Have you ever changed addresses? There is so much involved. You must notify the post office. You must notify your creditors. You must notify your friends. You must notify the IRS. You must notify the utility company. I want to use the change of address idea to communicate a spiritual truth. What happens when Jesus changes addresses? That is what occured when Jesus came to earth as a baby. That is the truth behind the Christmas story. John records this transition. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (Jn. 1:1-4,14)
John begins his book by describing God’s activity in creation. He explains that Jesus was present and involved when God created the world. However, when you move from verses 1-4 to verse 14 a change occurs. Jesus has moved from being the God of creation to being the "God man." In other words God has changed addresses. God has moved from Heaven to earth. This is more than a story. It represents a life change. It represents a transformation that can take place in people. There are some revolutionary principles found in verse 14. These principles reveal what happens when God changed his address from Heaven to earth through Jesus Christ. These principles reveal what God did at Christmas. Notice the principles.
Principle: when Jesus changed addresses He showed that God wants to know you and be known by you. One day, when I was a student at New Orleans Seminary, I was sitting in a second floor reading area of the library when a new student walked in. As I sat in that area I could look down and see anyone who walked in. That day, the new student I saw was named Judy Melton. I said to myself, “you need to get to know that girl.” I took steps to meet her. The rest is history. Judy Melton later became Judy Patrick.
When Jesus came into the world He represented a love note from God. God said “I want to know you.” In this verse Jesus is identified as the word. A word is used to communicate. A word is used to convey information. We use phrases such as:
• May I have a word with you?
• I have a word for you.
• I give you my word.
The Bible says the word became flesh. The Greek people had trouble comprehending God in a body. “To the Greek the body was evil, a prison house in which the soul was shackled, a tomb in which the spirit was confined.” (William Barclay) There arose in the church a body of people called Docetists. These people held that Jesus in fact was only a phantom, an appearance, that His human body was not a real body, that He was only a walking spirit like a ghost, that He could not really feel hunger and weariness, sorrow and pain, that He was in fact a disembodied spirit in the apparent form of a man. John tells us that Jesus was the word of God. Word represents a desire to communicate. Word represents a revealing. The God of the Bible is not some mysterious God who hides himself from man. He wants to reveal himself. He wants to be known.
There are situations where leaders remain in seclusion and seem far removed from ordinary people. If you were to take a trip to Washington, D.C. you could not casually walk in and visit George and Laura Bush. (You might throw your shoe at him and get away with it. Ha! Ha!) If you were to take a trip to Hollywood you could observe the homes of many famous people; however, you could not casually walk in and visit those people. The president and these people seem to be far removed. The same would happen if you visit Nashville. There are many country western singers and other performers who live around Nashville. You could ride by and see their homes but, as people, they would seem far removed from ordinary people. I read some time ago that Garth Brooks has a 7,000 square foot home near Nashville. You could not casually walk into that home.
There are many things about God that we do not understand. There are truths about Him that we cannot comprehend. However, the fact that Jesus is a word from God tells us that God wants to be known. He wants to communicate with us. One of the common games that children play is hide and seek. God is not playing a game of hide and seek. He wants you to know Him.
In Acts 17 we find where Paul made a trip to Athens. Athens was the home of many intellectuals and philosophers. When arriving in their city Paul noticed they had a monument to an unknown god. Paul stood up and proclaimed that it was not God’s desire to be unknown. He shared the truth of God’s love with those people. The same is true today. God wants to know you and be known by you.
Principle: when Jesus changed addresses he showed that God wants to identify with you. The key concept is the word “flesh”. In this verse we read that Jesus was God in the “flesh.” The point is, God wants to relate to you. He understands what you are going through. He knows your hurt.
In John 11 we find the story of the death of Lazarus. Jesus was a friend of Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus. The Bible tells us that Lazarus died. When Jesus heard the news he wept. He identified with the pain of that family.
In Hebrews 4 we are instructed that we do not have a high priest who is unable to be moved by our pains. He feels our pain. He feels our hurt. He knows about unemployment. He knows about the stock market falling. He knows about death and dying. He knows about cancer. He knows about heart problems.
John Howard Griffin was a white man who believed he could never understand the plight of African-Americans unless he became like one. In 1959, he darkened his skin with medication, sun lamps, and stains, then traveled through the South. His book, Black Like Me, helped whites better understand the humiliation and discrimination faced daily by people of color. Jesus Christ became like us; the Incarnation is evidence that God understands our plight. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isa. 53:3).
(SOURCE: Tom Moorhouse, from Leadership: A Practical Journal for Christian Leaders.)
A little boy was trying to get to sleep but was frightened. He shouted down from his bedroom, ‘Dad, it’s dark up here and I’m scared.’ His father shouted back, ‘Don’t be afraid. God is with you.’ After a few seconds, the boy yelled again: ‘Daddy, please come up here, I need somebody with skin on!’ This is the reality of the Incarnation.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Owen Bourgaize)
Principle: when Jesus changed addresses He showed that God wants to be involved in your life. The key word is the word “dwelt”. The Greek word for dwelt means “tabernacled” or “pitched tent.” In Northport I had a little friend named Cameron. One day Cameron asked if he could spend the night with us. We said, yes. When Cameron arrived at our home he asked if he and I could erect a tent in the family room and spend the night in the tent. In order to please my little friend, I spent the night in a tent. You spend time in a tent with special people.
That is what this verse means. God dwelt among us. God desires to be involved in everyday life. Several years ago a large church in California did a survey of their community. They asked a number of questions of the people they surveyed. One of the questions was “Why do you think most people who do not attend church?” The response they received from many people was “church is not relevant.” It has nothing to do with my day to day life. That is not God’s desire. God desires to be relevant to your life.
Some time ago a man wrote to Reader’s Digest about his son Doug. The man said one night Doug was looking at a full moon. Little Doug asked his mom if God was in the moon. She said God is everywhere. Little Doug said “Is God in my tummy?” His mother said “Well, sort of,” not knowing where these questions were leading. Then Doug declared, “God wants a banana.” (Buff Spies, in Reader’s Digest, November 1991)
Principle: when Jesus changed addresses He showed that God wants to encourage you. The word that reveals this truth is the word “Glory.” In the Bible whenever God sought to manifest His glory He sought to reveal His presence. The word that is used to describe “glory” is the word which is used for the visible presence of God among men. It is a word of encouragement. Consider these examples. As the Israelite people traveled from Egypt to their home land they ran upon a difficult time in the desert. God miraculously provided food for them by giving them manna. Before that occurred the Bible says they “looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.” (Exo. 16:10) The glory encouraged them.
There was a time when the Israelite people had no place of worship. God gave them the Tabernacle. As the Tabernacle was erected and equipped, “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exo. 40:34) That was encouraging to them.
God does not want there to be any questions about HIS presence. Jesus came to reassure us of God’s presence and to calm us. There is a beautiful example of this in the Christmas story. In Luke 2 we find the story of the announcement of Jesus birth to the shepherds. The shepherds were in the fields when an angel appeared with the news of Jesus birth. “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Luke 2:9-10 There is that word, glory. You might say, pastor, “I thought you said the glory of God is supposed to reassure us of God’s presence. The shepherds were petrified with fear.” They were!!! However, look at verse 10. The angel said “Do not be afraid.” God’s glory is a divine encouragement to struggling people.
I heard about two young boys who terrorized their neighborhood with pranks and mischief. Their parents did not know what to do so they asked for help from their pastor. They decided that the pastor would talk to the boys. The parents were ecstatic and wanted to send both boys immediately. The pastor asked to see only the younger of the two boys. They agreed and Billy, the youngest son was sent to the church that afternoon. The boy arrived and was ushered into the church office where he was offered a very large chair in front of the pastor’s desk. The minister sat down opposite the boy. He folded his hands in front of him and stared at the boy a few seconds then said, “Where is God?”
Billy wasn’t sure what the question meant, so he just sat there quietly.
The minister leaned over his desk, locked eyes and said in a much stronger voice, “Where…is…God?”
Billy started to squirm. He had no idea why he was here and the minister kept asking the same question.
The minister then stood, again leaned over the desk and glared right at Billy, “Where is God?”
The poor boy was now really getting scared and snuggled back into the full chair. The minister, meanwhile, moved from behind his desk to stand directly in front of Billy and raised one hand upward to Heaven.
“WHERE…IS…GOD?” he bellowed at the lad.
Poor Billy lost it. What could he do? Here was a man of God asking questions he didn’t understand and he was scared. So he jumped up out of the chair, ran from the office, down the church aisle, out onto the sidewalk, up the street into his house. Then he raced up the stairs and into their bedroom.
“What’s wrong Billy?” the older brother asked.
“Oh, Johnny,” he said. “We’re in BIG trouble this time. God’s missing and they think we took Him.”
Principle: when Jesus changed addresses he showed that God was willing to share His best with you. Notice the phrase “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” When God moves in He gives you the very best HE has to offer. He gave you HIS son. The Christmas message helps us to understand the depth of God’s love. His effort to communicate with this world was illustrated by His willingness to send His only Son to communicate HIS love.
On February 16, 1989 the lives of George and Vera Bajenksi of Ontario, Canada were changed forever. It was a very normal Thursday morning. The phone rang at 9:15 a.m. There was an accident involving their son Ben. As they approached the intersection of Adelaide and Simcoe Streets near the high school, they could see the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance units. Vera noticed a photographer and followed the direction of his camera lens to the largest pool of blood she had ever seen. All she could say was, "George, Ben went home--home to be with his Heavenly Father!" Her first reaction was to jump out of the car, somehow collect the blood and put it back into her son. "That blood, for me, at that moment, became the most precious thing in the world because it was life. It was life-giving blood and it belonged in my son, my only son, the one I loved so much." The road was dirty and the blood just didn’t belong there. George noticed that cars were driving right through the intersection--right through the blood. His heart was smitten. He wanted to cover the blood with his coat and cry, "You will not drive over the blood of my son!" Then Vera understood for the first time in her life, one of God’s greatest and most beautiful truths...why blood? Because it was the strongest language God could have used. It was the most precious thing He could give-- the highest price He could pay. Through God’s amazing love we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
(Victor Knowles, Peace on Earth Ministries, Joplin, MO. George and Vera Bajenski minister with Global Missionary Ministries, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by SermonCentral )
When God changed addresses that was a significant moment in history. It can and will change your life forever!
