seeking once again the help of God. I'd like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read together, 1 John chapter 4, and the text you'll find in verse 10. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

as we come to remember the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. as we see over this time of year as our minds are drawn to all that took place in Bethlehem and as we look back at the prophecies regarding the seed of the woman, as we look back at the prophecies regarding Bethlehem and all about the Lord Jesus Christ, what is the umbrella of all of those of all of those prophecies, all of those things about the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's not God's anger, it's God's love. It is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. His banner over me is love. And the love of God is far greater than anything that we can truly comprehend. It far goes beyond our love.

The love that we have towards one another is often based upon something, whether it is a family tie, whether it is a friendship, whether it is something that we have in common, one with another, there is something there that causes us to love another person. But the love that God had to the human race was not based on anything to do with any good that any person had ever done. It is to do with himself, that he is love and he chose to love a people that had no love for him.

And to enable those people to love him, he first had to give his son to the world to live and to die. And then to enable those people to love his son, he has to put his spirit within them, change their hearts to bring them to have any affection for him or for his son or for his words. And so when we look at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the scripture says, in this is love. It was the greatest demonstration of love that there has ever been.

Greater love has no man than this. And a man lay down his life for his friends and in this was manifested the love of God towards us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him in this is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sin.

If we look at the different words of love in the Bible, there is one love that stands out above all other love and it's a word that is called agape. agape love. It is a love that seeks the good of others regardless of any merit in themselves. And that's the love that God has, this agape love towards his people. It is a love that seeks their own good, not out of any merit in themselves.

He doesn't look down from heaven and think, oh, well, yeah, this one is deserving of my love. This one, they go to chapel religiously. They are worthy of my love. This one, you know, they walk in a certain way. They are worthy of my love. This one, they have the right hairstyle. They are worthy of my love. This one, they stick to the speed limit. They are worthy of my love.

No, It does not, those things do not come into God's mind regarding that love. It is regardless of merit, any good in us, God sees as filthy rags. And when somebody receives that love, it is grace, the undeserved love of God. It is an unearned gift. You know, sometimes we may think that God has done something in our lives because we are worthy of that. Any good thing that God does, any blessing that we receive must flow through the Lord Jesus Christ, his perfect gift. this time of year we demonstrate our love for each other by by giving gifts. Sometimes it's really sweet as to how far the children will go spending all of their all of their pocket money all of their gifts or maybe their birthday money in buying something for their siblings or buying something for their parents or buying something for those that they know and love. And what drives them to such sacrifice is love.

But our giving is often based upon something, a family tie or a neighbour or a friendship that we have. We give because of something that we delight in the person that we are giving to. There's always a reason. And so our love falls far short of the love of God, the love that God has to us. Our love is almost like a mere shadow. of the love of God.

For God is love. You know that God, if we look at God and his attributes, his character, his nature, he's a God of justice. The Bible says that he is a just God. He is a God who hates sin. He abhors evil. He is righteous. He is holy. His eye cannot behold evil. Yet his greatest and most prominent attribute is his love. His love was demonstrated to the world in him giving his son. The Puritans wrote that Jesus Christ is God's love clothed in flesh. that when we see the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a full manifestation of God's love to the world.

You think, because that great precious gift was given, the angels came down from heaven to sing the praises of God, peace on earth and goodwill toward men, to the shepherds, to the lowly in life, came the message, let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has been made known to us. And they went to see the manifestation of the love of God in Christ Jesus. And then comes the wise men from the East, the Gentiles, having seen the star, following the star, come to where the Lord Jesus Christ was, and they come to fall down and worship this God incarnate, this Emmanuel, this manifestation of the love of God, they come down and they worship Him.

Herein is love, in this is love. Not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sin. Love was the reason, love was the cause that drew the Lord Jesus Christ down to earth to be made a little lower than the angels, to be made like unto his brethren. It was love, this undeserving love. But he didn't come for any other reason than to be a propitiation. that is to be an atoning sacrifice. He was born to die. You and I, we are born and we know we will die. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ, his life, it was for that very purpose, that he was going to be born under the law of God, born of a woman, for the very purpose of being an atoning sacrifice. a sacrifice to appease the Father because of the sins of his people.

Why are we undeserving? Because we are sinners in the sight of a holy God. And there is no way that we can obtain the righteousness needed to find favour in the sight of a holy God. Therefore, it is that God stepped in. It is that God demonstrated his love towards us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died. Herein is love. In this is love. Not that we love God. We can't love God. By our very nature, we hate God. We are enemies of God. But he stepped, he gave, he demonstrated what true love is by giving his son. to the world, that he loved us while we hated him. This is what true love is. Our love, what is it? It's founded on something. It'd be very difficult for us to think of our worst enemy, the person that we dislike the most, and then go and spend on them a lot of money and buy them a gift. We would wonder why. Those thoughts wouldn't cross our mind. Maybe we would think we'd do it just to annoy them.

Yesterday I typed in who is the most wicked man, wicked person who's ever lived. And the first one that comes up is Hitler and then Stalin and a couple of others. If you think of these men who are regarded as the most evil people who have caused the most death and suffering for so many. It would be like you finding them and showing them love by giving something to them that is so precious to you and them being so undeserving.

This is how it is. Our flesh finds it so easy to think of reasons why God should love us. But the scripture tells us that our righteousness is our filthy rags before a holy God. There is nothing in us that can obtain the favour of God. Only His choice. He chose to give His Son and He chose a people to call His own. He chose to love them. And even today, those who are in Christ Jesus, that there's not a day that passes without us sinning. Yet he still chooses, we are still the objects of his affection through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and gave his son to be an atoning sacrifice for us. He gave his beloved son, his most precious son, his one and only son, so that sinners could be reconciled to God. This is what love truly is. It's not just a passing comment that we say, I love you, and then they upset us tomorrow and we say, oh, I hate you, I don't like you anymore.

God's people are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. They are his object and he loves them in his son. And he gave his son to die for them so that they could be redeemed from the wrath to come. They could be purchased by the precious blood of Christ.

Jesus says in John 10 verse 10, The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. As the Lord Jesus Christ came and put on flesh, love clothed in human flesh, he came to die. but he came to die to give his life a ransom for many that those who are reciprocants of his love may have eternal life.

You see, the presents that we give today, they may last us a year or so. You think of those who've had many Christmases and those presents that you were given when you were a young child, Where are they now? The amount of money that was spent on us over the years, where are all those presents now? They've gone. We may have one or two treasured gifts, but the gift of Christ, he came to give an eternal gift, a treasure that is secured in heaven. It is eternal life. This is true love. He gave a gift that spans time and eternity. He redeems his people from the brink of hell and he brings them into heaven. It is a perfect gift for time and for eternity.

Verse of John 10, verse 27. and 28 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand my father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my my father's hand my sheep hear my voice they know me they follow me I give to them Eternal life, that is the gift of Christ to his people. His death upon the cross secures their eternal salvation. The gift that Christ gives is eternal life. It doesn't fade away as our presence. His love doesn't diminish as our love diminishes and fleets with emotion. His love is steadfast and unmovable always. focused upon his dear people. They were the object that drew him down to earth. A people that were undeserving, a people that were unloving, yet he loves them notwithstanding all.

We love him. because he first loved us. So today if you have any affection for the Lord Jesus Christ, a true affection for the Lord Jesus Christ, any love for God, it is because he first loved you. It is because He first changed your heart and caused you to have a heart of flesh and not a heart of stone. If you can say, I truly love God and I truly love the Lord Jesus Christ, then we can only demonstrate that love is because He, He first loved us.

Our love, it always has a because. We love Him because He loved us. There always has to be a reason. But the love of Christ, it doesn't have to be a reason, because He is love. He chooses to love. And our love then to the Lord Jesus Christ is a response and His love to us. It is a choice.

In Matthew, in the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus opens up something of the love of God. Matthew chapter 5 verse 43 it says you have heard that it has been said thou shalt love thine neighbor and hate thine enemy but I say unto you love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you that you may be the children of your father which is in heaven For he maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

But if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than the others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect. even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

And so Jesus gives us a demonstration of what true love is. This is the love of the Father to love the enemies. He causes it to rain on the righteous and upon the unrighteous. And if you love them which love you, what reward do you have?

Today, we demonstrate our love by the giving of gifts and the spending of time together. And there are reasons why we demonstrate that love. But that's not true love. That is a fleshly love, but it's not the love that God has. The love that God has is to love those whom you will never receive anything in return. It's to love those who are your enemies. Love those who hate you. It is to greet and to speak with those who despitefully use you.

It is very easy, isn't it, to say hello and happy Christmas and good morning to those who we love. It's very easy to spend time with people who we love and whom we have a relationship with. But God says to demonstrate true love, we are to show love. to those who don't deserve our love. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Beloved, he says, ye are the children of God, little children, ye are the children of God, ye, sorry, ye are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. This is how we are to achieve and to demonstrate that love by the one who is in his people. Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit of God dwells within his people enabling them to walk worthy of the callings of Christ. to demonstrate what true love is to a dark world. You are the light of the world. And Jesus then is the source of that love in us. And he is the object of our love. And he is worthy of our love. And we are to mimic and imitate the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just loving those whom we find easy to love, but to love those who naturally would find it difficult to love, that we may be like our Father that is in heaven.

And his love was demonstrated by the giving of his most precious gift, his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a propitiation, an atoning sacrifice for his people. And this is love, not that we love God, that he loved us and sent his son to be a propitiation for our sin. Well may we receive this gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, may we receive his atoning sacrifice that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ may be placed upon our hearts that when he sees the blood of Christ that he will pass over us and that we may be found sons and daughters of the living God, having received this gift, the love of God to sinners. Amen.

Well, let us sing from Hymns for Worship, number 58, to the tune Wondrous Story, number 984.

Who is he in yonder stool?

At his feet we humbly fall.
Tis the Lord, O wondrous story.

Tis the Lord, the King of glory. At his feet we humbly fall.
Crown him Crown him Lord of all.

Number 58.

At His feet we humbly fall. Tis the Lord, the wondrous story, Tis the Lord, the King of glory. At His feet we humbly fall,

Crown Him, crown Him,

It is the Lord, the wondrous story. It is the Lord, the King of glory. At His feet we humbly fall. Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all. Tis the Lord, the King of Glory,
At His feet we humbly fall,
Who lives here and stands and weeps at the grave where Lazarus sleeps?

Tis the Lord, a wondrous story! Tis the Lord, a wondrous story!

?

Crown him, crown him Lord of all ?
? And then I too will sing ?
? Praise him Lord, bless him again ?
? Tis the Lord, the wondrous God of all ?

At his feet we humbly fall, Crown him, crown him Lord of all.

Who is he on yonder tree,
Lies in grief and agony,
Lord, the King of glory,
at his feet we humbly call.
Crown him, crown him Lord of all.

Who is he who from the bread
Help and save.
Tis the Lord, the wondrous story. Tis the Lord, the King of glory. At His feet we humbly fall. Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all. Who is he who from his throne
rules with all the worlds alone?
It is the Lord, the wondrous Crown him, crown him, Lord of all.

Almighty God, we do give thee thanks then for this day. We thank thee, Lord, for this time together and for the great love by which thou didst give thy beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be born into this world and to die for sinners. We pray that our eyes may be opened and our hearts softened, that we may receive him as our gift, our atonement, for eternal life. We ask then that thou would dismiss us with thy blessing to be with us Lord we pray in our journeyings as we go here and there we ask for thy protection and help and do bless us as we meet with our loved ones. We do thank thee Lord for them each and we pray O Lord that thou draw near and bless our conversations together that thy son the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified this day and always.

And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with you each now and for evermore. Amen.