So today's sermon will be in English. So<\/p>\n
if you do need<\/p>\n
uh translation into Thai, Chan will be<\/p>\n
translating<\/p>\n
into Thai, and you can grab a set of<\/p>\n
headphones<\/p>\n
in this back corner here.<\/p>\n
We [clears throat] want to say if you're<\/p>\n
visiting<\/p>\n
Excuse me.<\/p>\n
We want to say welcome to you. Welcome<\/p>\n
to Grace City Bangkok. This church is<\/p>\n
about 12 years old, so we're in our just<\/p>\n
about to go into our teenage years. So<\/p>\n
uh we're grateful for how God has<\/p>\n
blessed this community<\/p>\n
uh here in Bangkok. We are glad that<\/p>\n
you're here. This church, you know, our<\/p>\n
name Grace City<\/p>\n
uh<\/p>\n
kind of talks about two things that we<\/p>\n
are really grateful for, really thankful<\/p>\n
for. Of course, the grace of God in our<\/p>\n
lives working in our community to change<\/p>\n
us to build us up in the Lord Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ. And then also this city in which<\/p>\n
we live. We want to be good neighbors.<\/p>\n
We want to love the Lord our God with<\/p>\n
all our heart, soul, mind, and strength,<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
love our neighbors as we're led to do by<\/p>\n
Jesus. So welcome. We look forward to<\/p>\n
getting to speak with you more after the<\/p>\n
service today. Uh I've mentioned to a<\/p>\n
few of you, and if you don't know yet,<\/p>\n
if you we don't normally have this much<\/p>\n
food here, but uh tonight we do because<\/p>\n
we're having a special dinner uh<\/p>\n
together, and there's plenty of food,<\/p>\n
there's always plenty of food. So<\/p>\n
please, if you can, stay and enjoy<\/p>\n
conversation,<\/p>\n
uh some good food, and time to just<\/p>\n
celebrate Christmas together. So welcome<\/p>\n
to you. My name is Tim, Tim Mills. I'm<\/p>\n
one of the elders here at Grace City,<\/p>\n
uh and we're so glad that you're here.<\/p>\n
So Chan actually started us off this<\/p>\n
evening as we came into our time of<\/p>\n
worship referencing the Advent candles,<\/p>\n
the Advent wreath. Uh and this is of<\/p>\n
course the fourth and final Sunday of<\/p>\n
Advent, the fourth and final Sunday of<\/p>\n
Advent.<\/p>\n
Now this word Advent in English comes<\/p>\n
from Latin, comes from the Latin word<\/p>\n
adventus.<\/p>\n
And adventus means and Advent therefore<\/p>\n
means coming,<\/p>\n
or means arrival, arriving.<\/p>\n
As we've mentioned over the past few<\/p>\n
weeks, as Chan just mentioned as well,<\/p>\n
this is the season<\/p>\n
where the Christian church the world<\/p>\n
over. So as we celebrate here with our<\/p>\n
brothers and sisters, of course, across<\/p>\n
the world, this is when we celebrate in<\/p>\n
the the church calendar, the church<\/p>\n
year, the moment in history<\/p>\n
when God<\/p>\n
took on flesh.<\/p>\n
When God took on flesh, entered into<\/p>\n
this world.<\/p>\n
The Bible<\/p>\n
talks about and gives uh the name to<\/p>\n
Jesus Emmanuel.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel. And Emmanuel actually means<\/p>\n
God with us, God with us.<\/p>\n
God having come into this world<\/p>\n
that he created.<\/p>\n
Each Sunday this month<\/p>\n
we've been lighting these candles one at<\/p>\n
a time<\/p>\n
each week<\/p>\n
to remind us<\/p>\n
that Jesus is the light of the world.<\/p>\n
A couple of Sundays ago the theme was<\/p>\n
light of the world in the sermon, and so<\/p>\n
we had some of the lights off, you might<\/p>\n
remember, and we turned them on at<\/p>\n
different times during the service.<\/p>\n
Jesus, the light of the world.<\/p>\n
Today<\/p>\n
all the candles are lit.<\/p>\n
Of course, this uh this week we<\/p>\n
celebrate Christmas as it comes, and so<\/p>\n
we light all the candles remembering<\/p>\n
that Jesus<\/p>\n
has come, the light of the world,<\/p>\n
illuminating<\/p>\n
this world, illuminating the darkness,<\/p>\n
shining<\/p>\n
into our brokenness<\/p>\n
with a perfect love,<\/p>\n
a saving grace,<\/p>\n
and an eternal hope.<\/p>\n
So during Advent<\/p>\n
we celebrate and we remember that Jesus<\/p>\n
has come.<\/p>\n
And we also, and this is, you know, the<\/p>\n
entire Christian faith hangs on this.<\/p>\n
We also look ahead<\/p>\n
to when he will come again.<\/p>\n
But the reality is<\/p>\n
that we celebrate this every day.<\/p>\n
The Christian celebrates this every day,<\/p>\n
that Jesus has come,<\/p>\n
that Jesus will come again.<\/p>\n
Our text today is from the Gospel of<\/p>\n
John. We've been going through the<\/p>\n
Gospel of John as series right now, and<\/p>\n
today actually is centered on<\/p>\n
John chapter 3.<\/p>\n
A very familiar passage that we'll read<\/p>\n
in just a few moments.<\/p>\n
And it also focuses on our hearts, uh<\/p>\n
our hearts on when Jesus came. But<\/p>\n
before we read this passage, we're not<\/p>\n
going to read the entire thing. So I<\/p>\n
want to just draw out two things for us<\/p>\n
to have in mind as we read it. Uh<\/p>\n
perhaps some of you are very familiar<\/p>\n
with this passage. I think most of you<\/p>\n
maybe are.<\/p>\n
Uh some of you this might be new for<\/p>\n
you, and so I wanted to just draw out<\/p>\n
two things.<\/p>\n
What we are given in the Gospels, of<\/p>\n
course, is a look<\/p>\n
into Jesus' life and his ministry on<\/p>\n
this earth, like history, truth, factual<\/p>\n
stories.<\/p>\n
And what we see tonight, what we'll read<\/p>\n
today, is a conversation.<\/p>\n
We get to step into and read a<\/p>\n
transcript, if you will, of a<\/p>\n
conversation that Jesus had with a man<\/p>\n
named Nicodemus.<\/p>\n
Now, you can go back and read this<\/p>\n
entire chapter, chapter 3, perhaps<\/p>\n
tonight, maybe this week, and read read<\/p>\n
it through slowly and and meditate on<\/p>\n
this, perhaps.<\/p>\n
But as you go back and read, you'll see<\/p>\n
a couple of things that are interesting<\/p>\n
about Nicodemus. You'll learn that he<\/p>\n
was a Pharisee. So he was in in Jewish<\/p>\n
times and in Jewish practice, he was a<\/p>\n
scholar, he was a teacher. Uh the text<\/p>\n
says that he was a prominent leader<\/p>\n
among the Jewish people. In fact, it<\/p>\n
uses the term that he was a ruler of the<\/p>\n
people. So very powerful, very<\/p>\n
influential. Uh in addition to this, he<\/p>\n
was also a part of a ruling body, so a<\/p>\n
council, a local council that ruled over<\/p>\n
the people in religious affairs, and<\/p>\n
this body was called the Sanhedrin. So a<\/p>\n
very prominent, influential group, very<\/p>\n
prominent, influential leader, okay? So<\/p>\n
he also as as, you know, because of his<\/p>\n
role and his standing in the community,<\/p>\n
he represents the Jewish people. He<\/p>\n
represents uh Judaic practice and<\/p>\n
religion. He represents uh in essence<\/p>\n
like the people and the faith at this<\/p>\n
time, okay? So he's representative of<\/p>\n
all of that.<\/p>\n
Another interesting fact, so it's<\/p>\n
interesting to know, okay, who's Jesus<\/p>\n
speaking with? Who's coming to Jesus?<\/p>\n
The other interesting fact is that he<\/p>\n
comes to Jesus<\/p>\n
at night time.<\/p>\n
And it wasn't because he had a full<\/p>\n
schedule and like, \"Oh, I'll get to<\/p>\n
Jesus later.\"<\/p>\n
He came to Jesus at night time. Why?<\/p>\n
Many scholars believe, and it's the<\/p>\n
traditional view,<\/p>\n
and that John included this detail<\/p>\n
because this was a very risky meeting<\/p>\n
for Nicodemus.<\/p>\n
He had to be somewhat secretive about<\/p>\n
it.<\/p>\n
He had to exercise caution.<\/p>\n
It was<\/p>\n
it was risky. It could cost him a lot.<\/p>\n
If others found out that he had been<\/p>\n
with Jesus, he had been talking with<\/p>\n
Jesus,<\/p>\n
he could lose his standing in the<\/p>\n
community. He could be cast out. He<\/p>\n
could lose his position.<\/p>\n
Uh<\/p>\n
he could maybe suffer harm, violence,<\/p>\n
maybe worse, maybe worse.<\/p>\n
But he was willing to risk this.<\/p>\n
We know this because he he went. He was<\/p>\n
willing to risk it because, why? He had<\/p>\n
real questions.<\/p>\n
He had questions for Jesus, and he<\/p>\n
needed answers to these questions, so he<\/p>\n
went. So those two things, who was<\/p>\n
Nicodemus,<\/p>\n
and why did he go to Jesus?<\/p>\n
He had ultimate questions of faith.<\/p>\n
He had ultimate questions of belief.<\/p>\n
He needed to hear from Jesus.<\/p>\n
These profound questions. He needed to<\/p>\n
know, he needed to understand. So he<\/p>\n
comes with a a posture of humility, like<\/p>\n
even that he would come,<\/p>\n
and he became he came with a posture of<\/p>\n
of a desire to learn and to understand.<\/p>\n
Now again, we won't read all of chapter<\/p>\n
3, but we'll pick up after some of the<\/p>\n
conversation has already happened, some<\/p>\n
very interesting questions and and<\/p>\n
statements from Jesus,<\/p>\n
but we'll pick up with just a little bit<\/p>\n
of the portion that we'll focus on<\/p>\n
tonight.<\/p>\n
Uh and so again, go back and reread this<\/p>\n
tonight, this week, kind of familiarize<\/p>\n
yourself again, refamiliarize yourself<\/p>\n
with this story.<\/p>\n
Um let me pray for us.<\/p>\n
Lord God, we thank you uh<\/p>\n
that we are here tonight. You've brought<\/p>\n
us. Here we are. We are we're gathered<\/p>\n
together<\/p>\n
uh in this in this place, in this space,<\/p>\n
in this time.<\/p>\n
We are grateful for that. And God, we<\/p>\n
ask and pray that you would open our<\/p>\n
hearts<\/p>\n
and our minds to receive your word to us<\/p>\n
today.<\/p>\n
May we hear what you would have us to<\/p>\n
hear.<\/p>\n
May we see what you would have us to<\/p>\n
see. Would you help us understand that<\/p>\n
what you would have us understand and<\/p>\n
know.<\/p>\n
Would you please help us to walk forward<\/p>\n
in faith and trust and obedience to your<\/p>\n
faithful leading<\/p>\n
in our lives. We ask and pray this in<\/p>\n
your holy name, Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n
So we'll be reading in John 3:16<\/p>\n
through verses 21.<\/p>\n
Let me read this to us. And it's on the<\/p>\n
screen and it's um<\/p>\n
in Thai and in English for us as well.<\/p>\n
For God so loved the world<\/p>\n
that he gave his only son<\/p>\n
that whoever believes in him should not<\/p>\n
perish<\/p>\n
but have eternal life.<\/p>\n
For God did not send his son into the<\/p>\n
world to condemn the world<\/p>\n
but in order that the world might be<\/p>\n
saved through him.<\/p>\n
Whoever believes in him is not condemned<\/p>\n
but whoever does not believe is<\/p>\n
condemned already<\/p>\n
because he has not believed in the name<\/p>\n
of the only son of God.<\/p>\n
And this is the judgment.<\/p>\n
The light has come into the world<\/p>\n
and people loved the darkness rather<\/p>\n
than the light because their works were<\/p>\n
evil.<\/p>\n
For everyone who does wicked things<\/p>\n
hates the light and does not come to the<\/p>\n
light lest his works should be exposed.<\/p>\n
But whoever does what is right<\/p>\n
and true<\/p>\n
comes to the light so that it may be<\/p>\n
clearly seen that his works<\/p>\n
have been carried out in God.<\/p>\n
This is the word of the Lord.<\/p>\n
John 3:16<\/p>\n
it's the most well-known<\/p>\n
verse from the Bible in all the world.<\/p>\n
It's been called the golden text of the<\/p>\n
Bible.<\/p>\n
In public settings in the US many times<\/p>\n
at sporting events or other large<\/p>\n
gatherings or even driving down the<\/p>\n
road, you might see a sign<\/p>\n
that has this reference on it. John<\/p>\n
3:16. It'll be in big bold letters so<\/p>\n
that it will stand out.<\/p>\n
Or you might see it referenced in<\/p>\n
different you know in pop culture here<\/p>\n
and there. It's often one of the first<\/p>\n
passages Bible verses in the Bible that<\/p>\n
that people will commit to memory<\/p>\n
sometimes when they're very young<\/p>\n
maybe later in life.<\/p>\n
Now, the reason is because this verse<\/p>\n
it distills down the essence of the good<\/p>\n
news, the gospel.<\/p>\n
All that the Bible points to, the apex<\/p>\n
of the Christian faith, that God loved<\/p>\n
God<\/p>\n
loves<\/p>\n
and acted out of that love to save<\/p>\n
through Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
All those that turn from darkness<\/p>\n
and in faith to Jesus will not perish,<\/p>\n
the text says<\/p>\n
but will find eternal life<\/p>\n
in and through Jesus.<\/p>\n
God so loved, God so loves and this<\/p>\n
this is how he demonstrated that love.<\/p>\n
How he has shown his love.<\/p>\n
The phrase God so loved points to the<\/p>\n
way the manner by which God shows his<\/p>\n
love to this world. This so is not<\/p>\n
emphasizing the quantity or the amount<\/p>\n
of God's love as in God loved the world<\/p>\n
so much<\/p>\n
but rather God so loved as in God so<\/p>\n
loved the world this way. This is how<\/p>\n
God loved. This is how God<\/p>\n
loves.<\/p>\n
God so loved that he gave.<\/p>\n
He gave.<\/p>\n
We're going to look<\/p>\n
at just how God loved, how God so loves<\/p>\n
with three<\/p>\n
focus points. A perfect love<\/p>\n
God saves with a saving grace<\/p>\n
and God loves with an eternal hope.<\/p>\n
Verse 16<\/p>\n
starts<\/p>\n
focused on one of the major attributes<\/p>\n
of God.<\/p>\n
That God, the God of the Bible, is a God<\/p>\n
of love. God so loved.<\/p>\n
When we do theology<\/p>\n
seeking to understand God we're trying<\/p>\n
to learn about who God is, what God is<\/p>\n
like.<\/p>\n
Various historical global religions,<\/p>\n
faiths, they do the same thing, right?<\/p>\n
Asking these questions, doing the same<\/p>\n
thing.<\/p>\n
In in Hinduism and Hindu faith for<\/p>\n
example, there are many gods.<\/p>\n
And the Hindu would would understand and<\/p>\n
think about these many different gods as<\/p>\n
having different attributes.<\/p>\n
The Hindu would say that Vishnu is<\/p>\n
protective, Krishna is relational, Shiva<\/p>\n
destructive<\/p>\n
Kali fierce.<\/p>\n
In the Buddhist faith, ultimate reality<\/p>\n
is is non-theistic, right? There's not<\/p>\n
this this God or this benevolent ruler.<\/p>\n
So, there's only symbolic<\/p>\n
personification of parts of our<\/p>\n
existence, the Buddhist would say. For<\/p>\n
example, the Buddhist might say love<\/p>\n
emerges<\/p>\n
as the self dissolves.<\/p>\n
In Taoism<\/p>\n
the Tao is impersonal<\/p>\n
but the Taoist might attribute<\/p>\n
human-like qualities to forces of<\/p>\n
nature.<\/p>\n
For example, water is humble<\/p>\n
and yielding and yet strong or earth and<\/p>\n
heaven<\/p>\n
might be impartial or described as<\/p>\n
impartial, not cruel<\/p>\n
but not benevolent or emotionally<\/p>\n
invested either, right? Just these<\/p>\n
forces of nature. Now, I just share a<\/p>\n
few of those to help us to understand<\/p>\n
more richly what the Christian faith<\/p>\n
says. In contrast to these, the<\/p>\n
Christian faith says and we find that<\/p>\n
the God of the Bible is a personal God.<\/p>\n
A personal God. God is the creator of<\/p>\n
all.<\/p>\n
And we learn about God through his word.<\/p>\n
God has made himself known through his<\/p>\n
word and through the Holy Spirit. And so<\/p>\n
we begin to understand the many facets<\/p>\n
and attributes of who God is<\/p>\n
what God is like and what God has done.<\/p>\n
And what God is doing.<\/p>\n
So, verse 16 speaks of God being a God<\/p>\n
of love because God so loved and<\/p>\n
demonstrating this love.<\/p>\n
But elsewhere in the scriptures, we see<\/p>\n
another beautiful aspect of this. Now,<\/p>\n
this is in 1 John<\/p>\n
chapter 4.<\/p>\n
Beloved<\/p>\n
let us love one another<\/p>\n
for love is from God and whoever loves<\/p>\n
has been born of God and knows God.<\/p>\n
Anyone who does not love does not know<\/p>\n
because God<\/p>\n
is love.<\/p>\n
In this, the love of God was made<\/p>\n
manifest among us that God sent his only<\/p>\n
son into the world so that we might live<\/p>\n
through him.<\/p>\n
In this<\/p>\n
Not that we have loved God<\/p>\n
but that he loved us and sent his son to<\/p>\n
be the propitiation<\/p>\n
for our sins.<\/p>\n
if God so loved us<\/p>\n
we also ought to love<\/p>\n
one another. No one has ever seen God<\/p>\n
but if we love one another, God abides<\/p>\n
in us<\/p>\n
and his love is perfected<\/p>\n
in us.<\/p>\n
Friends, not only does God love<\/p>\n
but God is<\/p>\n
love.<\/p>\n
And the God that is love loves in this<\/p>\n
way.<\/p>\n
He has given<\/p>\n
of himself<\/p>\n
that we might be saved<\/p>\n
from ourselves.<\/p>\n
Jesus came not to condemn<\/p>\n
but to save us<\/p>\n
with a saving grace.<\/p>\n
The second part of verse 16<\/p>\n
shows the extent<\/p>\n
of God's love.<\/p>\n
True and ultimate love<\/p>\n
is sacrificial.<\/p>\n
True love<\/p>\n
is towards another<\/p>\n
and it is for the other.<\/p>\n
It is self-denying<\/p>\n
and at times<\/p>\n
very costly.<\/p>\n
My father was in the military, the army.<\/p>\n
I was growing up and I remember him<\/p>\n
sharing a story with me<\/p>\n
when I was younger and it had a profound<\/p>\n
effect on me, enormous impact on me and<\/p>\n
my thinking.<\/p>\n
And just to be clear, my father did not<\/p>\n
witness this event<\/p>\n
as a soldier but he told me about this<\/p>\n
event.<\/p>\n
He recounted a time during war, I think<\/p>\n
it was during the Vietnam War<\/p>\n
when a hand grenade<\/p>\n
was thrown into barracks, so where<\/p>\n
soldiers were were staying.<\/p>\n
it was thrown into this building and it<\/p>\n
landed in close proximity to a group of<\/p>\n
soldiers. And one of the soldiers,<\/p>\n
seeing this hand grenade in a<\/p>\n
split-second decision,<\/p>\n
um jumped on top of it<\/p>\n
and covered it with his body.<\/p>\n
Uh and of course it it took his life.<\/p>\n
And he gave himself<\/p>\n
to protect those around him.<\/p>\n
As I tried to get a little bit more<\/p>\n
information on this story, maybe to<\/p>\n
learn a name or or when it happened, I<\/p>\n
actually discovered that this type of<\/p>\n
event has happened even a few times in<\/p>\n
in more recent history. In some of<\/p>\n
different<\/p>\n
war uh<\/p>\n
settings in in more even more recent<\/p>\n
history.<\/p>\n
Even uh Barack Obama, President Obama,<\/p>\n
awarding a Medal of Honor<\/p>\n
to a soldier who actually survived a<\/p>\n
blast that he<\/p>\n
jumped upon,<\/p>\n
shielding others from.<\/p>\n
But it was amazing to think about this<\/p>\n
kind of heroic action,<\/p>\n
this selfless<\/p>\n
self-sacrifice<\/p>\n
of your life for others.<\/p>\n
Um<\/p>\n
and in other parts of the world and and<\/p>\n
in history and other other times<\/p>\n
throughout history,<\/p>\n
we see this kind of self-sacrifice,<\/p>\n
someone giving their lives for someone.<\/p>\n
Think about the love, oftentimes of a<\/p>\n
mother, like for her children.<\/p>\n
She will do anything to protect her<\/p>\n
children,<\/p>\n
even give her life. Like there are<\/p>\n
stories, right, that that we might know<\/p>\n
of and could talk about<\/p>\n
on and on.<\/p>\n
And I'm and I'm sorry in a way to share<\/p>\n
like of this war story, such a graphic<\/p>\n
story, because it's horrible<\/p>\n
to think about this, right?<\/p>\n
But I think it's important that to share<\/p>\n
this because these kinds of stories,<\/p>\n
they actually get to the deeper<\/p>\n
understanding. They get to the deeper<\/p>\n
part of what is happening here when<\/p>\n
there is profound sacrifice.<\/p>\n
Self-sacrifice,<\/p>\n
profound.<\/p>\n
And true true love, like deep deep love,<\/p>\n
is self-sacrificial.<\/p>\n
Giving of oneself for<\/p>\n
the other.<\/p>\n
Perhaps you've experienced something<\/p>\n
like that even in your own life.<\/p>\n
The giving of oneself,<\/p>\n
it gets to that ultimate love, that<\/p>\n
ultimate self-sacrifice.<\/p>\n
And we're not going to talk a lot today<\/p>\n
about<\/p>\n
the understanding of of the Christian<\/p>\n
teaching and understanding and faith in<\/p>\n
the triune God, but I'll share a little<\/p>\n
bit.<\/p>\n
Understanding God the Father, God the<\/p>\n
Son, the Holy Spirit, this beautiful<\/p>\n
relationship, but I have something<\/p>\n
that'll help us think about it.<\/p>\n
But I want us to try to wrap our minds<\/p>\n
around what happened<\/p>\n
when Jesus came to this world.<\/p>\n
How did the triune God demonstrate<\/p>\n
ultimate love?<\/p>\n
Tim Keller uh in in one of his many<\/p>\n
books, he he references and I think<\/p>\n
gives a beautiful picture of the<\/p>\n
Trinity. So, let's read this. I'll read<\/p>\n
it to us. We can think about this and<\/p>\n
meditate on this.<\/p>\n
It's going to help us get to what we're<\/p>\n
trying to get to here. Let me read.<\/p>\n
The life of the Trinity is characterized<\/p>\n
not by self-centeredness,<\/p>\n
but by mutually self-giving love.<\/p>\n
When we delight and serve someone else,<\/p>\n
we enter into a dynamic orbit around him<\/p>\n
or her.<\/p>\n
We center on the interests and desires<\/p>\n
of the other. That creates a dance,<\/p>\n
particularly if there are three persons<\/p>\n
in this,<\/p>\n
each of whom moves around the other two.<\/p>\n
So it is, the Bible tells us,<\/p>\n
each of the divine persons centers upon<\/p>\n
the others. None demands that the others<\/p>\n
revolve around him. Each voluntarily<\/p>\n
circles the other two, pouring love,<\/p>\n
delight, and adoration into them. Each<\/p>\n
person of the Trinity loves, adores,<\/p>\n
defers to, and rejoices in the others.<\/p>\n
That creates a dynamic, pulsating dance<\/p>\n
of joy<\/p>\n
and love.<\/p>\n
>> [snorts]<\/p>\n
>> There's a lot there,<\/p>\n
and we don't have a lot of time to get<\/p>\n
into this beautiful doctrine in our<\/p>\n
faith, and yet it will serve to help us<\/p>\n
with this next thought.<\/p>\n
God so loved<\/p>\n
that he emptied himself<\/p>\n
to become one of us.<\/p>\n
To enter into this world, God disrupted<\/p>\n
the perfect love,<\/p>\n
this joyful dance<\/p>\n
of the Trinity to give himself for us.<\/p>\n
Now Jesus,<\/p>\n
another beautiful doctrine is that he<\/p>\n
was fully man and fully God.<\/p>\n
And yet to save us through his saving<\/p>\n
grace cost God the Father his son.<\/p>\n
Because God the Father on the cross, we<\/p>\n
know<\/p>\n
that God the Father would forsake<\/p>\n
and abandon Jesus.<\/p>\n
The son would bear our sin<\/p>\n
upon the cross and would die. Jesus<\/p>\n
would die<\/p>\n
the death<\/p>\n
that is ours, the death that we deserve.<\/p>\n
God is a God of love<\/p>\n
and a God also of justice.<\/p>\n
He has to be both to be either.<\/p>\n
A God that does not care about evil,<\/p>\n
a God that does not care about sin and<\/p>\n
brokenness and dealing with it,<\/p>\n
cannot be a God of love.<\/p>\n
God has to be both a God of love and a<\/p>\n
God of justice to be either.<\/p>\n
The Bible is clear that our sin,<\/p>\n
mankind's sin, our sin, my sin, your<\/p>\n
sin,<\/p>\n
it leads to condemnation.<\/p>\n
It leads to condemnation. Our text<\/p>\n
alludes to that tonight.<\/p>\n
Because we stand before a holy God and<\/p>\n
we sin before a holy God.<\/p>\n
But God in his mercy sent<\/p>\n
Jesus not to condemn us. You see that?<\/p>\n
This is beautiful. Not to condemn us in<\/p>\n
our sinfulness, but what? To rescue us,<\/p>\n
to save us.<\/p>\n
But it would cost a payment. This is<\/p>\n
where the justice comes in. A payment<\/p>\n
for sin. The wages of sin, the Bible<\/p>\n
says, is death.<\/p>\n
There had to be a just exchange. There<\/p>\n
had to be. Jesus himself would take on<\/p>\n
our rightful punishment.<\/p>\n
Jesus would take on<\/p>\n
the sin<\/p>\n
of the world and die for us<\/p>\n
on the cross.<\/p>\n
And as the text says, all those that<\/p>\n
believe in Jesus, all those that<\/p>\n
believe,<\/p>\n
will not perish.<\/p>\n
But as they look to him in faith, they<\/p>\n
will what? Receive eternal life in him.<\/p>\n
John 3:16,<\/p>\n
it's all there.<\/p>\n
But we're going to look at some other<\/p>\n
places, too, that firm this up<\/p>\n
and show the beauty<\/p>\n
of our faith.<\/p>\n
In Isaiah, you know, Isaiah, the book of<\/p>\n
Isaiah is prophetic in the sense that it<\/p>\n
talks about the Messiah that's coming,<\/p>\n
the one that's coming.<\/p>\n
Jesus being foretold. And this is what<\/p>\n
it says about the one that will come.<\/p>\n
He was pierced<\/p>\n
for our transgressions.<\/p>\n
He was crushed for our iniquities.<\/p>\n
Upon him<\/p>\n
was placed the chastisement that brought<\/p>\n
us peace.<\/p>\n
And with his wounds,<\/p>\n
we are healed.<\/p>\n
Jesus<\/p>\n
did not come to condemn.<\/p>\n
We already stand condemned in our sin,<\/p>\n
the text says, but Jesus came to save.<\/p>\n
Jesus came to heal.<\/p>\n
He came to heal us by being wounded<\/p>\n
for us.<\/p>\n
Romans, chapter 5.<\/p>\n
Therefore, since we have been justified<\/p>\n
by faith,<\/p>\n
we have peace with God<\/p>\n
through our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
Through him we also have obtained access<\/p>\n
by faith into this grace in which we now<\/p>\n
stand.<\/p>\n
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory<\/p>\n
of God. Not only that, but we rejoice<\/p>\n
in our sufferings,<\/p>\n
knowing that suffering produces<\/p>\n
endurance.<\/p>\n
And endurance produces character, and<\/p>\n
character produces hope.<\/p>\n
And hope does not put us to shame,<\/p>\n
because God's love has been poured into<\/p>\n
our hearts through the Holy Spirit who<\/p>\n
has been given to us.<\/p>\n
For a while we were still weak,<\/p>\n
at the right time,<\/p>\n
Christ died for the ungodly.<\/p>\n
For one will scarcely die for a<\/p>\n
righteous person,<\/p>\n
though perhaps<\/p>\n
for a good person one would dare even to<\/p>\n
die.<\/p>\n
But God shows his love for us<\/p>\n
in that while we were still sinners,<\/p>\n
Christ died for us.<\/p>\n
Since therefore we have now been<\/p>\n
justified by his blood. You see that?<\/p>\n
Justice.<\/p>\n
We have been justified by his blood much<\/p>\n
more<\/p>\n
shall we be saved by him<\/p>\n
from the wrath. Again, justice. From the<\/p>\n
wrath of God.<\/p>\n
Jesus' saving grace<\/p>\n
leads us away<\/p>\n
from condemnation<\/p>\n
and gives us<\/p>\n
an eternal hope.<\/p>\n
Let me read the final the the final part<\/p>\n
here that I had from Romans 5. For if we<\/p>\n
if while we were enemies,<\/p>\n
we were reconciled to God<\/p>\n
by the death of his son, much more now<\/p>\n
that we are reconciled shall we be saved<\/p>\n
by his life. More than that, we also<\/p>\n
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ, through whom we have now<\/p>\n
received reconciliation. It's all there.<\/p>\n
It's all there.<\/p>\n
So Jesus' saving grace leads us away<\/p>\n
in which we stand<\/p>\n
and gives us gives to us an eternal<\/p>\n
hope.<\/p>\n
Looking at the second part of our text,<\/p>\n
our main text this evening,<\/p>\n
one significant aspect of of Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ entering this world was that his<\/p>\n
presence<\/p>\n
exposed our wickedness.<\/p>\n
Jesus, the light.<\/p>\n
Our text talks about that, right? True<\/p>\n
light fills darkness. It reveals<\/p>\n
everything.<\/p>\n
In the same way, the truth of Jesus<\/p>\n
reveals our sinfulness.<\/p>\n
Our greatest fear<\/p>\n
is being fully exposed.<\/p>\n
Think about that.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the thoughts we have or what's<\/p>\n
inside of us, we think, \"Oh my oh my,<\/p>\n
if people knew<\/p>\n
if people really knew<\/p>\n
if I was fully exposed, what?\" Right? We<\/p>\n
think, \"What would they think of me?<\/p>\n
They wouldn't care for me.<\/p>\n
They might despise me. They wouldn't<\/p>\n
love me.\"<\/p>\n
But the gospel, the the teaching of the<\/p>\n
gospel,<\/p>\n
it flips that around. We just read<\/p>\n
in the gospel we see that we are fully<\/p>\n
loved by God. God so loved God so loves.<\/p>\n
It says that Christ died for us while we<\/p>\n
were yet sinners. You see that?<\/p>\n
While we were yet sinners, Christ died<\/p>\n
for us. We are fully known in our sin,<\/p>\n
we are fully loved.<\/p>\n
The change that Jesus brings about in<\/p>\n
the life of us, in the life of the<\/p>\n
sinner,<\/p>\n
is for our greater good. It's for our<\/p>\n
greatest good.<\/p>\n
The sacrificial love that God reaching<\/p>\n
into us, changing us, leading us in this<\/p>\n
eternal hope.<\/p>\n
It's a new life for today, a new<\/p>\n
understanding of how we live in and by<\/p>\n
Jesus for today and it's forever.<\/p>\n
It's forever.<\/p>\n
The eternal reality for the Christian is<\/p>\n
that we will be in the presence of God<\/p>\n
one day.<\/p>\n
This is the the hope that we live with,<\/p>\n
the reality that we live with.<\/p>\n
I want to read to us from a again from<\/p>\n
further in to John 4. Listen to this.<\/p>\n
By this we know<\/p>\n
that we abide in him and he in us. Okay?<\/p>\n
Life in in Christ.<\/p>\n
Because he has given us<\/p>\n
of his spirit.<\/p>\n
And we have seen and testify that the<\/p>\n
Father has sent his Son to be the savior<\/p>\n
of the world.<\/p>\n
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son<\/p>\n
of God abides in him and he in God.<\/p>\n
So we have come to know and to believe<\/p>\n
the love that God has for us.<\/p>\n
God is love.<\/p>\n
And whoever abides in love abides in God<\/p>\n
and God<\/p>\n
abides in him. We need to sit with this.<\/p>\n
Maybe this week just sit with this and<\/p>\n
just say, \"God, help me<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
just love and appreciate the greater<\/p>\n
facets of your love.\"<\/p>\n
Just sit with this. This is so<\/p>\n
incredibly beautiful. I have some more<\/p>\n
Bible for you and for us here. We're not<\/p>\n
done. Romans 8.<\/p>\n
I'm not done with Romans or for John 4<\/p>\n
yet.<\/p>\n
By this is love perfected with us, so<\/p>\n
that we may have confidence for the day<\/p>\n
of judgment. Remember that condemnation?<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Because as he is, so<\/p>\n
also are we in this world. There is no<\/p>\n
fear in love. PB referenced this<\/p>\n
earlier. But perfect love casts out<\/p>\n
fear, for fear has to do with<\/p>\n
punishment. And whoever fears has not<\/p>\n
been perfected in love. We love<\/p>\n
because he first loved us.<\/p>\n
Now to Romans 8.<\/p>\n
There is therefore now no condemnation<\/p>\n
for those who are in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n
For the law of the Spirit of life has<\/p>\n
set you free<\/p>\n
in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and<\/p>\n
death.<\/p>\n
For God has done what the law, weakened<\/p>\n
by the flesh, could not do.<\/p>\n
How?<\/p>\n
By sending his own Son<\/p>\n
in the likeness of sinful flesh<\/p>\n
and for sin,<\/p>\n
he condemned sin in the flesh in order<\/p>\n
that the righteous requirement of the<\/p>\n
law might be fulfilled in us<\/p>\n
who walk not according to the flesh but<\/p>\n
according to the Spirit.<\/p>\n
Martin Luther has this great quote to<\/p>\n
help us understand what took place here.<\/p>\n
Learn to know Christ<\/p>\n
and him crucified. Learn to sing to him<\/p>\n
and say, \"Lord Jesus, you are my<\/p>\n
righteousness.<\/p>\n
I am your sin.<\/p>\n
You have taken upon yourself what is<\/p>\n
mine<\/p>\n
and given me what is yours.<\/p>\n
You have become what you were not so<\/p>\n
that I might become<\/p>\n
what I was not.\"<\/p>\n
stepping into this world,<\/p>\n
becoming like one of us,<\/p>\n
taking our sin upon himself, dying our<\/p>\n
And the text says in Corinthians, 2<\/p>\n
Corinthians,<\/p>\n
the righteousness of God being bestowed<\/p>\n
upon us as we look to Jesus.<\/p>\n
Jesus becoming what he was not that we<\/p>\n
might become what we were not.<\/p>\n
This is the gospel.<\/p>\n
Friends, God so loved<\/p>\n
and sent his Son that we might know his<\/p>\n
So come to this light again and again.<\/p>\n
Christian,<\/p>\n
if you have<\/p>\n
followed and believed in the Lord Jesus,<\/p>\n
just be reminded of this. Be encouraged.<\/p>\n
I mean, be encouraged again in the hope<\/p>\n
of Christmas every day<\/p>\n
that God did this. He took on flesh and<\/p>\n
has given us new life in him.<\/p>\n
And you know, every week when we gather<\/p>\n
and even as these sermons are recorded<\/p>\n
you know, some of some of you might say,<\/p>\n
\"I you know, I I don't know that I<\/p>\n
believe this. I wouldn't call myself a<\/p>\n
Christian. I have questions.\"<\/p>\n
Perhaps you have questions like<\/p>\n
Nicodemus did, like honest questions,<\/p>\n
real questions that you need answers to.<\/p>\n
And first of all, I would say we are so<\/p>\n
thankful that you're here.<\/p>\n
And and we would love to talk to you,<\/p>\n
like hear your questions and and wrestle<\/p>\n
along with you about these questions<\/p>\n
that you may have.<\/p>\n
But my my hope for you is that you would<\/p>\n
consider these these texts from the<\/p>\n
Bible and consider the claim of the<\/p>\n
Christian faith.<\/p>\n
Could it be?<\/p>\n
Could this be that Jesus is<\/p>\n
who he says he is, the light of the<\/p>\n
world?<\/p>\n
And and what I would ask of you is is to<\/p>\n
do this, like go to Jesus, come to Jesus<\/p>\n
with those questions and ask him<\/p>\n
to reveal<\/p>\n
himself to you in this way.<\/p>\n
There was a theologian, Jack Miller, and<\/p>\n
Tim Keller actually would often would<\/p>\n
say this and and cite this. And Jack<\/p>\n
Miller would say something along these<\/p>\n
lines. He would say, \"Hey, cheer up. You<\/p>\n
know, because<\/p>\n
you're actually a worse sinner<\/p>\n
than you ever dared to imagine.\"<\/p>\n
Now first part is like, \"Oh, you know,<\/p>\n
like you're actually worse off than you<\/p>\n
think.\" But that second part, right, is<\/p>\n
where the the gospel is.<\/p>\n
But you're more loved<\/p>\n
than you ever dared hope.<\/p>\n
More loved than you can I've also heard<\/p>\n
it said than you can possibly imagine.<\/p>\n
We need to meditate on the love of God,<\/p>\n
understand those deeper facets of it.<\/p>\n
Another quote from Luther for us.<\/p>\n
This is what we can do.<\/p>\n
Talk about this meditation or this<\/p>\n
sitting with<\/p>\n
the truth of who Jesus is.<\/p>\n
The highest of all God's commands is<\/p>\n
this,<\/p>\n
that we ever hold up before our eyes the<\/p>\n
image of his dear son,<\/p>\n
our Lord Jesus Christ. He must daily be<\/p>\n
to our hearts the perfect mirror. Think<\/p>\n
about that, that reflection. The perfect<\/p>\n
mirror in which we behold how much God<\/p>\n
loves us<\/p>\n
and how well.<\/p>\n
In his infinite goodness as a faithful<\/p>\n
God, he has grandly cared for us<\/p>\n
in that he gave<\/p>\n
his dear son<\/p>\n
And Luther says, \"Do not let this mirror<\/p>\n
and the throne of grace be torn away<\/p>\n
from before your eyes.\"<\/p>\n
Friends, gaze upon<\/p>\n
the love of God.<\/p>\n
Gaze upon your savior, the Lord Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ.<\/p>\n
We have sung and we will sing two of of<\/p>\n
Wesley's hymns.<\/p>\n
And we will close<\/p>\n
uh this reading. I'll read to you<\/p>\n
from one of his others that we will not<\/p>\n
sing today, but maybe you can go and and<\/p>\n
sing this this week as well.<\/p>\n
But listen to this.<\/p>\n
Charles Wesley so well captured this.<\/p>\n
He left his father's throne<\/p>\n
above,<\/p>\n
so free,<\/p>\n
so infinite his grace,<\/p>\n
emptied himself of all but love,<\/p>\n
and bled<\/p>\n
for Adam's helpless race.<\/p>\n
'Tis mercy all, all of this is mercy,<\/p>\n
immense and free,<\/p>\n
for oh my God,<\/p>\n
it found out me.<\/p>\n
No condemnation now I dread.<\/p>\n
and all in him is mine.<\/p>\n
Alive in him, my living head, my ruler.<\/p>\n
And clothed<\/p>\n
in righteousness divine.<\/p>\n
Bold I approach the eternal throne<\/p>\n
and claim the crown<\/p>\n
through Christ<\/p>\n
my own.<\/p>\n
Amazing love,<\/p>\n
how can it be<\/p>\n
that thou, that you, my God,<\/p>\n
for me?<\/p>\n
Let's pray.<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus,<\/p>\n
we look to your birth,<\/p>\n
remembering that you took on flesh, that<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
that you dwelled among us<\/p>\n
in this world that you created.<\/p>\n
We remember that you you took on our<\/p>\n
brokenness and sin. Help us<\/p>\n
help us understand the depth of that.<\/p>\n
And then and then you died.<\/p>\n
You died for us. You died for our sin,<\/p>\n
because of our sin.<\/p>\n
And Lord Jesus, we also believe in the<\/p>\n
eternal hope that you bring because<\/p>\n
death could not keep you down. In fact,<\/p>\n
you conquered our greatest enemy.<\/p>\n
And we will one day be in your presence<\/p>\n
forever.<\/p>\n
Help us understand that. Help us Help us<\/p>\n
grasp<\/p>\n
a greater understanding of that and<\/p>\n
belief in that<\/p>\n
We thank you for your great love.<\/p>\n
Help us to show and to convey your love<\/p>\n
to those around us. Help us to care for<\/p>\n
our neighbors. You call us to Help us<\/p>\n
even now, like bring bring someone to<\/p>\n
our to our hearts, to our minds right<\/p>\n
now that we just need to go and and love<\/p>\n
on with your love.<\/p>\n
Lead us in that this week.<\/p>\n
We ask and pray all of this in your holy<\/p>\n
name.<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20251224","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5U-2Jzzbx7g","video_id":"5U-2Jzzbx7g","video_duration":"43:51","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions\/92"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=91"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=91"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}