The Reason

open up to the Gospel of John, chapter 1. John, chapter 1. We'll be looking at verse 14 tonight. I've entitled it, The Message This Evening, The Reason. It was funny, we put together a little, I say we, my wife, put together a little Facebook post yesterday just to remind everybody, hey, it's Christmas Eve service, come join us. Just a little shout out to everybody.

And several people reposted it. And when they reposted it, they wrote, come on out and celebrate because this is the reason. Now, when you're a pastor, you start thinking about what your Christmas Eve message is going to be. You start thinking about that sometime in November. Because it's out of the norm. It's out of the ordinary. And it's really hard to reinvent the wheel every year, right?

It's really hard to come up with something that's a little bit new and creative. And so, John, chapter 1, verse 14 is what's been on my heart. And so, I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about. But I haven't been able to come up with a title of what I want to talk about. And so, I was thinking last night and praying last night, Lord, what's the message that needs to be brought out?

What's the biggest thing? And what I kept coming back to is the fact that Jesus truly is the reason. Not just for this season. He's the reason for life, right? He's the reason for everything. And so, as I was thinking about the fact that Jesus is the reason, I began to really look over John, chapter 1, verse 14. And there's three things that I would like to point out to you tonight

as we look at the fact that Jesus really is the reason. I want to point out the miracle. I want to point out the message. And then I want to tell you about the meaning. The miracle, of course, is what took place 2,000 years ago in the sleepy little town of Bethlehem. Although it wasn't very sleepy at that point in time. Because it was a very sleepy town. But it was actually filled with people.

Filled with all of the people who had come to be registered so that they could pay their taxes. But in that little town, a miracle took place. Not very many people knew that the miracle took place. But a miracle happened in Bethlehem. The miracle was that the very Son of God, that God himself took on flesh and was born as a baby. Now, I have two girls. And I know that childbirth,

is a miracle no matter when it happens. As a matter of fact, I think the most miraculous thing that I have seen in my life is to see two new lives created. The next most miraculous thing always is when those lives are reborn. But there's always something miraculous about the birth of a child. But this particular birth was even more miraculous. Because this particular birth

had been prophesied for thousands of years. It was a birth that everyone was looking forward to. Whether they knew it or not. And there was something very miraculous about what took place. As a matter of fact, it was the greatest, most miraculous birth that had ever happened. Because on that night in Bethlehem, Emmanuel, God with us, was born. And it's a miracle that we've become so familiar with

that oftentimes we miss its true greatness. And so John does such an amazing job in chapter one of telling us about the birth of a child. And he's telling us about the greatness and the miraculous nature of the birth of Jesus. He does such a fantastic job of presenting the message of the miracle of the birth of Jesus to us. And so it's a short verse, and I'll read it to us very quickly.

So if you have a Bible, take a look at verse 14 of chapter one. It says this. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we saw his glory. Glory as of the only begotten, from the Father, full of grace and truth. The message is simple, and yet what it presents is so profound. There's three statements I would like to really point out to you. I'd like for you to really pay attention to.

The first statement is how he opens up. He says, and the word. Now that phrase, the word, actually carries a great deal of significance to it. John refers to Jesus as this. He doesn't refer to him as Jesus Christ, the son of God. He refers to him as the word. But there's a very specific reason why he refers to him as the word. You see, that phrase, the word,

carried meaning in both the Jewish culture and the Greek culture, which is what was predominant at that point in time. According to the Jewish culture of that point in time, the word was used to represent God. It was his very expression. As a matter of fact, in a Hebrew Bible, when it says that Moses delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, and brought them out into the wilderness to meet with God, in the Hebrew Bible, it says, Moses delivered the children of Israel and brought them out into the wilderness to meet with the word.

Because God had spoken to the nation. And so for the Jewish mindset, when they heard the term, the word, they knew that that was none other than the expression of God himself. But you see, the Greek culture, who didn't have a true understanding of the true God, they knew what that phrase, the word, meant as well. According to the Greek culture, they viewed the word as the power that set the world in motion.

It was the power that kept the world in motion. It was the ultimate reason. And after all, isn't that what the Greeks were constantly looking for? The ultimate power and reason. And so when John wrote his gospel account, and he began to present to the people, Jesus Christ, and he began to present to the people, Jesus Christ, he simply said, in the beginning was the word.

To the Jews, they knew that meant God. To the Greeks, they knew that that meant the power and force and reason in life. And he said, let me tell you exactly who this word was. And he began to describe the word to them. Because that phrase, the word, means a lot. Because as John presents it, there's several things that we learn about the word. We learn that this word is eternal.

Because he says that in the beginning, the word, literally in the Greek, it says the word already existed. This word was none other than the eternal God himself. But not only that, not only was this word eternal, this word was the creator of life. After all, John goes on to say that all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made. So this word is both,

the eternal God, the creator of life, and you know what the writer to the Hebrews tells us about this word? Tells us that this word is the sustainer of life. As a matter of fact, in Hebrews chapter one, it says that he keeps the worlds in motion, listen, by the word of his power. In other words, the word keeps the worlds in motion through the word. Isn't that fascinating that that's how that's put?

He is not only the eternal God, the creator of life, the sustainer of life, but we learn that he is immortal because no one can take him out. We learn that he is all powerful because he has created all things. We learn that he is all knowing because he has given knowledge to all things. He is none other than God himself and the word. The next phrase I would like for you to pay attention to

is the phrase became flesh. That word became means to enter into a new world. It's a new mode of existence. Imagine, if you will, a caterpillar. It starts off as a caterpillar, but eventually something happens to that caterpillar as it cocoons itself. That caterpillar, once it sheds that cocoon, becomes a butterfly. It's not a completely new creature. It's just now in a new mode of existence.

It still bears its same character. It still bears its same nature. It's just in a brand new mode or a brand new form of existence. That word became means that it's not just a new being, but it's a new form. And so the word became took on a new form. And what did it become? It became flesh. The word that's used here in the Greek is the most basic, simple word for flesh.

It simply means the substance of the body or the human body itself. The word took on the form of a human body. A human body. But not only was it the human body, he took on our nature. He took on all of human nature himself, minus one thing, minus the sin nature that you and I have. That's why the virgin birth is important. Because he did not take on a sin nature,

but he did take on human nature. If you will, he identified himself with us in every way that you can possibly do down to the fact that he came into the world in the exact same way that you and I do. The word became flesh. I remember when I truly began to grasp the greatness of the fact that the word became flesh. It actually happened a little over 14 years ago.

You see, a little over 14 years ago, God blessed us with a beautiful little girl. And I remember the day that she was born, holding my daughter in my arms and being amazed at the miracle that sat right in front of me. And I will never forget the words my dad, my dad spoke to me. He said, Ryan, just think, Jesus came to us just like that. From that point on,

my understanding of the fact that the word became flesh has never been the same. Because when you think about the tiny little baby that you hold in your arms, that is so helpless, that is so dependent, that is so fragile, that is the most vulnerable state that any of us can be in, in our human existence. And how did Jesus choose to come down and meet us? How did God choose to come down and meet us?

How did the creator of the heavens and the earth, the creator of life, the sustainer of life, the all-powerful, all-knowing God himself choose to come and meet us in the most vulnerable place that he possibly could? So that if we could identify with anyone, it would be with the one who identified with us. The word. Became flesh. There's a third phrase that's pretty interesting here

in this message that John gives to us. It says, and he dwelt among us. That word dwelt, when translated into the Greek, simply means tabernacled. That's what the word actually is. It means he tabernacled among us. Now, I think that this is kind of an interesting word. And I think it's interesting for a couple of reasons. Because when I hear the word tabernacled,

I automatically think back to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. If you know very much about the children of Israel in the Old Testament, when God delivered them from Egypt and he brought them into Mount Sinai, God not only gave Moses the Ten Commandments, but he also gave him the instructions for the tabernacle, the tent that was supposed to sit right in the midst of the people. This tent was so fascinating because on the outside, it was covered with porpoise skins. It was so plain that anybody that saw it in the wilderness would have gone, that's the tabernacle.

Because it was incredibly plain. Because what made it amazing was not what was on the outside of it. What made it amazing is what was on the inside of it. But that tabernacle that God gave him the instructions for, Moses built. And then he gave them the instructions for exactly where this tabernacle was supposed to sit. Do you know where this tabernacle was supposed to sit?

It was supposed to sit right in the exact center of the camp of the children of Israel. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why did God choose for the tabernacle to sit right in the middle of the camp of the children of Israel? Because God dwelt in the midst of the people. That was to be the picture. You see, everything about the tabernacle was a picture of none other than Jesus Christ himself

who would become God with us to dwell in the midst of us as a people who would eventually come to dwell in the midst of my heart. The tabernacle was the meeting place for the people. It was the gathering place for the people. It's where they met. They met with God, and listen, the tabernacle was the place of atonement and redemption for the people. Kind of fascinating,

because the word became flesh, and he tabernacled amongst us. But you know, there's another way that that word can be translated. The other way that that word can be translated is that he set up a tent. And isn't it kind of interesting when you go further into the New Testament, of what Paul calls these bodies that we live in. If you're not aware of what Paul calls these bodies

that we live in, he calls them tents. He says, this tent that we wear is something eventually that we will shed so that we can then have a dwelling place that is eternal in the heavens. You see, when Jesus came down and dwelt among us, when he tabernacled among us, when he set up camp, when he set up a tent amongst us, it was in a very temporary body. Ryan, why do I care that Jesus, when he came and dwelt among us, was in a temporary body?

Because that temporary body was subject to all of the things that you and I are subject to. He was subject to all of the weaknesses that we are subject to. He is subject to all of the sicknesses that we are subject to. He was subject to all of the temptations that we are subject to, because he came down and dwelt in a tent amongst us. You see, when Jesus came, he was fully God,

and that's amazing that he was fully God, but he was also fully man, meaning that there is literally nothing in your life that you go through that he does not fully understand. There's nothing in your life that you go through that he does not fully comprehend. Many of us say to ourselves, nobody understands what I'm going through. And you know what, sometimes, on topside of planet Earth, you may be right.

Maybe none of us understand what I'm going through, but you see, there is a savior, the word, who became flesh, that came down and dwelt among us in the same kind of tent that you wear today. And there's nothing that you go through in your life that he has not gone through first, and is able to give you everything that you need to go through it. The word became flesh, and he dwelt among us. Now, I didn't know that God was so powerful that he could do this.

I didn't know that God was so powerful. I didn't know that God was so powerful. Now, I didn't include this next part in my notes, and I was debating on whether or not I was gonna share it, but I can't help it, I'm feeling mildly overwhelmed by the spirit that I need to share this. In the New American Standard, if you're reading that, it says, and we saw his glory.

I don't prefer that translation on this next part. I prefer the New King James translation, because of the power that it carries. Because in the New King James translation, it says this, and the word became flesh, and dwelt among us. And then John gives this little parenthetical statement where he says, and we, and we, beheld his glory. New American Standard says we saw his glory, that's great.

I like that word, beheld. It says, and we beheld his glory. What does that mean? Well, literally, the word to behold means to have a personal view of, and this is what I love about John writing this, is when John writes this, he says, the word, God, that we've already described, became flesh, identified himself with us, and he lived amongst us in the same kind of life that you and I live.

And John says, and I saw it, I beheld it. This isn't something that I heard from somebody else, this isn't a story that I heard from some philosopher, this isn't what some Bible teacher told me, it's what my own two eyes saw. And this is the reason why I feel overwhelmed to share this with you tonight, is that I can say the same thing. Physically, I've never seen Jesus.

I don't want you to get me wrong here. I've never physically seen Jesus. Jesus' face. But when it comes right down to it, the fact that Jesus came down and dwelt among us, I personally have experienced exactly what that's like. I've seen him move in my life. I've seen him change me. I have a personal testimony of the fact that Jesus is very real, that he is very powerful, and that he always meets me right where I am. Because the word

became flesh and dwelt among us, and I beheld it. What does this mean for us? Well, I'm glad you asked, because that's the last part of the message. We've seen the miracle, and the miracle is the fact that Jesus came down to earth to be our Savior. We've seen the miracle, and the miracle and the message is what John told us. He said, the word became flesh, and he dwelt among us, and

we've beheld it. It's a true story, not because somebody else told me. It's a true story because I've seen it in my life. Now, what does that mean for me, and what does that mean for you? You see, I think it has very distinct meaning for us. As a matter of fact, there's four things that I think are really important for us to pay attention to when it comes to the meaning. Number one,

it means I have a Savior. It means I have a Savior. I love that verse in Hebrews where it says, those who have come to him to seek shelter, those who have come to him as a shelter and a refuge, because that's exactly what I have beheld about Jesus, is that he is my Savior. You see, there was a time in my life where I became so judgmental. I was so judgmental. I was so judgmental. I was so judgmental. I was so judgmental.

distinctly aware of all of the sins that I have. I became aware of all of the sins that I had committed with my hands and my feet, with the things that I've done. But what got me more than that is the sins that I committed in my mind, that I was maybe too fearful to actually do, that for some reason I didn't actually carry out, but they were definitely sins that I entertained in my mind. And I remember going through a time where that stuff became very real to me.

And the guilt that I had before Jesus became very real to me. The guilt that I had became so real that it was so heavy on me that I didn't know how I could look up any longer. Because as it says in the Psalms, my sins had become so great, they had become more than the hairs on my head. And listen, I had a lot of hair on my head at that time. And I remember the moment that I realized that Jesus

was real to me. And I remember the moment that I realized that Jesus was real to me. And I remember my Savior because I realized that God put all of my sin upon him on the tree, that he carried it outside of the camp, that now I can find my refuge. I can find my shelter in him because he is my Savior. He's not my Savior because it's a really good idea. He's not my Savior because it's a song

that I sang. He's my Savior because I gave him all of my sin. See, the story of the manger is ultimately the story of the cross. That's where, if you don't go to church here, that's where we are on Sunday mornings. We're in the book of Matthew, and we're coming to the cross, and in two or three weeks ago, I said, this feels like an odd place to be. I feel like I'm at the wrong

end of the gospels for the month of December, but the message of the manger is the message of the cross. Because the message of the manger is not just something that stands alone so that we can give gifts to each other. The message of the manger is what leads us to a Savior, a Savior who took my sin upon him and bore it on the tree so that I don't have to. Yeah, it means for me, first of all, that I have a Savior. Number two, it means that I have an advocate. If you don't know what an

advocate is, an advocate is a defense lawyer, and that's what I have in Jesus Christ. I have a defense lawyer. Matter of fact, we're told in the book of Hebrews that he ever lives to make intercession for us. Intercession means going before one on behalf of another, and that's what Jesus is for me. Because, you see, the enemy still wants to accuse me, and unfortunately, if I were to face the truth,

I would know that he's still right. When he comes to me and says, look, he's still a loser. Look, he's still a sinner. Look, he's still a failure. The best thing that I can do is stand before him and say, nailed it. You're exactly right. But you see, I have this advocate before the Father, this advocate before the Father is Jesus Christ himself. You know what Jesus Christ says? Every

time the enemy comes and says, this is what he's done wrong, he says, but he belongs to me.

But my blood has covered him, and it continues to cover him. You see, he's stained with my blood, and you can't have it. He is constantly advocating for me. He is on my side. And you know what? If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ.

You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You're going to be a believer in Jesus Christ. believer in Jesus Christ here tonight, he's on your side too. It means that I have a savior. It means that I have an advocate. Number three, it means that I have a friend. I went through a good portion of time in my life where I wasn't very close to very many people. And because of

that, I made some bad decisions trying to get close to people. And I had to learn something in my life. I had to learn that the greatest friend that I could have is none other than Jesus himself. Because the rest of the world may leave you feeling completely, totally alone. But Jesus never will. As a matter of fact, he will go on to tell his disciples right before his crucifixion, he says, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Sometimes I don't always know how to put it in words. I don't know how to put it in words. I don't know how to put it into words how I feel. And here's the beautiful thing about Jesus. All I have to do is come to him and say, and he goes, I know what you mean. Sometimes I don't know how to put into words or it's hard for me to say how far I still am from him. And all I have to do is

say, he says, you're still mine. I understand what you're saying. You're still mine. You see, because the word became flesh and dwelt among us, I have a friend. But number four, and this kind of comes back to the title of the message, which is the reason. Number four, I have a restored purpose in my life. Everybody's looking for purpose right now. Everybody's looking for meaning. What's my meaning in life? Careers are being sought after,

and this is not a wrong thing. Careers are being sought after because people, for the most part in the millennial generation, they don't necessarily, they just want to make money. They want to have meaning. People want to find purpose in their life. People want to have a purpose for why they're alive, a purpose for why they're here. And everybody's seeking this purpose. And I'm here to tell you right now, you will never find

purpose until you find your purpose in Jesus, because you were created for a reason. I don't know if you know that or not. If you come to church here all the time, you know I share about this all the time, but you were created for a reason. And the reason that you were created was for fellowship with God. You were created to know him. You were created to have fellowship with him. But something got in the way of that.

And the thing that got in the way of our purpose was sin. You see, when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, all the way back at the beginning, God would show up every day. That's where that song came from. And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own. Because God showed up in the Garden of Eden, and he tells me I am his own. And he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own.

And he showed up in the Garden every single day. When he showed up in the Garden every single day, he would walk with Adam and Eve, and he would talk with them. Why? Because they were created for a purpose. As a matter of fact, one day God showed up to the Garden, and Adam and Eve weren't there. They were hiding. Why were they hiding? Because of sin. You see, their purpose was

disrupted by their sin. God set about to restore that purpose. And the way that he restored the purpose was by sending his son. As a matter of fact, God showed up in the Garden every single day, in fact, if you were to look in Genesis chapter 3, you would see that even there he promised that through the seed of the woman, the head of the serpent would be crushed. And now that that's

the case, now that Jesus has done that, it restores my purpose in life. It restores the purpose of who I am, and it gives you purpose as well. Brothers and sisters, it's a beautiful time. It's a beautiful time for giving. It's a beautiful time for tradition. But let's remember, this time has a reason. Amen? And the reason is Jesus. Now, it is our tradition here to close our

candlelight service by singing the song, Silent Night. Now, you'll notice down here in the front, there is one candle that's lit. In that one candle that's lit, this lit, is very symbolic and very representative of none other than Jesus Christ himself. As a matter of fact, if we were to look further up in John chapter 1, we would see that it says that in him, speaking of the word, in him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Now, when Jesus came to earth, he came and he gave light to man. And now that when we ask Jesus into our hearts, when he becomes our Savior, that life and that light becomes a part of who we are. So, this represents that singular light of the life of Jesus Christ. But in a few moments, after the worship team comes up and we start singing, the ushers will come forward, and they'll take their candles and they'll light them, representing the fact that they too now have the light of the life of Jesus in them. And then,

all of a sudden, all of the other candles will get lit, and we will see a dark room get filled with light. And the whole reason that that dark room will be filled with light is because of the life of this one single candle. Everybody's looking for a way to change the world. I'm here to tell you, we don't need to change the world. We just need to take Jesus to the hearts of people. And that's exactly what this will represent. So, if I could

go ahead and have the worship team come on up, and if we could go ahead and kill that light, kill the lights. As they begin singing this song, we will come to the end of the song. And at the end of the song, there's a line that says, the Son of God loves pure light. At that point in time, hold that candle up high for that light. And as the ushers come by and light your candle,

if you could stand as well. As you look around, you see the light all around you. What was a dark room is now lit up. And what's lit, what's lighted this room is none other than the life of Jesus Christ. And as you look around, you see the light all around you. What was a dark room is none other than the life of Jesus Christ. And brothers and sisters, that's what we celebrate

in this time, is that Jesus, the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us to truly give us a reason and to truly give us light in the world. Would you bow with me? Father, we come to you and just thank you so much for the time that we have here. Thank you so much for our time in your Word. And Lord, I thank you for the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, may this light that we have be carried into the world that's around us. And Father,

as we take time to celebrate this Christmas season, may we always remember that you truly are the reason and the purpose in life. Father, we praise you and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. You all have a blessed and Merry Christmas. And if you can, join us tomorrow. Lord bless.