Let’s do a quick recap of how we can see the Scarlet Thread of the Gospel running through the stories of the Old Testament. God Rules in Genesis 1. We sinned in Genesis 3. God provides a way in Genesis 40. Jesus saves in the story of Exodus. But we still wander.

In last month’s article, the Israelites were just about to enter the Promised Land. They had wandered for 40 years, representing the Christian life lived apart from God. It’s like trying flip a light switch a million times when your power is out. Living without the power source is infuriating. And that’s where we enter the next stage of the Exodus story. 

The Isrealites were going after the Promised Land. It’s why they packed what they could carry, and got out of Egypt. They believed there was something better waiting for them. But what is this Promised Land for us? I’ll tell you right up front, it’s not Heaven.  There were giants in the land that prohibited them from entering. In their story, there were obstacles (people) that had to be removed from the Land of Promise, and I’m pretty there are no giants in Heaven.

The Promised Land is not heaven for us later, it is the indwelling of Christ now. And there are giants in your life that are prohibiting this.

Before we talk about how to get into that Promised Land, let’s talk about the indwelling of Christ. Truthfully, if you’ve put your trust in Him and His work on the cross, you already have Jesus indwelling you. But there’s something incredible that happens when a Christian believes this and trusts this.

If I told you that I had a magic glove at my house that move around, point at things, and pick stuff up you would say, “Sure you do. But only when your hand is in it.” You got me! But listen to this: everything that is possible for my hand is now possible for my glove. As long as my hand is working, the glove is working too. That’s the idea of Jesus Christ dwelling in us! We have His very power and deity living in us!

This is the “newness” of the Gospel. The Promised Land is meant to be enjoyed today! You have only to enter this Promised Land and enjoy the power and presence of Jesus in your life.

But how do I get to the Promised Land? How do I enjoy the power and presence of Jesus in my life? Because, truth be told, there’s a lot of times when I don’t feel either of those things. Take a look at what Joshua, the new leader of the Jews after Moses, says to the people before entering the Promised Land.

Joshua 3:9-13 9 “And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth[a] is passing over before you into the Jordan.”

How do we know that God will wipe out the giants blocking the Promised Land? Because He’s the same God who delivered you from the slave masters of Egypt. God, who saved you from slavery to sin, will also be with you to defeat the remaining giants in your life.

Did you catch the symbolism with the ark and the Jordan River? You get in to the Promise Land of Jesus’ indwelling the same way you got out Egypt, your slavery to sin. The Red Sea split for them to get out of Egypt and Jordan River split for them to get into the Land of Promise. This symbolic crossing of these two bodies of water represent your faith in the Gospel.

Colossians 2:6 says “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,” You were freed from your slavery of sin by your faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ. And the only way you can live in that freedom is with continued faith in the very same.

As it turns out, Joshua sent two spies into Canaan who met with Rahab. She told them that Jericho had been terrified of the Israelites all along and were dreading the day Israel came for them. The victory had already been won! But they were living as if the enemy was undefeatable. They believed the fortress was impenetrable for 40 years all the while the enemy was shaking in their boots, hoping Israel never realized it!

The final question that remains is; how do I stay in the Promised Land? The story of Moses ended with him dying before entering the Promised Land. And as soon as he dies, God appoints Joshua as the new leader. And within 3 days of Joshua leading the people, they crossed the Jordan. But as they were crossing it, God gave Joshua some instruction.

Joshua 4:1-3 “When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’”

Joshua 4:21-22 “And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’”

This really is a beautiful thing. This stone altar that they erect, built from stones gathered from the middle of the Jordan River, stood as a reminder for generations to come. And every time they looked at this altar they would remember and be thankful for God’s deliverance of them. Those stones were gathered from an impossible place. They couldn’t have built that altar if they had never crossed the Jordan River.

I think in 21^st Century America we have become so logical that we scoff at any sort of emotional or spiritual ritual or tradition. But I think God feels very deeply about things, and I think He can appreciate rituals or traditions that point to Him. Not every tradition or ritual is good, and not every one of the are bad. But if it is used to remind yourself of what He has done for you then it is a very good thing.

So build your own stone altar. I think it would be a very good thing for you. It can remind you of the grace you experience then. I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo that says, “Imago Dei”. It means “The Image of God” and it would be a reminder to me that I am invaluable because I am God’s child. I love to see people wear Christian t-shirts, because it can be a reminder every time someone asks about it. Wearing a cross necklace or bracelet might be that thing for you.

The point is to remind yourself, while you’re living in the Promised Land of Christ’s power and presence, that He is the one that brought you there and keeps you there. What’s left for you is the work of believing that. Leave behind your unbelief. You don’t need to wander in the wilderness. You’re slave masters are dead. You belong in the Promised Land. Enter in. Enjoy Christ. Trust in His power in you. Surrender to Him.

Did you know that the Gospel is painted beautifully throughout all of Scripture; not just the four books we call the Gospels?

For centuries many Christians have thought of the Bible as a simple collection of stories about morality. Like each story is meant to teach us some new life principle. But it seems in every century there are some Christians who see the bigger picture. They see that there is a Grand Story behind all of these stories. Some of these Christians started calling it the Scarlet Thread through the Bible, and this Scarlet Thread is the story of the Gospel.

See, the Gospel is not a set of facts. The Gospel is a story. I want to reframe our understanding of the Gospel, as told in the Bible, because, truth be told, all of the Bible is the Gospel. From Genesis 1:1 to the final “Amen” in Revelation.

I wish I could go through each chapter with you to find the scarlet thread of the Gospel. I wish we had the time, energy, and focus to see how each book of the Bible is really part of the Gospel story. But for the time we have, I’m going to spend the next few articles looking at some very familiar stories through the lens of the Gospel.

We’re going to look at Adam and Eve, Joseph, Moses in the Exodus, and a couple others. We’re going to see how each of these characters cast a shadow of the Christ.

I said it begins in Genesis 1:1 and that’s where we’re going to begin with this article. I don’t even really want to talk about Adam and Eve just yet. I simply want to talk about the beginning.

I’m sure you remember the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And that’s how the Gospel begins. God created. He’s a creative God. But He didn’t just make planets and stars. The pinnacle of His creation is humankind. Furthermore, Colossian 1:15-17 tells us that “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Jesus Christ was present at the Creation of this perfect planet. But not only was everything created by Him, all things were created through Him and for Him. It’s funny how sometimes our feeble little brains can lose our eternal perspective. Sometimes we just get so caught up in life that we forget this world doesn’t revolve around us.

It’s amazing how this one verse can bring about a new perspective for that is so powerful that it can crash my pity party. I’ll admit I can get really mopey at times. But when I’m confronted with the reality that this world was created by, through, and for Him, and not me, it allows me to see my life and circumstances in a way that frees me from my sense of entitlement.

So chapter one of the Gospel is simply this: God rules. He created this universe, which means He owns it. We’re the crown of His creation, but that still means He owns us. I suppose if you don’t like the rules of the Universe then you can go create your own. But this is God’s universe. Created by Him, through Him, and for Him. He owns it, which means He makes the rules. And the best part of it is this: His rules are what’s best for us. His rules are not cruel and overly demanding. His rules are meant to bring us to the one thing that can give us the most joy. Himself.

I’ve so looked forward to this time with you before get into our holiday this week and celebrate the birth of Christ...  Unless you have been living in some form of cave, you know that this week Star Wars Episode 7 premiered at the box office.  Projections say that the movie will make over $250 million this weekend alone.  Written by George Lucas, it was originally released in 1977, and most of you know this but for those who don’t, these seven movies are the story of the rebels versus the empire; Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader; heroes versus villains; light versus darkness. 

When it’s all said and done, “Star Wars” will have captivated three generations of people.  I’ll never forget when I was a kid and I saw (what’s now Episode 4, but the very first movie).  I had been waiting and waiting, we saw it a little late, and the buzz had grown, “this was unlike anything anybody ever seen”.  It came up to the weekend and we were going to the Ritz Theatre in Big Spring.  The Ritz Theatre was like popcorn covered floor , get stuck at the end of the movie, a little bit run down, but it was a palace to me because I was going to see Star Wars there.

 My Dad was a literature teacher so we grew up on the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Beowulf, and all those stories.  Dad was a very dedicated follower of Jesus Christ who didn’t mind us using our imagination.  He explained, “Hey son, the force is nothing, there’s not a real force”, but this idea of good versus evil, light versus dark encouraged us to think in those way.  He, my mom, brother, and I were all geared up to go to Star Wars and I got sick as a dog somewhere around Thursday and we were supposed to go on Saturday.  I was nauseous and throwing up; the whole thing.  Saturday rolls around and my parents are like “you’re not well enough to go” and I’m like “I am well enough to go! I can make it!  I’m well! I’m better!  If I don’t see Chewbacca something’s going to happen!  I got to go!”  So we get there, and it’s right about the scene where Han Solo is about to take off in the Millennium Falcon with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker and it hits me.  I start throwing up, LOL.  I will not gross you out with the details but there was a hurried rush out of that theatre!  They replaced our tickets and I got to go the next weekend. 

I can remember during my childhood just the awe of that.  This is back before they had cartoon stations. You didn’t watch cartoons online.  You woke up on Saturday morning to go watch cartoons.  At Christmas Mom and Dad would buy us little Star Wars figurines which I wish I had saved.  I wish I had saved in their packaging. I wish I’d never played with them because they’re worth thousands now.  That whole notion is epic to me.

I read a Time Magazine article, and there is sociologist named Wayne Youngquist in 1977 who wrote about the phenomenon that was Star Wars and Time revisited that with some thoughts of its own as this new [movie] is being released.  I found it fascinating when describing why [Star Wars] captivated the culture to such a degree; and it still does. 

The mid- and late-1970s were a time when American institutions were collapsing. Watergate had destroyed the collective sense of investment in the democratic process. The Vietnam War, having worn down the nation, had ended in disappointment. Even pop culture was splintering into niches. There had been an energy crisis and an economic crisis, and the end of the Vietnam War did not mean that the world was suddenly all that peaceful.

“It was this very kind of fragmentary period where everybody woke up with a hangover from the ‘60s and was really dubious about getting swept up into anything that large again,” Hallberg tells TIME. “And then all of the sudden you have this myth arrive that seems to speak for everyone and to everyone and that everyone can collectively project themselves into and talk about...”

... Star Wars, on the other hand, is morally uncomplicated. It’s about a just cause, people coming together and the good guys winning, “like the opposite of Vietnam, in a way.”

And that’s where today comes in.

“I see our time period, where we sit in history, as having something in common with where audiences might have been sitting in May of 1977,” Hallberg says. “There were the oil shocks, this huge economic grinding of the gears going on in the mid-‘70s, and stagflation that followed from that. We don’t have the inflation but I think we have the sense collectively of having lived through an economic trauma and not really having reached escape velocity from that. In 1977, I think there would have been a kind of hangover from a decade or more of armed conflict far away.”

Hallberg notes that the public appetite for The Force Awakens seems even larger than the appetite for the The Phantom Menace and the trilogy it began in 1999—and, if the ‘70s are any indication that may portend a bigger shift... perhaps the nation is ready to celebrate a new era of heroes.

I think the appeal of this, the frenzy, the captivation with just this one example in our culture is in a painful, troubling, monotonous, often heartbreaking world, we long for something more.  Down deep inside of us, I believe all of us, whether you knew it or not when you walked in here, deep down we crave adventure.  We ache for romance.  We yearn for mystery.  We cry for hope. 

In short, this didn’t die out in 1977.  We human beings collectively, deep in our hearts, need a hero.  Some of you are like, “what in the world does that have to do with Christmas?  I didn’t really come to get a soliloquy on Star Wars, Pastor. It’d be nice to hear something about Jesus.”  What in the world does that have to do with Jesus?  Everything.

I hope when you see that manger scene, that nativity, shepherds with bowed knees and crooks in their hand.  Mary there before the baby, and the Christ child lying there... When you see the light shining in darkness, when you see all this imagery, I pray you don’t just see something beautiful.  I pray you don’t just think of the warmth of motherhood and family.  Don’t just see a time of reprieve and a time of thinking about things that are bigger than us.  Don’t take the teeth out of what Christmas is really about.  This coming to the manger is the ultimate hero story.  It is what, deep down, we all long for. 

 “JESUS CHRIST: GOD, MAN, HERO, KING”

Hebrews 1:1-3  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners (various times and various ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (created the universe);  3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…

Let’s break that down a little bit.  The scripture says the Son radiates God’s own glory.  Jesus expresses the very character of God, and He sustains everything by the mighty power of His command.  That same Jesus, when He had all by himself purged away, paid for, redeemed us from our sins, He sat down on the r right hand of God, the majesty on high.

Jesus Christ: God, Man, Hero, King.

Before we go one step further, for a lot of us hearing the title of the sermon, or where I’m going with this, it doesn’t generate a whole lot of excitement or enthusiasm.  Whereas, we might have bought our tickets for that movie a month ago!  Whereas a lot of us, when it came up on the screen, that shot of the gigantic star wars print and the music playing, we were excited.  Why would we be so excited about that and so “eh” about Jesus?  I’m not about to throw a holiday guilt trip on you, listen, there is a world not only with a hero, victor, and a king but there’s a world with an enemy.  The enemy’s favorite pastime is to blind you to the truth and open you up to the lie.  Blind you to the glory of God and offer you some pseudo glory.  Take your deepest longing and say “listen, God can’t give you anything for that long but a move can, or food can, a relationship can, a drug can, a drink can, a trip to the mall can.”  That’s what he’s been doing for over six thousand years; offering pseudo glories that we will wrap our heart around in worship and miss the point. 

There are 4 Episodes in the Story of Jesus Christ:

EPISODE ONE

The bible says that before there was ever a plant Earth, before there was  a moon or Sun, stars or universe as we know it, before any of that; there was God.  God existed in what we know as tri-unity; we call it trinity. One God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God for all eternity passed.  Don’t think of Jesus beginning in a manger, think of Jesus as God with God forever in the past.  What were they doing?  They loved on another, they fellowshipped together.  They were in perfect power and perfect knowledge.  Beyond that y’all, I can’t tell you what they were doing.  It’s too big for my feeble mind.  Is too mysterious for us to comprehend, but God was God before there was ever a planet Earth.  Jesus was Jesus before He ever came down to Earth.  For all of eternity.  He didn’t have a birth date.  Spiritually speaking, He always was and He was always with the Father.  Do you know what the bible tell us?  I didn’t know this for the longest time,

 Col 1:16   For by him (by Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him (Jesus), and for him(Jesus):

When God determined, “I’m going to speak the universe into existence.  I’m going to make a Milky Way galaxy. I’m going to establish atoms and cells, minutiae of the universe.  I’m going to establish not only the micro but the macro.  I’m going to put planets in orbit. I’m going to make galaxies.  I’m going to make supernovas.  I’m going to make black holes...” it was the mouth of Jesus that spoke it into existence.

All the trees, animals, wind, sea, earth, us!  It is the most mysterious, awesome, unfathomable thing.  When you take a telescope and look into the night sky, you think “oh God, how big that is...”  Yes, and Jesus made it all.  When you hear in your science class about how the universe breaks down into smaller and smaller elements. There was a time when they thought the atom was the smallest unit.  “Atomo”, atom, means indivisible and then they split the atom and realized.  Some scientists believe it keeps getting smaller and smaller almost infinitely. Jesus spoke all that into existence.  What was He doing before He came to Earth?  He was God, with God, and it’s a mystery. 

EPISODE TWO

Incarnation.  We sing songs about it.  There are a lot of Christmas songs that have that word, “incarnation”, and sometimes we don’t define our terms.  Incarnation means “The assumption of a bodily or human form by a supernatural being.” Here’s the picture: God doing life with God, speaks the universe into existence., creates the angel orders, the Angels – a third of them rebel and become demons – led by an angel named Lucifer, “the shining one”, not became Satan.  God creates the Earth, Adam and Eve, and the created order in perfection, but they make a choice in chapter three of Genesis.  We think we can be our own God and do it better.  Creation falls.

Two thousand years ago, there came a moment when God the Son looks down on plant Earth.  Jesus Christ, who’s been there all the while, watching Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, watching all the things transpire with the Jewish people.  Conquered by the Babylonians, Neo-Persians divided up by Alexander’s generals and ultimately conquered by Rome.  Jesus Christ looks down on, planet Earth, a people lost in sin and He says,

”Father, I want to rescue them.  Father, is there hope for them?”  I’m speaking in human terms because Jesus knew everything from the beginning. 

“Father, is there hope for them?” 

“Yes Son, there’s hope but it’ll be terribly expensive.” 

“Father, is there a way to bring them back from their sins?  The fact that they’ve hated, even rebelled, against you and run from you.  In their own will and volition they’re going off the edge of the cliff.”

“There is hope for them, Son, but it will be very expensive.”

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit devise a plan. God will have to journey to Earth.  God will have to be born into a human body.  God will have to live life on this planet with all of its mud, blood, war, and turmoil.  God will have to die to rescue mankind.  “Incarnation”.

Man, this came down to me so vividly this last week.  My daughter, Aubrey, went in to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out.  You know, very minor surgery, but it’s never minor if it’s you and it isn’t minor if it’s your Mom or Dad.  They did a marvelous job out at the Baylor Surgicare out in Mansfield, such sweet people.  It was all done well, everything was as it was intended; we get Aubrey home and the first day she just shock us.  They said, “If they want to eat something, let them eat.  It’s not a big deal give them the pain medicine, we’ve got some nausea medicine.  If it gets bad you can give them that.”  She comes home on day one and she’s like “Dad, did I see some Roses Tortillas in there?  Can I have some tortillas?”  Like Father like daughter; yes, absolutely.  She was eating, feeling pretty good, giving her pain medicine.  Boy, day three she really started hurting.  Yesterday, she got a fever and her stomach was burning so bad she couldn’t hold any food down.  You parents, every one of you know what I mean, she just literally has her mouth open just crying and there’s not a thing in the world I can do for her, and that flat kills you.  This morning, when I got up and had my little time with the Lord, He reminded me He knew what His Son was about to go through.  He knew what He was sending Him down into:  open mouth, unsolvable pain, and He sent Him anyway.

Jesus comes. You talk about adventure?  The Son of God standing up and walking away from the throne in heaven, from the right hand of God; I believe Angel armies are all along that procession blasting their trumpets, standing in awe with mouths covered as Jesus, the Son of God, walks to the edge of Heaven and makes a journey down past planets, stars, through the atmosphere, to planet earth, into a virgin’s womb, flesh and blood and fluid, into a cattle trough.  God is incarnated and becomes a man.  The adventure of that!  What a journey.

John 1:14   And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

“Infinite and an infant.  Eternal, and yet born of a woman.  Almighty, and yet (nursing) on a women’s breast.  Supporting a Universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms.”

He’s still 100% God, mind you, but now he’s also 100% flies-and-blood man.

EPISODE THREE

Jesus is on earth.  We don’t hear much about His childhood.  There’s one little story about Him going to the temple. There are all sorts of apocryphal stories that we don’t believe in the New Testament canon, but we don’t know much about thirty years of life on planet Earth.  We do know He is raised by Mary and her husband, Joseph.  Joseph is a carpenter which meant Jesus was a carpenter.  He would have been raised to learn that trade there in the city of Nazareth.  I believe there in the carpentry shop, at the age of 30, there came a moment of decision.  He knew why He’d come but for 30 years He’s been living life on planet Earth and at the age of 30, He faced a decision.

Max Lucado wrote a book called “God Came Down” and one of the chapters was entitled Out of the Carpentry Shop. If you’ll bear with me, I want to share some of his thoughts with you today.

The heavy door creaked on its hinges as He pushed it open. With a few strides He crossed the silent shop and opened the wooden shutters to a square shaft of sunshine that pierced the darkness, painting a box of daylight on the dirt floor. 

He looked around the carpentry shop. He stood for a moment in the refuge of the little room that housed so many sweet memories. He balanced the hammer in His hand. He ran His fingers across the sharp teeth of the saw. He stroked the smoothly worn wood of the sawhorse. He had come to say good-bye.

It was time for Him to leave. He had heard something that made Him know it was time to go. So He came one last time to smell the sawdust and lumber.

Life was peaceful here. Life was so . . . safe. Here He had spent countless hours of contentment. On this dirt floor He had played as a toddler while His father worked. Here Joseph had taught Him how to grip a hammer. And on this workbench He had built His first chair.

I wonder what He thought as He took one last look around the room. Perhaps He stood for a moment at the workbench looking at the tiny shadows cast by the chisel and shavings. Perhaps He listened as voices from the past filled the air.

“Good job, Jesus.”

“Joseph, Jesus – come and eat!”

“Don’t worry, sir, we’ll get it finished on time. I’ll get Jesus to help me.”

I wonder if He hesitated. I wonder if His heart was torn. I wonder if He rolled a nail between His thumb and fingers, anticipating the pain. It was in the carpentry shop that He must have given birth to His thoughts. Here concepts and convictions were woven together to form the fabric of His ministry.

You can almost see the tools of His trade in His words as He spoke. You can see the trueness of a plumb line as He called for moral standards. You can hear the whistle of the plane as He pleads for religion to shave away unnecessary traditions. You can picture the snugness of a dovetail as He demands loyalty in relationships. You can imagine Him with a pencil and a ledger as He urges honesty.

It was here that His human hands shaped the wood His divine hands had created. And it was here that His body matured while His Spirit waited for the right moment, the right day.

And now that day had arrived. It must have been difficult to leave. After all, life as a carpenter hadn’t been bad. It wasn’t bad at all. Business was good. The future was bright and His work was enjoyable. In Nazareth He was known only as Jesus, the son of Joseph. You can be sure He was respected in the community. He was good with His hands. He had many friends. He was a favorite among the children. He could tell a good joke and had a habit of filling the air with contagious laughter.

I wonder if He wanted to stay. “I could do a good job here in Nazareth. Settle down. Raise a family. Be a civic leader.” I wonder because I know He had already read the last chapter. He knew that the feet that step out of the safe shadow of the carpentry shop would not rest until they had been pierced and placed on a Roman cross.

You see, He didn’t have to go. He had a choice. He could have stayed. He could have kept His mouth shut. He could have ignored the call or at least postponed it. And had He chosen to stay, who would’ve known? Who would have blamed Him?

He could have come back as a man in another era when society was not so volatile, when religion wasn’t so stale, when people would listen better. He could have come back when crosses were out of style, but His heart wouldn’t let Him.

If there was hesitation on His part of humanity, it was overcome by the compassion of His divinity. His divinity heard the voices. His divinity heard the hopeless cries of the poor, the bitter accusations of the abandoned, the dangling despair of those who are trying to save themselves.

And His divinity saw the faces. Some wrinkled. Some weeping. Some hidden behind veils. Some obscured by fear. Some earnest with searching. Some blank with boredom. From the face of Adam to the face of the infant born somewhere in the world as you read these words, He saw them all.

And you can be sure of one thing. Among the voices that found their way into that carpentry shop in Nazareth was your voice. Your silent prayers uttered on tear-stained pillows were heard before they were said. Your deepest questions about death and eternity were answered before they were asked. And your direst need, your need for a Savior, was met before you ever sinned.

And not only did He hear you, He saw you. He saw your face aglow the hour you first knew Him. He saw your face in shame the hour you first fell. The same face that looked back at you from this morning’s mirror, looked at Him. And it was enough to kill Him.
He left because of you. He laid His security down with His hammer. He hung tranquility on the peg with His nail apron. He closed the window shutters on the sunshine of His youth and locked the door on the comfort and ease of anonymity.

Since He could bear your sins more easily than He could bear the thought of your hopelessness, He chose to leave. It wasn’t easy. Leaving the carpentry shop never has been.

He makes a choice.  For three years He gathers a group of unlikely men, nobody else would have picked them.  He constantly depends on His Father.  He constantly depends on the Holy Spirit.  He doesn’t make a move, preach a sermon, say a word, heal an individual without the Spirit empowering Him to do it.  And for three years He teaches, preaches, heals, loves, helps, and He suffers.  At the age of 33, the hero is nailed to a cross.  The hero has come to rescue you and this is the only way He can do it.  Our sins my friends are so serious to God, so vast, unconquerable, the only way to deal with them was for the Son of God TO DIE.  Jesus hangs on a cross, the sky goes black, that place is so think with spiritual warfare and out of the darkness Jesus Christ cries “Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani” meaning “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” because now the Father for the first time in creation isn’t looking on Jesus as God the Son.  He is looking on Him as the greatest sinner that’s ever lived because now your sins, my sins, our children’s sins, our forebearers sins have come into His body on the cross and Jesus is being punished in your place and mine.  The hand of God’s justice, I believe with tears in His eyes, is being brought down.  The hammer blow falls on Jesus so it doesn’t have to fall on you. There Jesus Christ, with a loud voice and gives up the ghost.  We don’t know for three days while He lies in a borrowed tomb what is going on, but here’s what we do know: DEATH COULDN’T HOLD HIM DOWN.  Death couldn’t conquer.  Jesus, our hero, the Son of God comes back from the dead and He ascends to the right hand of the Father from when He came.  Up passed planets, through the atmosphere, stars, and the gates of glory swing open and the angel throngs hit their knees and applaud.  Jesus Christ takes His seat at the right hand of the Father and now He made a way to bring you and me with Him.  Praise God.  That’s our hero.  That’s the story.

EPISODE FOUR

I’ve got to tell y’all, listen, one day in a scene that Steven Spielberg himself could not possibly do justice, the Living God, Jesus Christ, on a white horse with the throngs of glory is coming back to planet Earth to reclaim what is rightfully His. 

In a scene that JRR Tolkien could do justice to, the King is going to take His throne once again.  And every single knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that Jesus, the hero, is Lord and Savior and God.

That’s the story.  So kids, I’ve got to tell you something and don’t be mad at me: Star Wars isn’t real.  You do know that don’t you, it’s good. It’s fine, it’s fun, it isn’t real.  All the special effects in the world, in the end is just a game, is smoke and mirrors.  It’s entertaining for a time, but it will break your heart if you put your hope in it. 

Can I just tell you something?  There is a war going on in the universe.  There is a cause that you were involved in whether you like to think so or not.  There is a force called the power of the Holy Spirit of God that will change planet Earth when it flows through you.  There is a hero who cannot be killed again.  His name is Jesus Christ.  You’re playing part in a saga right now whether you yawn and talk about slough it off.  Whether you’re enamored by what we’re talking about today.  Whether Jesus Christ as your Savior, or you disdain Him and you’re here for the ceremony and because your family brought you.  Either way, you are playing a part in this drama that’s unfolding and one day you will see with your eyes what I am describing today with my lips. 

God got all over me watching that movie, which is great.  You want me to tell you all about it?  I won’t do that to you; spoiler alert!  You know what got to me?  We’re in the greatest, most romantic adventure of our lives, right now, and we’ve got a hero who is worthy of us giving everything to follow Him. Oh my God, let me flowing Jesus Christ. 

This is a moment in our service, where we’re almost complete with our time here together.  No doubt we’ll go off and have a great week ahead.  I know some of you, frankly, you have somethings in your life that are just flat painful and maybe you’re not really looking forward to this week. There’s a lot on your mind and a lot on your heart.  I want to pray for you in a minute, if that’s you. As best we can, let’s not have a lot of unnecessary movement, a lot of leaving and coming right now unless you have to.  We’ll leave this place, and this service will be just a memory.  Just be an occasion on the calendar that happened back in 2015, but I tell you what can happen here today.  

Some of you felt moved, not by my words, but something deeper.  Some of you feel compelled to do something with what you just received.  There’s some triviality in your life that you’re like, “I don’t want to live just for that.”  There’s some dark stuff in your life and you don’t want to be bound by that.  There’s some hope in your heart that He really is coming back.  If you’re feeling that, that’s not coming from this Preacher’s mouth, I’m not that skilled.  That is the Spirit of God taking His word and applying it in your heart.  He is calling you to take a step of faith.  He’s calling you to trust him and step out. 

Let me tell you who I’m most alarmed for in this service right now, some of you that enamored by the movie and bored to death with this; more enamored by the food, the relationship, girlfriend, boyfriend, phone, right?  But God, is (for you) very distant, figurative, non-literal.  I love you enough to tell you there’s a real good chance you don’t know Christ as your Savior. I don’t care what dotted line you signed.  I don’t care who made you a promise years ago.  I’m telling you, if you know Him, there’s a love for Him down there, that’s a part of Him living in you that when He calls, that part hears and responds.  It can get cold, dull, calcified by layers of triviality; yes it can.  Friend, listen to me, you ought to wonder this morning.  It’s proper to wonder if you really know him and if He came back today, if He would be your greatest friend or your enemy, frankly. 

Right now is the time of grace.  Now is a time where Jesus is still reaching out a hand to bring you back in a relationship with God.  He wants to be your hero and there is only one way that happens, when you get real.  Admit you're a sinner and ask Christ to be your hero and Savior. You don't have to have a preacher, a priest, or alter a ceremony, or any of that to have Him like that. You could just ask him. 

You know what?  Some of you need to take a step today. Today's the day you need to say hang what anybody thinks about me I don't care. I don't care if they if they smile, if they frown, if they wonder, if they look.  I need to know Christ as my savior. I need to be served today. I'm going to ask you for a moment, after we pray to slide right out of your seat come down to an altar, to come right here down to me and say, “Brian I need to be sure I'm on my way to heaven. I need to be sure I know Jesus.” Everybody in this place that knows Him will celebrate the fact that you're coming. It won't be some weird conversation some secret room. We'll have somebody come and talk to you and answer your questions, either at this alter their set up an appointment with you if you have more questions, but today you need to nail that thing down and make sure. There's too much at stake, and He loves you too much, to go through another Christmas that’s nothing but a song. 

Christians all over this place, how long has it been since you took a step of faith? How long has it been since you said, “Lord, it’s been a long time since I've really talked to you. Since I told you how I really feel.” Some of your mad at him but you’ve never told him that. You're so disappointed you kind of just pulled back but you never told him that. There's something in your life, He's telling you, and “it's time to trust me with that. It’s time to trust me with them.” I'm telling you when you do, there's a flood of Jesus coming to you that I can't describe. Why not let the hero rescue you today? 

I'm going to pray and then these altars are open if you need to come pray with your family or by yourself.  If you need to come take me by the hand and say, “Brian, I’m that guy, I’m that lady. I need to know Him today. I need to know today.” You come do it on the very first verse.

Lord,

We give you this invitation. The thing you’ve been putting on my heart is Lord, water our words, our thoughts, our sentiments. Without your power and God we feel your power here today. Spirit, make Jesus real. Make your call effective. Save souls, change lives right here today for your glory, Lord. Your children ask this of you and we ask you to forgive us for our sins and our triviality at how we miss you, Lord. Open the eyes of our heart this Christmas. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen

Recently, God has been teaching me what it means to seek Him. I've learned that seeking God is much more than filling my head with more information about Him. Seeking God is a daily pursuit for His manifest presence. This article by John Piper has helped me in explaining what the Bible has to say about seeking the presence of God.

In Christ, 

Brandon H.