Kiss The Son

Please stand for the reading of God's word. I'll be reading from the 119th psalm.

I'll begin reading in Verse 113. I Hate the double -minded, but I love your law

You are my hiding place in my shield. I hope in your word Depart from me you evildoers that I may keep the commandments of my

God Uphold me according to your promise that I may live and let me not be put to shame in my hope

Hold me up That I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually

You spurn all who go astray from your statutes for their cunning is in vain

All the wicked of the earth you discard like like dross Therefore I love your testimonies

My flesh trembles for for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments

New Testament reading this morning is from Galatians chapter 4 the reading verses 1 through 7

I Mean that the heir as long as he is a child is no different from a slave though He is the owner of everything

But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father in the same way

We also when we were children were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world But when the fullness of time had come

God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law To redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons and because you are sons

God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba father So you are no longer a slave, but a son and if a son then an heir through God may be seated good morning

Open your Bibles to Psalm chapter 2 please Psalm 2 Psalm 2 we'll start in verse 1

Why did the nation's rage and the people's plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the

Lord and against his anointed saying let us burst their Bonds apart and cast away their cords from us

He who sits in the heavens laughs the Lord holds them in derision Then he will speak to them in his wrath and terrify them in his fury saying as for me

I have set my king on Zion my holy hill So I will tell the of the decree the

Lord said to me you are my son today I have begotten you ask of me and I'll make the nation's your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession

You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel

So now therefore Oh Kings be wise Be warned

Oh rulers of the earth Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling kiss the son

Lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled Blessed are all who take refuge in him

Oh Lord in heaven We all come before you now in this moment needy weak

Lord how blessed it is for us to recognize just how weak and Needy we are how we are creatures in sin.

We are the kings of the earth We are those of the world who have rebelled against you following the prince of the power of the air

Satan himself in our rebellion thinking that the sins of this world is better for us than obedience to our

God Lord in heaven We certainly are weak people in need of Jesus Christ this Christmas season of his peace treaty of the peace that he offers in himself as he came meek

As he came not as a conquering General to defeat his enemies or rather he came as a babe

That we can know him and we can find refuge in him that we can have peace through him

So I thank you Lord for showing us our need and I thank you for giving us our need in Jesus I pray our ears would be open for this message

My mouth would be ready to proclaim it and that we would all conform ourselves to the image of this peace offering to Jesus Christ himself.

Thank you Lord in Jesus name. Amen Silent night holy night all is calm all is bright round yon virgin virgin

Mother and child holy infinite so tender and mild sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night holy night shepherds quake at the sight glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosting hallelujah Christ the Savior is born Silent night holy night son of God loves pure light radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming

Grace Jesus Lord at thy birth. I only Thought it would be

It's pretty good that we saying the two hymns that are we saying the last time that we did away in the manger

And I can quote that hymn as well because if you remember at the beginning of this Advent series I quoted these hymns and and I talked about how full of peace they are and and How they just really they highlight the peace that we should have during Advent season

And I said it in a way that was almost as if it was a negative thing but I didn't mean it to be a negative thing if you remember

I said it is good to Celebrate the peacefulness of the Christmas season, but we need to make sure it's balanced if you remember

We can't just have a Christmas celebration That's just centered on a baby and the peace of the night that comes with it

I think that we're doing anything justice to the actual thing that happened forever We talked about the need for balance and what is that balance?

Well if we celebrate peace during Christmas season What is that balance to celebrate the fact that this comes in the midst of great turmoil and so that's what we've been doing in Psalm 2 we've been looking at the turmoil the context surrounding the peaceful season of this baby coming and so as we do this

We can then be well balanced. I remember talking to one Christian who said they just didn't quite feel the the

Christmas season in their hearts This year and I asked well What does Christmas mean to you?

and and really what Christmas meant to this Christian was simply the the fact surrounding of a baby and the peace that comes with it and Celebrating just how nice of a scenery that must be and all all the things that cultural underpinnings that come with it

And if that's it then beloved that we're missing something very essential in Christmas So this has been the whole thing as we've gone through these last several weeks that we would remind ourselves of the turmoil of how

Significant that Jesus would come in a babe and how peaceful that is in light of the context of the turmoil surrounding his coming

That's what we ended if you remember in Psalm 2 remember how we ended in Psalm 2

Psalm 2 verse 9 you shall talking about Jesus as babe you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel

That's terrifying To think about Jesus and part of this decree that the father has given him is that he would defeat his enemies in the most terrifying way

Imagine being in the sights of Jesus as he brings this down upon his enemies

That is awful to consider. In fact, imagine if you will With me for a moment that this

Psalm and the promises of God ended in verse 9 of chapter 2 Think about that for a moment

Imagine that the promises of God And here's Psalm 2 everything ended with verse 9 that Jesus will come and dash his enemies to pieces

How terrifying of reality would that be for all of us in this room that this is what we have to look forward to Christmas would not be the babe that we know of this meek

Savior instead Christmas would be what we see in Revelation Why don't we just go there?

This is what Christmas would be if you go to Revelation 19 with me Christmas would not be that peaceful scene of Jesus being born on that silent night.

No Christmas would be Revelation 19 verse 11 Then I saw heaven open and behold a white horse

The one sitting on it is called faithful and true and righteousness. He judges and makes war

That's terrifying Imagine that being Christmas He judges and he makes war but you see if this was

Jesus first coming if this was Christmas Then this would play out differently wouldn't it in verse 12.

His eyes are like a flame of fire You know what? That means he sees everything And if you're an unbeliever today right now in this moment,

Jesus sees everything he hates evil He hates sin and he sees yours today.

That is a terrifying thought of turmoil His eyes were a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems and he has a name written that no one knows but himself

But see if this was his first coming we would have to change verse 13 Wouldn't we because he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is clothed is the

Word of God And which he is called is the Word of God. See if this was his first coming there would be no blood

There would be no bloody Jesus There would only be the vengeance that he's pouring out on his enemies There would only be blood in front of him not on him

And of course we'd have to change verse 14 too wouldn't we and the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen white and pure We're following on white horses.

We're following him You see we wouldn't be behind Jesus as we witness him devastating his enemies dashing the pieces

But instead we would be in front of Jesus and we'd see his holy hatred on us

Imagine if verse 9 were to stop and the promises of God would stop at verse 9 and there was no salvation

We would only have his holy fury on us From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of Iron he will tread the winepress of his fury of the wrath of God the

Almighty on his robe and on his thigh He has a name written king of kings lord of lords

Praise be to God. We don't stop at verse 9. Do we we do not stop in Psalm 2 verse 9

You shall break them with the rod of iron and dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel But thanks be to God the promises of God Go forward

They move on look at verse 10 through 12 now Therefore all kings be wise be warned all rulers of the earth

See how good of a warning that is. That's a warning. That's a that's a good

Loving warning of this king that we see, you know, what's good about warnings is usually it's posted before you make the mistake

Isn't it? You know a road that's going off a cliff. Why do roads go off the side of cliffs?

Anyways, what does that have? Why do they make roads go into the cliffs in the movies? I don't get that but if you see when that's the case the sign is before you get to the cliff, right the warning

Hey, don't go any further. You're gonna go off a cliff The sign is never at the bottom of a cliff right where your car is smashed to pieces and you have a sign right there

A warning sign. Oh, it's always before you made the mistake before you went off the cliff See the good thing about warnings is usually they're posted before you make the mistake and beloved here it is

Here's a warning That although Jesus is going to dash his enemies to pieces you can be forewarned and you can escape that punishment

This is a blessed warning indeed. Thank God for these great transition periods in Scripture You know, we have quite a few of them

One thing you should do in your study of Scripture is take note of these times where situation it's terrible

But then something dramatically changes. It's like a 180, you know what I'm saying? And here is one right here now

Therefore in light of the fury the the turmoil what Jesus is going to bring down upon his enemies

Be warned it's a difference and we get one of those and it's blessed in Ephesians 2 It's probably the most famous at least the one

I like to meditate upon that kind of war that kind of transition There's something that that turns 180, you know something almost unexpected and we see in Ephesians 2

Right 1 through 3 we get the same kind of picture and you were dead and the trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work and the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh

Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind

We were in rebellion, right? We were ready to be judged by this Jesus who would dash our rebellion to pieces

That's what we were ready for. But you see once again, what if Scripture would end there?

What if that's it get ready for your judgment, but it isn't Blessed be the name of our Father who gives us a promise in Scripture.

It goes on in which it says what but God Right. God has done something merciful gracious He's rich and even when we're dead in our trespasses and since he made us alive together with Christ the one who's going to dash his enemies is

The one who's going to give refuge to those same people who deserve his wrath, but instead receive his grace

It's not amazing how God operates that way the one who's going to execute vengeance. That is the one we take refuge in The Scriptures go on to promise that we can find refuge in him so this is a warning and Psalm 2

It's something that goes beyond the terrifying realities of the second coming of Jesus and it describes that there's a warning that there is the first coming of Jesus here in Psalm 2

What's so this is what we're gonna see here in the next few minutes. We get a warning but then we get

I Should I say this right we get a warning but then we get a gracious and wonderful invite as well

We get a warning, but we also get a wonderful warm Invite as well

What is this warning? well in verse 10 of Psalm 2 This warning starts off Now therefore right in light of the fact that Jesus this

Son of God This this anointed one the fact that he has so much power and authority and he will execute it despite your rebellion

Since that's the case. Oh Kings be wise and be warned all rulers of the earth

Have wisdom wisdom is the ability to choose what is proper and correct, right?

Stop choosing your rebellion. Stop choosing your sin. Stop choosing to try to break away the yoke of Jesus Stop doing that foolish act and be wise choose a different path for yourself

How important is that to give that warning to all unbelievers, right? Stop being foolish stop acting like you can live within your rebellion and do something proper

No, no, no be wise and choose the right path Be wise

Be warned but this warning goes on in Verse 11 it says serve the

Lord There's actually two things that they are to do that they're told to do and then they're told how to do it

They are to serve the Lord They are to rejoice and they are to do it with how they're to do it is with fear and trembling

So what are they to do? They're to serve They're to worship that I the word there has a connotation of worship the

Lord. What's the difference? Well, it's a direct contrast with what they were doing earlier in the psalm, isn't it? They were in rebellion

They were trying to break the courts away from them They're trying to break away from this powerful sovereign

God and now they're being told be wise go a different path Instead you are to serve this

God you are to worship this God You know, what is the most natural thing to do as people who are born?

as Children of wrath is to serve our sin instead, you know how natural it is how good it feels to serve your sin

How much of a warning we need to be told to don't act so foolishly do not do what feels right naturally within your rebellious

Heart, but instead you are to what serve the Lord you're to worship the

Lord you are to serve him in his kingdom but you see God is not satisfied

With Wooden service God is not satisfied with a joyless worship

God is not satisfied with just going through the motions See God is worthy of all worship and service and he's worthy to be done in a particular way

What way is that? What else are we supposed to do we are to what it says in verse 11 serve the

Lord and we'll get to with fear later and rejoice Rejoice, not only are we to serve the

Lord but in our service to the Lord We are to be people who are rejoicing in our service.

I remember before becoming a Christian I thought it was just enough for me to just go through the motions and I hated it

I didn't like it, but I thought well, that's just how things go God is worthy of the service we can we give him and God is worthy for us to do it in a way

That's full of joy In fact if our worship of God our service of God is not done in joy, we're doing it wrong

So does that mean that when we are not have any joy at all in our heart does that mean?

Well, therefore, you know, I might as well not continue. I might as well not do it No, it just means that we know that this is not the what

God is Worthy of this is not the way that God wants me to serve him and worship him

So therefore, what do you do you cry out to the Lord change my heart give me rejoicing in this give me joy

This don't let me just go along in the motions Don't let me just be dry and wooden But let me rather be full of life as I worship you because this is what you command from us.

This is a warning You have been living in rebellion You must now serve him be wise and serve him and do it with rejoicing do it with joyful hearts

This is what God commands Warns stop your rebellion and do this instead and notice so Serve the

Lord he says in verse 11 With fear and rejoice with trembling notice those words words fear and trembling

I remember again another Christian He came from a background of heavy legalism in which they told him you need to obey

God Because he will crush you if you don't right and so it was heavy legalism

I mean he very heavy in fear and trembling before the Lord And so therefore you better obey and so when he came to know the mercies of God the grace of God his kindness

He really hated the word the words fear and trembling. I think that you're supposed to fear

God He didn't like that very much. He didn't he didn't understand it But it's very important that fear and trembling is very much deep -rooted and what

God has commanded us to do in serving him fear and trembling One aspect of it is complete and utter humility

Complete and utter humility, you know, God is eternally above us

You know, it's not like man. We are right here and God's just a little bit better, you know He's just a little bit better, you know, and so therefore there's a little bit well, he's a better creature or whatever

So then no is God is eternally above us. He's eternally the distance between us and God is great

And so great that it fills you with awe and fear and troubling you know, it's kind of like when you're if you're about to Engage in some kind of sports of wrestling or whatever with an opponent and you respect their abilities

You're you're going to be fearful as you approach that competition, aren't you? Um If you don't have any kind of respect for your opponent, there's not gonna be any kind of fear

It's not gonna be any kind of trembling in you as you go and do that competition Well, this is the same kind of understanding that we understand that God is so much higher than us so much greater than us that when we consider him as compared to us it fills us with so much fear and humility

And trembling that this God is so much higher than us You see this is the very opposite of this rebellious creature that we see in psalm 2

The reason why they rebel against God is because they do not fear him. They're not trembling. They don't realize the distance between them

Human and God and so they're not filled with that kind of awe and so therefore they rebel

But you see the moment that we have a rebellious mind moment that our mind wants to question

God and go against him if we are filled with fear and trembling if we're filled with this Idea that God is way greater than us way bigger than us

Then we will presuppose that we must be wrong in some way and he must be right But if we don't have that presupposition

If we don't approach our disbelief that way then we will feed into this disbelief until it's complete rebellion

But since we know that God is eternally awesome and great his ways are not our ways That his knowledge is way better than our knowledge whenever we come to a place in which we question him

We presuppose his truth and we submit to him. This is what we do with fear and trembling

This is our understanding the difference between us and God There's something more different.

There's all sorts of different things you could say about fear and trembling well, there's also something to be to To be noticed about fear and trembling that creates focus and concentration in us

I remember working for comcast for a few years and um they trained us how to Climb ladders obviously to get on the poles and get up to the line and it was about 25 feet up in the air um, and For someone who never liked heights and never was used to climbing like that It was a terrifying experience to have to climb especially the first few times as I had to travel up 25 feet um, and I remember

Having fear ever with having plenty of trembling the first few times I was doing it And most of us in training as we had to do it the first time

We all kind of could see us kind of shaking a little bit as we had to do our climb for the first time

And when we went up we didn't just go up all joyfully and and you know Just you know without a care in the world and just kind of walk up real quick But we did it very slowly

And you can see our hands kind of shaking as we went up higher and higher And we went slower and slower as we got higher and higher.

It was a terrifying thing Um, and I remember that our instructor saying it's actually a very good thing for you to have fear

Because with your fear, what do you do? You're focused aren't you? Uh, you're not going quickly

Are you you're I I remember being paying attention to every single movement of that ladder everything I could feel

I was concentrating everything I was very much concentrated on climbing up that ladder so I don't fall off and die

Right, and he said it's a good thing for you to be fearful because it causes you to be focused on the task at hand

If there's no fear Then there's no not as much at least focus And he said but the thing is here's what's going to happen the instructor said after a while That fear is going to go away or at least it's going to be diminished

And as that fear and trembling goes away He didn't say trembling, but he did say fear as that fear goes away.

You're going to be a lot more what? Reckless, you're going to go through a lot quicker You're not gonna be as concentrated and you're not gonna be as focused

And I said, I don't think so as the first time I climb it up. I don't think that'll ever happen Well, lo and behold,

I remember a year later. It was probably around a year later I'm hurry up trying to get my calls done, right?

I'm in the middle of trouble call and had to get up on the pole and I remember just really quickly I didn't put on any this is bad.

I didn't put on any safety Requirements no helmet or anything because I just wanted to hurry up and get it done By the time

I put on everything all the safety stuff it took double as long as just getting the job done real quick And I remember putting my ladder up real quick and basically running up there getting my job done and coming back down I remember thinking what he said pretty soon.

You're not going to fear this anymore. You're not going to be as focused You're not going to be as you know um Intentive to everything and that was very much the case now

What am I getting at here fear and trembling when you fear something? Whenever you are trembling before something it causes you to really be focused on the task at hand

And there's a point in which our service to god. We are to do it with fear and trembling We are so amazed by how awesome he is that he calls us to do something and we listen

We don't take it for granted. What have you called me to do god? I want to be focused at the task at hand

But the moment in our christian life where we take his word for granted and take his warnings for granted.

What do we do? We don't focus so much on our sanctification. Do we we let things slide don't we?

But the thing is though as we get higher up as so to speak with my analogy on the ladder

We get closer to the image we get closer to what god is And what does that cause us to do as we get higher up?

It causes us to be even more fearful Oh my goodness This god is even more amazing than I thought right and it causes us to be even more careful of our actions even more

Concentrated that I want to be like this god. I want to serve him And so as we get to know him more we get to see how different we are from how he is

Further from us than we ever could imagine and so it makes us more focused more fearful as we say

What would you have me to do god? There's a big problem Whenever you lose that kind of tenacity

Whenever we pull god to be like us and we say well, I think i'm good enough, right? I'm so so to speak.

I look pretty good around with the people around me. That's good enough But there's a certain aspect to where we realize that god is so awesome.

So big He's so far above us that we are focused on the task at hand when he tells us to do something we do it

We do it Now This is what god has warned us with stop your rebellion

Stop rebelling against me and this is what you are to do instead. You are to serve me

You are to rejoice in serving me and you are to do it with fear and trembling. It should be your total concentration

Now If you know anything about human nature, is that warning enough? Is the warning there and we can do it.

We're good No, we're far too sinful for that so we need something more don't we?

Well before we get to what we need more, let's just prove to ourselves that that warning is not enough. Look at romans chapter 3

Look at romans chapter 3 Or what paul says in chapter 3 verse 10 as it is written

None is righteous. No, not one No one understands No one seeks for god, right?

There's that warning This is what you need to be doing instead and no one understands it and no one seeks for god

See because all have turned aside together. They have become Worthless right in their rebellion and following their own lusts and passions and desires and sin.

They become worthless to god No one does good. No, not even one their throat is an open grave

They use their tongues to deceive the venom of asps is under their lips Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness

Their feet are swift to shed blood and their paths are ruin and misery in the way of peace

They have not known There is no what fear of god before their eyes what they need is fear

They need to see the one that they're truly rebelling against and it needs to change what they do But because we do not understand we do not heed god's warnings

But thanks be to god that he gives us a warm invite Because it's not enough simply to warn because we will rebel against even that but instead what we need is a great warm Invite and what is that warm invite that we get?

in verse 12 of Psalm 2 Kiss the son

How amazing that is? We were just told the last thing we know knew about the son is he was going to dash his pieces

His enemies to pieces and now all of a sudden It says kiss this one who's going to dash his enemies to pieces kiss him.

It's an invite It's not just a warning, but there's an invite here kiss the son in psalm 2 verse 12

Kiss the son and at the very end they sandwich it blessed are all who take refuge in him

It's amazing. He's gonna end his enemies with such fury and turmoil and And war and it's this one right here that we are to kiss and take refuge

In this is a warm invite for us to find peace in him Kiss the son.

What does that mean kiss the son? Well, we there's a few different times that we get this word kiss uh in the old testament

Um, and I think it's very important for us to understand what's going on here with telling us to kiss the son One of the times that we see kiss in this way is when samuel kissed

Saul remember Samuel and Saul the story there Samuel is anointing the first king of israel, right?

And saul is that first king of israel and during that anointing process. What does samuel do to saul?

He kisses him um, this is like a show of Respect and homage of you are the authority and I am submissive to your authority as king of israel um, this is the one notion of kissing a sovereign that he is sovereign over you and you show that in um and Um in a kiss right and we can see how there's an aspect of that um here

That these people are told stop your rebelling stop undermining the authority of god and instead do the very opposite Kiss the king kiss the son

Show and see that he is sovereign over you and you are to be submissive to him kiss the son

There's an aspect of that But I think there's something more too Well, even with that um, you remember

Elijah is told that there are 7 000 who have not bowed down to baal

And kissed baal This is an understanding. There are 7 000 prophets who had not bowed down to the authority of baal, right?

So this is the idea of kissing that you kiss your sovereign you show that I am submissive to your sovereignty by a kiss

But there's also another element of this kiss um The same word is used in a couple different ways

Um, and that is uh, if you remember forgot to write it down but if you remember

Um, uh laban is kissing his grandchildren as jacob takes them away

And he kisses them and it is a an intense kiss it is i'm going to miss you

I'm, probably not going to see you anymore. And so you can imagine it would be an affectionate Deep kiss right as they leave him

Um, there's also another time and i'm forgetting in my mind where it is the example of it. Give me a moment

Oh, yes where joseph? Is kissing his brothers The great story of joseph at the end of genesis you remember joseph, uh, it hides himself in egypt

They don't know who he is But joseph knows that it's his brothers and they keep on coming back and going back to their father coming back

And finally he tells them it's me. It's your brother and there's this great time where they come together in reconciliation

And they are full of love for each other and they passionately kiss one another Um, and so this is idea that kisses you can kiss your sovereign as he's king over you

But there's also in which you love them deeply and show that affection and a kiss for them

And I think there's both aspects going on here, isn't there? We're told to kiss the sun He is the sovereign lord of the universe.

He is king of the universe and he is in control of all things And so we show our submission to him by kissing him

There's also this element too where he has done something wonderful for us. Hasn't he he has made our submission

Possible hasn't he the warning was not enough? And so we must be invited to kiss the sun because he enables us to truly submit to the king of the universe

Remember you see in verse 11 or 12 Lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled There's an aspect in which we're so overwhelmed by the fact that this son this person this god

Has saved me from such wrath that it creates a certain affection and love that you have for this

Son, and you want to show that and kiss In fact we see in the end of verse 12 once again that he is our refuge

You ever spend a moment in the middle of a storm? Terrifying as it is and then you get into a place of refuge.

It is the greatest of all feelings And jesus becomes that refuge for us. Although we are not willing to listen to any warning

He is the one that takes us in he is our refuge from those judgments And so no not only do we kiss jesus as our sovereign, but we kiss him as the one who has protected us from great harm

He is the one that brings us in and makes us submissive through his covenant of grace

So we can see that there's this great gap between the first coming of jesus and the second coming of jesus

And I love how in the psalm here psalm 2 we can kind of it kind of just kind of mixes them together into one

And we see this great second coming of him ending his enemies and great terrifying array

But we can see there's also an aspect in his first coming where he offers us peace in the babe jesus

The one full of humility came down to be like us So that by his work on the cross by his work on conquering the cross

Working conquering death we can find refuge in him And so we see in the psalm they put them both together and saying he's terrifying but at the same time

There's great peace that's found within them if we only kiss the son and take refuge in him

And so our fear and trembling Looks differently in light of christ I want to end

I want to flip to philippians 2 and we'll end here Philippians 2

Paul says in philippians 2 verse 12 therefore my beloved As you have always obeyed

So now not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence work out your own salvation your own

Salvation with fear and trembling for his god who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure

See our fear and trembling comes forth from the basis of our salvation From the basis of our kissing the son from the basis of our finding refuge in the sun

And so now everything that we do is a play out of that basis of our salvation that we have in finding refuge in jesus

And so everything we do is in fear and troubling of this great god who one day will come and destroy his enemies

But in his love he has offered us peace in himself and so I can take refuge in that peace

And so now all I do is in light of that great reality that great truth that although i'm a wicked sinner

I can be made redeemed in him and be protected from sin and from the consequences

And so our fear and trembling as we consider just how amazing and big and great God is is in light of the fact that he has shown us peace

In fact, if you look in chapter 2 verse 1 The example of jesus coming and being that humble example

Is seen in there chapter 2 verse 1. So if there is any encouragement in christ any comfort from love

Any participation in the spirit any affection and sympathy complete my joy Paul says by being of the same mind having the same love being in full accord and of one mind do nothing from selfish

Ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in christ Jesus who and this is what jesus has done as our example though he was in the form of god

He did not count equality with god as a thing to be grasped But emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men

And being found in human form. He humbled himself By becoming obedient to the point of death even death on the cross.

Look at that first coming of jesus Contrast that in your mind with what we talked about in revelation how the second will not be anything like that But he will come in power and authority and no humility and all involved in that But jesus came the first time like that in order to offer us grace and peace

He's our example of this humility In verse 9 therefore god has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name

So that at the name of jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess

That jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father So in reality of this in understanding this the salvation plan from of old

That although man has entered into rebellion against god in their sin Although we commit sin within our heart rebelling against god

He instead of sending wrath upon us instead of sending jesus in his second coming He sent him in his first coming as a babe so that we can find peace and refuge in him

This is the great promise of scripture that although there is a great distance between us And god, he sent forth his son to take on flesh as truly god

So it would create in us an awe of fear that this god has done such a wonderful thing for us

What is our only response? But to obey this warning from god and the way we obey the warning from god is by looking to his son

And kissing the sun and believing upon him So once we see christmas once we think about christmas what gives us a christmas spirit

Because understanding all the reality it comes around this jesus as a baby and not as a destroyer

Once you understand our sin and how I rebel against god jesus came to give me peace

This will give us a christmas spirit no matter what kind of circumstance you may or may not be in This is the great jesus of scripture that came and loved on us when we deserved it not

So how can we be rebellious people when we have such a king like jesus? How can we be a rebellious people?

How can we harbor insincerity in our hearts and a lack of worship in our hearts when he has been so kind to us and to you?

May we be a people in which we consider the fact that christ came to save So I can love him from the heart

Let us celebrate that this christmas season. Let us celebrate that today. Let us celebrate that in the coming

Years of our lives and jesus. Um, let us pray to pray to our god god in heaven. Thank you so much for Your great love we know lord that jesus

Is a conquering god he conquers sin And i'm thankful lord that he does it in us with patience and love with forgiveness

Lord in heaven, you didn't have to warn us. You didn't have to provide a salvation, but you did in your kindness

So I ask lord that we would look upon jesus this christmas season Certainly as one who will come and who will defeat his enemies and will do it in the most horrific way

But also as one who is peaceful And has offered us peace in his covenant

And so let us be a people in which we see our sin and we see jesus and we Repent of it and we're in awe of fear and trembling that our god would be so kind to us

So let that create focus that we focus upon jesus all the days of our life because it's in his name

That all these sins are dealt with So let us kiss the sun. Let us seek refuge in him

And let us tell tell our neighbors and everyone about him because of how awesome his deeds are

Lord in heaven, I thank you for this salvation. Thank you for christ Thank you for this day that we can celebrate him And I pray god that that would be what we do in all our actions throughout this day throughout our weeks in jesus name