Jesus: The Word of Ultimate Revelation

[0:01] Well, welcome everybody to our Carols by Candlelight service tonight. A particular welcome if you're here for the first time. We're delighted that you're able to join us for this great celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, God's ultimate word of revelation to humankind.

[0:18] We're going to begin tonight by singing one of the oldest and most beautiful of all the carols. It's 1,600 years old and it speaks of the story of Christmas beginning before even the dawn of time, before creation in the love of God himself.

[0:34] And that's where we begin our service this evening. Of the Father's love begotten, ere the worlds began to be, he is Alpha and Omega, he the source, the ending he.

[0:53] For the одном and nokia, he is Alpha and Omega, with God's glory in the world. Give us the aree the ones who thank you for taking him for the first time.

[1:09] To see your spirit is a way to go deliver and receive the Lord. There are three four sh으al seeds of this evening.

[1:19] Amen. The world of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the world of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the world of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of heaven, and the magnitude of praise, by the holy of the King, the Lord of the King, the glory of the King, and the magnitude of praise, by the Holy of the King,

[4:03] For the glory and the glory And eternal day of the day Evermore and evermore And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

[4:35] And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, Because I was naked, and I hid myself.

[4:53] He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.

[5:07] Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field.

[5:26] On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.

[5:38] He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.

[5:49] Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

[6:03] He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

[6:13] The wonder of Christmas is that it tells us how that terrible estrangement from God, that isolation from our true identity as human beings, the thing signified by that flaming sword keeping man out of God's presence, it tells us how that is overcome.

[6:34] Not by us, we haven't got the power to do it, but by God himself in sending Jesus Christ into the world. So that now, you see, the angels have a new role, not any longer barring the way to God, but proclaiming instead the good news that at last there can be peace and goodwill from heaven, from God, towards human beings.

[6:56] It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold. It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, all the angels sing.

[7:29] The Lord's name is that great, that glorious song of old, from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold. It came upon the earth to give the angels a name of gold.

[7:41] From heaven, O great and king, the glory of God, and the glory of God, the glory of God, and the glory of God, and the glory of God, and the glory of God, to hear the angels sing.

[7:55] Chal pred colocar. Then fear stadia sing. It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, Amen.

[8:53] Amen. Amen.

[9:53] Amen. Amen.

[10:41] Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned.

[10:52] For she hath received of the Lord's hand, double for all her sins. The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

[11:03] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

[11:18] O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God.

[11:31] Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.

[11:42] He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.

[11:56] The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.

[12:11] And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Those are words from Isaiah the prophet, speaking hundreds and hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ, and telling us about God's promise not to forget his people, despite all their waywardness, despite all their rejection and rebellion against him, but telling of the wonderful promise of a coming one who would be Emmanuel, God with us.

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[14:17] Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer Prayer is so Thank you.

[15:41] Thank you.

[16:11] Thank you.

[16:41] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[16:53] Thank you.

[17:25] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[17:37] Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Amen.

[18:41] Amen. Amen.

[19:41] Amen. Amen.

[20:41] Amen. Amen.

[21:41] Amen. The promise had been for God himself to be with us.

[22:17] And in the birth of Jesus Christ, he who was truly God became truly man. He really did come to be with us and to be one of us. Jesus, our Emmanuel.

[22:29] And he did so for a purpose. Mild he lays his glory by. Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth. Born to give them second birth.

[22:41] Amen. sales goes lead. Center is tremendous.

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[24:00] If I affirm the快وقied Thank you.

[24:34] Thank you.

[25:04] Thank you. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

[25:34] This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria and all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

[26:00] And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

[26:14] Our God, heaven cannot hold him nor earth sustain. Heaven and earth will flee away when he comes to reign. And yet, in the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed, the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

[26:30] Heaven and earth will flee back, My children are delivered, and only field, but not only field, because there's no location in the innit.

[26:51] Pray worship, look in repentance,onas,inks,es, bisgestellt, God.

[27:15] Amen. Gather and love lead away when He comes today.

[27:55] Give a beat in His hand and lay the place of life. Lord, Lord Almighty, Jesus Christ.

[28:16] We will love our angels, We are gathered there, Cherit till the gospel from every area.

[28:37] Thumbling, our holy, never in explicar, where the king of thee prince will give away.

[28:57] All that I give You to me am I will give my told world living love Till I bear a voice and I will hear my voice And I will hear my voice He is my heart And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

[29:52] And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

[30:07] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

[30:23] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

[30:33] And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

[30:49] And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

[31:03] And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

[31:27] Angels from the realms of glory, wing your flight o'er all the earth. Ye who sang creation's story, now proclaim Messiah's birth, as they did, singing glory to God in the highest, Gloria in excelsis Deo.

[31:40] Shepherds, H� Trevor, Come forever.

[32:28] Gloria, He al sends himune databr bird itselfke where he left good and mighty awards before you're full of my divine come when this town is now inviting God bless you.

[33:24] God bless you.

[33:54] God bless you.

[34:24] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[34:38] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.

[34:56] God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[35:08] when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple.

[36:06] And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

[36:38] That reading tells us something of the extraordinary joy shared by many, many faithful Israelites who have been yearning and longing, longing for the fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken.

[36:49] All down through the ages, through the darkness of human history, the promise had glimmered brightly nonetheless. God's unique covenant word of hope that he had revealed through the Hebrew prophets to that privileged people. But the message of Christmas, as we've heard, is that the birth of Jesus Christ meant that the yearning was over, that all that was promised had now come. And that's why the Christmas message is one of rejoicing and great joy.

[37:19] Good Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice. Let the text moon著 you in the peace.

[37:34] Sure. Christ. Great King. Great King. Great King. Great King. Great King. Great King. Just want to sing.

[37:46] Thank you. Jesus Christ. woman re-mandered by. God will have the holy God to live in the faith in God.

[37:59] Christ is born today, Christ is born today. His surrender joy, the power to the Lord.

[38:15] God will hear all that will sing. Joy, joy, Jesus Christ is born today. He has owned the earth before, God is there forevermore.

[38:33] Christ is born today, Christ is born today. His surrender joy, the power to the Lord.

[38:50] God will hear the name, Jesus Christ is born today. Christ is born today, Christ is born today.

[39:03] The name is ever after the Lord. Christ is born today, Christ is born today.

[39:14] The good news that we've been rejoicing about in these carols isn't just the story of Christmas, but it's about the message of Christmas, the good news from God for all people, people then and people now.

[39:33] And it's been the Church's message from the beginning, it's still the same message today. It's never been the story of Christmas on its own, however enchanting and lovely it is. It's never been that that makes people want to sing.

[39:45] All the wonderful, lovely carols that we sing at this time of year were written by people who understood what that story means, who understood that in the birth of this child, God has ultimately and forever revealed himself to us.

[40:03] Our last reading is the first few words from the letter to the Hebrews. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

[40:16] But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. By His Son whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom He also created the world.

[40:29] He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature. And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High, having become as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

[40:52] Of the angels, God says, He makes the angels winds and His ministers a flame of fire. But of the sun, He says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

[41:07] The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. Before I talk to you just a little about this message of Christmas, we're going to sing one of the simplest but perhaps best loved of all the carols.

[41:22] One verse says this, Son of God, O how bright! Love is smiling from Thy face. Strikes for us now the hour of grace, Saviour, since Thou art born.

[41:34] eigentlicheaff Ts There for His faithful will Father, God, we love and care Sheep, earth, we have Sheep, earth, we have Still the night, holy the night

[42:43] Shepherds first saw the light Earthly, loudly, clear and long Far and near the angels' song Christ the Redeemer is here Christ the Redeemer is here Still the night, holy the night Shepherds first saw the light Love is high in all thy days

[43:47] Thine, the love, the hour of grace Thine, the love, the hour of grace Thine, the love, the hour of grace The true God, friends, is not a silent God He's a God who has spoken Not a God who is hidden to be searched for But a God who has revealed Himself and made Himself known to us And the message of Christmas is that in Jesus Christ God has spoken His ultimate word to mankind I want us just to think for a little about that tonight And in particular these verses of that last reading from Hebrews That speak about God's word of ultimate revelation to human beings

[44:47] They tell us something very important, you see They tell us that Jesus Christ is the answer To all the deepest yearnings of the human heart I want to think about three ways these verses tell us That God has spoken to humankind First, God has spoken universally to our human spirits And the evidence for that is in the universal yearning In the human spirit for fulfillment Long ago, at many times, and in many ways God spoke Elsewhere, St. Paul says God's invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature Have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world In the things that have been made But of course he goes on to say that human beings In their desire for autonomy, for self-determination That we have suppressed this truth That we've tried to ignore God And yet the fact is that

[45:49] We can't suppress the truth completely And that simple fact, friends, is what explains The reality of our lives And only that fact does We've rebelled against God's authority That's what the Bible means by sin, by the way Rebellion against God's rule But even so, human beings do not cease to be destined for the God who made us We still have a great desire to suppress that truth To escape thoughts of God And yet at the same time, it's true, isn't it?

[46:21] That we long for the peace that only God can truly give us And that means that we live with an unavoidable conflict Within our human spirit C.S. Lewis, the writer, called it the inconsolable longing That's been part of the human experience since the very beginning Human beings long for more We yearn, don't we, for fulfillment Not even the greatest things in this world are really capable of satisfying our hearts We always feel there must be more Something more to life than this And we live with that sense of homelessness Yet in a way we have a keen sense of what home really is And we yearn for it Listen to how C.S. Lewis expresses it There have been times, he says, when I think we don't desire heaven But more often I find myself wondering if in our heart of hearts We've ever desired anything else Are not all lifelong friendships born at the moment When at last you meet another human being Who has some inkling of the something that you were born desiring

[47:25] Of which beneath the flux of other desires And in all the momentary silences between the louder passions Night and day, year by year, from childhood to old age You have been looking for, watching for, listening for You've never had it All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul Have been but hints of it Tantalizing glimpses Promises never quite fulfilled Echoes that died away just as they caught your ear But if it should really become manifest If there ever came an echo that did not die away But swelled into the sound itself You would know it Beyond all possibility of doubt You would say, here at last Is the thing I was made for We can't tell each other about it The secret signature of each soul The incommunicable and unappeasable want The thing we desired before meeting our wives Or our friends Or choosing our work And will still desire on our deathbeds When our mind no longer knows

[48:25] Wife or friend or work All your life, he says An unobtainable ecstasy Has hovered just beyond the grasp of your consciousness Now Lewis sensed this longing deep within his own soul A desire for a far off country For a true home that his heart longed for That's what set him out Seeking for answers Which ultimately he found In the Lord Jesus Christ If you've read or seen the films of his wonderful stories of Narnia You'll know that those stories express that longing for a better world Perhaps better than anything else on this earth But it's simply evidence, isn't it Of what the Bible tells us very, very plainly God, says the wisdom teacher Has put eternity into man's heart Yet so that he cannot find out What God has done from the beginning to the end That is, the longing is unavoidably there, isn't it?

[49:22] But the answer And it's just not within our power to grasp Listen to C.S. Lewis again I'm trying to rip open, he says The inconsolable secret in each of you The secret which hurts so much That you take your revenge on it By calling it names Like nostalgia Or romanticism And adolescence The secret we cannot hide And cannot tell That we desire to do both We cannot tell it Because it's a desire for something That has never actually appeared in our experience We cannot hide it Because our experience is constantly suggesting it And we betray ourselves like lovers At the mention of a name We want to cheat, he says We want to just call it beauty And think that we can find it But no He goes on and says this The books or the music in which we thought The beauty was located Will betray us if we trust to them It wasn't in them It only came through them And what came through them

[50:23] Was longing These things The beauty The memory of our own past They are good images Of what we really desire But if they are mistaken For the thing itself They turn to dumb idols Breaking the hearts Of their worshippers For they are not the thing itself They are only the scent Of a flower we have not found The echo of a tune We haven't heard News from a country Far away That we have never visited Well isn't that true?

[50:52] Don't you know something of that Deep down That inconsolable longing? Of course as C.S. Lewis Rightly points out Almost our whole education He says has been directed To silencing this shy Persistent inner voice Almost all our modern philosophies Have been devised To convince us That the good of man Is to be found on this earth Well that's certainly true Isn't it?

[51:17] That's a crusade That people like Richard Dawkins And others are on To silence Even the questionings Of the human heart Don't even allow These questions to be asked He says That's his battle cry Silence them Suppress them In schools If children even ask Not a very liberal Or scientific approach Really is it?

[51:38] But C.S. Lewis Has an answer To Professor Dawkins How could He says An idiotic universe The universe of blind chance That Dr. Dawkins Wants us to believe in How could it have Produced creatures Whose mere dreams Are so much stronger Better and subtler Than itself Do fish complain About the sea For being wet?

[52:01] Or if they did Would that fact in itself Not strongly suggest That they had not Always been Or would not always Be aquatic creatures? If you really are The product Of a materialistic universe How is it That you don't Feel at home there?

[52:18] That's a very important Question isn't it? He goes on Do what they will then We remain conscious Of a desire Which no natural Happiness will satisfy Now you might object And you might say Well Why should we suppose That just because We have a desire There will be a Satisfaction of it?

[52:38] Does being hungry For example Prove that we are Going to find bread? Well C.S. Lewis Just says that Misses the point A man's physical hunger He says Doesn't prove that A man will get bread He might die of starvation On a raft In the Atlantic Ocean But surely A man's hunger Does prove That he comes from A race which Repairs its body By eating And inhabits a world Where eatable Substances exist In the same way He says Though I don't believe That my desire For paradise Proves that I shall Enjoy it I think it's a pretty Good indication That something like That exists And some people will A man may love A woman But not win her But it would be Very odd If the phenomenon Called falling in love Occurred in a Sickless world You see There is a deep Yearning In the human heart And for good reasons This sense That in this universe We are treated As strangers This longing To be acknowledged To meet with Some response To bridge some Chasm

[53:38] That yawns Between us And reality It's part Of our Inconsolable secret Yes All through Human history Many times And in many ways God spoke God has set Eternity in our hearts And the evidence For it Is so strong In the universal Yearning In the human spirit For fulfillment And our human history Proves that You'll find Those longings Expressed From the very Earliest times From the most Primitive tribes Right through To the heights Of the Greek myths And the Roman poets And everywhere else Besides And we shouldn't We shouldn't be Surprised by that Because God Has spoken Universally To the human race And these things Are all what What C.S. Lewis In another place Calls good dreams The dim premonitions The shadows of reality That God has scattered Abundantly Throughout this world And you know Even A vowed atheist

[54:40] Cannot shake off That unsatisfied Longing for contentment For a real sense Of meaning to life Listen to this quote It's odd isn't it I care passionately For this world And many things And people in it And yet What is it all for There must be Something more important One feels Though I don't believe There is That's Bertrand Russell Perhaps one of the most Famous atheists Of them all Even he betrays The inconsolable Seekers In his own heart Listen to Albert Camus The French existentialist And atheist For anyone Who is alone He says Without God And without a master The wait of days Is dreadful Dreadful Because Even atheists Can't escape The inconsolable longing And the more They try to suppress it The greater the tension In their life is Because it cannot Be overcome We are made Above all To desire God

[55:40] One more quote From C.S. Lewis Creatures are not Born with desires He says Unless satisfaction For these desires Exists A baby feels hunger Well There is such a thing As food A duckling Wants to swim Well There is such a thing As water Men feel sexual desire Well There is such a thing As sex If I find Within myself A desire Which no experience In this world Can satisfy The most probable Explanation Is that I was Made for another World God has spoken Universally To the human Spirit In the beginning Of creation At many times And in many ways God spoke And the evidence Friends Is right there In our hearts In yours And in mine In the longings In the yearnings For more For fulfillment God has set Eternity In our hearts And we can't Dislodge this

[56:40] Longing for the eternal Even Bertrand Russell Can't help saying There must be Something more Important One feels But where can it Be found Brings me to The second thing These verses say That God has Spoken Uniquely In the Hebrew Scriptures God spoke to Our fathers By the prophets Says verse 1 God spoke More than just Universally The Bible you see Is God's unique Revelation His special Revelation Of himself And it's needed Because of Humankind's Rebellion And suppression Of the truth Of his universal Revelation And that's the Story of humanity St. Paul says this In Romans chapter 1 For although they Knew God They did not Honor him as God Or give thanks to him But they became Futile in their thinking They turned their Backs On the creator And yet the God Of eternity

[57:40] Who made Humankind For himself He didn't turn His back On the humanity He had made Even when they Rebelled against him And turned their Back on him He didn't Aband us Utterly And the whole Bible Is the story Of a God Who speaks To woo back To himself The people That he'd made See the Bible Isn't a random Collection of Religious texts Like other Religious books Are It's God's Story Has a beginning With creation It has an end In the book Of Revelation And in between Is the unfolding Story of God's Plan of redemption So all the way Back in Genesis Chapter 11 We read that God carefully Lays aside All the nations Of the world For a time And he calls Out from them One nation One people To be his Messengers To all the rest Of the world To bear his Great tidings Of salvation He chose Abraham And Isaac And Jacob And through them The nation Of Israel To shine his Light to the world

[58:40] And he gave Them a unique Revelation of himself Way beyond the Universal revelation To man He gave them Words Words of total Clarity Words revealing His goodness And his ways And his commands And his desires For how human Beings should live How societies Should be formed Yet he also Revealed to them A dark side He showed them The terrible horror Of what rebellion Against God Really is What sin Really means And he showed Them the absolute Impossibility Of man ever Being able to Put himself Right with God That's what all The sacrifices Meant in the Old Testament No sacrifice Could ever Finally put People right With God They had to Be repeated Endlessly Year in Year out And in Themselves That showed Them that Nothing that They could Ever do Would ever Suffice They had to Trust in God's promise Right from The beginning That one day

[59:42] He would at Last intervene Himself to Reverse the Terrible curse Of sin And all Through the Story of God's people The prophets Kept bewailing Their sin And their rebellion They kept Longing and Looking for The ultimate Answer Longing for The one Who was Promised from The beginning That we read Of in our Readings The seed of The woman Who would Defeat the Great serpent The devil Himself The son of David who Would be Born in Bethlehem The human Child of Isaiah's Prophecy Who would Amazingly be Called Emmanuel God With us The wonderful Counselor The mighty God The prince Of peace That was The message That God Revealed That he Spoke Uniquely In the Hebrew Scriptures And so It was For many Generations For hundreds Of years Men and Women of Faith Were waiting Longing Yearning For the Day When all Things would Be fulfilled Men like Old Simeon That we

[60:42] Read of Who was Righteous And devout Who was Waiting For the Consolation Of Israel For the Promise of God For the Word that God had Spoken To our Fathers By the Prophets And in The birth Of Jesus Christ And in His life And in His death And in His resurrection That answer At last Has come And that's The final Thing that These verses Tell us God has Spoken Ultimately In his Son In these Last days He has Spoken to Us by His Son He is The Radiance Of the Glory Of God The exact Imprint Of his Nature The coming Of Jesus You see It's not Just the Answer to All the Longings Of the Hebrew Prophets It's the Answer to All the Deepest Yearnings Of the Human Heart He is The answer He's the Answer to Poor Bertrand Russell's Question If only he Could have Known it

[61:42] What's it All for There must Be something More One feels Yes there Is something More Jesus Christ Is the Answer He's the Ultimate word Of God's Revelation Jesus is the Answer to all The great Questions Who is God What's he Really like What's it All for Who am I Made for Why am I Here Because he Is the God of Glory Who made Us He's the Radiance Of the Glory of God He's the Lord who Made us In order To love Him And for Us to Find rest And peace And belonging And meaning And significance In relationship With him With him Who is the Exact imprint Of God's Nature You see That means That there's Nothing but Nothing Ungodlike In Jesus Christ It also Means that There's Nothing but Nothing Ungesus Like In the True God

[62:43] You see That means There's Nothing dark Or Mysterious Or hidden Nothing Chilling About the God who Made heaven And earth There's no Need to be Fearful None at All that The true God Could somehow Be like The God Of the Fanatics And the Terrorists The God Of suicide Bombs The God Of machine Guns No He's the God Whose glory Is radiated Exactly In the Person of Jesus Christ If you Hear his Words If you See his Works Then you Have seen And heard Your maker Nor is he A God Who will Disappoint Us When you Find him You will Not find Him To be Far less Than you Had dared Hope That he Would be Simeon Knew that Didn't He He saw Even Even in That little Baby In his Arms In the Temple Just a Matter of Days Old He saw The face

[63:43] That was The answer To all The yearnings Of his Life That's That's Why he Said Now Lord You're Letting Your Servant Depart In Peace For My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation There's Nothing Disappointing In this God And Nor Friends Is he A God Who will Reject You However Dark And wicked And wrong Your life Has been Yes he Is Emphatically The holy One One who Can't Look Upon Sin The one Who said Himself That he Will judge This earth With justice There is No refuge From his Justice But the Ultimate Word That he Has spoken To us In Jesus Christ Is a Revelation Of salvation You shall Call his Name Jesus Said the Angel For he Shall Save His People From their Sins And in Doing so And in Only By doing So Can he Satisfy That Inconsolable

[64:44] Longing That Unappeasable Want That is In every Single Human Heart And that Will be In every Single Human Heart Until That Heart Finds Its Rest And Its True Home In the One who We were Made For One last Word from C.S.

[65:01] Lewis Our Lifelong Nostalgia He says Our Longing To be Reunited With Something In the Universe From which We now Feel Cut Off To be On the Inside Of some Door Which we've Always Seen The Outside Is No Neurotic Fantasy It's The Truest Index Of our Real Situation At Present We are On the Outside Of the True World On the Wrong Side Of the Door For But all The Leaves Of the New Testament Are Rustling With The Rumor That It Will Not Always Be So Someday God Willing We Shall Get In And to Be at Last Summoned Inside Would be Both Glory And Honor Beyond Our Merits And Also The Healing Of That Age Old Lake Friends That Is The Message Of Christmas In These Last Days He Has Spoken To Us In His Son God's

[66:01] Ultimate Word Of Revelation And It's A Word Of Summons It's A Word That Says Come Inside Find In Jesus Christ The Answer To The Deepest Yearnings Of The Human Heart Whatever You Do This Christmas Please Don't Fail To Respond To Jesus Don't Fail To Respond To God's Ultimate Word To Mankind Because I can Tell You It Is He And He Alone Who Will Answer The Deepest Longing Of Your Heart Let's Pray O Come All You Faithful Joyful And Triumphant Come Come To Bethlehem Come And Behold Him Born The King Of Angels O Come Let Us Adore Him Christ The Lord Lord Grant That To Be

[67:01] The Response Of All Of Our Hearts This Christmas To Your Gracious And Great Word Of Ultimate Revelation To Us Through Jesus Christ Our Lord Amen We sing Together Our Final Carol Let Us Adore Him God Paul precisa Stars Oh God Do I To To God Do分 O come ye to heaven with thee.

[67:51] Come and be on him, for the free of me. O come and be on him.

[68:04] O come and be on him. O come and be on him. Helping life for us.

[68:19] Son of honor. Life on high. Glory of take to earth.

[68:34] Thank you.

[69:04] Thank you.

[69:34] Thank you.

[70:04] Thank you. Thank you.

[71:04] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[71:16] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[71:30] Thank you. Thank you. Amen.