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What Christmas Promises - Life - Matthew 4 and 1 John 1 | Warren Wiersbe Sermons | Warren Wiersbe | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: What Christmas Promises - Life - Matthew 4 and 1 John 1 | Warren Wiersbe Sermons
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Video Summary
Summary
Core Theme
The core theme is the manifestation of eternal life through Jesus Christ, emphasizing that this life is needed, revealed, received, and meant to be shared, leading to full joy and fellowship with God.
Key Points
I read the word of God from the first
Epistle of
John chapter
verses that which was from the
beginning which we have heard which we
have seen with our
eyes which we have looked
upon and our hands have handled of the
word of life
for the life was manifested and we have
seen it and bear witness and show unto
you that eternal life which was with the
father and was manifested unto
us that which we have seen and heard
declare we unto
you that ye Also may have fellowship
with us and truly our fellowship is with
the father and with his son Jesus
Christ and these things write we unto
you that your
joy may be
full may God help us to see in
life a friend of mine used to say to
me each time the Christmas season would
arrive why does Christmas have to come
crowded and yet it's good to know that
something that happened 2,000 years ago
can still create traffic jams in
Chicago but if a visitor from outer
space were to come to Chicago during this
this
season Park his Flying Saucer out in
Grant Park somewhere
on I wonder if he'd know what it's all
about in fact I wonder if the people who
are pushing and shoving and
striving and driving know what it's all
about there are many people who just
don't understand what this Christmas
season really means they have a
Sentimental view of
it and they sh a few tears over a poor
little couple that had a little baby
and they were
rejected it might be good for us to go
back to those who were
there let's go back to the Apostle John
who knew Jesus let's go back to the
first Epistle of John which was
written by the apostle that we might
know Jesus Christ personally and be sure
of our salvation
because several times in this little
letter the Apostle John uses a very
important word it's the word
manifested in chapter 1 of 1 John verse
2 he says that when Jesus came the life was
was
manifested you turn the page over to
chapter 3 and verse five and ye know
that he was manifested to take away our sins
sins
and so forgiveness was
manifested in chapter 3 and verse 8 for
this purpose the Son of God was
manifested that he might destroy the
works of the devil and so victory was
manifested over chapter 4 and verse
9 in this was manifested the love of God
toward us that God sent his only
begotten son into the world that we
might live through him love was
manifested this is what it's all
about now the first of these
manifestations is
life and we read from 1 John 1:
1-4 and the key word in this section is
the word
life the word of life the life was
manifested we show unto you that eternal
life John is talking here about the
manifestation of Life he's talking here
about the experience erience of eternal
life now each one here today and those
listening in our radio
congregation have experienced physical
life otherwise you wouldn't be
here but John is talking about something
much more wonderful much
deeper much more thrilling much more
exciting he's talking about the
manifestation of God's
life he's talking about an experience
that you and I can have that
that
transcends anything we've ever had
before he's talking about an experience
that takes everything that's natural and
makes it Supernatural everything that is
of our first birth and transforms it by
a second
birth and he tells us in these four
verses that this
experience of
life has four stages in
it and I'm wondering today at what stage you
you
are stage number one the life was needed
otherwise he never would have come stage
number two the life was
manifested stage number three the life
was received stage number four the life
was shared with
others those are the four stages of this
experience of life that John writes
about in 1 John chapter 1 the first four
verses let's take these stages one by
one and find out where we are stage
number one the life was
needed Jesus Christ came into this world
because there was a
need it cost him too much to come for
any other purpose now what was that need
John does not describe it in detail but
Matthew does if you go back to the
gospel of Matthew in chapter
4 and verse
16 this Jewish writer Levi Matthew the
Publican reaches back into Isaiah
chapter 9 and he takes an ancient Old
Testament prophecy and he says this
tells us what the need was when Jesus
came Matthew chapter
4 and verse
16 the people who sat in darkness saw a great
great
light and to them who sat in the region
and shadow of death light is sprung
up the life was needed for three reasons number
number
one there was Darkness
he's talking about people sitting in
darkness now in the Bible Darkness never
means just the absence of
light when the Great city of New York
City was plunged Into Darkness again
that was simply the absence of light but
in the Bible Darkness stands for a
realm Darkness stands for a reality a
spiritual reality the darkness in the
light when God sent those plagues down
upon the land of Egypt in moses' day the
darkness was so thick you could feel it
three days of darkness upon that land a
darkness that you breathed a darkness
that pushed against you it was something
like trying to swim through Jello it was
real it was oppress Ive it created
anxiety and fear and that was the
condition when Jesus came the world was in
darkness now darkness in the Bible is a
picture of sin God is light and in him
is no Darkness at all darkness is a
picture of hatred he that loves not his
brother walks in Darkness Darkness is a
picture of Satan he's the Prince of
Darkness Darkness is the picture of hell
hell is outer darkness and there was
Darkness this world was enveloped by an
atmosphere of Darkness satanic Darkness sinful
sinful
darkness and people were sitting in
darkness and then Jesus came to manifest God's
God's
life now there is a certain amount of
life in darkness I recall when we were
in Mammoth
Cave and we go down down down and they
show you these pools and they turn the
lights off and it's so dark you just
can't grasp it and the guide said there
there are forms of life that can live in
darkness but none of us wants to be one
of those
forms none of us wants to be a fungus on
a cave side none of us wants to be a
blind fish swimming through cold cave
Waters we want something more than that
and when Jesus came he revealed the life
because the life was needed people were
in darkness
and people were in death notice that the
people who sat in darkness saw a great
light and to them who sat in the region
in the shadow of death you see people
have always been afraid of death and
rightly so a fear of death is not a
wrong motive you drive on the right side
of the street I trust because you're
afraid to die and you don't want to kill
anybody else who doesn't want to die
when I say afraid to die I don't mean
we're afraid of the experience of death
we as Christians realize that death for
us is just the door into the presence of
God but each one of us does everything
he can to stay alive we take medicine we
go to the doctor we're careful about the
way we do things to stay alive the fear
of death is not a wrong
motive but when Jesus came to this earth
the world was sitting in the shadow of
death in the confinement of death the
fear of death had driven men down and
Satan had taken the fear of death not as
a tool to build with but as a weapon to
fight with and he beat people with it
and people worshiped Satan and people
turn to all kinds of dirty foul ugly
sewage to forget the fear of
death when you read what the world was
like when Jesus came
you see our world
today back in our Lord's day all of the
great ideas were falling apart the great
institutions were falling apart there
had been an invasion of Eastern
religions and Cults
mysticism the
occult and our lord Jesus came because
life was needed people were sitting in
darkness and people were sitting in
death and people were sitting in despair
and defeat you see Isaiah doesn't use
the word sat when you read Isaiah's
prophecy it says the people who walked
in darkness Matthew says the people who
sat in darkness what had happened in the
700 years from Isaiah to Jesus people
had given
up they sat down and they said we're in
total despair there's no hope wherever
we look there's Darkness wherever we go
there's death
despair the life was needed now let me
say this to you personally do you need
this life do I speak to someone who says
I'm in darkness I haven't a single clue
about things spiritual my mind is dark
and my heart is dark and I live in the
dark and I need some life and some
light that's why Jesus
came someone is in despair
and disappointment and you're ready to
quit someone is worried about death I
say to you the life was
needed the second stage praise God the
life was
manifested notice the word that he uses
manufactured the life was manifested
this word manifest means to reveal that
which has been
hidden this word is used of the Sun in
Greek writings it's dark
cold and out there somewhere is the Sun
and then our world gets into the right
position and the Sun appears now the
morning does not invent the Sun the dawn
does not manufacture the Sun the dawn
reveals the sun when Jesus Christ came
he was was n inventing life he wasn't
manufacturing life he was revealing life
to manifest means to take the invisible
and make it visible to take the hidden
and make it open Jesus Christ didn't
come to confuse people he didn't come to
bring Darkness he came to bring
light and the life was
manifested now what what life was
manifested the life of
God you see God is Not only
light 1 John
1:5 but God is life when you get to the
very end of the first Epistle of
John he says this in verse 20 and we
know that the Son of God is come and
hath given us an understanding that we
may know him that is true and we are in
him that is true even in his son Jesus
Christ this is the true God and eternal
life now if someone comes to you with a
book and says Jesus Christ is not God
you show him 1 John 5:20 this is the
true God and eternal life God is
life and the life was
manifested now up till now this life had
God is
out of that
light which no man can approach
am the
eternal stepped into the realm of the
temporal the
unapproachable approached us now this is a
a
miracle if I were God and people treated
my world and my law the way they had
treated his world and his law I'd never
come and visit them and yet they said
the day spring from on high hath visited
us the life was manifested now if you
want to know what kind of life God wants
you to live look at Jesus
Christ not the Ten Commandments they are
good in their place look at Jesus Christ
Jesus boldly said he that has seen me
has seen the father have I been so long
time with you he said to his men and you
don't know me to look at Jesus Christ
means to see God and this is the miracle
of the whole thing the life was
manifested he stepped out of the picture
he stepped out of the heavens and he
said here let me show you what God is
like and on his lips was one word that
people would not would not believe
father father father father I have
father our lord Jesus during the years
of his ministry and his Earthly life
tried to get people to understand that
God was a loving father who would
receive they continued to make God a
religious autocrat a a dictator a tyrant
else the life was
manifested what kind of life was it well
it's eternal life that which was from the
the
beginning this eternal life we show unto
you that eternal life you see God's life
is eternal life now please don't get
confused Eternal means the life of God
doesn't just mean living forever you're
going to live forever saved or
unsaved when God created man he created
man with the kind of
spiritual nature within that's going to live
live
forever that means
Immortal and whether you're Sav sa D or
unsaved a child of God or not a child of
God a Believer or an unbeliever you're
going to live
forever either in Heaven or
Hell either in light or Darkness either
in love or Eternal hatred and
conflict he's not talking about that
he's talking about a quality of life
that is so marvelous it is God's life in
US eternal life doesn't just mean living
forever it means living forever with
God and means right now living with him
having fellowship with him the life of
God in the heart of man a miracle a
miracle of
Grace and he manifested this life and
said oh if you just come come it's
eternal life a lot of folks have the
idea Jesus came to repair our old life
he was a carpenter you
know and somebody come hobbling up and
say oh I've made a mess of my life he
said well let me repair this let me
replace that oh no salvation is not
repairing and
replacing salvation is receiving a whole
new life it's eternal life now it's not
only Eternal but it's real it's the real
thing if you'll excuse the
phrase John said we saw him he was not a
phantom a ghost a myth hallucination we
saw him we studied him we even felt him
we heard him speak now people hear
voices and there's nobody
there but it wasn't that we heard him
but more than that we saw him more than
that we scrutinized him more than that
we actually felt him this thing is real
our Lord did not come to give us some
kind of abstraction it's real it's the
kind of thing you can get your hands
on and it's
joyful these things write we unto you
that your joy may be full there was not
much joy in the world when Jesus came we
sing Joy to the World the Lord is come
there wasn't much joy all of their
religions were empty shells empty
husks everything was falling to pieces a
dark cloud of
fear was riging over society when Jesus
came and then the angel appeared and
said we bring you good tidings of great
joy it's a joyful life not an easy life
but a joyful life not a life that is um
protected from sorrow and pain but a
joyful life joy in the midst of sorrow and
and
pain it's a loving life that you may
have fellowship with us you see sin
tears everything apart sin walks into a
family and wrecks it sin walks into a
person's life and wrecks it but Jesus
Christ comes in and there's Fellowship
having in common a one he puts things
together and so the life was manifested
eternal life real life joyful life loving
loving
life the third stage is that the life was
received John said I had an experience
with Jesus Christ John could never
forget that day when
he was standing ing by the Jordan River
John the Baptist was standing there and
John the Baptist said to John and Andrew
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away
the sin of the world and they went and
followed him he said what are you looking
looking
for they said Master where do you dwell
he said come and see and they dwelt with
him that day and their lives were
changed they got a hold of reality of Eternity
and Andrew Saidi think my brother needs
to know about this and he went and found Peter
Peter
sephus Simon brought him to
Jesus you see the life was
received they had an experience with the
Lord Jesus Christ not external but
internal not something just religious
something that got on the inside this is
why in The Gospel of John
he always links life with something
internal the Water of Life what do you
do with water you drink it the bread of
life what do you do with bread you eat
it you see the life has to get on the
inside and they receive that life in his
gospel John wrote like this he came unto
his own
world as the Creator and his own
people received him
not but as many as received him to them
gave he the privilege to become the
children of God even to them that
believe on his name to receive is to
believe to receive him inwardly and so
the life was
received now my friend have you received this
this
life that's what it's all
about in order for Jesus Christ
to give you life he had to
die in order for Jesus Christ to forgive
our sins he had to take our sins in
order for him to impart eternity he had
to go through the sufferings of
time and John says that life was
received how do we receive that life
today through the word the word tells me
about the Savior I trust the Savior I
believe his word the life is is imparted
he that heareth my word said Jesus and
believeth on him that sent me hath
everlasting life shall not come into
condemnation but has passed from Death
received the great tragedy today is this
many people know that the life is
needed and many more people know that
the life was
manifested but not many people want to
receive it they say yes Jesus did come
to reveal God's life and to give us
God's life but but what well I've never
received it
why and you can give a long list of
excuses why you've never receive the
life but you can't give me one good
reason why you shouldn't receive the
life you can talk to me about your job
and your friends and your family and
your religious background and your
problems with the Bible those are
excuses I say to you why have you not
received the life in Jesus
Christ which leads us to the fourth
stage in this marvelous experience of
eternal life the life needed
Darkness death despair the life
manifested eternal life joyful life real
life loving
life the life received like bread like
like
water the life shared with others that
which we have seen and heard declare we
unto you why that you also may have
fellowship with us and truly our
fellowship is with the father and with
his son Jesus Christ and these things
declare we unto you that your joy or as
some versions have it our joy and both
are true that your joy and our joy might be
full the life
shared it's inconceivable that a person
should possess life and not want to share
share
life you are here today because your
mother and your father shared their life with
with
you they were a part of that creative
miracle that God gives to parents and if
you're a Christian you're a Christian
today because Jesus Christ shared his
life with you and somebody came along
and told you about it and so John is
writing here about the life shared with
others life cannot be kept life has to
grow life has to reach
out there are multitudes of people who
claim to have the life but they have no
burden to share the life and I wonder if
that's what John
did that's what uh Andrew
did they went out and they shared the
life they said we have found him we want
to share Joy with you lots of people in
this world share misery I tell you if
you want to share misery just stop
anybody any place and say how are
you you'll find
out I picked up a newspaper at the news
stand one morning and said to the
gentleman there any good news he said is there
ever we want to share
joy we want to share
Fellowship lots of people in this world
are building little walls around
themselves and saying don't get near me
I'm afraid don't touch me I'm
worried and the Christian says look
we're reaching out we want to share
fellowship with you we want to have in
common with you what we have in common
with the father and the son we're in
fellowship with him you come and be in
fellowship with us and let's worship Him
and praise him and serve him and
experience fullness that your joy might
be full lots of people are empty these
days oh The Emptiness of life and
they're trying to fill up those empty
places with entertainment and all of
these other things they don't
work they don't work and they go from
emptiness to emptiness to
emptiness and we Christians have the joy
Joy of going from fullness to fullness
to fullness and of his fullness of all
we receive and Grace upon Grace and oh
how we ought to share this the life is
shared with others now if you know you
have eternal life are you sharing it
with other
people say well I'm the quiet type
that's all right God isn't going to
change your personality but he will
change your
purpose so that what you do you do for
the glory of God you sharing the life oh
during this season of the year how
essential it is that we take advantage
of the opportunity and share the life
now at what stage of this experience are
you this morning the life needed are you
in darkness in death and despair the life
life
needed the life
manifested have you seen that in Jesus
Christ is the only life he is the true
life the life received you say Pastor
I've never done that then do it do it
today receive that life you say but if I
do what'll happen you'll enter into
fellowship with life you'll enter into
fellowship with joy you'll enter into
fellowship with forgiveness sins washed
away a new life comes in a new creation
tremendous power and
blessing you say I've already done that
good then you ought to be at stage four
the life shared with others did anybody
learn from us this last week that there
was life in this world in Jesus Christ
if not why not what were we
doing how busy were we what was so
important that we allowed that
despairing dark and dead man man to go
by us and we didn't say hey mister we've got
life you see this Christmas the promise
of Christmas is life and the promise has
always is it needed yes is it available
yes eternal life where in Jesus Christ
faith he that hath the
son hath
life he that hath not the Son of God
have not
life and don't you come to me and say
hey Pastor I'm living it up oh no you're
down the promise of Christmas is the
promise of
life real life
loving life joyful life full
life eternal life the very life of
God through Jesus
life thank you
Father that as we meet Jesus Christ in
the pages of the word we meet life
and that he's all we need all that we
Jesus thank you Father that he's available
available
today that he died for our sins and
arose again and returned to Glory sent
the Holy Spirit the spirit of
life and I pray that today Father there
will be many here who by faith will
receive Jesus Christ and experience life
real life life not some satanic
substitute not some fleshly counterfeit
not some worldly pretense but real life
authentic life enduring
life oh may it be
so we ask it in jesus'
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