Fighting for Purpose.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village [0:14] Church. [0:15] As always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:19] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to John chapter one.

[0:22] We’re going to be starting in verse one this morning. [0:25] There is a quote that is attributed to Mark Twain. [0:29] Now, I’ll be honest, I spent way too much time over the past few weeks trying to confirm [0:34] whether or not it was actually Mark Twain that said this. [0:36] Still a little in the dark on that, but it’s attributed to Mark Twain that the two most [0:40] important days in your life are the day that you are born and the day that you find out

[0:46] why. [0:48] Now, I guess that is an objectively true statement as far as your answer to the latter is correct. [0:55] But the problem with reducing the two most important days of your life to that kind [1:02] of idea is the fallibility of human thought. [1:06] It’s a frightening proposal, if you think about it, that you could be wrong. [1:11] That there could be a day that there’s an event in your life where you have, you know,

[1:15] what some refer to as an epiphany and philosophy. [1:18] It’s called a Copernican shift where you’re like, this is the purpose for which I was [1:24] born. [1:24] Now, you could be right or you could be really wrong and then that just will ruin everything. [1:32] And so when we think about such an idea or such a thought, we have to ask ourselves, [1:38] is there a way that I can ensure that I do not answer that latter question wrong?

[1:46] Now you can’t control your birthday. [1:48] You were born the day that you were born. [1:49] You have no control over that. [1:50] But the fact is you do have an incredible choice, whereas landing on the why of your [1:58] existence is concerned. [2:00] Now, what does this have to do with Christmas?

[2:01] I guess that’s a good question. [2:03] If we’re going to fight for Christmas to have meaning in the world, if we’re going to fight [2:07] for Christmas to have meaning in our lives, we do have to drill down on something very [2:13] important. [2:14] And I believe that the very important thing is purpose. [2:17] The purpose of Christmas is vital for the celebration of Christmas.

[2:22] We have anything to celebrate because of the purpose of Christ’s birth, which goes beyond [2:30] the event of Christ’s birth. [2:32] It is not just that Christ was born. [2:35] It is the purpose for which Christ was born that actually gives us something to celebrate. [2:41] And the purpose for his birth is the most critical event in giving meaning, not just [2:47] to your life, but to everything.

[2:50] Everything in this world, everything in existence, everything about everyone’s lives really does [2:57] hinge on the purpose for which Christ was born. [3:02] It’s so important that without Christmas, fact is I believe that the answer to why you [3:09] were born would be unknowable because anything that would say that the birth of Christ doesn’t [3:15] have the ultimate purpose in life would send you somewhere that couldn’t necessarily be [3:21] known to be eternal.

[3:23] We live in an era where meaning is up for grabs, where objectivity is not necessarily [3:30] what dictates people’s lives. [3:32] They don’t anchor down to meaning. [3:34] Rather, we live in an era where the most important thing that many people think factors into [3:39] lives is how do you feel about meaning? [3:42] How do you feel about purpose?

[3:44] How do you feel about truth? [3:46] You’re pointed in many different directions as to how to live a life of meaning and what [3:51] you must do in order to have a life of meaning. [3:55] The key is that even within the Christian church, you are instructed to do and think [4:01] about meaning. [4:02] Oftentimes, I believe in wrong ways.

[4:05] There are many good things that you should do because of the purpose for which you exist, [4:14] but those things that you do are not the foundation of the purpose. [4:20] Now, I’m going to ask you to think a little deeper this morning. [4:22] We’re not just going to talk about the eight pound, six ounce baby Jesus, all right? [4:26] We’re going to transcend that and we’re going to go actually to the eternality of eight [4:30] pound, six ounce baby Jesus this morning.

[4:33] That when we talk about the things that we do in light of the birth of Christ, none [4:37] of those things are actually the purpose of the birth of Christ. [4:40] What I want to do is I want to fight for that purpose so that you can know. [4:44] And I want to look at what is often referred to as the Genesis point where everything must [4:50] find meaning for anything else to have purpose. [4:54] So for your actions to have purpose, there must be a bedrock truth behind those actions.

[5:01] And I believe that we must find the foundation of Christmas to understand what life is about [5:06] to begin with. [5:06] And to do that, I want to go to the eternal existence of Christ in John one. [5:13] So you start reading in John one, one, the text says in the beginning was the word and [5:19] the word was with God and the word was God. [5:22] He was the beginning.

[5:24] Excuse me. [5:25] He was in the beginning with God. [5:26] All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made in [5:33] him was life and the life was the light of men. [5:38] The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. [5:44] Now, that might sound like a Dr.

[5:46] Seuss riddle, which is one of the reasons that I like this text, because we have to [5:51] think deeply even to understand what does it mean to be the word? [5:55] What does it mean to be with God and be God? [5:57] What does it mean that nothing was made that wasn’t made through him? [6:02] And then we get to this interesting statement about him having life and his life being [6:06] the light of men and darkness seeking to overwhelm it, but darkness cannot overwhelm the light

[6:13] of Christ. [6:15] And that’s because I believe Jesus was born with a purpose to save. [6:21] So the first thing I want you to see in this text is that Jesus was born with a purpose [6:25] of redemption. [6:27] Jesus was born with a purpose of redemption. [6:31] And so if you look at Matthew one and you look at John one, what’s interesting is, is

[6:36] of all of the differences between these two gospel accounts, at least in the first chapter, [6:41] one goes through the genealogy of Christ tracing him back to King David. [6:45] John one, obviously starting with these statements about the eternality of the word or the [6:51] logos or the ultimate communication of who God is. [6:57] They both begin with a reference to Genesis one. [7:01] And that’s why the birth of Christ is often called the Genesis point, because it takes

[7:06] us back to the beginning of existence, at least for us. [7:12] Makes a statement that the word is eternal, but creation is not. [7:17] There was a point at which creation began and that point obviously was with Jesus Christ. [7:22] And in the beginning, there was Christ. [7:27] Everything that exists around you. [7:29] And when you think about this, it’s fascinating.

[7:32] Everything that exists was spoken into being by the one who would be born in that manger, [7:40] the one who became a human. [7:43] And when you think about that, the language of John chapter one is fitting. [7:48] It’s very large language, very grand language. [7:50] It’s speaking towards the identity of the one who has come into the world, who would [7:56] change all of eternity for sinners.

[8:00] And it says this baby did not begin to exist when Mary conceived miraculously, rather [8:09] this baby has always existed. [8:13] And the person of Jesus Christ, God, the son was there in Genesis chapter one when everything [8:21] began. [8:22] And he was actually the one who spoke. [8:26] That’s what it means that he is the logos.

[8:28] He gives the word. [8:29] He spoke and creation itself came into existence. [8:36] Last Sunday, we looked at the joy that we must have in the physical birth of Christ. [8:42] And that joy is rooted in what we’re talking about today, the purpose of his birth. [8:50] Friend, I’ll tell you, the only way that you can know the truth of why you were born is [8:55] to understand that God is the source of all meaning.

[8:59] And so, as I said, when it says in the beginning was the word and it uses that term a few [9:05] different times, it is a term called Logos. [9:08] That is a large term. [9:09] He’s not talking about specific words. [9:11] That would be Rima, which is also in the New Testament. [9:14] But here he is talking about an ultimate revelation of who God is.

[9:19] And that is what John is saying can be attributed to Jesus Christ. [9:22] He’s always been. [9:24] But when he came into this world, he came with a revelation of no ability where God [9:30] is concerned. [9:31] And he basically through all of his life would look and say, watch me, because you [9:35] will see the attributes of God.

[9:37] And so if you want to know God, he’s known through Jesus Christ.

[9:44] That is the fundamental, most important thing when you think about the purpose of [9:50] your life. [9:51] If you want to know purpose, I think source is pretty important. [9:56] And the source of every single one of us in this room today is not my mom. [10:02] It’s not my dad. [10:03] Biologically, their source.

[10:05] But what John one is advocating for is that source transcends creation itself. [10:11] Source goes into eternity. [10:14] Source lies with the existence of God himself. [10:19] And God chose to make himself known on Christmas through the birth of God incarnate [10:27] into this world under the most miraculous of circumstances. [10:33] Now, I don’t think it’s any secret.

[10:35] The Bible, you know, begins with God. [10:37] God is the first character. [10:39] God is the main character. [10:40] God is the one who’s speaking throughout all of scripture, even though it was written [10:46] through men. [10:47] Why would he do that?

[10:49] And then why would he go another step? [10:52] And then be born into creation through the person of Jesus Christ? [10:56] And I think the answer is in verses four and five of John, chapter one, when he says [11:03] Jesus is the ultimate communication of who God is, he came to give life, verse four [11:09] says, and then he came to dispel darkness. [11:12] Verse five says Jesus was born with the purpose of redeeming us from sin back to

[11:21] the life of God that our sin has cost us. [11:26] You see, throughout scripture, it’s an easy analogy to understand. [11:29] Sin is often referred to as darkness and light is always referred to as righteousness. [11:35] Light is what God is. [11:37] Darkness is what you’re left with with the absence of God. [11:42] But how does that play out?

[11:44] That’s why I love the gospel. [11:45] According to John, if you go a little bit further into John three and was probably [11:49] the most famous verse of all of the Bible. [11:52] And if you don’t know it, good news, I’m about to tell you.

[11:56] Jesus is an adult. [11:57] So John fast forwards a little bit. [11:59] All right. [12:00] And he gets to the adult ministry of Christ very quickly and he’s having a [12:03] conversation with a religious leader. [12:05] And here’s what Jesus says about the purpose of his life.

[12:09] He says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes [12:15] in him should not perish, but have eternal life. [12:20] God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the [12:26] world might be saved through him. [12:30] Now, John is unique of all of the four gospel accounts in the New Testament, [12:35] where John constantly points us to the whole book.

[12:38] And he doesn’t focus so much on the physical realities or almost like a biography [12:44] of Jesus’s life. [12:46] John has one thing that he wants to focus on. [12:48] John wants you to understand who is Jesus Christ and the who for John is he’s God. [12:55] He is the eternal one. [12:56] And so when he points to Jesus’s identity as God, it helps us to understand his

[13:02] mission of redemption in this world. [13:04] Why would God become part of his creation? [13:08] And that’s why John 3, 16 is such a popular verse. [13:12] It’s love. [13:14] Now, in the original language, it’s actually a little bit different than maybe your [13:19] condition to think about it, because when we read John 3, 16 and we begin, it says

[13:23] for God so loved the world. [13:25] Sometimes in our context, we kind of misconstrue that. [13:28] And we think almost like a desperate teenage love where God is in heaven. [13:32] He’s like, I just love him so much. [13:35] But the way it actually functionally reads in the original language is in this [13:40] way, God loves the world, which communicates the second half of the text

[13:46] really well. [13:47] He loved the world in a way that made him send his own son to die. [13:55] That’s an unparalleled love. [13:57] That’s a love that my human mind cannot really comprehend in our rebellion in sin. [14:06] I think about this. [14:08] God created us.

[14:10] The Old Testament is very clear to obey him.

[14:15] We didn’t. [14:17] Justice for that, which is cosmic treason on a great scale, is that God could have [14:24] justly wiped all of us out, condemned me to hell for eternity, condemned you to [14:29] hell for eternity. [14:31] And it wouldn’t have just been okay. [14:33] It would have been the thing that every one of us claims to love justice.

[14:39] It would have been justice. [14:41] I earned condemnation. [14:44] I’ve disobeyed him in so many ways. [14:49] Yet.

[14:52] What does he do?

[14:55] Says, I will send my son. [14:59] And not only does he send Jesus, he sends Jesus in this amazing, miraculous way in [15:05] which he is born with a mission to die.

[15:11] And he dies in order to take the condemnation that I deserve onto himself.

[15:20] Jesus was born with a specific reason. [15:24] That reason was to redeem you and I. [15:29] You see, purpose defines direction. [15:31] Where are you going in life? [15:33] Where are you headed? [15:34] You ever ask yourself that question?

[15:35] If you never ask yourself that question, I can tell you where you’re headed. [15:38] Not far. [15:39] All right. [15:40] So every once in a while you should take some inventory and you should say, where [15:43] am I headed in my life? [15:45] The direction of Jesus’s life.

[15:48] I want to advocate for should define the direction of your life throughout the [15:55] physical life of Jesus. [15:56] He did not live some 33 odd years for nothing. [16:01] He lived to put on display what the apex of humanity looks like. [16:07] And so if you ever ask yourself, what is the ultimate example of a human being? [16:13] It’s the word.

[16:14] It’s Jesus Christ.

[16:17] Jesus is the ultimate example of what my life should be about, what your life [16:23] should be about. [16:24] And throughout his physical life, Jesus did not keep it a secret as to why he [16:30] came into the earth. [16:31] In Luke 19, 10, he teaches and he says, the son of man came to do what? [16:37] To seek and to save the lost.

[16:40] Who is that? [16:42] That’s you. [16:44] That’s me. [16:46] I think we can sometimes forget that we are part of that. [16:51] I’ve been a Christian for most of my life. [16:54] We can become so familiar with receiving redemption that oftentimes we lose sight

[17:01] of our status before we were redeemed.

[17:07] No one is born deserving redemption. [17:10] You wouldn’t need to be redeemed if you deserved it. [17:13] The concept of redemption presumes a debt is owed. [17:19] Debt is owed from me to God because I have sinned against him and the just [17:24] deserves of my debt is condemnation. [17:28] And Jesus entered creation because of my debt.

[17:32] Without my debt, he had no mission. [17:35] And the joy of Christmas actually emerges from a reminder of the debt we owe [17:40] because of our sin against the one who became a man. [17:46] I need you to understand that sin debt cannot be paid off by sinners.

[17:52] I owe a debt to God that I can never repay. [17:56] Even in my motivations, I cannot repay it. [18:00] And if I were to attempt it, it’s a kind of debt that would take all eternity. [18:05] And then even if I think about time in infinity, [18:09] I wouldn’t even crack the principle of what I owe to God.

[18:16] Yet the judge came, became one of us, [18:24] lived the life that I am incapable of living. [18:28] And the purpose of Christmas is that Christ was born with the purpose [18:32] of paying off my debt as a substitute.

[18:39] Consider this. [18:41] Jesus, God eternal, [18:44] how awkward it must have been to wake up and you’re like, I’m a baby.

[18:49] I can only imagine that would weird.

[18:53] You don’t think about that stuff. [18:54] I see. I do.

[18:58] But Jesus lived a life being the ultimate example [19:01] of what a human being should be. [19:02] He was perfect in every way. [19:05] Perfect in action, perfect in obedience, perfect in purpose. [19:10] But think about this, too. [19:11] Jesus never did anything with an impure motive.

[19:13] I can’t even wrap my mind around what that would be. [19:15] I will tell you, I do a lot of good things for wrong reasons. [19:19] Sometimes I’m like, I’ll just show them how good of a preacher I am. [19:21] I can’t even be up here for a pure motive all the time.

[19:26] Jesus never did that. [19:28] Every word that came out of his mouth was a pure word, [19:32] complete purity on display for all to see. [19:37] And he did that. [19:39] And then the end was marked by a substitutionary death in which. [19:45] Jesus laid his life down, offering me

[19:48] his perfect righteousness while taking.

[19:53] My overwhelming sinfulness [19:56] into his own account to die a vicarious death [20:00] that I deserve to die. [20:05] And that’s why number two this morning, I need you to understand [20:07] that the gospel is the foundation for Christmas. [20:11] The gospel is the foundation for Christmas.

[20:14] Without Jesus’s mission, Christmas has no meaning. [20:18] We have to look at purpose. [20:20] Without Jesus, all is lost. [20:22] I believe that. [20:23] I believe that all of life should be formed around that reality, [20:30] that I must go to him if I am to have any hope

[20:34] as to knowing what purpose even is. [20:39] The beauty of Christmas is founded [20:42] in the coming of Jesus, and without that, I am left to root [20:46] my celebrations and something else.

[20:50] Now, yeah, I know all of us, we’re pretty good to find things [20:53] that we enjoy for a moment. [20:56] But it’s always fleeting. [20:59] It’s like spending hundreds of dollars on gifts for your children. [21:02] And then when they’re really young, they only like the cardboard.

[21:06] We are silly creatures. [21:09] But the remarkable fact of Jesus’s mission of redemption. [21:14] Is that his purpose can endure any season. [21:19] It can endure the mountaintop seasons where life is just good. [21:24] But it can also endure the valley below seasons [21:28] where I’m questioning even why I’m alive.

[21:32] And the gospel of Jesus then draws the purpose of Christmas [21:35] and connects it to the purpose of quite literally everything. [21:40] As we said, verse one begins by pointing us to that Genesis account of creation, [21:45] beginning with God, but then we go down to verse 14 of John, chapter one, [21:49] and it connects Christ’s incarnation to God’s presence [21:52] throughout the whole Old Testament.

[21:54] I love the way that John does this because he doesn’t just look at Genesis. [21:57] He then goes to the Exodus.

[22:00] And he writes, he says, the word became flesh [22:05] and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, [22:09] glory as of the only son from the father [22:12] full of grace and truth. [22:16] You see, Christmas defines the purpose of everything [22:18] that God did throughout the Old Testament.

[22:21] When the text states that the word became flesh and dwelt among us, [22:25] commentators connect the language used there to that book of Exodus. [22:29] When the word became flesh, this is the supreme communication of God. [22:34] In the same manner, the text draws us [22:38] to when Moses received direct revelation on the mountaintop. [22:42] But then it goes beyond Moses uses

[22:46] that verb in the English standard version dwelt, which means [22:51] it could also be translated that he pitched his tent or he tabernacled [22:56] among us, drawing us to that understanding that as Israel [23:00] wandered in the wilderness, they would set up the tabernacle of God [23:04] in the midst of that tabernacle was the holy of holies [23:08] in which the very presence of God dwelt.

[23:11] And what he’s saying is, is that God made his dwelling with humanity, [23:17] just like he did in the tabernacle of Exodus. But now [23:22] in the person of Jesus Christ. [23:25] This is no minor detail. [23:28] Jesus himself even makes the statement in John, Chapter eight to the Pharisees. [23:32] He says, I am that I am before Abraham was.

[23:38] I am. He’s telling those men, [23:42] you think you understand God, well, if you don’t understand me, [23:46] you will never understand him, because everything that has ever happened, [23:50] Genesis onward is about Jesus Christ.

[23:55] So you have to ask the question without faith, [23:58] what would it be that we are celebrating? [24:01] I think the celebration of Christmas finds its whole meaning, [24:05] not just in the birth. [24:07] As Ricky Bobby said, I like baby Jesus the best.

[24:12] No, it’s in the whole of his life. [24:16] He was born with a mission to give his life as a ransom for our sin. [24:22] And so when we make statements about how no one should out [24:25] celebrate Christians at Christmas, that’s what it’s anchored to. [24:29] The idea that only Christians understand the fullness of the holiday. [24:33] Christmas finds its whole meaning in the gospel of Jesus Christ,

[24:37] the entire gospel, I think Matthew one twenty one puts it plainly. [24:43] The angel speaking, saying she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, [24:48] for he will save his people from their sins.

[24:54] Or we could parallel that to John one five. [24:57] The darkness has not overcome him. [25:01] Jesus was born with the purpose of saving us from our sin. [25:05] He came with that mission. [25:07] Christmas is bound up in the love of God, giving us the mission of Jesus [25:12] to redeem people still dead in their sin.

[25:17] Through the vicarious atonement of his son. [25:21] I mean, think about that reality. [25:23] Jesus does not love me because I’m so great. [25:29] Nothing, I’m pretty great. [25:32] But God doesn’t look down from glory and say, there he is.

[25:38] I threw the mold away with that one. [25:40] That’s a good one right there. No, no. [25:45] I’m a sinner in need of grace, just like every other sinner in need of grace. [25:49] So why, excuse me, why does God love me?

[25:55] It will boggle my mind. [25:57] But the fact is, he loves me because that’s who he is. [26:02] The love of God is not wrapped up in who I am. [26:05] And I think that’s where people get the gospel so wrong. [26:10] I think we work so hard to make ourselves lovely, [26:16] whether that’s a vanity thing and it’s just the exterior.

[26:19] And you’re just like, I’m going to make myself lovely. [26:21] Everyone will look at me with the envy of everyone physically. [26:25] Which good luck with that. We’re all getting old.

[26:29] Or whether or not you just want to be the one [26:32] that is so dutiful in everything that you do, [26:35] that everyone will look to you and say, you are the example of character [26:38] and you work your whole life to make yourself lovable.

[26:44] Here’s the key. [26:46] You will never earn the love of God. [26:49] You’ll never do it. [26:51] Because the closer I get to my version of perfection, [26:58] what would it be like if Steve Gentry was perfect?

[27:03] I always find that even by my own standards, [27:08] I’m not getting that far.

[27:12] The greatest revelation that some of you could get this Christmas is. [27:16] Stop trying to make God love you [27:20] and understand that the person and work of Jesus Christ stands as a testament. [27:27] That he already does. [27:29] Not because of you. [27:32] Because that’s who he is,

[27:35] and he proves it in the gospel of Jesus Christ. [27:39] But more than that, I think that everything that we do to earn, [27:43] everything that we do is an attempt to see the face of God. [27:47] I believe that. [27:48] And whether or not you’re trying to find your satisfaction in money, [27:52] whether you’re trying to find your satisfaction in possessions,

[27:54] whether you’re trying to find the satisfaction in status or even some kind [27:58] of power or control or sex or feeling or whatever it is. [28:03] All of that is a pursuit of the face of God. [28:09] But the fact is that if I am left to myself, think about this. [28:15] I have from 1980, so when I was born to here we are in 2024. [28:20] I know it don’t look that old.

[28:22] Doing pretty well. [28:23] All right. Looking kind of young. Redhead, you know.

[28:28] But if I were to try to seek meaning in and of myself, [28:32] because you will never out inside of yourself, [28:36] find a greater concept of God than you. [28:40] And so all of that pursuit of satisfaction is nothing more than a [28:44] self-centered, self-facing pursuit of me.

[28:50] And there’s a 44 year span, [28:53] which is pretty pathetic because I can’t look outside of that 44 years [28:57] that I have right now. This is it. [29:00] And that is short when I consider the thousands of years of history.

[29:06] But Solomon says in the Book of Ecclesiastes, he says, [29:09] if you want to find meaning, you have to get over the sun. [29:13] And it perplexes some people what he means by that, because he makes a statement. [29:16] He says, you will never find anything new under the sun. [29:20] And some people are like, yeah, everything’s terrible. [29:23] Ecclesiastes is so cynical, which is true.

[29:27] But when he says that, what Solomon’s actually saying is he’s [29:31] giving you the secret to get out of cynicism.

[29:34] He’s saying meaning isn’t created. [29:38] Meaning is eternal. [29:41] And so if you’re trying to find meaning in the revelation of self, [29:45] which is so limited, you will never find eternity. [29:50] You will only find you. [29:52] But if you will get over yourself.

[29:58] And go to eternity.

[30:01] You will find in the beginning was the word. [30:06] You will find the very life of Jesus Christ. [30:11] That is the gift of the birth of Jesus. [30:16] He brought the life of God into this world [30:20] through his work of redemption. [30:24] Number three, this morning.

[30:26] The glory of Christmas doesn’t just reveal God’s purpose. [30:31] It reveals God’s purpose for you. [30:34] I believe you need more than a day. [30:38] That’s what Christmas is. [30:39] I mean, it goes by fast. [30:41] The older you get, the faster it goes by.

[30:44] It’s like, what in the world? How did it get here? [30:46] Where did it go? [30:47] By the time I’ve got the gifts unwrapped, all the wrapping papers in the garbage, [30:51] the trees coming down, the lights are coming down off of the outside of the house. [30:56] Well, on some houses. [30:58] Drive by some in July, and I’m like, they need a wellness check.

[31:02] Like I try to give them a benefit of the data. [31:05] I mean, life just got busy for that guy. All right. [31:08] But you need more than a day. [31:11] Verse four of John, Chapter one again, declares. [31:15] That Jesus has everything in himself [31:20] that sin has corrupted in my life.

[31:25] Literally says Jesus has life. [31:28] Well, sin brings death. [31:31] Text says Jesus has light.

[31:35] Sin brings nothing but darkness. [31:38] But then when he gets into verse five, I think that this is a vital text [31:43] that you cannot skip over if you want to understand the purpose of Jesus’s birth. [31:47] The verse describes Jesus’s mission, [31:50] as well as the victory of his mission. [31:54] When he says the light shines in the darkness.

[31:59] The darkness has not overcome it. [32:02] And that darkness has not overcome it part [32:06] points us to a very important day in the life of Christ, the day [32:11] where it seemed like darkness had overcome the life of Christ. [32:15] That’s what I love about syntax and grammar, where scripture is concerned, [32:19] is that these parts of scripture at the beginning of a book

[32:22] allude to something that happens later in the book. [32:27] And so pay attention to these parts. [32:29] And so what he’s saying in John one five is foreshadowing [32:33] to the cross, to the day that the light would shine so magnificently brightly. [32:40] And all of the darkness of hell [32:44] would come against the person of Jesus Christ on that cross,

[32:47] as he took sin on to himself.

[32:52] Because Jesus came into a world made dark by sin. [32:58] And made his light shine among us. [33:02] And then he died for my sin. [33:06] And it wasn’t metaphorical death, wasn’t an allegorical death. [33:11] No, Jesus physically died. Why? [33:17] In Titus, Chapter two, 14, the apostle Paul writes, and he says,

[33:20] Jesus gave himself for us [33:23] to redeem us from all lawlessness and pause right there. [33:29] How did he give himself?

[33:32] Well, the answer really encapsulates the good news of Jesus Christ. [33:36] He substituted himself on the cross [33:40] for your sin, as well as for my sin. [33:45] Jesus could take all of our sin [33:50] without ever being overcome by it. [33:53] And I don’t know about you,

[33:55] but when I think about how much sin I have, that’s a lot of sin. [34:00] But more than that, have you ever considered that? [34:03] No, Jesus cannot be overcome by sin. [34:06] But you know who can?

[34:09] Me. That’s how weak I am. [34:12] He was the perfect sacrifice, [34:16] had no sin of his own to pay for, [34:20] which is why he is the only perfect judge of sin [34:26] and could give himself over to the penalty of sin [34:30] and not be destroyed by it.

[34:34] As I said, Christmas is not enough. [34:39] Friend, for the baby to have purpose, [34:41] you need the entire life of Jesus in order to make the good news truly good. [34:48] Once you have the incarnation, [34:50] this theological word that means God became a man, [34:54] then you add to it his perfect life,

[34:58] then you add to it his sacrificial death. [35:02] But then you add to it.

[35:06] His victorious resurrection, [35:09] then and only then. [35:12] Do you have the whole gospel of Jesus Christ? [35:18] If Jesus were to be overcome by the darkness, [35:22] then he would be dead today. [35:25] And as First Corinthians 15 says, the greatest news you could ever read,

[35:30] the apostle Paul writes, and he says, but in fact, Christ has risen [35:35] from the dead. [35:37] And because of that, his light can now [35:41] define your life. [35:43] His purpose can define your purpose. [35:49] And that’s where the second half of Titus two, 14 becomes very important.

[35:55] He says, Jesus, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness.

[36:01] And I think the problem with some of your lives is that that’s where you stop. [36:06] You’re trying to sit in a static state of redeemed, but not really moving.

[36:13] Jesus redeems you [36:16] so that he can purify for himself a people [36:22] for his own possession, who are zealous for good works.

[36:30] You see. [36:32] When he rose from the dead, [36:35] that is where the rubber meets the road of faith. [36:39] Jesus, having completed his mission, has purified you by faith [36:47] so that the greatest passion of your life can be his life, [36:52] his meaning, his mission, obedience to his word.

[36:57] So here’s the question. [36:59] Is that you?

[37:02] Jesus is God, whether you believe it, whether you don’t believe it, [37:07] doesn’t change reality. [37:09] He is God. But. [37:12] Are you living in submission to that reality? [37:15] Are you living under the lordship of the one you know to be God? [37:20] That is how Christmas becomes more than one day.

[37:26] And so Jesus’s mission is your mission. [37:31] Jesus’s purpose is your purpose. [37:34] The declaration of the good news of Jesus is inspiring to me. [37:37] It always will be inspiring to me. [37:39] But the implication on my life of that good news is more than inspiring. [37:46] It’s challenging.

[37:48] First Corinthians, six, 20 states, you were bought with a price. [37:55] So glorify God in your body. [37:59] So live for him. [38:02] That price. [38:04] Was literally the life of God, the son. [38:08] That price takes you from dead in sin to alive in Christ.

[38:15] That price transfers you from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. [38:23] Are you his?

[38:26] Jesus came with a purpose, and Jesus has given you a purpose through faith. [38:32] Friends, I’ll tell you, the entry of Jesus into this world on Christmas [38:36] stands as a monument. [38:39] You do not have to live in the dark.

[38:46] Instead, you have this glorious purpose [38:50] in which you can live with the lights on [38:54] and have purpose that you were created by God [38:59] to walk into for the rest of your life.

[39:04] See, in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus says, [39:08] no one takes a light, puts it under a bushel. [39:12] It’s not what light was intended to be like.

[39:17] But is that what you’re doing?

[39:21] Is that how you’re living?

[39:25] Friend, if you believe the gospel, understand Christmas is filled with purpose. [39:30] Will you pursue that purpose with everything?

[39:37] Few application points this morning, understand the purpose of life [39:41] through Christ, you will never understand it apart from Christ. [39:47] It’s impossible. Secondly,

[39:51] define the love of God by Christ.

[39:55] It is the only real definition of love that exists in a world [39:59] that tries to convince you of the insanity of statements like love is love, [40:05] which doesn’t make any sense.

[40:08] Christians know that love has objective meaning, [40:10] and that meaning is in the person and work of Christ. Thirdly, [40:15] explain the meaning of Christmas and the whole life of Christ. [40:19] Don’t just focus on the child, focus on why the child. [40:23] And then finally, live for the purpose of Christ.