It's been the desire of our pastoral staff that we'd be very simple today. That was the goal of Ed and I would talk, and Stanley and I needed an office before we came in. That was our prayer. Our teeth are simple. And so even this morning's message, where the very gist of it is, just a simple definition of what Christmas is, that Christmas is God, fitting for the Son, to die, to die for sinners. Well, tonight is no different in that it simply is, as you'll see the title for the homily, the Christmas story, according to Jesus Christ. I'm indebted to James Montgomery Boy, chapter 3 wrote out of a book by the same title. Really since coming here, I've found a new law for boys, a lot of you, particularly some of my leadership, just really loved that man who died this last year in June. But again, it tribute to him some 60 books that he wrote as I'm discovering them and some of the chapters. I'm just enjoying them very, very much. But let me ask you the question of the actual title of the homily. If you've ever heard the Christmas story, according to Jesus Christ, we're not asking if you've heard the Christmas story, according to the gospel of Luke, Luke's version, not asking if you've heard the version of Matthew or John, but have you read the Christmas story that came from the very lips of our Savior himself because, after all, that's what we want, is it not? We want his version. Mary, we know Mary's version would have something to do with the visit of the angels. She would talk about her trip to Elizabeth. She would talk possibly about the birth itself and the vivid of the shepherd, and the shepherd would have their version. They could tell us more about those shining creatures that lit up that Palestinian sky, more than, perhaps, anybody else could. And then there was Joseph. Joseph would have his version of the story, but we want to know Jesus' version. What is Jesus? What would be his version of why he was born? What's the reason for the birth? And that account is found in a very strange place in the Bible and it's found in the psalms. Psalm 40. And Psalm 40 is quoted in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 5 and 7, which Stanley just read in a moment ago, which is a prayer of sorts, a prayer by Christ himself, verse 5, and you have it written for you there in the Word of the Lord and the Order of worship. Therefore when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. And by offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. Then I said, here's the story according to Jesus, behold, I have come. And we would say, why, Jesus, tell us why, it's like it on the edge of our feet because behold, this is the Lord of Lord, the King of kings who came from glory to take on human flesh in the form of a baby, in the form of a man, and we want to sit up and say, tell us why. What is your reason for the birth? And he said, in the volume of the book, it is written of me, to do your will, oh God. The first thing I want you to notice, and this is really the emphasis of the text, is that Jesus came into this world with a purpose. The purpose, namely, was to do the will of the Father. What was the will of the Father, the will of the Father, was that he be our Savior, that he be our Savior from sin to God for us. Somehow we often miss that in our retelling of the Christmas story. In our version of the Christmas story, we so often focus on the birth, and then he say, what is Christmas? Of course, we're going to emphasize the birth of Christ, but do you know in the scriptures, the birth of Christ is treated quite simply. And the emphasis of scripture with regard to the Christmas story is always on the fact that he came to die, and that should be our emphasis at Christmas, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the living God, took a human body to what purpose, to what end, that he might die, a death that you and I deserve to die, for the purpose is to provide salvation. To be our Savior, sometimes best to hang up for many unbelievers to save you from war. I don't need to be saved for anything, but you do, your sin, and he came to forgive you for your sins, so that you might have access to the Father, but you might have a relationship with your Creator. If you miss that, you miss the whole meaning of Christmas, so Jesus came not only with a sense of purpose, but he came with a knowledge that he was the only one who could fulfill the purpose. Only Jesus was perfectly suited to carry out the purpose, how do I know that? Besides the fact that that is the very truth of the gospel message, I know it because in the same way you know it, there's only one Lamb of God, there's only one spotless Lamb of God without limits only one eternal Son of God, there's only one suitable sacrifice, there's only one acceptable sacrifice, and it's Christ, the Christ child, the servant king, the God man, as man he could die, to die on the cross, as God, he pays for our sins. Only he could do that, no one else could pay that price, to pay the penalty for sins, but God himself, Harry Ironside used to tell the story of a young man who was a soldier in the Russian army, but this wasn't just any young soldier in the Russian army because this man's father was a friend of the Zor, Nicholas the First, and so therefore, as you might expect, this young man was given some special treatments, particularly in the responsibility that he was given. He was given the duty of paymaster in his barracks, he was his responsibility to make sure the right amount of money was distributed to the soldiers there in the barracks. This young man's character was not up to his responsibility, took up gambling, he eventually lost everything that was his own wealth, his own money, and lost most of what he had of the government's money. It came a day when the young man received notice that a representative of the Zor was going to come and check accounts and he knew that he was in big trouble. So we got out the book and he said just how much trouble he was in, he told all of them, the amount that he owed, the amount that he had borrowed, he might say, he panically would panch ran to the safe to see what was there, was amazed to see how little was there. This young soldier had on the one hand this huge, this large amount of money that's deaf, that he owed the Zor, and on the other hand, virtually nothing with which to pay it back. He was devastated, he was doomed, disgraced, and he determined he was going to take his own line. So he took his revolver and he placed it there on the table and he wrote out a summation of the misconduct that he had performed and at the bottom of the ledger where he had told it up his illegal borrowing, he wrote these words of great debt who can pay. He determined to destroy the midnight, he was going to kill himself. The evening drag down and he was pacing the floor, he went to his bunk, he actually fell asleep there, a restless sleep there on his bunk and that night the Zor himself came to make rounds of this particular barracks and he saw the light on and he looked in and he recognized the young man asleep there on the bunk as his friend's son. He quietly went in and noticed the revolver thought it was unusual. Look at the papers, he saw the the note that the boy had written and obviously figured out what was going on and was about to go to await the young man and arrest him. When his eyes called, it was scribbled at the bottom of the ledger, a great debt who can pay. He wrote one word at the bottom of that ledger and then he slipped out. On the middle of the night the young man was awakened and cold sweat his thoughts, he got his thoughts together, remember what was going on, he remembered what he had determined to do and as he was reaching for the gun, he looked and he saw where he had scribbled the words, the great debt who can pay but he noticed the other word written there and the one word that that Zor had written under that man scribbling was his name Nicholas. He was dumbfounded, he didn't know how or understand how the word could have gotten there. He went to find a signature of the Zor and he looked and indeed he was the Zor signature. He thought, how is this happening? He came in while I was asleep and he seemed the ledger to be read to know if it's true that he's really going to forgive my debt. The next morning a messenger from the palace came in with exactly the amount needed to meet the debts. Only the Zor could pay that man's debt and only the Zor and the Zor did pay and the Zor paid with joy to do that for him. He realized of course that you and I have a major debt, a very on the one hand a very large debt that we owe God himself. So large we could never ever pay the debt ourselves. On the one hand this large moral requirement that is summed up in the law of God and not one of us can meet that debt of keeping God's law. On the other hand we have virtually nothing. We really have nothing. We offer up this potentious superficial performance. Our hands are empty. If we come to this point in our lives where we look up to heaven with our hands empty we say a great debt to you oh God who can pay. You know that's the first step in salvation. It's the first step to being saved when you reach out with empty hands and you realize what a great debt I owe my God there's no way I can pay it. And it is at that very moment that the king of all things the Lord Jesus Christ steps off the throne. It doesn't it's not that he doesn't he ceases to cease as being God. It's not that he ceases being Lord for sake of illustration he steps off the throne and into the arms of a little Jewish girl in the form of a baby. He can never say in more clear language to you I'll pay the debt. I love you so much I will die for you and pay the debt and he does it with joy which is really the third point that Jesus was delighted to do the Father's will. We know that from Psalm 22 we know it from Isaiah 53. One of my most favorite verses in all the Bible is Isaiah 53 verse 11 where it prophesies that after Christ is suffered in his soul it is as if Jesus says now I am satisfied. I like to get the picture that it did Jesus at the end of all of his suffering when it's all set and done it's as if in the heaven itself Christ takes a deep breath and it says I'm satisfied. That's love brethren. That is the most unselfish sacrificial amazing love that our God the Lord Jesus the second person the God had would leave the glory of heaven and come to earth and lay aside all the privileges that were here at the eternal Son of God every collogative that was here and take on this flesh that he himself created and he would actually become like me a man in the flesh poor suffering so that he might die it's a very purpose of his coming that he might hang on a tray and suffer to pay for my sins to die the death of a sinner the death of an able to of all things our Lord and yet he did it with joy. There are so many times so often when we have a certain task that only we can do and often we either don't do it and we do it reluctantly how many times that we say well I guess I'll do it if I have to if you can't find somebody else call me I guess I'll do it sometimes we even did that with the church don't we Jesus would never do that he didn't do it in the church he did he would never do that or his bride the church he was delighted to do the will of the Father it was his meat it was his food it's sustenance what to do the will of his father and because he did the will the father would joy you're sitting here tonight just because of what he did that you gathered here tonight to celebrate to sit under preaching of his word to have this meal it is his joy to bring the sons and daughters of God into glory it's no wonder that those angels were joyful when they announced the coming of the ones who was to be the Savior and so should we be joyful tonight Christmas Eve 2000 all is calm and all is bright it doesn't matter what your lot is in life it doesn't matter what way you find yourself tonight what a matter of stress or struggles doesn't matter how hard the year has been at this point you look back it doesn't matter whatever your loneliness whatever your trials whatever laws you have suffered this year all is calm and all is bright not because of the presence tonight not because of the lightheartedness of the evening the Christmas spirit in the air all is calm and all is bright simply because your Savior can say I am satisfied and you think back over this year and you think of the loss of a loved one the struggles and the pain and the sicknesses and the heartache
all is calm and all is bright and you can walk out of here tonight with joy in your heart you can walk out of here and take in for yourself it's cold air the crisp air and take it into your lungs and breathe it out and say I am satisfied but you can only do it if you have Christ you can only do that if you know him as your Lord and Savior if you know and you trust him that he died for you that he came to die for you with joy and take away your sin so that you can have the relationship with him it's only them that you can be content with whatever the fault you this Christmas story according to Jesus is very much alive it is hurt it is not a fatal it's not a myth it's not simply some historical event that happened two thousand years ago and because it is true if you are a believer you can rejoice in your Savior coming in the form of a man a servant no less a slave and you can come your welcome to this table tonight where you can find nourishment and refreshment for yourself if you are a tenant of your sins you may come if you know in your heart of heart that you are endeavoring to live a life that becomes a follower of Jesus Christ you may come if you do not please refrain please refrain if you're not involved in some public sin which you've not repented then come if you're visiting with us when I say those words and please refrain I don't want you to be necessarily I don't have the spirit moving that way I guess I do but you don't need to be taken back we don't think this is a present hearing table that's not why I say that but we do believe it is the Lord's table and he senses the table he puts a sense around it only believers so we would with great honor and privilege serve you the supper tonight as well we simply ask that you be a member in good standing meaning you're accountable to an evangelical church which means you belong to a church that teaches that the Bible is our only rule of faith and practice our only authority that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man and its salvation is by faith alone particularly those three areas our hymn of preparation I think though or you might not see the