All For Love's Sake

Well, we often call this time of year the season of giving, right?

In fact, between your family gatherings, corporate parties, school gift exchanges,

charitable contributions, chances are you give more to other people this time of year

in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas than probably the rest of the year combined.

That's not because you don't care about people the rest of the year.

It's just this is the season of giving, right?

There's all kinds of things that we do, all kinds of gifts that we buy.

But we all know that the quantity of gifts we give doesn't necessarily reflect a genuinely giving heart, right?

Let's be honest for just a moment, okay?

Some of us have some gifts under the tree that if it weren't for a particular obligation, wouldn't be there, right?

There's a difference between going out and really thinking hard, as I know all of you men have done,

and putting all of this time and effort into purchasing something for your wife that would express the tremendous love that you have for her.

I know all of you have done that.

You haven't waited until now.

You've got it done.

It's under the tree, right?

There's a difference between doing that and going out and purchasing a gift for that distant relative,

maybe a third cousin that just happens to be showing up to the family gathering this year.

You know what I mean?

If it wasn't for the fact that they're showing up this year, they show up once a decade,

and if it wasn't for the fact that they're showing up, you wouldn't have bought them a gift.

But because they're there, you can't not get them something.

And so you've gone out, and your wife has sent you out, and you've picked up something for that distant relative.

There's a difference in the giving between those two things, right?

One is really a gift of obligation, and the other one is really a gift of love.

It's one thing to go to the store and really, as Julie and I have done for our girls,

to really think through gifts that would express our love for our daughters.

It's a different thing, right, Joseph, to be sent out, to have to get a gift for that boy

that she just insists on bringing to Christmas dinner this year, right?

There's a difference in giving in those two scenarios, isn't there?

And as we really think about the giving season, we think about gifts,

of course, we do those things ultimately because we do care in some way.

Otherwise, we wouldn't do it.

Generally, we wouldn't do it.

But there's a difference in the way that we give sometimes.

We all do quite a bit of giving at this Christmas season.

But the true spirit of giving is not founded on an obligation.

It's founded on love, right?

This little verse here in John chapter 3 concisely reveals to us God's perfect gift

John 3 · chapter mention

given to humanity as a result of his supreme love.

Remember, God's under no obligation to us.

There is nothing about us that requires or pushes God to do anything for us.

There's no obligation that would drive him to give us a gift.

But because of his immeasurable love, he is actually giving us everything in his only son, Jesus Christ.

And without a doubt, John 3.16 is the most famous verse in all of the Bible.

But there is a danger that accompanies our familiarity with it.

Though we all know it, and most of us could quote it even from heart, as many of you probably did just a moment ago,

we may find that our hearts are somewhat dull to the magnitude of the truth conveyed in this little verse.

So what my goal is this morning, and what I think should be our goal in this season of giving,

is to think about what is the greatest gift that was actually ever given.

A gift not given out of an obligation to man, but out of God's divine and supreme love for man.

And so my purpose this morning is really not to do an exposition of John chapter 3 as much as I want to do that.

John 3 · chapter mention

But we don't have time for that.

But it will be helpful for us to understand just a little bit of background as to why this verse exists,

why it is that Jesus has said this, or at least John has made the commentary on what was taking place with Jesus here in chapter 3.

John wrote at the end of chapter 2 that at this point in Jesus' life and ministry, he had been in Jerusalem.

And while he was there, we see first the righteous anger of the Lord as he turns over tables and he drives out the money changers out of the temple there.

But then immediately following that, at the very end of the chapter,

John says that Jesus had done a few signs and wonders and miracles, miraculous things in Jerusalem,

so that many people had begun to believe in his name, is what John says.

But the problem was, as John goes on to say, and what Jesus understood to be true,

is that though they were excited about Jesus, they were intrigued by him, they were interested in him,

none of them, or at least most of them, weren't actually committed to Jesus in faith.

And so Jesus, John says, doesn't commit himself fully to those people because he knew what was true of their hearts.

And what was in their hearts was really just some type of intrigue about the things that Jesus was doing.

It wasn't that at this point, most of them were not committed to Jesus in faith and who he was and what he was doing.

One such person was one of the leaders of the Jews, a prominent teacher of the Jews named Nicodemus.

And as we get into chapter three, we find that Nicodemus, in the secrecy of the night,

goes and finds Jesus in order to find out as much about him as he can.

He wants to try to figure out exactly who Jesus is and what really is the purpose in him coming.

In fact, at the end of the day, it's not very often that someone comes to town healing sick people with his touch,

opening blinded eyes with his words.

It's not very often that someone comes to town teaching with an unparalleled authority.

In fact, it's only happened once in history.

And Jesus was the one who did it.

And he comes to town and Nicodemus can't get this guy off his mind.

He's not exactly sure who he is.

He says, Jesus, we know that you must be at least from God

because only someone from God could do the things that you're doing and could teach in the way that you're teaching.

And he's inquisitive.

He's trying to figure out who is Jesus and why did he come?

And in the course of that conversation, Jesus reveals to Nicodemus

that all of his efforts in morality and religion were insufficient

to actually grant him entry into the kingdom of God.

He couldn't gain eternal life through all of the things he was doing.

He had committed his entire life at this point to religious works, good works,

all the things he could possibly amass in order to please God.

And in the course of this conversation, Jesus basically blows all of those efforts up.

And he says, none of that is actually good enough.

For a person to find entry into the kingdom of God, Jesus said,

he must experience a spiritual rebirth.

Verse seven, Jesus plainly says, you must be born again.

And of course, Nicodemus was hardened to this statement.

He was confused by the statement.

And so he asked for clarity.

A few verses later, he says, how can these things be?

And what results from that question eventually gets to verse 16,

which is this wonderfully simple explanation of the gospel.

And in summary, this was Jesus's response.

Eternal salvation, eternal life, the kingdom of God, forgiveness of sins

is only found through faith in Jesus.

And it's a gift issued from the immeasurable, indescribable love of God.

So then as we think about this verse in relation to Christmas,

we find out that John 3.16 actually tells us why anyone should care about the birth of Jesus.

Have you thought about that?

There's not many births that we celebrate in this life, is there?

We celebrate one another.

We rejoice and we each have a designated day.

How many people outside of your family, your friend, your circle of network,

do you ever celebrate their birth?

No one.

Why is it that we should care about Jesus's birth?

Well, John 3.16 tells us why.

It contains the true meaning and purpose of Christmas

and why Christians are so committed to celebrating it.

So in our study this morning, we're going to look at this verse just quickly.

And I wanted to show you three things.

I want to show you what is God's perfect gift,

what motivated him to give it,

and how you can receive it.

God's perfect gift,

what motivated him to give it,

and how you can receive it.

If you like to keep notes, maybe you write this down.

This is how I have my notes structured today.

The first thing I wrote down was the gift of God.

The gift of God.

And I want you to go back to verse 16,

except we're going to come back to the first phrase in just a minute.

I want you to look at that middle phrase.

John writes that he gave his only son.

He gave his only son.

So the perfect gift of God

didn't come in a fancy box with a decorative bow.

As we just read a moment ago,

it was wrapped in swaddling clothes

and lying in a manger in Bethlehem.

Because the greatest gift that's ever been given to the world

and in the world was not a thing,

it was a person.

God himself wrapped in human flesh.

This is why Isaiah said in Isaiah 7, 14

that Harper read a few moments ago

or quoted a few moments ago,

this is why the angel said he will be called Emmanuel,

which means God is with us.

God himself has become a man.

God is with us.

Therefore, he will have this title of Emmanuel.

Christmas isn't about the birth of a man

who came into existence 2,000 years ago in Palestine.

That's not what Christmas is about.

Christmas is about the incarnation of the one true God

who has always existed and who has always been.

The creator of the universe entered his creation

and subjected himself to the weakness and frailty

of fallen man.

This is what the whole Bible's about.

Philippians chapter 2 says it.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Paul describes it this way

and maybe one of the most comprehensive looks

at the deity and incarnation of Jesus.

This is what Paul wrote.

Though he was in the form of God,

form there meaning in his very essence,

that's who he was,

the unchangeable quality of who Jesus is.

Though he was in the form of God,

Jesus did not count equality with God

a thing to be grasped.

In other words,

the glory that comes with being God,

he was not willing to hold on to that

in order that man and all men

would be condemned to hell.

He did not think equality with God,

the glory of being God

as something to be grasped,

to hold on to.

But Paul says,

he emptied himself

by taking on the form of a servant

being born in the likeness of men.

Form, same word.

In the first half of the verse,

Paul says Jesus in his very essence

and who he is,

the unchangeable quality of his character

and of his personhood is God.

And then him being God

takes on the form of a man,

the very essence of who he is,

who that unchangeable quality now

of who Jesus is,

is both fully God

and fully man.

So what we celebrate

in the birth of Christ

is not the beginnings of a man,

but is the incarnation of a being

who created you

and who created everything that you see

and who has always existed.

The king of all

willingly became

the lowliest of all.

The one who is continually surrounded

by the praises of angels

leaves the glories of heaven

to suffer at the hands of men.

The creator

subjects himself

to his own creation

in order that he might

save it.

And what is this

according to John 3, 16?

A gift.

It's a gift.

A perfect gift.

Thou who was rich

beyond all splendor,

all for love's sake

became as poor.

Thrones for a manger

did surrender.

Sapphire paved courts

for stable floor.

Thou who was rich

beyond all splendor,

all for love's sake

became as poor.

You know,

often when we think about

the Christmas story,

the scope of our thoughts

is generally limited

to this small portion

of scripture

in Matthew 1 and 2

and Luke 1 and 2

that tells specifically

the nativity story.

But I want to remind you

again this morning

that God's gift

of eternal life

through Jesus Christ

is the main point

not of Matthew 1 and 2

and Luke 1 and 2

but of the entire Bible.

Everything in God's word

speaks to this moment,

to this person,

to this gift.

Think about it.

As you understand the Bible

and how it's put together,

it begins with creation

and the curse of suffering

and death

that resulted from man's sin.

And then the Bible ends

with God restoring all things

to His intended purpose.

And everything between

that first creation

and the final creation,

everything in between

in God's word

is all about this Savior,

this appointed deliverer from God

that would come

and save His people

from their sins.

The Savior

is the gift

referred to

in John 3, 16.

It would take me

the rest of my life

to explain all of that to you

as we go through the scriptures.

Let me just generally

give you two things

to think about

as we think about

the story of the whole Bible

and how it relates

to Jesus as a gift.

The opening pages

of the Bible

tell us that God created

man and woman

in His image

to glorify Him.

Our kids have learned this.

How and why

did God create us, kids?

God created us.

Smell?

They know it, right?

When we learned that

in our kids' class,

the thing that they did

to try to understand

what this means

is they went

and they stood

at the mirror

where Miss Faye is sitting.

And they looked

at themselves in the mirror

and I said,

what do you see?

And they said,

me.

You see a reflection

of themselves.

And the Bible says

that God created

Adam and Eve,

man and woman,

in His own image

to glorify Him.

It meant that He didn't

create them as little gods.

That's not what He meant.

It means that He created them

in perfect innocence

to be a perfect reflection

of Him,

to reflect who He is

and to reflect

His perfect character.

But Adam and Eve

fell from that.

God's adversary,

Satan,

deceived them.

They disobeyed God,

they sinned against God,

and they fell short

of the glory

for which they were created.

And since God

is perfectly holy

and just,

their sin

had to be punished.

If He just let it go,

He wouldn't be God.

And He certainly

wouldn't be just.

But He had to punish

their sin.

But in the midst

of this punishment,

in the midst

of the announcement

of this curse

of their sin,

He gave them a promise.

And the promise

is that He would

provide a Savior

to rescue man

from eternal death.

In the midst

of the consequences,

God's grace

was shining through

in this promise.

In Genesis 3.15,

God tells man and woman

after their sin,

I will put enmity

between you,

speaking to Satan,

the serpent,

I will put enmity

between you and the woman

and between your offspring

and her offspring.

He shall bruise your head

and you shall bruise His heel.

From the very beginning

of the Bible,

we see the problem.

This whole book,

what it's about,

is about God creating us

for His glory.

Us falling short

of that glory

and in desperate need

of God's mercy and grace.

And in the midst of that,

right at the beginning,

God says,

I'm gonna give you a promise.

I'm gonna send a deliverer,

a Savior

that will save you

from your sins.

And everything following

that in the entire Scripture

is about that.

It all points to that.

Then we get a little further

in the Old Testament.

And as you continue to read,

you'll find that there are

all of these illuminating pictures

and illustrations

that point to God's promise

of redemption.

All kinds of things.

We see a picture of Israel

being God redeeming His people.

We see the sacrificial system

in particular.

Year by year,

the Israelites,

the people of God,

were required to come

in order to reflect

their need for salvation.

They would bring

and supply for themselves

a lamb.

A lamb that was one year old.

It had to be perfect,

without blemish,

spotless.

And they would bring it

to the temple of God

or to the tabernacle of God

and they would sacrifice

that lamb

as a reflection

of their own sinfulness

and of their own need

for God's mercy.

But the problem was

that lamb was never enough.

Every year,

they had to do it again.

No matter how hard

they searched,

no matter how perfect

of a lamb they could find,

there was never one

that really atoned

for their sin.

It wasn't possible.

Of course,

God set this in place

in order to show them something.

That nothing in and of themselves

was capable

of forgiving their sin.

They continually repeated

the process year by year,

which served as a reminder

that their only real hope

was God's mercy.

And God's mercy

would have to come

through the fulfillment

of His promise,

not any work

that they would do

on their own.

The gift of God's Son

in John 3.16

is the fulfillment

of that promise.

Because the people

could not supply a lamb

that was worthy

to forgive their sins,

God provided one

for them.

He sent His only Son,

the only perfect sacrifice

capable of paying

the price for man's sin

once and for all.

Galatians chapter 4

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

tells us that

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.

If you study much

about in the Gospels

about John the Baptist,

you'll remember

in John chapter 1

John 1 · chapter mention

as Jesus comes through

that portion of Galilee,

verse 29,

it says,

John saw Jesus

coming toward him

and what was it

that John said?

Behold what?

The Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

You say,

well,

all that lamb talk

is just coincidence.

No.

No.

The promise

of Genesis 3.15

was always the plan

of God to fulfill

in a perfect lamb

except that perfect lamb

wasn't an animal,

it was a person,

His only Son.

But even still,

how could Jesus

save us from our sins?

His death on the cross

was a substitution.

He took our place.

He bore the wrath of God

against our sin.

But His death

was only sufficient

because He had no sin

of His own

with which He had to pay.

Consider that.

This is why the Bible

makes so clear

that Jesus was not just

a man from God,

but Jesus is the man of God.

He is God in the flesh.

No other man

could have possibly

been sinless.

Even by our very nature,

when we're conceived

from conception,

we have this nature of sin,

this depravity

that is deep within us

that must be redeemed.

But Jesus didn't have that

because Jesus wasn't born of man,

He was born of God.

He's the perfect Son of God

without sin.

Therefore,

only His death

was sufficient enough

to atone for our sin.

no other sacrifice

would work.

And that was the plan of God.

2 Corinthians 5.21,

we quote this often.

For our sake,

He made Him to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in Him

we might become

the righteousness of God.

In the sacrifice

of the perfect Lamb,

a transaction takes place,

a switch.

we,

in our sin,

deserve nothing

but God's wrath.

Jesus,

the perfect one,

takes our place,

absorbs the wrath of God

against our sin,

takes it upon Himself

in order that we,

the sinful ones,

may have His righteousness

applied to us.

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

Because of that.

Why do we care

about the birth of Jesus?

Because of His death.

Why does John 3.16

say that God's Son

was a gift?

Because how else

could you describe Him?

Thou who art God

beyond all praising,

all for love's sake

became as man.

Stooping so low,

but sinners raising.

heavenward by thine

eternal plan.

Thou who art God

beyond all praising,

all for love's sake

became as man.

So first we see

the gift of God.

Secondly,

we see the call of God.

The call of God.

Look again at verse 16,

except this time

I want you to see

the last phrase.

Whoever believes in Him

should not perish,

but have eternal life.

Whoever believes in Him

should not perish,

but have eternal life.

So it's clear here.

The purpose of God's gift,

the Son of God,

Jesus Christ,

was that we might

have eternal life.

But the word order

in this verse

is important.

He doesn't lead

with eternal life.

Because the eternal life

that God offers

is an alternative.

It's an alternative

to the spiritual death

to which we are all

condemned.

Do you notice that?

Whoever believes in Him,

He doesn't just say

whoever believes in Him

will have eternal life.

He actually says

whoever believes in Him

first will be rescued

from eternal death,

from perishing,

meaning that we are all

automatically by nature

destined for death,

eternal hell,

eternal separation

from God.

But the gift of God

was such

that whoever believes

in Jesus Christ

will not have to perish,

but will have eternal life.

We're spiritually dead

in our sins.

Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

and verse 1

tells us that.

We desperately need

divine rescue.

And the birth of Jesus,

this nativity story

is part one

of God's divine rescue mission.

He gave His Son

to rescue us

from spiritual death

and eternal hell.

Look at verse 17,

just after it.

For God did not send

His Son into the world

to condemn the world,

not yet at least.

He will return.

And when He returns,

it will be to judge.

So be ready for that judgment.

But in this coming,

that wasn't the reason.

He did not send His Son

to condemn the world,

but that the world

through Him

might be saved.

This is why in Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

we read a moment ago,

the angel says to Joseph,

she will bear a son.

You shall call His name Jesus,

which is the New Testament

version of Joshua,

which means God will save,

for He will save His people

from their sins.

This brings a particular urgency

to the issue of God's gift.

Urgency.

Urgency.

Sometimes we get in our mind,

if we're not super familiar

with the Bible,

and maybe we've only been told

the good parts

and the flowery parts,

we get this idea in our mind

that all of us are destined

for eternal life,

unless you're somebody like Hitler.

We're all destined

for eternal life,

but if you follow Jesus,

you'll just have a better quality

of eternal life.

That's not at all

what the Bible teaches.

That's not at all

what John 3.16 teaches.

No, what we're destined

for is eternal hell.

All of us.

All of us.

Unless we're rescued,

none of us are destined

for eternal life.

So what God calls us to

is faith.

And He says,

if you will believe in My Son,

if you will believe

and follow My Son,

He will take your death,

and you will receive His life.

We come to Jesus

because we'll spend eternity

separated from God

if we don't.

And this incredible gift of God

is not universally applied.

Those who will not believe

and follow Jesus

are eternally condemned.

Jesus said as much

in verse 18.

Look at it.

Verse 18.

Whoever believes in Him

is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe

is condemned already

because he has not believed

in the name of the only Son of God.

God's gift of eternal life

through His Son

can only be received

by faith.

Salvation is not something

that you can earn

by spending your money,

giving away your goods,

or committing yourself

to morality or good works.

God calls us to receive His gift

only one way,

by believing in His Son.

And this divine rescue

only comes,

only comes

to whosoever

will follow Jesus in faith.

Romans 10.

If you confess with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved.

For with the heart, Paul says,

one believes and is justified,

and with the mouth

one confesses and is saved.

For the scriptures say,

everyone who believes in Him

will not be put to shame.

For there's no distinction

between Jew and Greek.

The same Lord is Lord of all,

bestowing His riches

on all who call on Him.

For everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord

will be saved.

Which tells us,

Jesus stands ready

and willing

to rescue you from your sin.

The question is,

will you answer God's call?

Because too many people

are trying to circumvent

the call of God.

They're trying to do it

their own way.

Does it work?

Won't work.

There's an urgency to this.

Believe or die.

Believe or die.

City of Light

is a group

that I like to listen to

out of Australia.

They just released

a new song last week.

Here's how the third verse goes.

So I find my rest in Jesus.

He who came

to rescue me.

Jesus saved me

from the darkness.

I will rise

to life with Him.

Have you found

your rest in Jesus?

Has He saved you?

You personally?

Has He saved you

from the darkness?

Do you know?

When you die,

will you rise

to life with Him?

Or will you perish?

Thirdly, we see

the love of God.

The love of God.

Now we get back

to the first phrase.

Verse 16.

For God

so loved

the world.

For God

so loved the world.

This was the motivation

and the gift.

And I said

at the beginning

that true giving

is not founded

on an obligation.

It's founded on love.

God is under

no obligation to us.

No one's twisting

His arm

to force Him

to provide eternal life.

the great plan

of salvation

is God's plan.

He alone

devised it.

He alone

executed it.

He alone

offers it.

And the thing

that motivated Him

to give His Son

for our sins

is His divine love.

And you may be

saying,

well, why does He love me?

That's a great question.

That's one I can't answer.

Because He doesn't love us

because we're lovable.

He loves us

because He loves us.

Because in His very essence,

what He is

is love.

God

Now that doesn't diminish

the reality

of His holiness

and His justice.

God must judge sin.

His perfect love

doesn't overwhelm

the other attributes

that He has.

He is perfectly loving

and He's perfectly gracious.

He's also perfectly just

and He's perfectly

righteous against sin.

So how does this work?

Remember 2 Corinthians 5.21

He made Him

to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in Him

we might be made

the righteousness of God.

When we come to Christ,

it's not that God's love

turns a blind eye

to what we've done.

It's that no,

we're recognizing

that God is actually

taking the sin

that I have committed

and He has punished

His own son for it.

And in return,

He's taken

the perfect righteousness

of His only son

and He's actually

applied it to my life,

the one who doesn't

deserve it.

Why?

Love.

Love.

Love.

For God

so loved.

Romans 5.

While we were still weak,

at the right time,

Christ died

for the ungodly.

Listen,

Christ died

for the ungodly.

Christ didn't die

for the ones

that are doing pretty good

and trying pretty hard.

He died

for the ungodly.

Paul goes on to say,

one will scarcely die

for a righteous person,

though perhaps

for a good person

one would even

dare to die.

But God shows

His love

for us

in that while

we were still

sinners,

Christ died for us.

Do you see this?

Do you see this?

Listen,

in our sin,

we don't want God.

We may want

the benefits of God,

we don't want God.

Our hearts are hard.

They're depraved.

Yet God,

even despite the fact

that we don't want Him

since His own Son

anyways,

that while we are sinners,

Christ dies for us,

not because we're lovable

or because we're doing

a good job

and He just couldn't take it,

He just wanted

to help us out

a little bit.

No,

that's not what happened.

It was out of

His divine love

that He bent down

and He came to earth

so that He could die

for filthy sinners

like you and me.

Why?

Because of His love.

John 3.16 plainly says

that the object

of this love

is the world.

It's the world.

Remember,

this comes at the end

of a conversation

with a prominent Jew

who would have only spoken

of God's love

as it related to Israel.

There was no fault

in their mind

for God loving

anyone else.

But Jesus expands this.

He says,

God's love

isn't just for the Jews.

God's love

is for the world.

That's what makes possible

God's call

for whosoever

at the end of the verse

because His love,

the object of His affection

is the whole world.

In other words,

you won't be excluded

from God's saving love

on the basis

of your nationality

or on the basis

of what you've done

up to this point

or how terrible

of a sin

you've committed.

God loves the world.

Jesus died

for the sins

of the world.

And since you're

a part of the world,

that qualifies you

for His grace.

But it's only

for whosoever.

There is a limit

to that.

He doesn't just

throw it out

willy-nilly.

It's for whoever

will hear His call

and follow Him

in faith.

1 John 4

in this is the love

of God

and it was made

manifest among us

that God sent

His only Son

into the world

so that we might

live through Him.

In this is love,

not that we have

loved God,

but that He loved us

and sent His Son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

That word's important,

actually.

It means the appeasement

of God's wrath.

That when Jesus

took our place

on the cross,

it appeased

the Father's wrath

for all who will believe.

Not just for everyone,

for those who will believe

His own.

Jesus,

God's only Son,

in summary,

came to earth

to save sinners

from eternal death

and hell.

He who was rich

became poor.

He who is God

became a man.

And though He was

sinlessly perfect,

He laid down His life

for the guilty

like you and me.

He took our place,

He bore our shame,

He paid our debt.

And then He rose

from the dead

to prove

that His sacrifice

was sufficient

for all of our sins

to be forgiven.

And He did all of that

according to the riches

of His everlasting love.

He willingly,

He joyfully

went through hell

so that you and I

wouldn't have to.

but His gift

of eternal life

is not something

that can be earned

through what we do.

It can only be received

through faith

and who He is

and what He's done.

In John chapter 10,

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus said

that when the gospel

is preached,

His sheep

would hear His voice,

He would know them,

and they would follow Him.

So today,

if you hear His voice,

do not harden your heart.

This Christmas,

receive the gift

and follow Christ.

Thou who art love

beyond all telling,

Savior and King,

we worship Thee.

Emmanuel,

within us dwelling,

make us what Thou

wouldst have us be.

Thou who art love

beyond all telling,

Savior and King,

we worship Thee.

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