We begin today with a look in the Word of God
at Hebrews chapter 10. I invite you to turn there
with me. Charles Dickens, in A Christmas Carol,
created the spirits of Christmas past, present,
and future. They were ghostly personifications
of the atmosphere and events of three Christmases.
who in turn influenced Ebenezer Scrooge to abandon
his miserly, greedy ways. We, too, are dealing
with a spirit of Christmas, although a different
kind, and perhaps by so doing, we, too, will
be altered in our ways. The kind of spirit that
we're talking about is variously described by
the dictionary as a frame of mind, a mood. or
a disposition. It's that kind of spirit of Christmas
that we're talking about. In God's Word, related
to the first advent of Christ, we learn something
of the frame of mind, the spirit, the disposition
that was Christ as He came into the world. We
today need to emulate... that Christmas spirit,
that spirit of Christ in our lives if we would
seek to be the servants of Jesus Christ through
whom he today can touch the lives of people as
he did personally 2 ,000 years ago. Look with
me in Hebrews chapter 10, beginning our reading
with verse 5. Therefore, when he comes into the
world, he says, Sacrifice and offering thou hast
not desired, but a body thou hast prepared for
me. In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for
sin thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said,
Behold, I have come. In the roll of the book
it is written of me. I have come to do thy will,
O God. It seems to me that another aspect of
the spirit of Christmas that we need to notice
is this thing of obedience. If we really want
to get into the spirit of the season, we have
to consider the degree to which we are now practicing
obedience in our lives. Look with me, if you
will, at the obedience Christ demonstrated in
his example to us. First, I would have you notice
that he was obedient as he came. This text that
we're looking at now summarizes that truth. Christ
was obedient as he came into the world. The first
question that one might ask in reading the text
is, who is the person spoken of in verse 5? Who
is he who comes into the world, who says what
is quoted here? Well, of course, the best answer
to that is found in the context, and that is
verse 27. If you back up that far, it says, And
inasmuch as it is appointed for men to once die,
and after this the judgment, so Christ also,
having been offered once to bear the sins of
many, shall appear a second time for salvation
without reference to sin. to those who eagerly
await Him. In that verse, it speaks about His
second coming. But clearly, the person who is
in mind and who is quoted in verse 5 is the one
who is Christ in verse 27. Again, in the context,
notice in verse 10 of chapter 10, where it says,
By this will. And notice in verse 7, this one
said, I come to do Thy will, O God. In verse
10 it says, By this will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all. There can be no question as to
the identity of the one who is speaking in verse
5. It is the one who is termed in the book of
Hebrews, the Son, with a capital S on it. The
Son who is superior in His person. to the prophets,
to the angels, to Moses, and to Aaron. Those
of you who have read and studied the book of
Hebrews will recognize the outline there of the
first several chapters. Not only is the son superior
in his person to those, but he is also superior
in his priesthood. That's the next few chapters
of the book of Hebrews. which concludes here
in chapter 10. He is superior in his priesthood
with respect to its order. Those who served the
priesthood in the Old Testament were after the
order of Aaron, the first high priest appointed,
the brother of Moses. Christ comes after the
order of Melchizedek, a greater order of priesthood.
His priesthood is greater with respect to its
covenant. The old priesthood served under the
old covenant of the law. But Jesus Christ has
come in his priesthood to establish and carry
out the new covenant of grace. The old priesthood
served in an earthly sanctuary. But this one,
the Son, who is superior in his priesthood, in
the heavenly sanctuary, the real one. The one
on earth was but the shadow, says the book of
Hebrews. The old priesthood offered up many sacrifices
to God, often repeating the same sacrifices.
And those priests had to offer up first a sacrifice
for themselves, because they were sinners, before
they could offer up sacrifices for the nation.
The priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ is superior
in respect to its sacrifices, too, because he
himself was the sacrifice once and for all, not
as just an atonement or a covering for sin, but
to absolutely deal with sin and to remove it.
So the one who is seen coming into the world,
the he of verse 5, is the Son, Jesus Christ.
Now, as He came into the world, what did He do?
Well, we could say it broadly that He fulfilled
the Old Testament, the Old Covenant. Think with
me, even in context here of chapter 10 of Hebrews.
In the first place, He fulfilled the Old Testament's
prophecies. In fact, we have in verses 5, 6,
and 7 a quotation from one of the Messianic Psalms,
Psalm 40. It was a psalm written by David, but
the words surpass David himself. They have to
refer to his greater son, the one who was born
in the city of David, the one who is the son
of David, Jesus Christ. This is but one. brief
example of the many prophecies of the Old Testament
that point to this Christ who would come. One
scholar has determined that there are no fewer
than 332 specific prophecies in the Old Testament
related to the first coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And every one of them, 332 of them, were
fulfilled. Someone has taken the time to calculate
the odds of but eight of those being fulfilled
in one person. Eight of them which are the more
notable ones. What are the odds that one person
could come into the world and find in his life
fulfilled only eight of the 332? The odds are
1 to 100 quartillion. That's a big number, isn't
it? Do you know how many zeros that is? I do
because I read it. It's 10 to the 17th power.
In other words, it's a 1 with 17 zeros after
it. The odds of the eight of those prophecies,
specific prophecies now, to be fulfilled in one
person, the odds are one to one hundred quartillions.
We're used to talking now in terms of not just
billions, but trillions in our national debt.
And if Congress doesn't do something pretty soon,
you're going to get used to that new term, quartillions,
because that's the one that comes after it. to
try to illustrate that one the same author has
suggested that you would need to take enough
silver dollars to cover the state of texas two
feet deep that's how many silver dollars one
quartillion is and to try to illustrate the odds
let's suppose you took one of those silver dollars
and marked it in some way, and then someone went
out in the middle of the state of Texas and hid
it. And then you put a blind man into the state,
and you said, find that one silver dollar. The
odds of him finding that one silver dollar would
be the same as those eight specific prophecies
that I don't have time to go into this morning
could be fulfilled in the one person, Jesus Christ.
What did he do when he came? He came to fulfill
Old Testament prophecy, and he did perfectly,
exactly, without fail. He came also to fulfill
the Old Testament requirement. Now here I'm thinking
of what God desires more than sacrifice. What
is that? Right, obedience. Saul disobeyed God,
and Samuel said to him, God doesn't want sacrifices,
what he wants is obedience. To hearken is better
than the fat of rams. To obey is better than
sacrifice. The law simply said this to us. Do
these things and you will live. The problem is
that we sinners can't do those things. And therefore,
what God sent to be good and holy becomes to
us our condemnation. But there is one who lived
upon the earth who perfectly now, who perfectly
kept the Old Testament requirements. He perfectly
obeyed God. There was not an example of one sin,
one failure, one shortcoming in all of his life.
Not once did he miss the mark. Not once did he
transgress the law of God. Perfectly, he hid
the law of God in his heart and obeyed it. And
so when he came, he came into the world to fulfill
Old Testament prophecies. But he came as well
to fulfill the Old Testament requirement. And
thirdly, he came to fulfill Old Testament sacrifices.
There are four words that are used here in our
text which suggest the main offerings of the
Levitical system, that Old Testament priesthood
and their sacrifices. It speaks here about sacrifice
in verse 5. That refers to any animal sacrifice,
but has special reference, I am told, to the
peace offerings. By the way, these specific sacrifices
you can read about in Leviticus chapters 1 through
5. And then it mentions the offering in verse
5, a general word in Levitical terms, but it
may specifically refer to the meal or the cereal
offerings. that could be offered up by the Levitical
priests. Burnt offerings mean exactly what they
say. That was one of the kinds of offerings offered
up. And then it mentions as well sacrifice for
sin, which refers to another major category of
offering, the sin offering. When the Lord Jesus
Christ came into the world, He fulfilled all
of those offerings. Why is it today? That we
do not offer up burnt sacrifices in our church.
They're usually offered up by the time we get
home for dinner, aren't they? And the roast that
was overcooked. Why is it that we don't have
an altar at the side of our church where we kill
lambs? Or offer up doves? Or bring bullocks?
After all, the Bible tells us to do that. Just
like it tells us to keep the Sabbath. Why don't
we do those things? Because they were a part
of the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, and all
of those things found their fulfillment in Jesus
Christ so that today we do not have to follow
those ceremonies. The one sacrifice for all time
has been offered in Christ. The point is this,
that as he descended to take up the lowest state
of fallen humanity, It was with the spirit of
joyful and complete obedience. Lo, said the Messiah,
I come to do thy will, O God. He was not only
obedient as he came, but he was secondly obedient
as he lived upon the earth, as I've already suggested.
Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke in the second
chapter, please. Only Luke gives us the briefest
insight into the early years of our Savior, his
childhood years. We have in verse 49 Jesus' words
to his parents when they missed him going back
from Jerusalem after having worshiped there.
And they returned and found him in the temple
and lightly rebuked him. And in verse 49, he
said to them, why is it that you were looking
for me? Did you not know that I had to be in
my father's house, says the New American Standard
Version. Not a very good translation, in my opinion.
The note of house is italicized. Literally, Jesus
said this, that I had to be about my father's
things, my father's concerns. I think the King
James is closer to the point when it says my
father's business. That's what Jesus said to
them. He was obedient as he lived, even as a
young boy. We see an example here. Now, to a
thinking person, this brings to mind a question,
a question that is familiar today. Again, what
did Jesus know, and when did he know it? Have
you ever thought about that? What did Jesus know
and when did he know it? We're talking about
one of the most profound aspects of the Incarnation.
When Jesus was born in the manger, did he know
more than a baby? The answer to that seems to
be no, he did not. Because he learned. Now understand
that we're talking about the omniscient God.
Part of his humbling of himself was the laying
aside, not of his deity, but of the use of certain
of his attributes. He voluntarily did not use
some aspects of his attributes. so that he could
fully identify with man in his finity, his finiteness,
his weakness. Jesus Christ was one person with
two natures. As such, he learned. As it says
in verse 52, Jesus kept increasing in wisdom.
This is the one in whom the fullness of wisdom
dwells. But it says regarding him that he increased
in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God
and men. Jesus Christ learned. He grew in intelligence.
And yet, as God, he had no need for any of that.
This is an antinomy, one of many in the Bible.
Antinomies. are apparent contradictions which
are really due to our human limitations, our
inability to really reason and know these things.
By the time he was 12 years of age, he understood
his unique identity as the Son of God. We know
that much from what he said in verse 49. When
was it as a child that he learned, that he grew
to understand who he was? You know, just saying
those words makes me want to weep. When was it
that he came to understand who he was as a son
of God? We don't know. But by his pre -teen time,
he did know. And he was beginning to understand
his mission. I'd like to quote... Ken Boa, who
wrote, The doctrine of the kenosis, that is the
emptying of Christ, raises other questions. One
is, how could he have learned anything when he
was a child if he was at the same time the omniscient
God? That's what we've been talking about. How
could it be said that Jesus, as God, learned
obedience from the things which he suffered?
The impenetrable answer to this must lie in the
nature of how Christ could voluntarily not use
his omni attributes. for periods of time. Somehow
the omniscient Lord Jesus was able to veil his
omniscience from himself without diminishing
his deity or perfection. As a man, he required
a preparation period before he could begin his
public ministry. And it could be said that Jesus
kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in
favor with God and men. That is a profound mystery.
He was obedient as he lived as a young boy. He
was also obedient as he was baptized. Turn back
now to the Gospel of Matthew in the third chapter,
please. The thirteenth verse. Jesus arrived from
Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized
by him. But John tried to prevent him, saying,
I have need to be baptized by you. And do you
come to me? But Jesus answering said to him,
Permit it at this time, for in this way it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
Then he permitted him. What did Jesus mean at
his baptism? He said we must do this to fulfill
all righteousness. What he meant was that if
he by his sacrifice was to provide righteousness,
For believing sinners, he must first identify
with them in their need. John was correct. Jesus
had no need for his baptism. In the sense that
John's baptism was unto repentance of sin. And
there was no sin in Jesus for which he needed
to repent or to signify repentance by baptism.
But baptism for him was a part of God's will.
He said, I come to do thy will, O God. God was
pleased by his act of baptism or identification
with man. For in verse 17, God spoke out of heaven.
He could not retain these words. He could not
restrain himself. He said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. Jesus' obedience.
as he was baptized. I wonder why some of us have
such a difficulty with baptism. When the blessed
Son of God was willing to obey the will of God
and follow through with baptism to identify with
us in our sins, why are we so reluctant to follow
his command to be baptized to identify with him?
in fellowship with his people, and to testify
of him openly before men that we have trusted
him as our Savior. This may be an area where
someone today, here, needs to make a decision
to be obedient. Notice with me, thirdly, that
Jesus was obedient as he faced his temptation.
We come to chapter 4 of Matthew. Then Jesus was
led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil. Question, why did Satan tempt Jesus?
It was an attempt on his part to cause Christ
to sin and thus, of course, become disqualified
to be the Savior. I really think in my heart
that Satan would like to have avoided this conflict.
I want you to notice that it was not Satan who
wooed Jesus into the wilderness. The Spirit of
God thrust him into the wilderness. And Jesus
went obediently, obeying the will of God that
he go. Now why did God arrange this? Why did
God thrust his son into the wilderness to be
tempted by Satan? So that he could prove. Christ's
sinlessness, so that he could manifest the perfect
obedience of Christ, that he indeed was worthy
to be the Savior. That was God's purpose. And
Jesus was willing. He was obedient. Lo, I come
to do thy will, O God, in the temptation. That
inaugurated his ministry publicly. Turn with
me to the Gospel of John and look at three or
four verses which tell us that he was also obedient
as he ministered to people. John 4 and verse
34. Jesus said to his disciples after ministering
to the Samaritan woman, My food is to do the
will of him who sent me and to accomplish his
work. The very same thing he said years before
at the temple to Mary and Joseph. I come to do
my Father's work. Chapter 5 and verse 30. I can
do nothing, said Jesus, on my own initiative.
As I hear, I judge. And my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will, but the will
of him who sent me. Chapter 6. Verse 38, For
I have come down from heaven, not to do my own
will, but the will of him who sent me. Chapter
8, verse 29, And he who sent me is with me. He
has not left me alone, for I always do the things
that are pleasing to him. Did Jesus Christ have
a sense of mission? The Father has sent me, he
said. I do nothing. I say nothing. There is nothing
on my own initiative. For what I do is what he
tells me to say and do. As he taught, as he healed,
as he blessed, as he delivered, as he restored,
it was all in perfect obedience to the Father's
will. And finally notice with me that as he finished
his earthly ministry, he was obedient. Again
in the Gospel of John to the 17th chapter in
the 4th verse, as Jesus prays to the Father.
He says, I glorified thee on the earth, having
accomplished the work which thou hast given me
to do. As he completed his earthly assignment,
our Lord was able to say to the Father, I have
done, Father, what you sent me to do. I have
perfectly obeyed your will. Had he been wrong,
by the way, we would have known it. Because three
days later, there would have been no resurrection.
Romans 1 .4 says, declared to be the Son of God
with power by the resurrection from the dead.
What was it that set him out there that designated
him Son of God so that all would know and see?
It was his resurrection from the dead. Later
Paul says in the same epistle, raised because
of our justification. In other words, he was
raised to show that the Father had fully accepted
the price. that he had offered at the cross.
Jesus Christ was obedient as he came. He was
obedient as he lived. And now I would like to
focus in closing on his suffering and say to
you that he was thirdly obedient as he suffered.
And to think about this, I'd like you to go back
with me to the book of Hebrews, but this time
to chapter 5. We have here a couple of difficult
verses that cause some people to wonder. It says
in Hebrews 5 and verse 8, Although he was a son,
he learned obedience from the things which he
suffered. And having been made perfect, he became
to all those who obey him the source of eternal
salvation. A couple of questions. If the Lord
Jesus Christ was the sinless and perfectly obedient
Son of God, then how could it be said that He
learned obedience? What does that mean? If He
already was perfect and sinless, how could He
learn obedience? There is a preposition before
the word obedience in the original language.
It says he learned the obedience, which suggests
to us that this obedience that is in view here
is a particular expression of obedience which
was required of him in his earthly work, especially
in his passion, his suffering. As Skylar English
has put it, in his obedience prior to Calvary,
it is as if there had never been any shrinking
from the task appointed him. But here, as the
shadow of the cross fell across him, while still
he was submissive to the Father, there was that
awful repellent horror of separation from the
Father that brought forth strong crying and tears.
Mentioned in verse 7. An untold suffering, but
which issued in not my will, but thine. He learned
obedience by the things which he suffered. Not
in any sense to correct disobedience did he learn,
for he was not disobedient. But here at the crisis
of it all. There in the Garden of Gethsemane,
which seems to be in mind in verse 7 when it
says, He offered up prayers and supplications
with loud crying and tears. There as the shadow
of the cross fell across him. There was the test
of his obedience again. And he said, take this
cup from me if it's possible. Nevertheless. Not
my will, but thine be done. The cup that he spoke
about was the cup of his suffering and becoming
sin. It was not the physical aspect of the suffering
that caused him to cry out. It was the spiritual
aspect. For he, as the Son, was about to experience,
because he was becoming sin for us, being separated
from the Father. Now listen. because of the unique
person that he was, in his act of being separated
from the Father, forsaken by the Father as he
became sin for us, in that single act, he suffered
the penalty of eternal hell for you and for me.
Indeed, you could pile up all of the suffering
of hell and you would only begin to understand
the spiritual suffering that He willingly endured
for you as He drank that cup at the cross. It
was not to correct disobedience that He learned
obedience. but rather that he might fully draw
out his inward quality of obedience to the will
of the Father. How then in verse 9 could it be
said that he was made perfect? That word does
not suggest that there was some inward lack in
Christ, that he was missing something, but rather
it means that he was fully qualified. by what
he endured, by his suffering, by his learning
of obedience. He was fully qualified and prepared
to save those, as it says here, who obey him.
By the word, by the way, in the context of the
book of Hebrews, what it means here by obey him
means to believe on him. By what he endured,
he is able fully to identify with us. as a sympathetic
high priest. Dr. Zane Hodges has written in the
Bible Knowledge Commentary these helpful words,
in a real sense, not fully comprehensible. The
Incarnation gave the already infinitely wise
and perfect Son of God the experiential acquisition
of knowledge about the human condition. Suffering
thus became a reality that he tasted, and from
it he can sympathize deeply with his followers.
Because of what Jesus endured as he was obedient,
because of what he suffered in doing the will
of God, he is able to identify with us in our
suffering and in our doing of the will of God.
You see, the doing of the will of God is not
intended to make us prosperous, healthy, wealthy,
and wise, as one kind of false teaching says
these days. But the will of God involves for
us, as it did for Jesus, suffering, my friend,
in this world. But we have a high priest who
has suffered to a depth that we could never experience.
Therefore, whatever we go through in our suffering
in the will of God, He can legitimately say,
I know how you feel. And Father, because I know
how my child feels, this is my prayer for him.
He is a sympathetic and faithful high priest
on our behalf. We have one other passage that
deals with this obedience and his suffering,
and we looked at it briefly last week in this
context, and that's back in the book of Philippians
again in the second chapter. Last week we talked
about his humility, but I want to emphasize now
his obedience. And being found in appearance
as a man, Philippians 2 .8, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient. to the point of death,
even death on a cross. Since he obeyed, we too
are to be an obedient people. Notice that after
talking about Jesus' obedience in verse 8, he
goes on to say in verse 12, So then, my beloved,
just as you have always obeyed, Not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
He doesn't say we have to work for our salvation.
Notice that. He says, work out your salvation.
In other words, the salvation that God has put
within us, work it out in your life where it's
visible by your obedience, he says. As in my
presence now in my absence, work it out, obey.
He says it is God who is at work in you, both
to will and to work for his good pleasure. And
then more specifically, he says, do all things
without grumbling or disputing. Why should they
do that? Well, he says that you may prove yourselves
to be... blameless and innocent children of God.
Notice that he says here, obedience on our part
is proof that we are sons of God. Yet we're all
exhorted to obey because obeying doesn't come
naturally to our sinful humanness. But he does
strongly assert here that it is that very obedience
in our lives which he characterizes as doing
things without grumbling, without answering back
and disputing. Doing those things proves us to
be the children of God. Just as Christ became
obedient, we are to follow his example. We are
to work out our salvation, and notice it is to
be with fear and trembling. Bless God for the
assurance of salvation that, my friend, there
is a place, too, for fear and trembling in our
lives. Jesus said, My peace I give to you. But
there's also a place to work out our salvation
with fear and trembling. He tells us to do all
things without grumbling. The idea there is murmuring.
It goes on underneath the surface. Without the
kind of gossip and upset that takes place so
easily, without disputing, answering back, staffing
is the idea. Parents know what that means. This
has always been a problem with the people of
God. Isn't that sad? Grumbling and disputing.
Not joy and victory, sadly, but often it is grumbling
and disputing that characterizes God's people.
It was true in ancient Israel. The Israelites
brought out with them from Egypt a mixed multitude.
People who were not really of Israel, but who
went along with them nonetheless. And they continually
sowed... Seeds of discord in the church. Or in
the congregation, rather, of the people of Israel.
Grumbling about Moses' leadership. Who is this
man to tell us what to do? He has been gone on
that mountain forever. Let's go back to Egypt
where we can eat something that's tasty and not
this manna. Disputing. You'd find it in the early
church. You'd find it as early as in the book
of Acts where the two groups of widows are going
at it. Those who were not native Jews felt that
their widows were being neglected in the daily
ministration of the food that was given to them
because they had need of food and support. It
was right that the church support them. There
began this dispute, this conflict, this murmuring,
grumbling. They're getting more than I am. Ours
are overlooked. We're not getting our fair share.
So the apostles took action to try to correct
that. And it's still true today. If it's not
one issue, it's another. That Satan will keep
feeding the people. who are grumblers and complainers.
There is no end to that, except that the grumblers
and complainers decide that they're being disobedient
to God, which they are, and say, I'm not going
to do that anymore. Because there will constantly
be a stream of issues that Satan will feed the
people to disrupt the fellowship of the church.
There were about 30 pastors. together within
the last three weeks of some of the major churches
here in the Twin Cities area. I want you to know
that to a man, every one of those pastors said
that this has been one of the most difficult
falls in their ministry in their churches. I
don't understand exactly all that's behind that.
But I know who's behind it. I think you do too.
Maybe it's because his followers are praying
more than the followers of the Lord. I don't
know. But I do know that right now in our Twin
Cities area, there is a great deal of trouble,
a great deal of grumbling, a great deal of disputing
going on under the surface of churches. Every
now and then it will spout up, just like a whale
spouts up the water in the air. You'll see somebody
here and somebody there. What's the answer to
that? It is every one of us humbling ourselves
and becoming obedient to the Word of God. Do
all things without grumbling and disputing. that
you may prove yourselves to be the blameless
and innocent children of God, above reproach,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
You know what the generation says that looks
at a church that's grumbling and disputing? That
wicked generation says, look, they're just like
we are. They're no different than us. And they're
right. God's plan is for us to shine as lights
in the world, to hold fast the word of life so
that when we stand before Jesus Christ one day,
we will not have run in vain, be able to give
good account of ourselves. Jesus Christ was faithful
as he suffered. Become an obedient... even to
death. Not once was there murmuring. Not once
was there complaint. There was a question. If
it be possible, he said, let this cup pass from
you. Is it possible? But he knew the answer.
He said, not my will. It's yours to have. There's
a difference, by the way, between a question
and a complaint. Jesus never complained, never
murmured, never grumbled about the Father's will.
One final application as we think about the obedience
of Christ, and this is found in Romans chapter
5. In the 19th verse where it says, For as through
the one man's disobedience the many were made
sinners, even so through the obedience of the
One, capital O, the many will be made righteous.
He's talking here about Adam and Christ. Adam's
disobedience has brought the many, in other words,
those who are identified with him by their birth,
their natural birth, the many, his disobedience
has brought the many to share in his sin and
in his death. We know that. But thank God for
what it says about Jesus. For it says through
his obedience he has brought the many. Who is
this? Those who are identified with him by their
new birth. He has brought the many to righteousness.
To share his life. Every one of us this morning
is identified in God's eyes either with Adam
by our natural birth or with Christ. By a new
birth, we either share the death and sin of Adam
or we share by grace the life and the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. With whom are you identified
today? Is your identity with Adam or have you
been born again by faith so that your identity
is with Jesus Christ and you want it here? The
spirit of Christmas is obedience. So let's get
into the spirit of the season. And remember that
if Christ is going to touch our world today,
it will be through his obedience, people. Let's
bow together. James was right when he said, in
many respects, we all fail. And we do. Our Savior
is the only one who is perfectly obedient. But
God desires that we be, nonetheless, a people
obeying Him. I wonder if there's been some disobedience
in your life that you have been convicted about
this morning and which right now you'd like to
deal with. My Christian brother. My Christian
sister, he says if you confess your sins, he's
faithful and just to forgive you your sins and
to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Will
you come to him right now and confess your sins?
Will you tell him that you will be obedient in
that specific area of your life? Maybe it's baptism.
Maybe it's grumbling. Maybe it's complaining.
Will you ask his forgiveness and tell him that
your desire is to obey him? Oh, Father, I pray
that we will be your sons and prove it. Prove
that we are without reproach, that we're innocent
children of God by our obedience. May this wicked
and perverse generation in which you have allowed
us to live see that we're different. May the
light in us, because of our obedience, shine
brightly into the darkness of the world. In Jesus'
name, amen. You know, I discovered that there
are many hymns written about trust. and faith,
and believing, but not too many written about
obeying. You ever notice that? But there is one
that talks about it, number 320. It ties the
two together, and rightly so. It says, if we
trust and obey, there's no other way but that,
to be happy in Jesus. Trust and obey. And as
we sing a verse or two of this in a chorus, if
you today have some spiritual need in your life,
and you need someone to pray with you and help
you, because you're at the end of your rope.
You may be at that point you don't know what
to do next. You feel frustrated. You feel contained.
You feel depressed and pressured. You're calling
out to God for help, but you don't know what
to do next. We have people who are willing and
able to pray with you and may be able to get
some advice into your mind and heart that will
help you today. As we sing, would you feel free,
please, to slip out and come here to the front?
I invite you to do that. I'll be waiting for
you. Let's stand together as we sing.