Love Came Down
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ME: Intro
ME: Intro
Try to think of the best gift you have ever given.
If you are like me,
It is much easier to think of the best gift I have ever been given.
But I want to you to try and think about the best give you have ever given.
Can anyone think of their answer?
And who did you give this best gift ever to?
A spouse?
A child?
A parent?
A sibling?
Another family member?
A close friend?
Whoever it was,
Think about why that was the person you gave your best gift ever to?
My assumption is that you gave them the best give ever,
Because you love them, right?
We give our best gifts to those we most love.
And the same is true with God.
Slide
The Bible says in John 3:16,
John 3:16 (ESV)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God so loved the world.
That means God gave you His best gift ever,
His only Son.
Because of His love for you.
But do you believe that?
Do you believe God really loves you?
Perhaps you would admit,
“Yea, I know that’s what this says.”
But in your mind,
You wonder how could God love you.
Knowing some of the things you have done,
Or things you have said,
Or even just thought.
You are left asking yourself,
Does God really love me?
For the month of December,
We have been doing a series called Ghosts of Christmas Past.
It is about the things from our past that cause us to ask this question,
Things from our past that haunt us.
So, each Sunday we focused on offenses, shame, and labels.
We talked about how we have struggled to let go of offenses from our past.
And how things we have done or things that have been done to us leave us feeling this sense of shame.
And how we get labeled by others because of our past.
But the purpose of these discussions have been to help us discover how to overcome these things.
How to overcome offenses, shame, and labels.
Christmas shows us that we overcome because love came down.
So, to go back to that question,
Does God really love me?
To put it simply,
Yes, you are the one Jesus loves.
That is why love came down.
WE:
WE:
I would like to share an example of this from John 6:25-35,
Where love came down in the form of a feast!
Big feasts are a common part of Christmas celebrations around the world.
When we think of Christmas,
Part of what comes to mind is a table full of delicious food filling the house with smells that make our mouths water.
We bust out our nice dishes,
And we eagerly await the moment we get to dig in to fill our stomachs.
Only to figure out how to make room for the cookies that follow.
Slide
In fact, the famous Charles Dickens’ play, A Christmas Carol, taps into this.
The Ghost of Christmas present is described as a luxurious figure,
Sitting on a throne of food from Christmas feasts around the world.
Turkeys, geese, poultry, pork, sausages, mince-pies, plum puddings, oysters, chestnuts, apples, oranges, pears, and punch.
Slide
Then, this ghost takes Scrooge to the home of Bob Cratchit,
His overworked and underpaid clerk.
The Cratchits were having their own dinner:
A small goose with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and apple sauce,
Followed by plum pudding.
A relatively substantial meal that the family saved up all year to have.
But it is still too small to meet their needs.
Fast forward to the end of the story.
Scrooge buys the massive prize turkey that was bigger than Tiny Tim for their Christmas feast.
So, although I do not know what each of you will do for a Christmas meal tomorrow.
I am sure each of you have your own traditions.
But in John 6, Jesus teaches about a different kind of feast,
A spiritual one,
And the food at this feast He calls the Bread of Heaven.
Slide
This term first appears in Exodus 16:4.
This was an astonishing time for the people of God.
They were en route from their slavery in Egypt to the land that was promised to them by God.
This journey began with God miraculously splitting the Red Sea open,
So, they could cross it on dry land while the water was walled up around them on both sides.
Then, once they crossed,
God collapsed the water on the Egyptian army pursuing after them,
Delivering from that threat.
But then, a new threat emerged.
The threat of starvation.
Because they were in the desert with no food.
It is estimated that it could be as many as two million people in need of food.
So, God addressed this threat in Exodus 16:4,
Exodus 16:4 (ESV)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you.”
So, God made this bread miraculously appear every morning for people to collect and eat.
In this way,
God fed all the people in the desert for 40 years with bread from heaven.
Then centuries later, we come to the NT,
Slide
Where the same phrase is used in John 6.
And the context in which Jesus uses this phrase is powerful!
At the beginning of ch. 6,
Jesus miraculously feeds 5000 people with the lunch from a young boy,
Consisting of 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish.
All the people that were at this feast ate till they were full.
But though their appetite was satisfied for the moment,
The next day,
They showed up to Jesus again,
Hungry for more food!
When they showed up,
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
So, Jesus is saying the work of these people is to fill their mouths,
Yet, their appetite is never satisfied.
The same is true for us.
We are creatures of the moment,
Creatures of the physical,
Creatures of appetite.
So, we need to hear what Jesus says again and again and again.
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.
Slide
But after Jesus said this,
John 6:28–29 (ESV)
Then [the people] said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
There it is!
That is what we want!
We want to know what we must do!
What is the good work we must do to please God?
How can we earn our way into heaven?
What does it take for us to get on God’s “nice” list?
And Jesus’ answer is clear.
The only thing we do is believe that love came down.
What an amazing requirement!
Believe.
No great works,
No achievements,
No battles or quests or victories over some great enemy!
No secret knowledge or pathway or portal.
No, we just believe love came down.
Believe in the one God sent, Jesus says.
This is Christmas!
The sending of God’s love in the person of Jesus Christ.
Love came down from heaven,
To earth,
To be born as a baby in Bethlehem,
In a stable,
In a manger.
The One God sent to save sinners like you and me,
Jesus Christ,
Love in the flesh,
Came down on Christmas.
Believe in Him.
Be assured in your heart that He is genuinely God in the flesh,
That He saves you from sin because you are the one Jesus loves.
This was a hard lesson for this group of Jews gathered around Jesus to accept.
Because Jesus was not doing what they wanted Him to do.
They just wanted Jesus to fill their stomachs again.
Slide
So, before they believe,
They wanted more proof.
So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
Here it is,
Bread from heaven.
These hungry people are demanding that Jesus miraculously provide them with food every day,
Just like Moses did for their ancestors back in Exodus.
Slide
So, Jesus had to re-calibrate their minds and hearts to understand what really happened back then.
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Moses was simply a servant.
He did not do the great thing,
But God used him.
The real source of the manna was God Almighty,
Not Moses.
So, now, the same God Who fed the people back then,
Is saying He wants to feed them again.
But in an even better way.
Because He wants to feed them the true bread from heaven.
Jesus continues,
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
So, the true bread from heaven is not even bread at all,
It is a person.
The true bread from heaven,
Is the perfect, final feast from heaven,
And it is a person.
It is He who comes down from heaven.
It is the love that came down to give life to the world.
This is the mysterious truth of Christmas.
Jesus, love in the flesh, came down from heaven,
To be the bread that gives life to the world.
Just as physical bread gives us life,
So Jesus gives life.
But the life physical bread gives is temporary,
Eventually, this physical life will end.
But the life Jesus gives is eternal,
It will never end.
And that is the life Jesus wants us to focus on,
Eternal life.
Slide
Sadly, the people with Jesus still did not understand this.
So...
They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
But Jesus knew they did not understand,
So, He makes it all the more clear what He means.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus went on to teach in the verses that follow,
How He came down from heaven,
Because God’s will is that everyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life.
He is the bread of life.
Their ancestors ate manna in the wilderness but all eventually died.
But love came down so that you may eat the bread of life and not die.
Jesus Christ is the living bread,
He came down from heaven,
And anyone who eats of this bread will live forever.
This bread Jesus gives, He says,
Is His flesh,
And He gives it for the life of the world.
He gives it for you,
Because you are the one Jesus loves.
This is the true Christmas feast we celebrate.
GOD:
GOD:
Faith in the real physical body of Jesus Christ,
Being given on the cross,
So, that you might live.
By His death,
He took away the penalty for our sins.
If you trust in that,
Trust in Jesus,
His death is applied to your sin debt,
The penalty of death is removed,
And you will live forever.
Trusting in this is what it means to eat the bread from heaven.
And this is not a one time eating.
There is ongoing eating to do.
Your faith must be fed again and again and again by Christ.
Reading the Bible revives your soul with the words and works of Christ.
When you feed on the Word of God,
You are eating the bread of heaven,
And your soul is strengthened.
YOU:
YOU:
Slide
You need this strengthening in your soul.
Because it reinforces this truth that love came down.
Not feeding on the Word of God is what causes you to doubt His love for you.
And perhaps that is you tonight.
Perhaps you struggle to believe that God loves you.
If that is the case,
It is likely because you are thinking of the wrong kind of love.
You are thinking of a love that loves because the object is valuable.
This is the most common type of love in our culture.
For example,
You may have noticed it has been cold lately.
Yesterday, I got in my car that has heated seats,
And as I started driving I thought to myself,
“Man, I love this car! It is so warm and cozy and comfortable,
It is perfect for winter!”
So, I love my car because of what it does for me.
That is why it is valuable to me.
So, you know this type of love well.
It is the most common type of love in our culture.
It is a love that loves because the object is valuable.
But the problem with this type of love when it comes to God,
Is that you may struggle to feel valuable to God.
You may feel like you never measure up.
Slide
But this is not the type of love God has for you.
His love for you is a different kind of love.
His love is a love that gives value to the object He loves.
Allow me to give you an example.
Think for a moment,
About something you had that you loved as a child.
Maybe it was a stuffed animal or a doll or a blanket.
Whatever it is,
It was probably not the most valuable or expensive toy.
You probably would not have been able to sell it at a yard sale for a quarter.
It likely had some sort of flaw, hole or tear,
Maybe it even smelled a little funny.
And yet, you still loved that object!
For some of you,
You may even still have it many years later.
But why did you love that thing so much?
Not because of how fashionable it was,
Not because it was worth a bunch of money,
But because it was yours.
It is this type of love that reflects how God loves you.
You too have flaws,
Have been wounded,
May even be broken in some way.
But God knows about it all.
And He loves you,
Slide
And He proves His love for you.
Romans 5:8 says,
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God loves you with an unconditional endless love.
It is the kind of love that gives worth and value.
God does not love you because you’re worthy,
God’s love makes you worthy.
Slide
We looked at John 6 this evening.
The author of John is one of Jesus’ followers named John.
But all throughout the book of John,
He does not refer to himself as John,
Instead he refers to himself as “the one that Jesus loved.”
This is a beautiful title for John,
But this title is not exclusive to John.
This title is appropriate for you too.
No matter what anyone else says about you,
No matter how you might feel about yourself,
No matter how often you fall short,
No matter what you say, do, or even think,
You are the one Jesus loves.
Say that to yourself.
I am the one Jesus loves.
Turn and say that to someone who came with you,
You are the one Jesus loves.
God did not just sit on His throne in heaven,
Shouting down,
“Hey, I love you!”
No, on Christmas,
Love came down.
Mary gave birth to a Son,
They called Him, Jesus,
Because He will save His people from their sins.
And that is what we need.
Saving from our sin.
Because sin not only separates us from God,
But it causes us to feel unworthy of God’s love.
Sin tells us that God will only love us if we earn His love.
But the truth is, God’s love makes us worthy,
And as long as their is breath in our lungs,
No sin can separate us from His love!
WE:
WE:
And the Christmas story reminds us of this.
Because love came down.
So, let this truth encourage your heart.
Let the remembrance of Christ’s death on the cross assure you of forgiveness and salvation.
Let the resurrection of Christ give you hope of everlasting life.
So, as I close this evening,
I leave you with this question,
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
This is the only thing God demands for the forgiveness of your sins.
To believe in Him is to feed on Him.
To feed on Him is to live forever.
So, do you believe that you are the one that love came down for?
Pray.
Jesus tells those who follow Him,
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
As we prepare to close this evening,
We are going to sing a blended version of O Holy Night and Silent Night.
As we sing this song,
The light from our candles will pass from one person to the next.
This dark room will slowly grow in light.
Because the light from the candle shines against the darkness,
So, as the number of lit candles increase,
The darkness is chased away.
This is what Jesus is saying happens when we follow Him.
The world sees our good works,
As a city on a hill filled with Christmas lights.
As the lyric in O Holy Night communicates:
“Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.”