SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Incarnation
(2). Vindication
(3). Visualisation
(4). Proclamation
(5). Confession
(6). Ascension
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise,
• Usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie,
• Were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film;
• And most successfully in television.
• Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984.
• They have been described as
• "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced".
• Classic sketches from such shows often revolved around the guest stars.
• One example is the 1971 appearance of André Previn,
• Who was introduced onstage by Ernie as Andrew Preview.
• Previn's schedule was extremely tight,
• And Morecambe and Wise were worried that he had very little time to rehearse,
• But the final result was described by their biographer as "probably their finest moment".
• In that sketch:
• Because the piano lid obscures his view.
• Previn cannot see Eric when he gestures for him to begin playing,
• Previn has to leap in the air at the appropriate time, so that Eric can see him.
• When he finally manages to enter on time,
• Eric's rendition of the piano part is so bizarre that Previn becomes exasperated
• And tells Eric that he is playing "all the wrong notes".
• Eric stands up, seizes Previn by the lapels and menacingly informs him
• "I'm playing all the right notes—but not necessarily in the right order."
• YouTube: http://youtu.be/-zHBN45fbo8
• TRANSITION: When it comes to this song, this early hymn of the Church:
• We have no idea what notes, what tune was attached to these words;
• But we do have the content which is the most important part of this song.
• The early Church what we might call hymns or creeds.
• The word 'Creed' is derived from the Latin word ‘credo’, meaning 'I believe'.
• The Creeds therefore, are summaries of belief.
• Particularly in the first few hundred years of Christianity;
• When the New Testament was not completed or it was unavailable to people to read.
• The most famous creeds were forged by the early church.
• But the Old Testament also contains what could well be considered creedal statements;
• A good example would be the Hebrew ‘Shema’;
• Which is found in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4);
• “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God — the Lord is One.”
• The ‘Shema’ is the central prayer in the Jewish prayer book (Siddur);
• And is often the first section of scripture that a Jewish child learns.
• ill: for Jewish people it is the John 3:16 of the Old Testament.
Now as I mentioned earlier, the formal creeds were developed during early church history:
• They helped to establish what Christians believed;
• They also were safeguards that help to refute false-teaching and error.
• The creeds were not inspired but they were very helpful;
• The most early and best known creeds are;
• The Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed;
• Which may well this day be used in Sunday services in the Church of England.
Now in 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16:
• We have an early creed/hymn of the early Church;
• And because it is contained in the New Testament;
• We can confidently say that is 100% inspired of God;
• It is a concise statement of what Christians believe.
• And it helps all believers to formulate a clear confession of faith;
Ill:
• I guess at some time in our Christian experience we have enjoyed,
• A variety of emotional or good feelings,
• Maybe on a walk up a mountain;
• We have looked at the view and been awe-struck at the beauty of creation!
• Maybe we read a book or listened to someone’s testimony;
• And it has exhilarated us and helped us in our worship of God.
• Good feelings and moments of inspiration are indeed wonderful blessings!
• I am not knocking or putting them down.
• But…and it is an important but;
• But enduring Christian faith is not built merely on good feelings;
• Or on brief moments of sensing God's presence in the beauty of the creation,
• Or even on inspirational stories.
• Because those feelings are subjective, personal;
• And therefore they will be varied and transient in their out-working.
• Enduring Christian faith is built on knowing and understanding truth about God.
• That truth has been revealed to us in the unchanging Word of God,
• That is why doctrinal instruction, Bible teaching is so important;
Quote: Hare:
• “The question is not whether a doctrine is beautiful, but whether it is true.
• When we want to go to a particular place,
• We do not ask whether the road leads through a pretty country,
• But whether it is the right road!”
BIBLE TEACHING (SOUND DOCTRINE) IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE:
(1). It helps us know and understand the truth about God.
• Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a specific message.
• Christians may differ on how (that is the style of how) they worship of God;
• i.e. Some like it solemn and reflective others loud and exuberant.
• Christians may differ on how leadership operates in a local Church.
• i.e. Some have Elders or a Leadership Team;
• Others may be led by one man such as a Pastor and guided by a higher governing body.
Now here is my point – some practices of our faith are flexible and open to interpretation:
• But some truths are not negotiable:
• i.e. The deity of Jesus Christ.
• i.e. The atoning work of Christ on the cross.
• i.e. His resurrection from the dead.
• Everything we have as Christians depends on these truths revealed in scripture;
• Change them or dilute them and we lose everything!
• Our duty is to deliver the message, not to change it!
(2). Sound doctrine is important because what we believe affects what we do.
• Behaviour is an extension of our theology,
• And there is a direct correlation between what we think and how we act.
• i.e. Two people stand on top of a bridge; one believes he can fly,
• And the other believes he cannot fly.
• The next actions they take may well be very, very different.
• i.e. In the same way, a man who believes that there is no such thing as right and wrong;
• Will naturally behave differently from a man;
• Who believes in well-defined moral standards.
• Belief will affect behaviour!
Introduction to the hymn:
“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great”:
Ill:
These are actual exam answers given in tests:
• Question: “Name 6 animals that live specifically in the Artic;”
• Answer: “2 polar bears and four seals.”
• Question: “What is a fibula?”
• Answer: “A little lie.”
• Question: “To change centimetres into meters you?”
• Answer: “Take out centi””
• Question: “Where was the Magna Carta signed?”
• Answer: “At the bottom.”
Ill:
• A teacher was marking his students exam paper;
• And for one of the questions the student wrote;
• "God only knows the answer to this question. Merry Christmas."
• The teacher returned the paper with this note:
• "God gets an A. You get an F. Happy New Year!"
• TRANSITION: When the apostle Paul says it is a great mystery;
• He does not mean that like a difficult exam question it is hard to understand.
• By using this term "This is a great mystery.";
• He means it is of supreme significance; it is basic truth!
• Nothing is more important than this!
• This Greek word translated into English as ‘mystery’.
• Does not mean a riddle that you have to puzzle over.
• In fact the very opposite:
• ‘Mystery’ refers to something that was hid but has now been revealed.
• And the mystery of godliness is no longer a mystery!
• The mystery of godliness is JESUS CHRIST!
• To those who lived B.C. (Before Christ) they found that Jesus was hidden to them;
• By faith they had to look forward to the Messiah’s arrival.
• ill: For them it was like looking at a bunch of individual pieces of a jigsaw;
• They got insights and lots of clues but never saw the completed picture;
• They only ever saw small sections.
• We however live in A.D. (The term ‘Anno Domini’ is Medieval Latin,
• Translated as ‘In the year of the Lord’);
• To us he is no longer a mystery but has been revealed to our world!
• In the New Testament we see the completed picture!
Now in this hymn we have six unfolding's of the mystery of Jesus:
• In other words we have six unique truths about Jesus:
• Six great theological statements regarding Jesus Christ.
• Notice: that the hymn divides into three couplets of two lines each.
• These are contrasting truths about Jesus,
• In complimentary pairs.
• In fact they are a mixture of the visible and the invisible;
• The first pair:
• Visible: He appeared in the flesh.
• Invisible: He was vindicated by the Spirit.
• The second pair:
• Visible: He was seen by angels.
• Invisible: He was preached among the nations.
• The third pair:
• Invisible: He was believed on in the world.
• Visible: He was taken up in glory.
• Now let’s look at these truths in a bit more detail:
• And as we do they will enrich our appreciation and understanding of Jesus Christ!
(1). Incarnation:
• “He appeared in the flesh”,
• That is the incarnation – Jesus took upon himself a human body!
Ill:
• On her 12th birthday she was in New York City,
• And the her dad who is pop musician Billy Joel was in Los Angeles.
• He phoned her that morning, apologizing for his absence,
• But told her to expect the delivery of a large package before the end of the day.
• The daughter answered the doorbell that evening to find a seven-foot-tall,
• Brightly wrapped box.
• She tore it open, and out stepped her father, fresh off the plane from the West Coast.
• TRANSITION: Can you imagine her surprise?
• I guess we can because our gift came in the flesh too!
• We have just been celebrating that fact in our Christmas celebrations;
• Quote from the carol ‘Hark the herald angels sing’
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the new-born King!"
• Quote from another great hymn written the same author Charles Wesley:
• "Our God contracted to a span. Incomprehensibly made Man"
(2). Vindication:
“Was vindicated by the Spirit,”
Question: How do we know that Jesus Christ was deity in human flesh?
Answer:
• Because he was vindicated!
• That is he was proven, endorsed, or demonstrated to be divine by the spirit!
• Now the word ‘spirit’ could refer here to the Holy Spirit or Christ’s spirit;
• (That is his divine nature).
• Most Bible scholars suggest it is the latter – Christ’s spirit.
• In the Greek text the first two lines of this hymn have the same construction;
• “Appeared in the flesh” and “Vindicated by the Spirit,”
Ill:
• When you go to a shop and give a £20 bill to the cashier,
• Sometimes they place the note under a special light.
• The reason they do that of course is to show,
• To prove, to demonstrate that the note is genuine.
• TRANSITION:
• Each time Jesus healed the sick, returned sight to the blind, restored useless limbs,
• Resurrected the dead, greatly multiplied food, and turned water into wine,
• His spirit was vindicating who he was and why he came.
(3). Visualisation:
“Was seen by angels,”
• Many times angelic beings are associated with the life and ministry of Jesus.
• Throughout the gospels that fact is demonstrated again and again.
• i.e. One angel foretold his conception,
• (Luke chapter 1 verses 26-38).
• i.e. A multitude of angels proclaimed his birth,
• (Luke chapter 2 verses 8-14).
• i.e. Angels came to minister to Jesus after his temptation experience in the desert,
• (Matthew chapter 4 verse 11).
• i.e. Just before the cross an angel came to strengthen him in the Garden of Gethsemane,
• (Luke chapter 22 verses 43).
• i.e. Angels were present at his resurrection.
• (Matthew chapter 28 verses 2-7).
• i.e. Angels were present at his ascension back into heaven.
• (Acts chapter 1 verses 9-11).
• The visitation of these angelic creatures;
• Was once again further evidence that Jesus was not just a good man,
• The repetitious appearance of these angelic creatures;
• Are further proof that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God in human form!
(4). Proclamation:
“Was preached among the nations”
• While he was here on earth;
• Both Jews and Gentiles encountered the claims and teaching of Jesus.
• Many heard Jesus as crowds flocked to hear him preach;
• He was relevant, empathic, insightful and passionate.
• (Mark chapter 1 verses 45, chapter 2 verses 1-2 & 13)
• Others heard the good news via the disciples;
• You remember how Jesus sent out the twelve and then the seventy-two disciples.
• (Matthew chapter 10 verses 1-42 & Luke chapter 10 verses 1-24)
• Both Jews and Gentiles encountered the claims and teaching of Jesus.
• Throughout the ‘history book of the early Church’ the book of Acts.
• And of course throughout the last two thousand years of Christian history;
• These verses are still being fulfilled.
• i.e. We are Acts chapter 29, 30, 31 etc. etc. etc.
Ill:
• In the days of John Wesley,
• Lay preachers with limited education would sometimes conduct the church services.
• One man used Luke chapter 19 verse 21 as his text:
• "Lord, I feared You, because You are an austere man".
• Not knowing what the word "austere" meant or misreading it,
• He thought the text spoke of "an oyster man."
• The lay preacher explained how a diver must grope in dark,
• Freezing water to retrieve oysters.
• In his attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells.
• After he obtains an oyster,
• He rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands."
• The preacher added,
• "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into … sinful human society,
• in order to retrieve humans and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven.
• His torn and bleeding hands;
• are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest."
• At the end of the meeting, twelve men received Christ.
• Twelve men became Christians.
• Later that night someone came to John Wesley;
• They came to complain about these unschooled preachers;
• Who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on.
• The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said,
• "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."
• TRANSITION: for two thousand years Christ has been proclaimed;
• By the learned and the uneducated;
• Proclaimed to millions of people regardless of their sex, race,
• Religious persuasion, education, or any other distinguishing trait.
• And it is still the task of the Church;
• To proclaim the whole gospel to the whole world!
• Brothers and sisters we are plan A to reach a lost world;
• I remind you this morning that there is no plan B!
• So this week by life and lip let’s make sure we are all proclaiming the gospel message!
(5). Confession:
“Was believed on in the world,”
• Throughout the gospels we read of those individuals or crowds;
• Who encountered Jesus Christ and believed in him as the Messiah;
• Both Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles.
Ill:
• One man who confessed Jesus publicly;
• Has unfortunately by Church history been given a rather negative nick-name.
• The New Testament gives him several names:
• He is called ‘Thomas the Apostle’, also called ‘Judas Thomas’,
• Or ‘Didymus’ which means ‘Twin’,
• But perhaps he is better known by the nick-name, ‘Doubting Thomas’.
• Thomas was branded with that nick-name;
• Because he refused to believe that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead.
• The other eleven disciples could believe it if they were daft enough;
• But Thomas wanted proof, he wanted evidence,
• He had seen the horrendous death of Jesus by crucifixion;
• He knew that nobody, nobody ever survived such a horrendous death like that.
• So wanting proof, he made his famous statement;
• That he wanted to feel for himself the wounds received by Jesus on the cross.
• As a result history has forever called him ‘doubting Thomas’.
And yet…
• The gospel of John also show him as ‘Confessing Thomas’.
• When the risen Christ appeared to him and told him to touch his sides and his hands;
• Thomas fell to the ground and was the first believer to publicly confess Jesus as:
• “My Lord and My God!” (John chapter 20 verse 28)
• For me this is the true Thomas,
• Who has come face to face with his own doubts and overcome them.
• The majority of people may call him ‘doubting Thomas’,
• I prefer to call him ‘Thomas the confessor!’
• Note: Thomas is the first person to call Jesus God
• The first person to publicly acknowledge his deity!
• And in doing so he brings John’s gospel full circle.
• It starts and finish with an acknowledgement that Jesus Christ is God!
(6). Ascension:
“Was taken up in glory.”
Ill:
• A bank wanted to reward one of their loyal and long standing customers;
• The business was expanding and moving into a new building.
• So the bank who had provided the loan for the move;
• Decided to send a floral arrangement to congratulate them.
• Unfortunately there was a mix up at the florist,
• And the card sent with the arrangement read, “With our deepest sympathy.”
• When the mistake was found they contacted the florist;
• Who apologized, but became even more embarrassed;
• When she learned that another floral arrangement sent to a funeral home must have read;
• “Congratulations on your new location.”
• TRANSITION: I have good news for you today.
• After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, He moved to a new location.
• He ascended back to heaven!
• The very place he descended from two thousand years ago!
Quote:
"In this life, Christ is an example, showing us how to live;
in his death, he is a sacrifice, satisfying for our sins;
in his resurrection, a conqueror over sins, death and the devil;
in his ascensions, a king; in his intercession, a high priest."
Now you can read about the ascension in Acts chapter 1 verse 11:
• Where Forty days after his resurrection,
• Jesus called his 11 apostles together on the Mount of Olives,
• And they witnessed Jesus being physically taken up into the air;
• Until a cloud hid him from their sight.
• As the disciples were watching him ascend,
• Two angels dressed in white robes stood beside them;
• And asked why they were looking into the sky. The angels said:
"This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
The ascension is important for a number of important reasons:
• FIRST It signalled the end of His earthly ministry.
• From now on the disciples and all Christians must experience him in a new way;
• Now by his physical presence but by the Holy Spirit.
• SECOND: It signified success in His earthly work.
• All that he had come to do, He had accomplished;
• Remember his cry from the cross; “It is finished!”
• In heaven he is described as seated, he is at rest, his work complete!
• THIRD: It marked the return of His heavenly glory.
• Jesus' glory had been veiled during his life on earth,
• (except for one brief exception at the Transfiguration; Matthew chapter 17 verses 1-9).
• Notice those words in this hymn: “Was taken up in glory.”
• The ascension saw the return of His heavenly glory.
• Or rather his glory once again shining through.
• FOURTH: It symbolized His exaltation by the Father;
• There are many scriptures that point out the exaltation of Jesus by the Father.
• (i.e. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 20-23 & Philippians chapter 2 verse 9).
• ill: In sporting terms – i.e. Grand Prix we would say he is now on the winning podium;
• ill: In royal terms – i.e. Coronation Day when the king is formally crowned.
• He is now taking the applause, receiving his due praise as victor and sovereign.
There are of course other reasons why Jesus ascended:
• i.e. So that he could send the Holy Spirit.
• (John chapter 16 verse 7)
• i.e. So that he can be our Great High Priest.
• (Hebrews chapter 7 verses :26-27; & chapter 8 verse 1 & chapter 10 verse 21);
• The ascension of Jesus is a great topic of study in itself;
• The New Testament reveals so many important truths in connection with this event.
• So your homework is go and find a few of them!
CONCLUSION:
• The ascension is a good reminder;
• This life is not all there is – living proof of that is Jesus Christ!
• Two thousand years ago at the first Christmas he descended;
• We have been singing about it in our Carols i.e. Wesley’s great hymn:
• “Let earth and Heaven combine…”
“…The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made Man.
He laid His glory by,
He wrapped Him in our clay;
Unmarked by human eye,
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days He here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel’s Name”.
• And at the end of his time here on earth;
• He ascended back into heaven.
• There is now a ‘man in the glory’,
• A guarantee for all those who belong to him will also share in his glory!
Ill:
• On the side of rubbish truck was the following inscription:
• “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Double Your Trash Back."
• The resurrection and the ascension are our double guarantees;
• That what happened to Jesus will happen to all who trust in him!
• Because he was raised – we too shall be raised;
• Because he was glorified – we too will be glorified;
• Because he reigns – we too will rein with him!
