WEBVTT 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:08.259 The story is told about a farmer and his wife 00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:12.419 who went to town together. It seems that the 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:14.400 man had an appointment with the doctor for a 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:16.440 checkup and his wife wanted to be there. Isn't 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.460 that always the case? They just don't trust you 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:22.199 to understand what the doctor says and bring 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.559 it back home. She wanted to go and be with him 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:29.920 and so after the examination, the doctor sent 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:34.140 the man out and had his wife come into the office. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:37.520 And he handed her a piece of paper saying, here 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:40.640 are the things that you need to do for your husband, 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:47.500 or he will surely die. Fear gripped her heart 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:49.740 as she silently read down the list. It said, 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:52.000 number one, fix your husband a hot breakfast 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:53.979 every morning before he goes out to milk the 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:58.939 cows at 5 o 'clock. Two, surprise him with a 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:01.840 homemade pie or cake every day at lunchtime. 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:07.540 Number three, after lunch, insist that he lie 00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:10.439 down in the hammock and take a nap. Bring him 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:12.959 the newspaper and a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:17.599 Number four, always let him hold the remote. 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:22.599 And watch the ball game whenever he wants to. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.519 Bring him a bowl of ice cream and homemade cookies 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:31.659 while he watches. On the way home, The farmer 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:33.980 looked over to his wife and asked her, well, 00:01:34.060 --> 00:01:37.120 honey, what did the doctor say? How am I doing? 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.359 She looked at him and said, he says you're surely 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:51.959 going to die. You're surely going to die. Now 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:56.420 that man is in a deep pit. And perhaps it's something 00:01:56.420 --> 00:02:00.230 like the pit that David was in when he wrote 00:02:00.230 --> 00:02:03.150 Psalm 40. I invite you to open your Bible there 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:08.009 with me as we continue this theme of the carols 00:02:08.009 --> 00:02:10.930 of the Christ, thinking today about His incarnation. 00:02:14.009 --> 00:02:18.610 Psalm 40 is a composition of David. These are 00:02:18.610 --> 00:02:23.669 his words. God had delivered David from a pit 00:02:23.669 --> 00:02:28.550 of destruction out of miry clay, says his poetic 00:02:28.550 --> 00:02:32.870 heart. God has set him free, has brought him 00:02:32.870 --> 00:02:37.389 up out of the pit. God has set his feet upon 00:02:37.389 --> 00:02:41.909 a rock and put a new song in his mouth. This 00:02:41.909 --> 00:02:46.469 hymn or this psalm praises God for a past rescue, 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:50.870 but it also leads to yet another prayer of David 00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:53.530 for deliverance that was needed at the moment 00:02:53.530 --> 00:02:58.050 it was written. When, as he says in verse 11, 00:02:58.330 --> 00:03:01.509 there were evils beyond number that surrounded 00:03:01.509 --> 00:03:05.449 him. And in verse 14 he says there were some 00:03:05.449 --> 00:03:08.110 even at that moment that sought to destroy his 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:13.349 life. So here is a psalm of praise to God for 00:03:13.349 --> 00:03:16.909 past deliverance and petition to God for yet 00:03:16.909 --> 00:03:21.870 another need for intervention. Placed into this 00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:25.629 setting is a lyrical jewel of exquisite devotion 00:03:25.629 --> 00:03:31.979 to God. These are verses 6 through 8, our text 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:37.319 for today. Sacrifice and meal offering thou hast 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:42.960 not desired. My ears thou hast opened. Burnt 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:46.479 offering and sin offering thou hast not required. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:51.639 Then I said, behold, I come. In the scroll of 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:55.180 the book it is written of me. I delight to do 00:03:55.180 --> 00:04:00.800 thy will, O my God. Thy law is within my heart. 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:08.159 This was an expression of David. As he told of 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:11.759 his heart's devotion to the Lord, I delight to 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:17.379 do your will, O God. Now the Holy Spirit picks 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:20.199 up these verses and transports them into the 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:23.819 New Testament and puts them in a certain context 00:04:23.819 --> 00:04:26.000 and I invite you to look there with me now in 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:36.689 Hebrews The author here is telling us how the 00:04:36.689 --> 00:04:40.810 sacrifices of old, in the Old Testament, were 00:04:40.810 --> 00:04:45.310 not able to take away sin. They atoned for it, 00:04:45.329 --> 00:04:47.449 they covered it, but they didn't take it away. 00:04:48.629 --> 00:04:51.870 And he acknowledges in verse 4, it is impossible 00:04:51.870 --> 00:04:55.189 for the blood of bulls and goats to take away 00:04:55.189 --> 00:05:00.300 sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:04.300 now the question, who is He? And if you look 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:06.519 back through the context here, you come back 00:05:06.519 --> 00:05:10.740 to Christ. When Christ comes into the world, 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:13.800 He talks about that in verse 26, the middle of 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:17.620 the verse. He says, now once at the consummation 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:21.899 of the ages, He has been manifested to put away 00:05:21.899 --> 00:05:26.439 sin by the sacrifice of Himself. That is Christ 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:30.639 So in verse 5 he says now when he comes into 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:36.720 the world He says Sacrifice and offering thou 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.939 hast not desired but a body thou hast prepared 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:43.759 for me In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:46.879 for sin thou has taken no pleasure Then I said 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:49.779 behold I have come in the scroll of the book 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:55.610 it is written of me to do thy will Oh God The 00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:58.129 text that we've read clearly points our minds 00:05:58.129 --> 00:06:01.149 in the direction of Messiah's incarnation of 00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:05.649 His coming into the world as one of us. Now most 00:06:05.649 --> 00:06:09.290 of us here today know the familiar gospel story 00:06:09.290 --> 00:06:13.790 of Jesus' birth. We know about the coming to 00:06:13.790 --> 00:06:16.009 Bethlehem and there was no room in the inn and 00:06:16.009 --> 00:06:18.870 how they were given the place in the manger where 00:06:18.870 --> 00:06:22.199 Mary gave birth to the child. They wrapped him 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.259 in claws and laid him in a manger. And we know 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:27.360 about the shepherds out on the hillside getting 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.899 the news that a savior has been born. And they 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:34.560 come to Bethlehem and they worship him. And later 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.259 the wise men come from the east and they worship 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:40.860 him and offer him gifts. We know that story. 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:45.560 But what we have here is the news behind the 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.759 news that came from the heavens that night to 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:52.269 the shepherds. As Paul Harvey likes to say, here 00:06:52.269 --> 00:06:56.949 is the rest of the story that allows us to hear 00:06:56.949 --> 00:07:02.550 the Messiah Himself speak to God His Father as 00:07:02.550 --> 00:07:08.670 the miracle of Bethlehem unfolds. And what Messiah 00:07:08.670 --> 00:07:13.850 says to His Father are words of devotion to Him, 00:07:14.569 --> 00:07:18.430 Christ's incarnation. His coming to earth is 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:22.889 a declaration of His devotion and obedience to 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:28.430 God's plan for Him. His coming to earth, His 00:07:28.430 --> 00:07:33.149 incarnation, becoming a man, is a declaration 00:07:33.149 --> 00:07:37.449 of His heart devotion to God, His obedience to 00:07:37.449 --> 00:07:42.069 the will of God. I hope that as we study that 00:07:42.069 --> 00:07:44.490 theme out a little bit in our text this morning 00:07:44.490 --> 00:07:49.519 that we will deeply desire to do the same. That 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:53.040 is to be obedient to God's plan for our lives. 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:56.480 For there is no greater joy that we can know 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:00.180 than that our lives would find their place in 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:04.540 God's plan. And we follow that with all of our 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:07.579 devoted hearts. There's no greater joy that we 00:08:07.579 --> 00:08:11.480 can know than that. There are two truths about 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:14.560 the Messiah that unfold in our text. I'd like 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.680 for us to look at them together. The first truth 00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:19.959 about Messiah is the truth about His person, 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:24.720 the truth about Christ's person. We learn something 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:29.639 about who He is in our text. First of all, He 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:34.720 is the Son of David. Who was it that wrote these 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:42.970 words? Behold, I come. It was David. David penned 00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:46.830 those words himself. They were expression of 00:08:46.830 --> 00:08:53.490 his poetic heart, loving God. But David wrote 00:08:53.490 --> 00:08:58.070 those words, as it were, as a script. For his 00:08:58.070 --> 00:09:02.629 greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:06.730 Son of David, Christ came from David's line, 00:09:06.850 --> 00:09:10.269 from the line of Judah, one of the twelve sons 00:09:10.269 --> 00:09:14.870 of Israel. He came in fulfillment of God's covenantal 00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:18.250 promise to David for a descendant of David's 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:21.450 who would establish David's throne, his kingdom. 00:09:22.570 --> 00:09:25.509 And God promised that that kingdom would be forever. 00:09:27.070 --> 00:09:29.730 When the angel appeared to Mary and foretold 00:09:29.730 --> 00:09:32.289 the birth of the one that was to be conceived 00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:36.889 in her womb, he said, and the Lord God will give 00:09:36.889 --> 00:09:43.899 to him the throne of his father David. And so 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:47.000 the first truth is the truth about Christ's person, 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:50.919 that he is the son of David who wrote these words, 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:59.220 lo I come, I as the son of David come. Secondly, 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:04.299 we see that he is the subject of prophecy. As 00:10:04.299 --> 00:10:08.909 he comes, he says, In the scroll of the book, 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:12.990 it is written of me." Now the question is, what 00:10:12.990 --> 00:10:16.710 scroll of the book is in mind? Well, David undoubtedly 00:10:16.710 --> 00:10:21.490 had in mind the law, the Torah, the Pentateuch 00:10:21.490 --> 00:10:23.990 written by Moses, the first five books of the 00:10:23.990 --> 00:10:27.950 Bible. He says, in the law, in the Torah, it 00:10:27.950 --> 00:10:32.190 is written of me. Well, Messiah adopted those 00:10:32.190 --> 00:10:34.409 words as well, and how much more did they write 00:10:34.409 --> 00:10:39.399 of Him? In Genesis we see the Messiah as the 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:43.679 promised seed of the woman who would crush the 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:46.100 head of the serpent though his heel would be 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:50.159 bruised. We see him as the substitutionary ram 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:53.779 who took the place of Isaac there on the mountain 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:57.600 of sacrifice. We see him as the ladder that reaches 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:01.820 into heaven in Jacob's dream and Jesus is that 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:07.110 ladder and the way to God. We see him in the 00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:10.889 prophecy that was given to Judah by Jacob as 00:11:10.889 --> 00:11:14.950 he lay dying. And that was that the scepter, 00:11:15.409 --> 00:11:19.929 the right to rule, would belong to his family. 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:25.289 We see him in Exodus as the Passover lamb whose 00:11:25.289 --> 00:11:27.870 blood was sprinkled on the doorpost so that the 00:11:27.870 --> 00:11:31.169 angel of death and judgment would pass over those 00:11:31.169 --> 00:11:35.899 who had the blood in place. We see Him as the 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:38.440 tabernacle and all of its furnishings that point 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:42.960 in so many different ways to Christ. We see Him 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:47.460 in Exodus as the mercy seat where the blood was 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:50.720 sprinkled, the place of fellowship. Jesus has 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:54.720 become our mercy seat where we meet with God. 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:59.580 In Leviticus we see Him as the sacrifices. God 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:02.769 there in that book outlined the various sacrifices 00:12:02.769 --> 00:12:07.870 the people were to bring to the altar. And Jesus 00:12:07.870 --> 00:12:11.370 in a wonderful way is pictured in every one of 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:14.909 those sacrifices. We see him in Leviticus likewise 00:12:14.909 --> 00:12:17.850 in the feasts of the Lord, those annual festivals 00:12:17.850 --> 00:12:20.289 and celebrations when the people of Israel would 00:12:20.289 --> 00:12:25.649 come together and observe ritual. Jesus is pictured 00:12:25.649 --> 00:12:28.289 in his ministry as seen in those feasts of the 00:12:28.289 --> 00:12:32.100 Lord. Again we see him in numbers. as the brass 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:35.120 serpent that was lifted up so that those who 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:38.100 had sinned might look at the serpent and in that 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:42.240 act of faith for God's provision be healed and 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.500 delivered from judgment. Jesus is like that serpent. 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:50.659 He was lifted up on the cross that men might 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:54.659 look to him and be saved from judgment. We see 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:58.639 him as Aaron's staff or his rod that burst to 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.899 life. in numbers. And then in Deuteronomy we 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:05.840 see the places of refuge established. Jesus is 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:10.840 the ultimate refuge. In Him we have God's provision 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:15.200 for refuge. And then in Deuteronomy we see Him 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:18.399 as the promised prophet, who would be like me, 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:22.240 says Moses. So He is the subject of prophecy. 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:26.299 In the scroll of the book it is written of Him. 00:13:26.649 --> 00:13:29.389 and in hundreds of other ways throughout the 00:13:29.389 --> 00:13:33.470 whole Old Testament, we see prophecy after prophecy 00:13:33.470 --> 00:13:39.610 that point to Christ. Now the truth we see about 00:13:39.610 --> 00:13:42.450 him is that he is the son of David, he is the 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:45.029 subject of prophecy, and third, he is the servant 00:13:45.029 --> 00:13:50.710 of the law. He says, thy law is within my heart. 00:13:51.049 --> 00:13:55.250 That can be said of no mere man. For we are born 00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:58.230 with hearts that are hardened in rebellion against 00:13:58.230 --> 00:14:05.110 God But Jesus could say uniquely Thy law is within 00:14:05.110 --> 00:14:11.389 my heart When he came he came completely devoted 00:14:11.389 --> 00:14:15.409 to the righteous law of God He was determined 00:14:15.409 --> 00:14:19.370 to obey its every requirement and was able to 00:14:19.370 --> 00:14:22.929 do so Because of the righteousness of his heart 00:14:24.629 --> 00:14:29.129 Every jot and every tittle of the law was fulfilled 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:33.009 in Jesus and in His righteousness. He Himself 00:14:33.009 --> 00:14:36.490 said in John 4, my food is to do the will of 00:14:36.490 --> 00:14:42.350 Him who sent me. The law is the moral expression. 00:14:42.950 --> 00:14:47.549 Jesus said that is what I live for, to fulfill 00:14:47.549 --> 00:14:51.710 God's law. And He Himself said I did not come 00:14:51.710 --> 00:14:57.480 to destroy the law. but to fulfill it, the servant 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:02.440 of the Law. Now, for sinners, the Law is bad 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:07.440 news, because if we cannot live up to its standards, 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:14.220 it condemns us. But for the one who is Messiah, 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:18.220 to be subject to the Law and the servant of the 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:23.539 Law, gain the Law's approval, because He was 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:29.440 able to fulfill it in every respect. And so we 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:31.759 learned this about Jesus' person. But then secondly, 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:34.559 we learned this truth about Christ's purpose. 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:38.019 And that purpose unfolds in three thoughts that 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:40.000 come again from our text. The first thought is 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.240 this, that He came in a body. He came in a body. 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:48.360 If you notice carefully when we read the two 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.740 texts, The book of Hebrews changes a sentence. 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:55.960 That is, as the Holy Spirit causes the writer 00:15:55.960 --> 00:16:01.539 of that book to record from Psalms, he records 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:04.980 from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:10.340 the Septuagint we call it, and the Greek translators 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:13.899 understood the Hebrew differently, and they wrote 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:20.669 in a body, thou hast prepared for me. That's 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.450 interesting, isn't it? It seems to me that the 00:16:23.450 --> 00:16:27.169 Holy Spirit, who inspired Psalm 40 and Hebrews 00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:31.850 10, can change the words if He wants to. And 00:16:31.850 --> 00:16:34.450 that's what He does. Because you see, it becomes 00:16:34.450 --> 00:16:37.710 a very poignant point for Him. There are two 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:41.389 key words in Hebrews 10, in the quoting of Psalm 00:16:41.389 --> 00:16:44.090 40 and Hebrews 10, that fit that context. One 00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:49.019 of them is will. I delight to do thy will. And 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:53.320 the other is this, a body thou hast prepared 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:56.940 for me. Both of those words are key to communicate 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:01.120 in Hebrews chapter 10. That's why the Holy Spirit 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.419 allowed that writer to bring this in from the 00:17:03.419 --> 00:17:06.980 Septuagint that said, a body thou hast prepared 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:09.240 for me. Now it's important to understand that 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:11.500 this means not just a body of flesh and blood, 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.039 but when it says a body you have prepared for 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:17.789 me, it means You have prepared for me to become 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:21.950 fully human It doesn't mean that he just lived 00:17:21.950 --> 00:17:25.990 in a body As though were some sort of a container 00:17:25.990 --> 00:17:29.829 that he entered into But it means that he actually 00:17:29.829 --> 00:17:36.589 joined himself with humanity The Apostle Paul 00:17:36.589 --> 00:17:41.170 writes about this in Philippians chapter 2 he 00:17:41.170 --> 00:17:45.220 points to the humility of Christ the glorious 00:17:45.220 --> 00:17:51.740 eternal Son of God who laid aside the outward 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:56.640 demonstration of His glory and was willing to 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:02.460 enter a human body and join Himself to human 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:07.640 nature. Think of this. Think of the wonder of 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:14.339 it that the eternal God Himself in His immensity 00:18:14.339 --> 00:18:20.200 in his glorious attributes laid aside the outward 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:24.779 view of that glory and came down humbled himself 00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:29.420 until he was able to enter into a cell within 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:37.400 the womb of a virgin and there grow into a baby 00:18:42.890 --> 00:18:45.769 Paul says you think about that demonstration 00:18:45.769 --> 00:18:51.329 of humility that this God that we worship Was 00:18:51.329 --> 00:18:56.109 willing to become a servant to others And so 00:18:56.109 --> 00:18:59.910 he writes Have this attitude in yourselves that 00:18:59.910 --> 00:19:03.230 was also in Christ Jesus be willing he says to 00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:07.230 lay aside your rights as Jesus did so that you 00:19:07.230 --> 00:19:11.460 may serve others He goes on to write, who although 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:14.220 he existed in the form of God, did not regard 00:19:14.220 --> 00:19:17.960 equality with God a thing to be grasped, but 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.519 emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:27.019 and being made in the likeness of men. Now that's 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:29.940 an interesting phrase, isn't it? Being made in 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:33.599 the likeness of men. Does that mean that he was 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:37.940 like what a man is, but not a real man? It does 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:42.829 not. Meyer has this to say regarding that term 00:19:42.829 --> 00:19:45.609 likeness of men. He says, this expression does 00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:49.289 not of itself imply, still less does it exclude 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:52.450 or diminish, the reality of the nature which 00:19:52.450 --> 00:19:56.369 Christ assumed. That is declared in the words, 00:19:56.470 --> 00:20:00.789 form of a servant. Paul justly says, in the likeness 00:20:00.789 --> 00:20:05.490 of men, because, in fact, Christ, although certainly 00:20:05.490 --> 00:20:10.559 perfect man, was by reason of the divine nature 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:17.420 present in him, not simply and merely man." That's 00:20:17.420 --> 00:20:20.259 why Paul puts it the way he does, the likeness 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:24.140 of men. He's not denying that Jesus was fully 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:27.539 man, he's simply allowing room for the fact that 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:34.140 he was more than a mere human. More than a mere 00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:37.869 man. And then he goes on to say in Philippians 00:20:37.869 --> 00:20:42.049 2, and being found in appearance as a man, he 00:20:42.049 --> 00:20:47.690 humbled himself. Appearance as a man. Meyer goes 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:52.710 on to say, men saw in Christ a human form, bearing 00:20:52.710 --> 00:20:56.089 language, action, and mode of life, in general, 00:20:56.589 --> 00:21:00.680 the state and relations of a human being. so 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:03.740 that in the entire mode of his appearance, he 00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:07.319 made himself known and was recognized as a man. 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:12.339 In other words, as people looked at Jesus, even 00:21:12.339 --> 00:21:14.579 when he was born in the manger, there was no 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:17.599 halo around his head as depicted on our Christmas 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:22.500 cards. And as they watched him teach and do his 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:27.160 miracles, there was nothing about him that looked 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:31.400 inhuman. He didn't look like an extraterrestrial. 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:38.319 He had the full appearance of a man, because 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:45.599 he was, although he was more than a man. As to 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:49.220 his purpose, Messiah says as he comes into the 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:55.559 world, he says to the Father, a body you have 00:21:55.559 --> 00:22:00.720 prepared for me. Now the second thing we see 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:04.339 about his purpose is this, that he came to serve 00:22:04.339 --> 00:22:09.480 God's will. He says, I delight to do thy will, 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:14.759 oh my God. We can't say that ourselves, can we? 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:18.279 Because the truth be known about us, we're sinners 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:21.880 and we don't like to do God's will. We run from 00:22:21.880 --> 00:22:25.140 God's will, we resist God's will, but Jesus was 00:22:25.140 --> 00:22:31.900 able to say, I delight to do. thy will." Back 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:35.799 in Psalm 40, that phrase that says in the New 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:39.920 Testament, a body you've prepared for me, it 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:45.660 says there, my ears hast thou opened. But that 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:48.180 could mean that the Lord God gave him a heart 00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:50.279 to hear and to obey the word of God. That would 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:53.440 certainly be true. But it may be that there's 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:56.119 something more intended by this translation of 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:01.059 what the Hebrew said. My ears has now opened 00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:04.900 it may relate to something God provided for in 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:11.740 the law when a slave Having served his indentured 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:18.559 service Desired not to be set free But to continue 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:23.099 serving his master It says in Exodus 21, verse 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:25.599 2, if you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.420 for six years. But on the seventh year, he shall 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:33.000 go out as a free man without payment. And then 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.039 down in verse 5, it says, but if the slave plainly 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:40.119 says, I love my master, my wife, and my children, 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:45.160 and I will not go out as a free man, then his 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:47.460 master shall bring him to God. Then he shall 00:23:47.460 --> 00:23:51.289 bring him to the door or the doorpost. And the 00:23:51.289 --> 00:23:55.450 master shall pierce his ear, the slave's ear, 00:23:55.529 --> 00:24:00.670 with an awl, and he shall serve him permanently." 00:24:00.670 --> 00:24:02.730 Someone asked me after the first service, was 00:24:02.730 --> 00:24:05.470 this the beginning of pierced ears? I'm not even 00:24:05.470 --> 00:24:10.069 going to touch that one. But the fact is that 00:24:10.069 --> 00:24:13.549 God provided for this, and the slave that willingly 00:24:13.549 --> 00:24:16.549 continued serving his master out of devotion 00:24:16.549 --> 00:24:21.990 and love, Had the mark upon his body that that 00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:26.789 was the case his ear had been punctured and The 00:24:26.789 --> 00:24:30.269 hole in the ear was a testimony that he was a 00:24:30.269 --> 00:24:36.730 slave by choice Now the Lord Jesus coming into 00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:43.549 the world says I Voluntarily give myself as a 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:48.930 servant. Oh God to your will I delight to do 00:24:48.930 --> 00:24:53.490 your will." And so he is recorded in the Psalms 00:24:53.490 --> 00:24:59.309 as saying, my ear thou hast opened. And he became 00:24:59.309 --> 00:25:02.509 obedient even to the death of the cross. And 00:25:02.509 --> 00:25:05.650 that brings us to the third idea about his person 00:25:05.650 --> 00:25:09.710 that we see in the text. He came to offer sacrifice. 00:25:10.869 --> 00:25:15.890 He came to offer sacrifice. You see, His death 00:25:15.890 --> 00:25:21.869 was not merely an expiration. It was an expiation. 00:25:24.150 --> 00:25:28.829 He came to provide through His death for the 00:25:28.829 --> 00:25:33.369 penalty that the law demanded for sin. He Himself 00:25:33.369 --> 00:25:36.309 had not sinned. He kept the law of God, as we've 00:25:36.309 --> 00:25:39.990 said. But when He died, He offered Himself as 00:25:39.990 --> 00:25:44.869 a sacrifice. Jesus Christ did not die as a martyr. 00:25:45.150 --> 00:25:51.089 He died as a Savior. Now going back to Hebrews 00:25:51.089 --> 00:25:53.250 10, this is very important of what He wants to 00:25:53.250 --> 00:25:57.509 say. Because He is showing that Christ came into 00:25:57.509 --> 00:26:02.309 the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of 00:26:02.309 --> 00:26:06.750 Himself. That's back in chapter 9, verse 26. 00:26:06.809 --> 00:26:10.140 And then in chapter 10, He explains, he says, 00:26:10.339 --> 00:26:13.160 the law, since it has only a shadow of the good 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:15.680 things to come and not the very form of things, 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:19.819 can never by the same sacrifices year by year, 00:26:19.859 --> 00:26:24.180 which they offer continually, make perfect those 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:28.819 who draw near. In other words, all of those sacrifices, 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:31.339 the repetition of them in the Old Testament, 00:26:31.859 --> 00:26:35.119 could not make those who drew near to God righteous. 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:40.400 It was unable to attain that goal. It could cover 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.619 over their sins. It could not put them away. 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:46.819 He says otherwise would they not have ceased 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:50.079 to be offered. Because the worshippers having 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:52.940 once been cleansed would no longer have any consciousness 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:57.200 of sins. But in those sacrifices, he says, there's 00:26:57.200 --> 00:27:02.299 a reminder of sins year by year. And so every 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:05.660 year as they would bring the sacrifice to God. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:09.519 It would be a reminder of their sin. It was not 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:12.240 taken away. It was simply piling up under the 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:17.200 atoning blood of these animals. And then he says, 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:20.039 it's impossible that the blood of bulls and goats 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:25.940 can take away sin. You see, those sacrifices 00:27:25.940 --> 00:27:31.380 simply could not do that. But then Messiah comes 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:35.089 into the world. And he says, a body you've prepared 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:39.609 for me. Sacrifice an offering you've not desired. 00:27:40.970 --> 00:27:43.470 Whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sins. 00:27:43.589 --> 00:27:45.509 You've taken no pleasure in them. That sounds 00:27:45.509 --> 00:27:48.029 strange, doesn't it? Because God is the one who 00:27:48.029 --> 00:27:52.670 set those things up. But it's simply an acknowledgement 00:27:52.670 --> 00:27:55.410 by David in Psalm 40, and again by the writer 00:27:55.410 --> 00:27:58.009 of Hebrews, that though God established that 00:27:58.009 --> 00:28:02.019 Levitical sacrificial system, It could not make 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:07.079 men righteous. It could only cover up the sin 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:11.799 until sometime in the future the sacrifice could 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:17.640 be offered. And friends, that's why there's Christmas. 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:24.119 And so that God Himself in the sun could come 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:29.190 into this world in a human body. and fulfill 00:28:29.190 --> 00:28:33.809 the law of God voluntarily and then lay down 00:28:33.809 --> 00:28:38.650 His life as the sacrifice that would take away 00:28:38.650 --> 00:28:44.829 sin. So Jesus the Messiah served the promises 00:28:44.829 --> 00:28:48.190 of God, served the purpose of God. He served 00:28:48.190 --> 00:28:52.109 the purpose of God not out of duty, but out of 00:28:52.109 --> 00:28:55.829 devotion to the Lord. And folks, isn't that what 00:28:55.829 --> 00:29:00.000 our calling is? Didn't He leave you and me an 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:03.319 example in this sense? Like Messiah, we should 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:08.240 serve God out of hard devotion and not out of 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:12.720 harsh duty. How do you see your Christian experience? 00:29:13.619 --> 00:29:16.160 How do you see the Christian life? Is it something 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:19.339 heavy and it's a drudgery and it's an obligation 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:25.289 to you? Does being a Christian to you mean getting 00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:27.829 on a treadmill and running as hard as you can 00:29:27.829 --> 00:29:33.430 for as long as you can? Is it a performance? 00:29:36.309 --> 00:29:38.829 My friend, if that is your understanding of Christianity, 00:29:39.970 --> 00:29:42.089 then you need to go right back to the foundation 00:29:42.089 --> 00:29:45.950 of your understanding and ask yourself the question, 00:29:46.049 --> 00:29:51.910 have I understood the grace of God? Because you 00:29:51.910 --> 00:29:55.990 see Jesus Christ by his death on the cross has 00:29:55.990 --> 00:30:02.190 satisfied God And God's law and the judgment 00:30:02.190 --> 00:30:06.650 upon sinners that comes out of the law He has 00:30:06.650 --> 00:30:13.109 taken away sin as an issue between God and us 00:30:13.109 --> 00:30:19.259 So that when we trust the Savior we receive the 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:24.180 righteousness of Jesus in place of our sin. The 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:27.799 sin is removed and then all of the righteousness 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:31.700 of the law that Jesus fulfilled is given to us 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:38.740 as a free gift. It's a wonderful thing. Now, 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:42.460 if we understand that, how can we possibly look 00:30:42.460 --> 00:30:45.920 at the Christian life as some harsh obligation? 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:53.339 some duty we've got to fulfill. Should we not 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:56.259 rather see it as just the joyful response to 00:30:56.259 --> 00:30:58.279 God who would do something like this for us? 00:30:59.980 --> 00:31:02.400 Should we not be able then to say with Messiah, 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:07.220 Oh God, I delight to do your will. I delight 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:10.200 to do your will. The story is told about a young 00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:12.400 man who was struggling with God's will in his 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:14.660 life and he didn't know if he was going to do 00:31:14.660 --> 00:31:20.779 it or if he wanted to do it. His mother cut out 00:31:20.779 --> 00:31:23.980 some letters from construction paper and put 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:32.299 it in his room. And it said, let God, let God. 00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:35.460 The young man looked at that, and he wondered 00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:38.019 what it meant. And he kind of resented her doing 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:40.539 it. And he went out the door, slammed the door. 00:31:42.019 --> 00:31:43.960 And later he came back to his room, still in 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:45.960 turmoil. But in the meantime, when he had slammed 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:49.660 the door, The letter D had fallen off and it 00:31:49.660 --> 00:31:58.119 said, let go. Right there is the issue of God's 00:31:58.119 --> 00:32:02.460 will in you and me. We don't want to let go. 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:10.160 We want to be in control. We delight to do God's 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:12.680 will if He tells us in advance what it is and 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:17.660 it fits what we want. If it's convenient for 00:32:17.660 --> 00:32:24.460 us. Jesus understood God's will. It was very 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:28.160 inconvenient. I delight to do your will. Your 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:34.960 law is in my heart. The story is told about Jack 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:37.200 who was walking too close to a cliff one day. 00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:41.960 And he fell over. And as he was falling, he was 00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:44.000 reaching for anything. He grabbed a hold of a 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.900 limb. that was sticking out from this cliff. 00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:50.099 And then he looked down. He saw it was 1 ,000 00:32:50.099 --> 00:32:53.059 feet to the bottom of the canyon, where he was. 00:32:53.059 --> 00:32:54.839 And he looked up, and there was no way that he 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:57.259 could climb back up the steep wall of that cliff. 00:32:58.339 --> 00:33:00.900 And so he hung there, and he began to yell, help, 00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:06.160 help! Is anybody up there? Help! And he yelled 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:09.960 hour after hour until finally he heard a voice. 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:14.380 And the voice said, Jack. Jack, can you hear 00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:18.599 me? He said, yes, I can hear you. I'm down here. 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:23.400 I can see you, Jack. Are you all right? Yes, 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:28.880 but who are you and where are you? He says, well, 00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:33.500 I'm the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere. The Lord? 00:33:34.019 --> 00:33:39.200 You mean God? That's me. Well, God, please help 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:41.880 me. I promise if you'll just get me down from 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:43.859 here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good 00:33:43.859 --> 00:33:48.319 person. I'll serve you the rest of my life. Easy 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:51.619 on the promises, Jack. Let's just get you down 00:33:51.619 --> 00:33:54.839 from there and then we can talk. And now here's 00:33:54.839 --> 00:33:56.960 what I want you to do. Listen carefully. Oh, 00:33:56.980 --> 00:33:59.380 I'll do anything you say, Lord. Just tell me 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:08.440 what to do. OK, Jack. Let go of the branch. What 00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:12.500 I said let go of the branch just trust me and 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:19.059 let go There was a long silence finally Jack 00:34:19.059 --> 00:34:22.940 yelled help help is there anybody else up there 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:30.300 Isn't it us God I want my options. I don't like 00:34:30.300 --> 00:34:35.420 your way But God has this at a point folks where 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:37.900 there is no other way If you're here today thinking 00:34:37.900 --> 00:34:40.440 that somehow you're going to hang on to your 00:34:40.440 --> 00:34:43.099 own righteousness or hang on to your own way 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:46.360 of coming to God or your own religion, I want 00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:48.820 to tell you it's a thousand feet down and there's 00:34:48.820 --> 00:34:52.860 no way up. And there's one voice that's saying, 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:58.880 trust me. That's the voice of Jesus Christ. And 00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:02.300 I hope that you'll do that today and let go. 00:35:03.699 --> 00:35:06.480 And give yourself to Him. receive Him as your 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:10.800 Lord and Savior. But I'm not going to let those 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:13.579 of us who've done that off the hook because we're 00:35:13.579 --> 00:35:19.679 almost worse than sinners at this. Jack is us 00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:22.800 because we say, God, I want to do it my way. 00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:28.760 God is saying, if you really want my will, then 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:33.239 let go. Stop trying to control your own life. 00:35:34.550 --> 00:35:40.349 Let go and trust me. And I hope today you'll 00:35:40.349 --> 00:35:43.730 do that. And that like Messiah, you'll serve 00:35:43.730 --> 00:35:48.550 God's will out of a heart of devotion, that you'll 00:35:48.550 --> 00:35:52.429 obey what God wants in your life, out of a heart 00:35:52.429 --> 00:35:56.670 of joy and delight, like Jesus did. Let's pray. 00:35:58.889 --> 00:36:00.949 With our heads bowed, if you're here today without 00:36:00.949 --> 00:36:03.230 Jesus Christ as your Savior, I want to invite 00:36:03.230 --> 00:36:06.719 you to Trust Him today. Receive Him as the Lord 00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:11.099 of your life. Believing that His sacrifice for 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:14.800 sins was for you, that He's able to take away 00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:17.639 your guilt before God and give you His righteousness. 00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:20.400 Right where you're sitting, you can do that. 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:25.420 Just make that decision to let go and trust Him. 00:36:28.300 --> 00:36:31.639 And my Christian brother and sister, some of 00:36:31.639 --> 00:36:37.590 us are hanging on today too. And we want God 00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:40.650 to show us in advance what His will is before 00:36:40.650 --> 00:36:46.489 we say, I surrender. But God is saying, just 00:36:46.489 --> 00:36:50.530 let go and trust me. And when we do that and 00:36:50.530 --> 00:36:55.889 make that choice, then the joy of Messiah, we 00:36:55.889 --> 00:36:59.110 will know in our own hearts. We will delight 00:36:59.110 --> 00:37:04.469 to do God's will. God help us to do it. Father 00:37:04.469 --> 00:37:06.670 I pray that you will apply this to our lives 00:37:06.670 --> 00:37:10.550 and send us on our way more grateful than ever 00:37:10.550 --> 00:37:16.289 for Messiah and his incarnation But also with 00:37:16.289 --> 00:37:20.110 a heart response that we've let go And we're 00:37:20.110 --> 00:37:25.190 letting you our God Have your way in our lives 00:37:25.190 --> 00:37:32.110 in Jesus name Amen Well, thank you for worshiping 00:37:32.110 --> 00:37:34.760 with us and As you go, would you greet one another? 00:37:35.360 --> 00:37:37.139 We also invite you, visitors, to come by the 00:37:37.139 --> 00:37:38.860 reception area in the back. We're dismissed.