If He Had Not Come - Preached at GGC, 12/20/2009

If He Had Not Come

Luke 2:8 - 20

Introduction:

First of all, I would like to take the opportunity to greet everyone here a very Merry Christmas! I hope that your celebration of the season would be a meaningful one.

We all have certain traditions or observances during the Christmas holidays that are peculiar to our families such as going on a family vacation every Christmas time or opening one's gift only on December 25. One particular tradition or observance that I've heard of is the watching of certain movies with a Christmas theme. There are actually many movies or shows that play on the theme of Christmas but not all are necessarily worthy of our time and attention; however, there is one movie that I have watched before which is worth viewing during the Christmas season and it is an old, black and white movie entitled, “It's A Wonderful Life”.

“It's A Wonderful Life” is all about a man named George Bailey who thought that he was a failure in life. George Bailey never went to college, having to assume responsibility in running the family housing and loan business at a young age. Everything he wanted to do in life, he was unable to (such as traveling to Europe on his honeymoon and going to college), because of the needs of the housing and loan company. One day, his uncle who helped in the business, inadvertently loses US$ 8,000 of the company's money and George Bailey was accused of embezzling the money by the banker, Mr. Potter, who is out to buy the housing and loan business in order to eliminate his competitor. This drove George Bailey to deep despair. It was Christmas eve when this problem happened and he could take it no more that he decided he wanted to end his life by jumping into the freezing river. Thankfully, angels were watching the entire scene and they send a junior angel named Clarence to save him. Although George Bailey eventually didn't commit suicide through Clarence's intervention, he did however made the wish that he had never been born. Clarence grants George Bailey his wish at that moment and everything changes. In the movie, there are five significant events that George Bailey played an instrumental role; (a) during his childhood days, he was able to save his younger brother from drowning, (b) he prevented a pharmacist from inadvertently prescribing a poisonous substance to a sick child, (c) he keeps the town from falling into the hands of the greedy banker, Mr. Potter, (d) he marries a fine woman named Mary and they have four wonderful children, and (e) he establishes a place called Bailey Park where the poor could build their own homes.

Because George Bailey wished that he was never born, everything good that he did in his life never happened: (a) his brother drowned, (b) the pharmacist kills a sick child by accidentally giving cyanide to him, (c) the town is not known as Bedford Falls but as Pottersville, named after the greedy banker, and the townspeople are living in poverty, (d) Mary ends up being an old maid, and (e) there is no Bailey Park but instead, the place becomes a cemetery. Thankfully, he recants his wish and everything goes back to normal. He realized that he has a wonderful life after all, even if he still had to deal with the US$ 8,000 shortage as well as all the other problems in his life. In the end, everything turns out ok as the very people whom he had helped in the past all came to bail him out financially, his younger brother comes home that day and then gave a toast to George, calling him “the richest man in town”. George Bailey made a difference in his community and in the lives of the people he comes in contact with everyday; without him, things would have turned out differently.

While the movie is definitely fictional, what was thought-provoking was the issue of one person's effect on an entire community. As I watched excerpts of the movie recently, it got me thinking, what if the same happened to our Lord Jesus Christ? What if he had never been born into this world, what would happen to it? What would happen to us? What would life be like without him?

This morning, I would like to explore this particular theme: “What would it be like if Jesus had not been born?” and what would have been the consequences of his “absence” if things really went that way. While I believe there are numerous consequences of Jesus not coming into the world, I can think of three that are most important.

A. If Jesus Had Not come . . .We Would All Still Be Lost Sinners

If the Lord Jesus had not come, all of us would still be lost sinners. As sinners without Christ, we would all remain under the penalty of sin. The Bible makes it clear that the wages or the penalty for our sin is no less than death (Romans 6:23). Without Christ, there is no hope of escaping sin's penalty, no escaping the guilty verdict, no one who is qualified and willing to pay for the consequences of our sins. We must all face the prospect of physical death and, ultimately, spiritual death or permanent separation from God. That permanent separation will come in the form of our being thrown in hell, where the agonizing fire does not go out.

Not only would we be under the penalty of sin, but while we are still alive, we will remain in bondage to sin. Sin is unconquerable if we are going to rely on our own strength; there is no way in which we can just stop sinning or to even sin less on our effort, that is just utterly impossible. No matter how hard we try, no matter how good we want to become, we will still not be able to keep ourselves from sinning.

If Christ had not been born, then up to now, you and I are still sinners who remain lost and, unfortunately, we will not have any means to be rescued from our sad plight both now and in the future. We will have to pay for our sins by getting ourselves thrown into the fires of hell as well as living a life now under sin's bondage.

Thankfully, Jesus was born 2000 years ago and we know that 33 years after his birth, Jesus was crucified to a cross in order to die for our sins. Through his death on the cross, the penalty of sin was paid for, that all who believe in him would find that they are no longer guilty and they have been pardoned for their sins. Not only that, through his death on the cross, the power of sin has been rendered impotent and we can live victorious (though not totally sinless) lives. Without his birth, there would be no cross and there would be no victory over sin as well as forgiveness of sin. Thank God, Jesus did come to defeat the powers of sin and death!

B. If Jesus Had Not Come . . . We Would Live Hopeless Lives

If the Lord Jesus had not come, not only would we be still under the bondage of sin, but we would right now also be living hopeless lives; by hopeless, I mean that we will be living as if there is nothing to look forward to. It is as if we merely exist but there is no meaning to our existence. We wake up, go to school or to the office, study or work and then come home, sleep and do everything over and over again without knowing why we are doing these things. For those who have retired from working and you don't have Jesus in your life, then it gets even worse as you don't know what you want to do in life right now since you've equated life with the work you do at the office. Life without Jesus is an endless cycle of meaninglessness. We don't know why we exist. We can try all we want to give our life meaning but it will always be unsatisfying.

In the Old Testament, King Solomon, the wisest man on earth, wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, that life is meaningless apart from God. Without a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, then there can be no real fulfilling of purpose or meaning for the life we live now. There will also be no future to look forward to. This explains why some people live life as if there is no tomorrow – they party hard and they do a lot of bad stuff to their bodies because there is nothing to live for in the present as well as in the future. This explains why some will take their own lives – it is because they don't see any meaning to their current existence; committing suicide is viewed as the means of escaping the agony of a hopeless, meaningless life. As I was preparing for this message, I decided to check on the suicide rate and I found out that in 2005, around 33,000 committed suicide in America or that is about 89 suicides a day; however, the highest number of suicides is actually in China where about 287,000 people committed suicide in 2007 or a staggering 786 people per day. The main reason people are committing suicide in huge numbers is because people feel that life is no longer worth living, that there is nothing to look forward to in this life and even in the next.

If Jesus did not come, then all of us would be living a life devoid of meaning and hope. We would be living aimless, directionless, purposeless lives and we would probably want to end our lives now rather than keep on living. Thankfully, he did come, and he did promise that he came in order to give us abundant life (John 10:10), a life that is purposeful or meaningful. He came in order to give us abundant life so that we live no longer for our own selfish pleasures and desires which, in reality, is very frustrating and is an empty, vain pursuit; he gives us new direction and meaning in life where we pursue the things of God, the things that really satisfy. But that is not the only thing that he gives us; through Jesus we are also promised eternal life where we would be with the Lord Jesus forever in heaven. The coming of Jesus gave us hope to live in the present as well as a hope that we can all look forward to. If Jesus did not come, we would all be hopeless people, merely existing without really living, but thank God, Jesus did come, and he gave meaning and hope to all who believe in Him!

C. If Jesus Had Not Come . . . There Will Never Be Real Peace

Finally, if Jesus had not come, there will never be real peace. Peace, as we all know, is very elusive. There is the absence of peace between individuals as well as between groups of people and between nations. What is worse is the absence of peace between humanity and God. Because we have sinned against God, we have practically declared war against a Holy God.

If Jesus had not come, we would all still be at war with each other; we would all still be God's enemies. Thankfully, Jesus did come. In fact, around 800 years prior to his coming, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah and one of his title is “The Prince of Peace”. When Jesus was born on that first Christmas day, the angels declared that because of his birth, there would be “peace on earth.”

Of all the relationships that need to be mended, it is our relationship with God that must take priority. We have offended God with our sins; we have become his enemies; we must pay for our sins with death. Jesus became the bridge by which the broken relationship between sinful humanity and a holy God is restored. Through Jesus Christ, we are no longer viewed by God as his enemies but we have become his children, his prized possession. This peace with God also gives us peace with ourselves, that we no longer need to struggle to be accepted by God because he has already accepted us through his Son, Jesus. We only need to put our faith in Him as our Lord and Savior.

The Kingdom of God is an inclusive kingdom – it does not discriminate as to a person's race or color; it does not discriminate as to a person's political persuasion. And so, when people come to faith in Jesus Christ, not only are they at peace with God, but even the potential of peace with others who belong to Christ will come to being. Among the disciples of Jesus Christ, we find two who stand in stark contrast to each other – Matthew and Simon. Matthew was a tax-collector and his occupation meant he was under the employment of the Roman Empire; Simon, on the other hand, was a Zealot or a rebel who was fighting against the Roman Empire. Imagine the tension and uneasiness the two probably felt around each other, but Jesus made the difference in their lives. From enemies, they became brothers in the faith as well as partners in spreading the gospel and making disciples. If Jesus could do that for Matthew and Simon, he can do that also for us today. Jesus is our peace who has destroyed the barriers of discrimination and hatred among people (Ephesians 2:14) by making people of different races, colors and persuasions united through faith and fellowship in him.

The peace that Jesus brought to this world will be fully manifested on the day that he returns again to judge this world. Sin and death will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire, and these will be forever absent from the Kingdom of God. There will be no more wars and strife among peoples. At this moment, there is much war and strife in this world but these will be temporary, for lasting peace will be fully ours in Christ. Thank God Jesus came in order to give us real peace!

Conclusion:

As we go about celebrating the Christmas season, I hope we will not celebrate simply because everyone is doing so. Instead, let our celebration be grounded on the fact that Jesus came, and because he came, we who believe in him can experience forgiveness and grace as well as have the promise of eternal life and peace that is beyond compare. Without Jesus, our celebration of the Christmas season would be pointless; it would be nothing more than senseless partying and gift-giving, everything done with purpose or meaning. More importantly, if you do not yet believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I would like for you to consider what Jesus did for us when he came and to make a decision to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why not ask your friends and loved ones who are Christians to tell you more about the Lord Jesus during this time as we celebrate his birth?

In closing, I would like for you to watch a very short video that I got from a Charlie Brown cartoon, a classic entitled “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. In the film, it is Christmas time but Charlie Brown is sad because he doesn't understand what the holiday is all about. He tries to get into the spirit of the season by directing a Christmas play and even buying a Christmas tree. Everything goes wrong and he still doesn't know what Christmas is all about. Finally, Linus gave him the answer that he needed. Watch as Linus gives the answer to Charlie Brown's and to everyone's question and let it speak to us throughout the Christmas holidays.

"That's Not Fair" - GGC, December 06, 2009

“That's Not Fair!”

Malachi 2:17 – 3:5

“That's not fair!” How often do we hear this phrase coming out from the lips of people? I bet that we not only have heard this phrase but we, at one time or another, have uttered these words in response to what we perceive to be unfair treatment. Probably, when you were growing up, you've said those words in response to how your parents treated you in comparison to how they treated your older siblings – like when they told you to go to bed earlier than your older siblings who are still watching television, or that they get to stay out longer at night while you have to be home earlier. But when we are the receiver of good things, who are we to complain? In fact, do we ever complain that life is unfair when we

• Get straight A's in school?

• Receive an unexpected bonus or pay increase?

• Are blessed with good health?

• Get the best part of the chicken or the last slice of pizza?

• Get to be first in line?

Of course not! We're not going to complain when everything is going in our favor. So, it is usually those who think they've been cheated or have been left out or who are envious of what others have who will exclaim that life isn't fair. We've all gone through that phase, that moment when we felt that we have been treated unjustly, and we go about pinning the blame on everyone – our spouses, our children, the teachers in school, our boss, our colleagues, and even God himself.

Admittedly, many if not all of us have all cried out the phrase “that's not fair”, but at some point in our lives we learn to cope and even understand why we aren't treated the same way as our siblings or our colleagues or our fellow classmates and we triumph over these issues with self-determination to improve ourselves and the resolve not to envy others. However, some will continue to remember those moments when they felt cheated upon and they let these thoughts control their lives such that they can never overcome it and they end up becoming bitter.

I recently watched over cable TV the Disney cartoon, Meet the Robinsons. The film is all about a talented young orphan boy named Lewis who travels into the future and meets his family in the future. He also meets a man who wears a bowler hat who is out to destroy him. He then learns that this mysterious man was his friend in the orphanage who had grown up becoming bitter and envious of Lewis because Lewis was getting all the attention while he was laughed at. In response to the unfair treatment he was receiving while Lewis was looked upon fondly, this other boy became obsessed with destroying Lewis and thus, he became Lewis' archenemy in the future.

I've mentioned in passing a moment ago that we also do put the blame on God for being unfair towards us. We accuse God of being unfair when we do not get what we ask for while others seem to always get their prayers answered. We accuse God of being unfair when we feel that we have been faithful to him and yet those who don't do much for God and those who don't believe in God seem more blessed than we are. We also think of God as being unfair when lawless and godless people get away with sin, and we begin to think that God doesn't have a fair sense of what justice is.

Do we personally call God unfair? I must admit that I have done so in the past and I am ashamed for having done so; and I am sure that many among you have done it in the past yourselves. But this morning, I would like for us to think about this: What does God think about our calling him “unfair”? What is his reaction to our accusations against him?

In this morning's passage in the book of Malachi, we find the Israelites calling God unfair because of their false assumption regarding God's justice (that those who practice evil were more blessed than them, thus God was dealing unjustly with his people) and the question of God's presence in the midst of all the injustice taking place (it was as if God was absent). God did not take these two false accusations very lightly. In fact, God himself said that he was wearied by what the Israelites were saying about him for this was to bear false witness against him, his reputation as God was being tainted by his own people. This morning, we will delve deeper into the issue of God's justice as well as why he felt weary about what the Israelites were saying about him.

In our past studies on the chapters 1 and 2 of Malachi, we've learned that the Israelites had returned from the Babylonian exile for quite some time already and the temple had been rebuilt and temple worship re-instituted. However, the blessing that they were expecting did not come, they were experiencing much hardship in the land, and now they were complaining to God because the ungodly were, in their eyes, more blessed materially than they were. This led Israel to become very shoddy when it came to their worship of God – from the leaders (the priests) all the way down to the people. All of them treated God with disdain or disrespect by giving their flawed offerings, by taking lightly their calling as God's servants and by disrespecting God's institution of marriage. In our passage today, we find the people questioning the justice of God and God replies to their accusations. But before we look at his reply, let us understand the implication of the people's statements.

“All Who Do Evil Are Good In The Eyes Of The Lord”

The Israelites saw the unrighteous people, those mentioned in verse 5, doing their evil schemes and yet, they go unpunished. Not only that, the unrighteous were growing wealthier everyday by their exercise of evil. This led the Israelites to conclude that God probably looks favorably on those who do evil because he doesn't punish them. So, if they themselves were to do evil things, then most likely, God wouldn't punish them. This accounts for why the Israelites behaved so badly towards God. They thought that God didn't care whether they were doing good or evil and this leads us to the second statement that the Israelites made.

“Where Is The God Of Justice?”

This second statement questions the presence of God in the midst of his people. The Israelites thought that if God was really present in their midst, then there wouldn't be a lot of injustice taking place. If God was around, there wouldn't be any bad people around. In fact, no one would dare do anything evil. But the fact is, a lot of injustice was taking place and people commit evil acts as if God never existed and this led the Israelites to put into question the presence of God in their midst. For them, God was absent and this was why evil was rampant.

Both these statements are serious accusations leveled against God and he wasn't going to take them lightly, because they were questioning one of God's key attributes – his justice. Just because evildoers seem to be getting all the breaks doesn't mean that God is blessing them. Just because evil is rampant in society doesn't mean that God is absent. In fact, in verse 1, God promised that he would send his messenger who would prepare the way for God's coming. This is a promise of God's presence as well as a promise of judgment. I will come back to this point a little later.

In Jewish theology, there is a key concept that is often used in the OT and this is the phrase, “The Day of the Lord”. The Day of the Lord is understood by the Jews to be the day of the Messiah's arriving; a day when the wrong would be made right, a day when God's people would be redeemed from the clutches of evil people, a day when a new world order would come to being where the Jewish race would enjoy being in the presence of God and where they would be rewarded. Unfortunately, many Jews take this concept and wrongly thought that all the Jews would be blessed by God, regardless of how they behaved. Check out Amos 5:18 - 19 where Amos wrote, “Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.” The Day of the LORD will not be a pleasant time at all as thought by the Israelites but it will be a day of Judgment! In today's passage, there is mention in Malachi 3:2 of “the day of his coming”, no doubt a reference to “The Day of the Lord.”

What will really happen on the Day of the Lord? Two things will happen on that great day. First is that God's people will go through a time of intense refining. Second, those who claim to be God's people but who live a life contradictory to God's law will face condemnation.

Intense Refining

The people of God will go through a time of intense refining. We get this idea from the mention of two elements – the refiner's fire and the launderer's soap.

According to some experts, refining silver is a very tedious process and requires constant attention. Silver ore is melted in intense fire. The refiner keeps constant watch over it to make sure that the silver is not overheated to the point that it is destroyed. The silver becomes free of impurities once a person can see his own image upon it. What a wonderful analogy of what God is doing in our lives. So often, when we go through God's refining fire, manifested through trials and testings, we complain and get easily uptight. We say to God, “God, why are you allowing me to go through this?” However, if we only realize that God's purpose for such refining is so that we will reflect his glory, that people will see Jesus in us, then the refining process is worth all the pain and struggles we go through.

The intense refining is also seen in the analogy of the launderer's soap. Laundry soap is a common household item and we know what it is for – to clean our clothes by removing dirt and stains. I am sure that no one here would like to wear clothes over and over again without having it washed properly. We want our clothes to be clean and fragrant, not marred with dirt and stinking in smell. Again, this is a beautiful analogy as it gives us the picture of God's reason for refining or for cleaning us. In this case, his refining is to make us blameless and holy.

The Day of the Lord will be a time of intense refining, a time when God's people will be purged of their sins and they will be made clean such that they will reflect the glory of God. It will not necessarily be pleasant at the start, but the results will be glorious. All true members of God's family are not exempted from this refining. We who belong to Christ know that we go through periods of testing because, at the end of it, we will reflect more and more the glory of God. Without refining, we will be complacent in our faith and we wouldn't care about being holy and righteous. Without refining, we would not turn out to being what God intended for us to become. This is part of God's judgment, when he disciplines us, so that we may end up reflecting the glory of God.

Condemnation

If you look at Malachi 2:17, we hear the people complaining that God is not around to administer justice and that he looks favorably upon those who do not fear God and who practice evil. Well, those who made these complaints were dead wrong! Those who presumed that God has turned a blind eye on injustice and were starting to follow evil were mistaken. God has not and will not turn a blind eye towards injustice. In fact, verse 5 of Malachi 3 shows us that on the Day of the Lord, God is going to come and he will testify against those who do evil such as those who practice sorcery, those who are adulterous, those who lie or perjure against others, those who do not treat their employees fairly, those who are oppressive towards the widows and the orphans, and those who deprive the aliens among them of justice. All those who do evil with reckless abandon, as if God were absent, will be judged harshly and they will pay dearly for their sins. While there is no mention of the word “condemn” or “condemnation”, the fact that God would testify against them is, in effect, another way of saying that such reckless sinners will find themselves condemned by God.

In essence, the two complaints the Jews made against God have been answered by God himself. He still is the God of justice and he will judge the evildoers. Thus, we are in no position at all to call God as unfair. God's judgment against evildoers may not come very quickly by our standards but it will surely come at the right time. Therefore, we are to wait upon the Lord for him to execute justice and not to take matters into our own hands. We are also to continue living a just life because God sees us and God will bring forth his reward to those who are faithful to him.

The God of Justice Has Come!

Going back to Malachi 3:1, we find that God talked about sending a messenger who will prepare the way for him; then the Lord himself will come to his temple and the messenger of the covenant will come. We wonder, what is God talking about? Is there any connection with the Day of the Lord?

I personally believe that this passage is actually talking about two key characters that we find in the New Testament – John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. The first messenger, the one who prepares the way for the Lord, is none other than John. This messenger is also mentioned in Malachi 4:5 where he is called the prophet Elijah. This prophecy is fulfilled in the person of John. How do we know this? Check out Luke 1:16 – 17 where the angel of the Lord declared to Zechariah that his son will bring the people of Israel back to the Lord, that he will go on before the Lord and that he would make ready a people prepared for the Lord. The language used by the angel is similar to what God said in Malachi. Thus, it leaves no doubt in my mind that John is referred to as the first messenger.

However, there is also mention that God himself, the Lord the people were seeking for would come to his temple and this stands in apposition or parallel to the phrase, “the messenger of the covenant” whom the people were desiring for. In other words, the two phrases are referring to one and the same person, namely God himself. The one whom the people were desiring for was none other than the Messiah and the Messiah is God himself. 2000 years ago, Jesus came in the flesh. He is the Messiah and his coming marks the start of the “Day of the Lord”. Ever since the day he came up to now, he is drawing people to himself, refining them and making them holy. At the same time, ever since he came, judgment has already fallen on those who refuse to repent of their sins and believe in Him. John 3:18 clearly states, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

We need to remember though that there will still be a final judgment when Jesus returns again soon to set up his kingdom. Those described in Malachi 3:5 as well as those described in Revelation 21:7 – 8 will be condemned by God. On the other hand, those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and whose life demonstrates that their faith is genuine will find everlasting reward as well as vindication from the injustices suffered in the world. The Lord Jesus that we love for his grace and mercy is the same Lord who will sit on the judgment seat on that great Day of the Lord.

This morning, we need to ask ourselves this question: What would we prefer to have, God's intense refining upon our lives or his condemnation? If you already know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you need not fear condemnation, however you must continually allow God to refine your life so that you will reflect his glory all the more. If you don't know Jesus yet as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you will not reject him but that you will accept him as your Lord and Savior. Standing condemned is not going to be a pleasant experience. You may blatantly sin against God in this life and seemingly get away with it but you will never escape the judgment of Christ when he returns. I plead with you – repent of your sins and turn to Jesus.

As Christmas is just around the corner, I hope that we won't just view Jesus Christ as merely as a loving and gracious Savior but we must also view him as the coming King who will judge this world. I pray that this season of celebration will not blind us to the reality that we all need to believe in Jesus before its too late.