don't find 534 00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:49,640 scriptures like this anywhere in the Bible. 535 00:30:50,580 --> 00:30:53,580 Accept Jesus into your heart and so on. 536 00:30:53,980 --> 00:30:56,380 But we've made it sort of neat and 537 00:30:56,380 --> 00:31:00,520 tidy and albeit attractive, we've surrounded it by 538 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,240 all kinds of glittery packaging. 539 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,220 Do you understand me? 540 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,400 So that the whole thing of Christianity has 541 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:10,220 become such an attractive appealing thing and this 542 00:31:10,220 --> 00:31:13,120 very simple thing, sign here and you've got 543 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:17,020 your ticket to heaven when you die and 544 00:31:17,020 --> 00:31:17,660 so on. 545 00:31:17,780 --> 00:31:20,100 And again, I'm not being facetious or silly. 546 00:31:20,820 --> 00:31:23,940 But the fact is we're told then what 547 00:31:23,940 --> 00:31:26,220 you need to do, do read your Bible, 548 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,740 do attend the church and try, I'm not 549 00:31:29,740 --> 00:31:31,060 saying it would always be put in these 550 00:31:31,060 --> 00:31:34,840 terms, try to live your life as much 551 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,040 as you can in the way that Jesus 552 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,120 lived his life and so on. 553 00:31:41,620 --> 00:31:45,420 And we present that as the gospel and 554 00:31:45,420 --> 00:31:47,300 we've lost the miracle of it. 555 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:49,220 We've lost the miracle. 556 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:59,180 I am with you, I shall be in 557 00:31:59,180 --> 00:31:59,400 you. 558 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,740 We need now to say, well, how? 559 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,260 How does this happen? 560 00:32:06,020 --> 00:32:08,500 How can that happen in my life, someone 561 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:09,580 would be saying. 562 00:32:12,780 --> 00:32:16,580 I believe that this miracle, which again is 563 00:32:16,580 --> 00:32:18,580 at the very core, the center of the 564 00:32:18,580 --> 00:32:23,260 Christian gospel, can be illustrated and is illustrated 565 00:32:23,260 --> 00:32:28,800 graphically and powerfully in the interaction between a 566 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:33,780 young Jewish virgin and the angel Gabriel. 567 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:35,940 You'll remember the occasion. 568 00:32:37,420 --> 00:32:40,520 And I believe that this great truth, this 569 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,520 core truth of the gospel is woven into 570 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,760 that interaction that took place there. 571 00:32:47,660 --> 00:32:50,560 I understand that what was happening in and 572 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:55,480 of itself, discounting for this moment the fact 573 00:32:55,480 --> 00:32:56,900 that it's going to have a benefit for 574 00:32:56,900 --> 00:33:01,000 us as we try to understand salvation, but 575 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,240 we understand that what was happening had to 576 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:05,220 happen the way it did in order to 577 00:33:05,220 --> 00:33:06,840 make salvation a possibility. 578 00:33:08,180 --> 00:33:11,760 But then as we watch and listen to 579 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:16,820 the interaction between the angel and Mary, something 580 00:33:16,820 --> 00:33:22,540 resonates in our hearts as being true also 581 00:33:22,540 --> 00:33:25,760 of the response which is appropriate so far 582 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:29,580 as grasping and experiencing the richness of the 583 00:33:29,580 --> 00:33:30,760 gospel. 584 00:33:32,260 --> 00:33:33,780 In other words, I read in Luke chapter 585 00:33:33,780 --> 00:33:36,060 1, it says the angel spoke to Mary 586 00:33:36,060 --> 00:33:39,300 and he said, and she was shocked, it 587 00:33:39,300 --> 00:33:42,100 was an angel speaking to her, of course. 588 00:33:42,100 --> 00:33:45,600 But then the angel spoke to her and 589 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,620 he said that you are going to conceive 590 00:33:48,620 --> 00:33:53,040 a son in your womb and he shall 591 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:54,500 be called the son of God. 592 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,480 You know, that's precisely what we're talking about 593 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:02,040 this morning. 594 00:34:02,700 --> 00:34:06,960 That's exactly what must happen in your life 595 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:07,440 and mine. 596 00:34:07,940 --> 00:34:09,320 In fact, I'll go so far as to 597 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:12,380 say if that doesn't happen, we don't qualify 598 00:34:12,380 --> 00:34:13,540 to be called Christian. 599 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:18,360 We're talking about a core issue here, that 600 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:22,000 we're sort of stepping into this holy ground 601 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,300 as we try to comprehend this even more 602 00:34:25,300 --> 00:34:25,639 fully. 603 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,940 You'll remember how the apostle Paul is writing 604 00:34:29,940 --> 00:34:32,880 to the Galatians and there's some background that 605 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:34,920 goes with this, but then we hear him 606 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:38,260 saying to them, he said, I'm labouring. 607 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:44,000 In fact, one translation puts it this way, 608 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:49,580 it's as though I am in labour until 609 00:34:49,580 --> 00:34:52,920 Christ be formed in you. 610 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,540 He saw this, again, he didn't use the 611 00:34:57,540 --> 00:34:59,520 word core, but he saw this truth as 612 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:01,660 the core issue at the centre of the 613 00:35:01,660 --> 00:35:02,420 Christian gospel. 614 00:35:03,540 --> 00:35:06,520 There's all of the truth that surrounds it, 615 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:10,100 all that had to be accomplished by Christ 616 00:35:10,100 --> 00:35:14,040 himself at Calvary and the Pentecostal imparting of 617 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:17,120 the Holy Spirit and so on, and doctrine 618 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,000 that we have spelled out for us and 619 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,100 stretched before us in the New Testament and 620 00:35:22,100 --> 00:35:22,740 in the epistles. 621 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:26,460 But the bottom line is, here, we're talking 622 00:35:26,460 --> 00:35:32,520 about this God of eternity that we saw 623 00:35:35,300 --> 00:35:40,880 demonstrated, we saw him expressed in the person 624 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,760 of Christ as we look through the story. 625 00:35:43,460 --> 00:35:45,860 He who was the express image or the 626 00:35:45,860 --> 00:35:50,500 exact image of his Heavenly Father, his Holy 627 00:35:50,500 --> 00:35:56,200 Father, the Holy Spirit, now is bringing the 628 00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:01,680 holy life of Jesus to conceive it in 629 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:07,460 the womb of a human heart is a 630 00:36:07,460 --> 00:36:08,090 staggering concept. 631 00:36:09,500 --> 00:36:12,160 But Paul said, that's what I'm praying for, 632 00:36:12,420 --> 00:36:13,920 and it's as though I'm in labour. 633 00:36:14,060 --> 00:36:15,940 He was in agony about it, he said, 634 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,100 because this has got to happen in your 635 00:36:18,100 --> 00:36:21,100 life, and I'm going to keep on in 636 00:36:21,100 --> 00:36:22,620 this labouring posture. 637 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:25,940 It's painful, but I'm going to keep on 638 00:36:25,940 --> 00:36:29,010 until Christ is formed in you. 639 00:36:29,980 --> 00:36:32,460 It must happen in your life, it must 640 00:36:32,460 --> 00:36:33,720 happen in my life. 641 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:40,320 Mary is staggered. 642 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,200 I hope you feel that also. 643 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:46,760 We must, we must. 644 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:48,140 We're staggered. 645 00:36:48,740 --> 00:36:49,780 What is this? 646 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,480 She says, how can this be? 647 00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:56,500 She was saying, I'm a virgin, I'm unmarried, 648 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:58,080 I don't know a man. 649 00:36:58,280 --> 00:36:59,360 How can this be? 650 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:03,380 And it was the response of the angel 651 00:37:03,380 --> 00:37:06,380 that's so helpful to us. 652 00:37:06,740 --> 00:37:09,300 He said, the Holy Ghost or the Holy 653 00:37:09,300 --> 00:37:11,100 Spirit will come upon you. 654 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,560 And there was a holy thing that was 655 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,040 going to occur and come into existence in 656 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,360 her womb, it says here. 657 00:37:24,700 --> 00:37:26,360 That's the only way it can happen in 658 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:26,880 our life. 659 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:30,060 It's not merely a matter of just identifying 660 00:37:30,060 --> 00:37:32,000 with certain truths. 661 00:37:32,620 --> 00:37:34,120 It's not sufficient to say, well, I believe 662 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:34,540 all that. 663 00:37:35,500 --> 00:37:38,300 This must happen in our lives. 664 00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:42,580 A Christian is one who is, where there 665 00:37:42,580 --> 00:37:44,100 is Christ in a man. 666 00:37:44,620 --> 00:37:46,840 A Christian is Christ in a man. 667 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:49,960 This is the miracle, this is the wonder. 668 00:37:50,820 --> 00:37:53,620 It's not cheap, it was not purchased cheaply. 669 00:37:53,620 --> 00:37:57,000 It's not something that we casually enter into. 670 00:37:57,540 --> 00:37:59,820 It's something that needs to be presented as 671 00:37:59,820 --> 00:38:01,960 the authentic biblical gospel. 672 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:05,120 This is what lies at the core of 673 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:05,320 it. 674 00:38:06,380 --> 00:38:08,680 And then we come back to Mary again. 675 00:38:10,820 --> 00:38:14,720 And there's no record given here to help 676 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:15,200 us out. 677 00:38:15,660 --> 00:38:20,040 But we can't help but find ourselves imagining 678 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:24,240 in those fleeting moments having heard what the 679 00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:28,300 angel has pronounced and stated to her and 680 00:38:28,300 --> 00:38:29,800 how it was going to happen. 681 00:38:29,980 --> 00:38:33,200 All of it was total mystery, totally beyond 682 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:33,460 her. 683 00:38:34,780 --> 00:38:37,200 There was no way that she could cause 684 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:38,180 this to happen alone. 685 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:40,280 This had to be outside of herself and 686 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:41,200 no man could do it. 687 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:42,080 It had to be God. 688 00:38:42,660 --> 00:38:46,180 It has to be God who forms Christ 689 00:38:46,180 --> 00:38:47,880 in you and in me. 690 00:38:47,980 --> 00:38:48,800 It has to be Him. 691 00:38:49,740 --> 00:38:53,220 But in that moment, and I think there 692 00:38:53,220 --> 00:38:55,200 must have been a moment of silence, I 693 00:38:55,200 --> 00:38:58,060 don't know how long it lasted, but Mary 694 00:38:58,060 --> 00:39:04,420 would think, this is going to impact my 695 00:39:04,420 --> 00:39:05,340 whole life. 696 00:39:06,700 --> 00:39:08,800 She had a man out there whose name 697 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:10,980 was Joseph and she loved him and he 698 00:39:10,980 --> 00:39:11,700 loved her. 699 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:16,180 They were engaged together to be married. 700 00:39:17,070 --> 00:39:21,680 They were like any good human couple who 701 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:25,560 reach this stage and they're anticipating a lifetime 702 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:28,180 of being together and sharing together and having 703 00:39:28,180 --> 00:39:32,660 their children together and growing old together. 704 00:39:36,630 --> 00:39:39,010 This would change everything. 705 00:39:40,150 --> 00:39:42,790 In that moment, she would be bound to 706 00:39:42,790 --> 00:39:46,610 come to the conclusion Joseph will never believe 707 00:39:46,610 --> 00:39:49,170 what I'm going to tell him. 708 00:39:49,950 --> 00:39:52,010 Of course, we know that God had all 709 00:39:52,010 --> 00:39:53,470 that looked after and He arranged for the 710 00:39:53,470 --> 00:39:54,550 angels to go and have a chat with 711 00:39:54,550 --> 00:39:54,910 Joseph. 712 00:39:56,250 --> 00:39:59,710 But this was Mary in the presence of 713 00:39:59,710 --> 00:40:03,850 this divine being, this heavenly being, and He's 714 00:40:03,850 --> 00:40:07,050 making these staggering statements to her. 715 00:40:08,530 --> 00:40:12,050 And she realized that to give any kind 716 00:40:12,050 --> 00:40:14,590 of nod of approval or acceptance of what 717 00:40:14,590 --> 00:40:17,030 was being put before her would change her 718 00:40:17,030 --> 00:40:18,170 life forever. 719 00:40:19,930 --> 00:40:22,790 The cost was inestimable. 720 00:40:24,190 --> 00:40:25,910 At the very least, it would be to 721 00:40:25,910 --> 00:40:26,710 lose Joseph. 722 00:40:27,390 --> 00:40:28,490 And that would be the end of the 723 00:40:28,490 --> 00:40:31,670 world for her, I should think, emotionally, she 724 00:40:31,670 --> 00:40:32,150 would think. 725 00:40:32,890 --> 00:40:38,850 It would be scandalous to conceive and bear 726 00:40:38,850 --> 00:40:42,150 a child outside of wedlock in the small 727 00:40:42,150 --> 00:40:43,770 community in which she lived. 728 00:40:44,050 --> 00:40:46,190 She wouldn't blend into some big mega city, 729 00:40:46,970 --> 00:40:50,650 but her family would know, her neighbors would 730 00:40:50,650 --> 00:40:51,090 know. 731 00:40:51,730 --> 00:40:54,550 It was a scandalous thing that was being 732 00:40:54,550 --> 00:40:55,650 put before her. 733 00:40:58,690 --> 00:41:02,010 Apart from being beyond her ability to measure 734 00:41:02,010 --> 00:41:07,250 or understand in any degree at all. 735 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:13,680 In a heartbeat, she said, yes, that's the 736 00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:14,000 thing. 737 00:41:14,700 --> 00:41:20,600 In a heartbeat, she said, be it unto 738 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:22,720 me according to your word. 739 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:24,580 That's amazing. 740 00:41:24,580 --> 00:41:27,780 And I'm reminding you this morning, this is 741 00:41:27,780 --> 00:41:29,920 the truth that lies at the core of 742 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:31,000 the Christian gospel. 743 00:41:37,820 --> 00:41:44,400 In that moment, I believe that holy, holy, 744 00:41:44,740 --> 00:41:49,280 holy life of God took up residence in 745 00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:51,900 her human body, in her womb. 746 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,860 Mary did make no contribution to this. 747 00:41:54,860 --> 00:41:57,200 It was God, as someone once put it, 748 00:41:57,260 --> 00:41:58,920 it was God burrowing her womb. 749 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:02,260 But nevertheless, she agreed to it. 750 00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:04,340 And she knew what it would look like 751 00:42:04,340 --> 00:42:06,100 to others. 752 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:12,580 But the fact is, that is exactly what 753 00:42:12,580 --> 00:42:17,060 must happen to every person who is responding 754 00:42:17,060 --> 00:42:18,340 to the Christian gospel. 755 00:42:22,050 --> 00:42:26,290 And like Mary, it will cost you everything. 756 00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:28,730 No exceptions. 757 00:42:30,270 --> 00:42:33,150 This is not just a ticket to put 758 00:42:33,150 --> 00:42:34,910 in your back pocket or put in a 759 00:42:34,910 --> 00:42:37,010 safe place which is going to supposedly get 760 00:42:37,010 --> 00:42:39,470 you through when you reach the pearly gate 761 00:42:39,470 --> 00:42:40,390 situation. 762 00:42:42,550 --> 00:42:44,650 No, no, not at all. 763 00:42:45,370 --> 00:42:47,150 This is a different issue. 764 00:42:48,770 --> 00:42:50,250 It's going to cost you everything. 765 00:42:50,390 --> 00:42:53,230 And frankly, I think, you be the judge 766 00:42:53,230 --> 00:42:56,810 of this, I think there are few people 767 00:42:56,810 --> 00:42:59,490 in our culture, in our Christian culture as 768 00:42:59,490 --> 00:43:02,990 we call it, who are really genuinely understanding 769 00:43:02,990 --> 00:43:06,550 this and who are genuinely prepared to pay 770 00:43:06,550 --> 00:43:08,010 the price that's involved. 771 00:43:11,660 --> 00:43:12,460 And so what do we do? 772 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:14,980 We listen to something like this and we 773 00:43:14,980 --> 00:43:17,820 retreat back into something that someone has called 774 00:43:17,820 --> 00:43:24,590 Christian light, which makes no demands on us. 775 00:43:26,980 --> 00:43:28,860 But we don't reap any of the benefits 776 00:43:28,860 --> 00:43:29,220 either. 777 00:43:30,180 --> 00:43:35,020 By the same token, we just have pious 778 00:43:35,020 --> 00:43:39,340 words and ideas that we believe certain things, 779 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:42,760 but we've never really had this encounter with 780 00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:46,660 the Spirit of God and we've never recognized 781 00:43:46,660 --> 00:43:50,300 the challenge, the demands of God upon us. 782 00:43:50,980 --> 00:43:55,860 The issue is not just me accepting Christ. 783 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,240 We've made it cheap by those very words. 784 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:01,920 But it's me now, illuminated by the Spirit 785 00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:05,940 of God, yielding myself and giving myself to 786 00:44:05,940 --> 00:44:06,380 God. 787 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:12,040 Be it unto me according to your word, 788 00:44:12,580 --> 00:44:13,240 Lord. 789 00:44:13,380 --> 00:44:14,780 Whatever it's going to cost. 790 00:44:15,940 --> 00:44:20,840 Jesus didn't sugarcoat the truth in any way. 791 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:22,620 We've looked at this before. 792 00:44:22,620 --> 00:44:26,460 He didn't hide the fact that if you 793 00:44:26,460 --> 00:44:29,600 make this kind of choice or this response 794 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:34,900 to God, better put, you're going to be 795 00:44:34,900 --> 00:44:35,520 persecuted. 796 00:44:36,620 --> 00:44:37,720 He was right out front. 797 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:40,320 He said, they persecuted me, they will persecute 798 00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:40,540 you. 799 00:44:40,620 --> 00:44:42,020 If you've got his life in you and 800 00:44:42,020 --> 00:44:44,880 it's being lived out through you as God 801 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:47,280 intends it to be, you will be persecuted 802 00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:47,800 too. 803 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:50,780 You won't be the famous man of the 804 00:44:50,780 --> 00:44:53,200 moment, or woman of the moment, and so 805 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:53,520 on. 806 00:44:56,260 --> 00:44:57,740 He didn't say, by the way. 807 00:44:58,180 --> 00:45:00,140 He said, if you're thinking that I've come 808 00:45:00,140 --> 00:45:01,640 to bring peace, he said, I've not come 809 00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:02,440 to bring peace. 810 00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:03,960 I've come to bring a sword. 811 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:05,860 This is going to upset family people. 812 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:08,460 He didn't say just make a mess of 813 00:45:08,460 --> 00:45:09,380 your family for the sake. 814 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:11,480 He wasn't saying that, but he's saying, in 815 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,180 order to follow me and be obedient to 816 00:45:14,180 --> 00:45:16,760 me in every single thing, there are going 817 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:18,480 to be people in your family that are 818 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:20,280 going to be offended by it and they 819 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:22,940 won't want to be around you anymore, and 820 00:45:22,940 --> 00:45:24,820 there's a cost involved in all of that. 821 00:45:24,900 --> 00:45:26,480 That's what Jesus is talking about. 822 00:45:26,720 --> 00:45:29,040 He was so honest and right up front 823 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,740 with these things. 824 00:45:33,580 --> 00:45:36,500 The question, I suppose, is I'll draw to 825 00:45:36,500 --> 00:45:37,120 a close here. 826 00:45:37,820 --> 00:45:41,040 In the light of all this, what will 827 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:41,860 your answer be? 828 00:45:41,860 --> 00:45:44,560 Will we say, as we understand the truth 829 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:48,920 coming freshly to us, be it unto me 830 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:52,020 according to your word. 831 00:45:54,620 --> 00:45:57,040 How does a hymn writer put it? 832 00:45:57,100 --> 00:46:01,280 He says, cast out my sin and enter 833 00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:01,680 in. 834 00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:05,580 Be born in me today. 835 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:09,080 There'll be a lot of people singing those 836 00:46:09,080 --> 00:46:11,240 lines, but do we really know? 837 00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:14,760 The Apostle Peter said this in his epistle. 838 00:46:15,160 --> 00:46:18,400 He said, what sort of people ought you 839 00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:22,520 to be in holy conduct and godliness? 840 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:29,620 Charles Wesley says, O glorious sound of gospel 841 00:46:29,620 --> 00:46:33,640 grace, Christ shall in me appear. 842 00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:37,200 There's more to that that's wonderful. 843 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:43,040 I think only on the basis of this 844 00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:47,080 kind of response to this great core truth 845 00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:49,780 of the gospel will there be any hope 846 00:46:49,780 --> 00:46:52,920 that the people you and I interact with 847 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:57,580 daily will be inclined to say this is 848 00:46:57,580 --> 00:46:59,860 a holy man of God, a holy woman 849 00:46:59,860 --> 00:47:03,200 of God that passes by us continually. 850 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:07,020 Let's pray.