Jesus Christ Really Is That Awesome
First B Jackson
2019-12-22

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning. How are y'all? Good. Everybody alright? Are you running like crazy?

Yeah. Can we calm down together? Alright. Good. Well, welcome and we're glad that you're here.

We are gonna stand and sing if you would. We'll sing a couple of songs. Get us going in this Christmas direction. Thou didst leave that throne. We're gonna sing all of these verses because they were too good to skip one, okay?

Keep it moving, alright? Very good. Hymn number two ninety two, if you're looking for your part.

Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown when thou came as to earth for me but in Bethlehem's home there was found no room for the holy nativity come to my heart Lord Jesus there is room in my heart heaven's arches rang proclaiming thy royalty didst thou come to earth and in great humility oh come to my heart Lord Jesus there is room in my heart foxes found rest and the birds there nest in the shade of the forest tree but thy couch was the sun of God the oh come to my heart Lord Jesus there is room in my heart for thee on the last verse When the heavens shall ring and the angels sing at thy coming to victory let thy voice call me home saying yet there is room there is room at my heart shall rejoice when thou comeest and call Amen.

Stay standing and we're going to sing another one here away at a manger. If you didn't know that one, I think you'll probably know this one. The first four verses of that last one about that first advent but that fifth one was looking forward to his second coming. So, Away in a Manger, hymn number two sixty one. If you want to find your part.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I'm going invite you. Actually, I'm going invite you to listen to some announcements first. Here they are.

Wow, there are still potatoes in that pot. I'm not sure. We are not having Monday nights at first B this week because Tuesday night, so we're not having Monday nights. We're not having Awana tomorrow night because Tuesday night is our annual Christmas Eve celebration, 04:30 and six. There are two services, 04:30 and six.

They'll be the same. So, it'll be the 09:00 band or the Monday night band. We'll get together with a few additional pieces. Sarah Rodics can play violin and we've got a few other folks that are coming in. The Humphreys will be here doing some songs too.

So, it we are looking forward to Tuesday night, not Monday night, Tuesday night. Snowmobile Retreat is happening. Men's Snowmobile Retreat, January 24 through the twenty sixth up at Island Park, Idaho, Old Faithful Christian Ranch. The Angel Tree. The Angel Tree this year, if you see out there, there are not any tags on the Angel Tree right now because all the tags have been taken and I just I admitted this to the first service this morning.

I'm going to admit it to y'all too. Gift giving gang gives me anxiety. It does. Worse than anything else that I can think of. I'm I'm I don't that's not the way I'm wired and it bothers me.

It it's something but it don't bother my wife one bit and Tanya's in charge of that and she gets in and we've bet and she does all of that stuff. I don't deal with it very much but I do get to be party to hear the need and the resources supplying for that need and it is amazing. Absolutely amazing. So, 49 families made the tree this year and all of the tags have been taken and Tanya said, usually, you kinda have to figure for some of them are just not gonna come back. Some tags go out in best of intentions that they don't come back but just about 100% of the tags that have left the tree this year have come back as a form of gifts and so, thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of that, for sharing the needs, first of all, and for sharing the resources, to be in the position that I'm in and that Tanya's in is a is a overwhelming, overwhelming blessing to see what's happening.

So, thank you for your generosity and goodness. It's inspiring. So, thank you. Announcements, if there are any other announcements here in your paper bulletin, I can't think of any because Tuesday is overshadowing everything else right now. Tuesday, 04:30 and six.

It's the same time it usually is. I'm gonna invite the Christian and Lisette and Emiliano on up to do the advent reading. If you wanna do that in Spanish, it's fine with So, you see it right up there. John three sixteen and three seventeen. This is our fourth Sunday in Advent and it's the Sunday of love and so if you wanna go ahead and light that candle, you're welcome to.

Love and peace and joy and hope. Amen. We'll light the Christ candle on Tuesday night. See. And now, if you would, you can stand and greet one another.

We'll bring it back together with festive little tune. Amen. Silent Night, hymn number two fifty three. Amen. Can have a seat.

Imma invite the frontline team to come forward would you pray with me? God, we thank you for this season, lord. We get to think about you, almighty God, in eternal relationship, father, son, and Holy Spirit throughout all time past. Actually, beyond that, outside of time past, you spoke time into existence. You did so through Christ and we celebrate now Christ must.

Christmas. Christmas, lord. We think about how you stepped out and left the glories of heaven and your eternal rights and you emptied yourself and you were found among us. Sent to be among us, born that you were in a womb and that you were birthed here humble. Lord God, we celebrate that you, the divine one, took on flesh and dwelt among us.

We thank you lord that you did that. Stepping into our way of experience and things. We cannot think of other except for past, present, and future and anything beyond that blows our mind. Lord, thank you that you've done what you've done. I thank you that you walked a perfect life, that you lived and died a sacrificial and perfect death, able to pay the price for anyone who put their faith in you.

Thank you, lord. Right now, we wanna go forward carrying that message. We want for our resources to do the same. So, lord, for the the offerings that we put in these plates, may they not enrich anyone except with your word, your life. Your spirit.

Lord, would you carry it forth by your word? I pray lord that you would do what only you can do, that you would redeem. Lord, in obedience, we ask you to do your will through us. Jesus name, amen. In the first service, I have to say, we had technical difficulties which helped my prayer life tremendously.

When we came in this morning, have you ever hit a place where you had to update your computer? I mean, you had to like they wouldn't let you keep going until you did. We hit that point this week. The week before Christmas, woo hoo. With all of the stuff that has to happen between these TVs and that computer and the broadcast out there and the nursery workers downstairs and everything else and we got here this morning that said, nope, not doing it.

And then he got it doing everything while we were doing sound check and getting everything going and then when I got to preach I said, nope, I'm not doing it. I'm thankful for you, Blake. He's spinning plates back there every every Sunday morning. Merry Christmas. Why?

Well, mean, the obvious answer is because of Christ. Yes, it's Christ mass. It's Christmas. Yeah. But if it, we got right down to it, the truth of the matter is that why we celebrate Christmas and it's and it's not like anything else.

This is all over the world. It's growing, not dying. It's getting to be more so rather than less so but why is because this, Jesus Christ, really and I'm the emphasis is underline right there. It's really. It's actual.

It's real. Jesus Christ really is that awesome. He really is. And so, that's gonna be, I don't usually do responsive readings in this Baptist Church. We don't usually do liturgy but that today is your part.

Anytime that comes up on the screen, I want for you to say it with me if you mean it. If you don't mean it, you don't have to say it. I'm not forcing your hand but the truth is it's the truth. So, that's the reason I'm stating it. Jesus Christ really is that awesome.

Would you say it with me? Jesus Christ really is that awesome. Your subjective experience of him not withstanding. You might have a time where you're feeling good about him or not feeling good about him but the truth of the matter is Jesus Christ really is that awesome. His name is above every other name.

We're gonna get into the subject and the text here in just a minute. Hey, hey. Here we are. I I did stay in Hebrews though. So, we're gonna start off with this.

This is a great Christmas text, okay? It's not Luke two. It's not Matthew one and two. It is Hebrews one. I'm gonna concentrate for the beginning part.

My part and your part back and forth is gonna be in the exordium that tells what Hebrews is about. God, that's almighty God. Almighty God has spoken at various times and in various ways, he spoke in times past. Just get into that. We are within time and we can only think in past, present, and future.

It's impossible for us to get to the place of eternity in our brains although the Bible says, Solomon says that God has set eternity on our hearts. We know it's out there. It's just beyond what we can understand but God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers, that's the ancients by the prophets, Old Testament. I mean, this is written to the Hebrews. This is written to Jewish background people who put their faith in Christ.

God has spoken at various times in various ways. By the prophets but he has in these last days spoken to us by his son. Amen. God has spoken by his son. God's message of love is through Jesus Christ.

Christ carried that message. He was that message actually. God speaks through Christ. He still does. In these last days, he's speaking through Christ.

He still is. Why? Okay, that was not convincing yet but you'll get there. You're gonna have some practice. The son whom he has appointed heir of all things.

If you think about that for a minute, Jesus Christ quite literally is the heir of literally everything. Everything to him, for him, by him, everything. He is the heir, rightful heir. Of everything because? Jesus Christ really is.

He he really is. He really is. It's real. It's true. It's actual.

Through whom he also made the world. Okay. Now, we see that Jesus Christ was the agent of creation. There was not a thing made that was made that was not made through him. We get that from Genesis.

We get that. They hovered over the waters. Jesus is the agent of creation. That will blow your mind. If we consider the furthest reach of the farthest galaxy and nebula that we know anything about and he spoke that into being through Christ.

That's He really is. That awesome. It's not going to stop. It's going to just keep being true whether you feel like it or not. Being actively being the brightness or the brilliance, the radiance of God's glory.

Who being the brightness of his glory. I changed translations on you from what I've been using in Hebrews just to keep you on your toes, okay? This is not an NASB, it's ESP. So, Christ is the active brilliance of God. What shines forth from God is Christ, Jesus because he really is that awesome.

So, he's the express image of God's person. He is the imprint or the stamp. Of God. So, outwardly, he's the radiance and aura, the brilliance that goes forth but he is where the rubber hits the road. He is the imprint of God.

He is exactly what God looks like in flesh and that's what we celebrate this time of year is that he actually came in flesh. He knows what it's like to live this life that you and I are living. All except he's without sin. He's tempting tried in every way just as we're tempted and tried but without sin. So, up all things by the word of his power.

Colossians says this, Hebrews says this, John says this, he is upholding all things by the word of his power. Nothing would continue to exist. Okay. So, if you accept the fact that he created everything, some people would say, well, I, you know, I can't get around the fact that there must be an intelligent designer. Things don't work this way without it.

So, I think God spun the Earth into existence and then stepped away from it. That he's a an a passive or impassive deity that has nothing to do with what's going on. This argues against that. Jesus Christ, nothing would continue to exist without him. It all belongs to him.

Yet, he left behind the glories of that role of the godhead to step into humanity, emptied himself. We'll get to that too. Why? Jesus Christ Amen. I agree with you.

So, when he had by himself purged our sins, that's amazing. Just that statement right there. He did it by himself. He's not just fulfilling the little part you can't make up. You got 92%.

He handles the other aid. He just pays the tab, right? Oh, he paid 100% of it by himself. Now, it has to be accessed by faith and we're in Hebrews 11 normally. Hebrews by faith, by faith, by faith, by faith.

If you put that in to Ephesians, two, eight, and nine. For it is by grace, God's grace, God's unmerited favor is by God's grace that we have been saved through faith. It must be by faith. It must be. Your faith has to be exercised in what he has already done and finished.

When he by himself had purged our sins, he alone handled that by the way. He did it himself all by himself. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Amen. When the work was done, he sat down.

He alone handled our sin and then he sat down. If you go on in Hebrews, you see that he sat down at the right hand of the majesty of God, father and he is currently interceding for us. Ain't that comforting? It's mind blowing as many people as are on this globe. He is in contact in the hearts and in the minds of so many.

All at the same time, ready to receive more by his spirit tugging and pleading with more. He alone handle our sin and then sat down. He really is. It's not going to stop being true. He really is.

Having become so much better than the angels. Wait a second. Now, the angels are pretty good. At this time of year, we see lots of Christmas cards with lots of pictures of angels. We talk about angels probably than ever.

We get a, they make a mention in the Christmas story to the shepherds and to Joseph and to Elizabeth and to Mary and everybody's got an angel in the story right there. That's pretty awesome but he's become so much better than the angels. So much better. So, he's way more awesome than angels and angels are pretty awesome. Alright.

He really is. As he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Are they not just ministering spirits? That's what angels are. Are they not just ministering messengers and spirits and they are.

They are servants of God but the son is the rightful heir just like it says above of literally everything and he has by his very inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. He is the son of God. Born humble in a stable, emptied himself, we'll get to that. He is a son and angels are merely ministering servants but if we go forward. Jesus Christ You get better at that.

Okay. Now, the author of Hebrews launches into a series of Old Testament proofs. I'm not gonna go into them at length but I am gonna show em to you. So, here they are. You're my son today.

I begot the Psalm two and then it goes to second Samuel seven and then it goes to Deuteronomy 32 and Psalm 97 and Psalm 104 and Psalm 45 continues with Psalm 45 and then Psalm one zero two and then Psalm 110 and then. Jesus Christ. He really is. All of that Old Testament stuff was pointing towards him and the writer of Hebrews recognized that as throwing back to it and saying, all of these things are saying, really is. Now, Hebrews two is starting right there and I could do that but let's wait on these four verses.

I'll come back to him. I think I'll come back to him. Might not. I didn't in the first service. We might come back to him.

Where were we? Okay. Yeah, there we are. That's where we were right there. Jesus Christ really is that awesome, okay?

You've convinced me. Y'all have convinced me. You've said it so many times now that I'm beginning to believe it but my subjective experience doesn't matter nearly as much to y'all as the fact that it's true that Jesus Christ really actually is that awesome. He actually is. Now, my own peace does depend on what I do with the fact that Jesus Christ really is our own.

My own joy. Last week, we were talking afterwards and I said, some of the stuff that said last week is like, there's, it seems to be joy free when the by faith doesn't come up equating with earthly success, riches, goodness but it comes to be trial and tribulation instead. Difficult stuff. The truth is Jesus Christ really is that awesome no matter what our experience. Here we go forward.

Christ is awesome. So, but what are we? What are we? This is what the writer of Hebrews takes on next. Two five starts this in Psalm eight, it goes back.

This talks about mankind. What is man that you are mindful of him or a son of man, one born here that you take care of him and those are small Hs because that's talking about humanity. It's not talking about Jesus right there. What is man, mankind, that you're mindful of and what you've made him mankind a little lower than the angels. Okay.

We're less awesome than angels. I I think that stands the reason. If you've read about angels, what do they usually start off with? Fear not. Because they're scary.

Says the shepherds were terrified is what it says. We often hear the angels say, fear not. In fact, in all of these places, Daniel, Luke, Genesis, Luke, Luke one and two, yeah, Matthew 28. Fear not because they're awesome. We're less awesome than angels.

Big surprise. But Look at this. This is you. This is speaking of God. Psalm eight continues.

You, God, have crowned mankind with glory and honor. You have made man different than everyone of the other creatures that you have made. You've crowned man with glory and honor and you've set mankind over the works of your hands. Well, that sounds a little bit like he spun this thing and got it started and then handed it over. He's still in control.

Nothing exist without him but there is something that has been given over. Glory and honor and authority. You've put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that, God put all things in subjection under mankind. He left nothing that's not put under him.

He has given us a big role in what goes on, mankind. So, we matter because God says so basically. He's put within each of us the capacity and the spark of the divine. He's given us the chance to participate in the divine nature and he handed it over an old covenant wise. We all fail at it.

New covenant wise, Christ succeeded and in Christ all succeed and in the old covenant all fail. We matter because God has crowned us with glory and honor and authority but now, some strong adversity of conjunction there but but now, we do not yet see all things put under mankind, do we? Are we trying? Is mankind trying to do the right thing? I think that's even debatable.

Don't matter which side of the political spectrum you're on, most being polarized these days, you see how things are not the way they should be. So, do we see humankind as a whole exercising our glory, honor, and authority for good? Actually, is everything alright with the world is another way to put that? Because it's been placed in subjection to us. It is up to us in a way, right?

So, is everything alright with the world? No. That's a big, fat no. I think we call can recognize that. In fact, our I heard the bells on Christmas day.

There is no peace on earth, I said, right? But then peeled the bells more loud and deep because Christ really is that awesome but so it's this is is everything alright with the world? No, it's not and that's on us but but but we see Jesus. Amen. We see Jesus.

We see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels. That that's not meaning he's created but he emptied himself and he was made a little lower than angels. He took on humanity. He didn't skip angels altogether. He's awesome.

He's more awesome than angels and he skipped angel altogether and he came and was found as a man, as a baby to begin with and grew in wisdom and stature. He was made a little lower than angels. Actually, Christ started his earthly life just like us. He was born into this and pretty cruddy conditions. That's not just humility but abject poverty, humility.

He started his earthly life just like us. So, merry Christmas. Why? We, that's why. He having every divine right to stay on his throne.

He was Kenosis. He emptied himself and he was made a little lower than the angels and then it goes on to say, for the suffering of death, he was crowned with glory and honor. So, mankind, Psalm says, was crowned with glory and honor and God put in subjection all of the other things, all of the administration for the world. He put it on mankind and mankind failed. This says that how Christ gained glory and honor was through the suffering of death.

He didn't have his own sin to pay for. He didn't have original sin. He didn't have sin by choice and he was crowned with glory and honor because he was willing to leave the glories of heaven to come down to live that perfect life and see how hard it is. And yet be without sin and he was crowned because of death and then we get to, oh, let me let me just stop right there. Imma read this.

This is Christmas Eve decorated the highlighting. I usually use green for specific highlights. This is just to be festive this it's Italian flag, Mexican flag, Christmas, whatever you want see. A green, green, white, red. I changed translations on you just because we've heard the other one so often.

I wanted you to consider it a fresh and a new. This is the Christmas story in Philippians. Have this attitude in yourselves. You know, God giving the gift of Christ is what inspires us to give gifts to others, right? That should be.

That's that's the idea behind it. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who though he existed in the form of God, he is by very nature, God, same word there is as in that. He is the radiance of God and he is the imprint of God. He exist in the form of God. He didn't regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped.

Though he was God, emptied himself of those divine rights and came. He emptied himself and taken the form of a bond servant, slave, do loss, and being made in the likeness of men. He was just like, we are being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself. By becoming obedient even obedient to the point of death and even death on a cross and for this reason, because of that, God crowned him with glory and honor is what Hebrews says.

For this reason also, God highly exalted him and he bestowed on him the name which is above every name. We don't celebrate Mary Bobmas. Okay? We don't celebrate Mary Ramas. We celebrate Mary Christmas because his name is above every other name, every other name.

It's not Mary Billy Graham must. He's a good guy but he doesn't measure up. The name which is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. Of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, every knee will bow.

There's a divine separation that happens and it happens over what you do with Jesus Christ. Every knee is going to bow because and I'll say it for you. Jesus Christ really actually is that awesome. He really is and so whether your subjective experiences said, yes, I put my faith in him to the extent that you will allow me. Lord, I will follow you and I'll trust you where I fall short.

Or I reject you out of hand. It doesn't the fact that Christ really is that awesome. It does change the fact for you. It's your will matters in the equation for you and for those around you. So, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth, none of the earth and that every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as lord to the glory of God the father because he had this plan.

Jesus Christ. He really is. We see him. He was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death. He was crowned with glory and honor.

He's exalted above every other name so that he, that's Jesus. By the grace of God. So that he, I love a good so that clause. Hena is the word in Greek. It's a purpose.

It lets you know why something happened. The purpose clause here is so that he, by the grace of God, it's God's riches but it's at Christ's expense. God's riches are unmerited favor handed over through Christ so that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. Now, I look at that and you might say, well, that sounds more like Easter than Christmas. I had somebody this week tell me flat out said, I don't want you preaching an Easter message at Christmas.

Come on people. If you're not celebrating both Christmas and Easter every day in your life that Christ came and he sacrificed a perfect life for your credit, for your good, imputed to you. If you don't celebrate that every day, you don't understand what Christmas is about in the first place. So, so that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. It does sound like Easter more than Christmas but that might right there is what I wanna concentrate on and if you have two verses in your bulletin about what the sermon's gonna be about today, it's Galatians four, four, and five and this is our bridge to get there.

So that he might taste death for everyone. The might right there is a subjunctive if if if you like grammar, it's a concept that's difficult. In Spanish, there are about 26 different rules for when you use subjunctive but the short version of it is this, if there are two wills involved, I can want and have a purpose in what I do. I can want and have a purpose in what I do. Preparing the slides was a good example this morning.

I wanted for those slides to work. I had the purpose that those slides would work and they did help me as I was forming thoughts but when I got in here, it didn't happen and it wasn't because of Blake's will. Somebody in Cupertino, California decided that computer had to be and those wills limited the ability to for my purpose, right? So, God's purpose, Christ's intent, it says, so that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. His death on the cross was effective for everyone who puts their trust in him but the might right there leave that in your lap.

The might is contingent upon your will. The will of God is that everyone would be saved. Sadly, not everyone will accept that. Christ and they'll reject it. Did did I just have a blip in that?

So, concerning Christmas rather than Easter for just a second. Let's look at this. This is but when the fullness of time came, when the fullness of time came, Christ was born. It's Galatians four, four, and five. God sent forth his son when the fullness of time came.

Now, there are people that will tell you why it was during the Paxro mom, why it was in Jerusalem, and why it was that that is immaterial at this point. When the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son. And he was born of woman. He didn't have his original sin like all of us that come after Adam Bible calls him the second Adam. He was born of a woman and he was born under the law and he fulfilled it.

Everyone else had missed it. Everyone else without exception had missed it but he didn't miss it. He was born under the law and there's another henna so that. So that what? So that he might redeem those who are under the law.

Who does that fit? Everyone. Everyone. So that he might redeem those who are under the law. Does that mean that it might happen?

Hope so? No. It means that it's dependent upon your will and your faith being placed in the objective truth of the goodness and faithfulness of God that will bring about what he intends. So that he might redeem those who are under the law so that there's another one in the same sentence so that we might receive the adoption as sons. Amen.

So, in this time frame, adoption as sons and adoption as as daughters was different. Adoption of daughters, yes, you could adopt a daughter and you could take care of her and she could help out but she had no inheritance whatsoever. But the sons did. An adopted son was a son. And the inheritance would go to them.

It doesn't limit it so that we all might receive adoption and just leave it vague. It's so we might receive adoption as son. We will become a part of a family that we did not belong to originally. The might there. There's another one.

Actually, it was read in Spanish this morning and on the screen in English. For God did not send the son into the world to judge the world but here's the henna so that so that what? The world might be saved through him. It is a message of good news of great joy and it is peace on earth and goodwill towards men but if you won't accept it, you won't accept it and he's not gonna force your hand. It is the will of God that you would be saved but if you reject him, that's on you.

So, the might there is huge. Whether you believe it or not. He really is and I want to get at the actuality of it. I know Jesus Christ is awesome but even I don't get the extent of it. This is, I made this my livelihood, my my life, not just livelihood but my life for a long time now and I still don't get the, I hadn't plumbed the depths of it.

He really is more awesome than I can ever know. The brilliance and the radiance and imprint of God. He is all of that. To the extent that I trust in my life will be peaceful. It'd be filled with comfort and joy.

The journey is not always easy but it is always good. So, I'm going skip to the merry Christmas again, Blake. There's a whole lot more that I could say. In fact, there are tons of other slides. And I got more time in this service than I had the last one Because there was that gaping spot at the beginning where I had no slides and piano piano improvisante over there jumped up and played.

Merry Christmas. But why? Because wait for it. Jesus Christ really is that all. He really is.

If we only understood, if we understood how true that was, we wouldn't be frustrated with how busy this season gets. We wouldn't be frustrated with those who don't quite understand it. We would just be loving our neighbors and loving even our enemies. Praying for those who persecute us because Jesus is worth it. He really is that awesome.

Amen. Would y'all stand? Imma invite Judy back up to the front. Angels from the realms of glory. They're awesome.

They're more awesome than we are in some ways but we're crowned with glory and honor that we can give back. Lay our crowns at Jesus' feet. Angels from the realms of glory. Hymn number two fifty nine.

Angels from the realms of glory wing your flight or all the earth either sang creation story

and now, may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. May your spirit and soul and body be preserved, complete, without blame at the coming of Jesus Christ, our lord. And why? Because Jesus Christ really is that awesome. He can do it.

Lord, would you and give us the will to submit. In Jesus name, amen.