His Perfect Love

Matt VanderVen: He wasn't born in a castle where only the nobles and the wealthy could seek Him. He wasn't born in a monastery where only the religious leaders could behold Him. He was born in a way that all of humanity could identify and embrace Him. Even as He left the Earth, He gave us another gift, didn't He? He’s a gift-giver, our God. What did He give us? His Spirit. The Holy Spirit as a seal. You know what a seal is? It’s a promise, it’s a guarantee to express His commitment to continue to dwell with us forever, even now, friends.

Guest (Male): For all too many, Christmas is all about rushing from one party to the next, exchanging gifts and decorating the house. But there's something much more important we want to talk with you about today on *His Perfect Love*. It's the wonderful gift of Jesus. Set aside the next half hour to join us for a very special message from Pastor Matt VanderVen, designed to focus our attention on the real reason for the season. We'll be in the Gospel of Luke for the most part.

Matt VanderVen: We’re designed to have a very personal, intimate, all-consuming relationship with Jesus. Even before time began, even as we read in the Genesis account, day six, before anything else, He had created all these things. But as He said it was very good, His love and the foundation and His plan for reconciliation had already begun in His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s in our DNA. It’s in the original programming. That’s why before we were saved, if we’re honest with each other here tonight, before we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, didn’t it feel like a part of your heart was missing or something was incomplete?

Even when we wed or we get married, it’s still not the complete perfection. There’s still something, and that something is the love of Jesus Christ, Him enlarging your heart, making more space, making areas and chambers so that He can occupy. Again, Emmanuel, God with us. He takes residence and makes a home if you’ll allow Him, not just on Christmas, but every day, every moment. That’s why before we were saved, we understood that much of our time was spent trying to fill our strong desires. Think about Christmas and the marketing of it and the profiting of it.

Is it any coincidence that people are going out and spending their credit cards in debt to do what? To fill a void which is right before them? It has nothing to do with the presence we can buy, but with the wrapped gift God has already given us in Emmanuel. We spent all our resources and time trying to find something that would fill that inescapable void that exists in the heart of every human, trying to satisfy our imperfect mortal condition. We celebrate Christmas once again as we would have in the Garden. God proved His love for us, gave us a sign, coming in human flesh to be with us and to dwell with us.

God knowing that mankind had broken that original agreement, "Do not eat of this tree of knowledge of good and evil," it broke relationship, as found in Genesis chapter three. And He set His focus, our Lord and Savior set His focus to restore that relationship. That’s the Christmas story. That’s the Christmas account. God purposed a way to provide a way for us to have a close and better relationship. But now, friends, it’s not limited to a garden. It’s throughout the world and it’s forever in Heaven. All of Heaven recognized God’s desire to reunite humanity with their God. It’s just humanity that’s catching up.

Turn with me to Dr. Luke’s account in Luke chapter one. We’ll look at verse 26, please. Luke chapter one, verse 26: "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Yeshua, Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

"Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. Look down at verse 46, please, in Mary’s heart: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed."

"For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever." And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Please turn to chapter two. We’ll pick up in verse one: "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child."

"So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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 you and to all people.'"

"'For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be'—all too familiar, what's it say there again? 'A sign. A sign to you.' Just like Isaiah 740 years ago before this happened. 'A sign to you, a sign to me. You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"

"So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning the Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them."

You see, the angels of the Lord, all of Heaven rejoiced because once again, why were they rejoicing? Emmanuel, God was dwelling with man again, just like He had intended in the Garden. He was making all things right, all things complete, all things whole, dwelling physically with humanity. But this time, it wasn't in a beautiful garden, but in a cold, carnal, and at times a very evil world. Our Father demonstrated His perfect love, that the light of Jesus could cast out all darkness for those who believe and received His gift of salvation. He gave that to us as a perfect assurance.

The Father even wrapped the gift, didn't He? He even wrapped His gift. We read this wonderful gift was wrapped in swaddling cloths, and placed Him in a place that all walks of life could see, believe, and call upon. Even the shepherds, as you know your biblical history, were once considered outcasts, could behold the one true living God. He wasn't born in a castle where only the nobles and the wealthy could seek Him. He wasn't born in a monastery where only the religious leaders could behold Him. He was born in a way that all of humanity could identify and embrace Him.

Even as He left the Earth, He gave us another gift, didn't He? He’s a gift-giver, our God. What did He give us? His Spirit. The Holy Spirit as a seal. It’s a promise, it’s a guarantee to express His commitment to continue to dwell with us forever, even now, friends. We’ve been made whole. We’ve been made complete in Jesus. Nothing is missing in our hearts any longer since Jesus has made home with me. He’s given me the greatest Christmas gift ever. He’s given it every moment of every day, His unwavering, His unconditional love.

I’m loved by God, the God of the universe, and so are you. Just take that in tonight, beloved, as we sing and we worship our Lord Jesus, our God, our Father. Wherever you can be, you can hear this and immediately be partakers to know that God is with us, and He’s invited all to be with us, to be with Him in a great relationship based on love. To Jesus, forever is forever. He’s not grammatically challenged. To experience a real love without any impurity of mankind, right? You just need to say, "I do," to the Bridegroom, "I believe," and just remember nothing sweeter to God’s ears. Disney is not the happiest place on Earth, friends.

Guest (Female): What?

Matt VanderVen: Somebody lied to me. Being in the arms of your true love, Jesus Christ, is the happiest place on Earth for me. The Garden was the beginning. Jesus in your heart is the culmination. Today, we are closer than ever before to celebrating our next Christmas in Heaven. Have you thought about that? Romans chapter 13, verse 11 teaches us and tells us in love: "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of your sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed."

I know this has been a difficult year for the entire world, for all of humanity. Many have lost jobs, family members, friends. In some ways, we’re actually closer in identity to those of the early church, the second-century Christian brothers and sisters who weren't entangled in the affairs of this world and this life because there was nothing that this life could offer compared to Jesus Christ. For me, the world in all its glimmer has lost. I count it all loss. I believe God answered the prayers of many that prayed the Lord would remove the distractions. I think of Sunday night after Sunday night we would gather and many of us would sit here, this is pre-COVID, and I was looking at Liz just remembering as she would pray it and I would pray it and the whole fellowship would pray for...

Guest (Male): Revival.

Matt VanderVen: We prayed for a great awakening. Well, maybe He’s doing what we didn't even know could happen. Maybe He’s doing it in a way that we didn't expect. According to some of the Google research data, back in March and April timeframe, there was five times more searches conducted on the word "end times." Even unbelievers know He’s coming. And the believers that haven't read their Bible want to know what does it mean and am I ready. I want you to think about that timeframe.

It wasn't just one year; it was since they’ve been collecting the data. You’re talking 15 years. This year alone, in the span of that March and April, five times more than ever in the last 15 years. Well, maybe that’s not enough. Maybe God’s just getting warmed up. According to a research group study, 35 million Americans who seldom pray or go to church have reported that they started praying during this pandemic for the first time ever. 35 million. I think of how many thousands have gotten saved.

So much has changed with so many people working online in that time of a lockdown, those weeks. Didn't everything around us seem to slow down? Some actually had dinner together for the first time in years, by the way. We were able to turn our eyes to Jesus and His kingdom and our purpose to settle that in our hearts. For us, it wasn't a crisis moment. For us, we knew we were going home. We’re closer than we’ve ever been. While much of the world was quite honestly fearful and uncertain what to do, we had assurance.

We could be at peace and rest. We could be about our Father’s business. And 35 million people called out to God. I praise the Lord Jesus for that. Our eyes were turned to Jesus, and maybe, just maybe, that’s the sign He wanted to give us. Emmanuel, God with us. The sign was Himself and that we shouldn't turn our eyes to an inanimate object, monument, but the one true God who before creation even began, desired community, fellowship, walking in the Garden. That’s it.

I know it sounds overly simple, but that’s what the Christmas message has always been about. It’s been about being with our Lord and Him being with us and being able to enjoy that *koinonia*, that fellowship, that intimacy, that complete and whole relationship that we can get and fulfill from no one and nowhere else. No matter how awful and evil this world shall get, we can know with all certainty that our beloved Jesus will come for His children because He promised to come the first time, and He’s promised to come again.

For 6,000 years, He has been telling us, "I’m coming again." And that’s because He loves you and He cares for you and He wants you to want Him to come, and He wants you to want to be with Him, and He wants you to look and long for that time when you get to hold His hand again and walk, a walkabout with the Lord. A walkabout. Christmas is our coming home celebration. God is with us. But friends, we must remember that Jesus did tell us that there would be difficult times and the love of many would grow cold. He did tell us that, didn't He?

Guest (Female): Yes.

Matt VanderVen: That's right. In Matthew chapter 24, verse 12, it says, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved." He also told us something so sweet and encouraging. Turn in your Bibles to First John, please. Look at chapter four. Please look at verses 18 and 19. Look at verse 17 actually: "Love has been perfected"—First John chapter four, verse 17. Remember, it all began with a love, didn't it? In the Garden, it all began with the love of Jesus Christ. And now we see it will end that way too.

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this what? World. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We agapao"—there’s that word, unconditional love. He’s the author of that love, the unconditional love that we have towards Him. You know the word *agape*. You’re familiar with that term. It’s the same idea; it’s just a different conjugation of that. "We love Him because He first loved us."

So what’s the answer? Perfect love is the answer, and the only one that has ever demonstrated perfect love is who? Jesus Christ. Friends, that’s how we know we’re going to be okay. We’re to love Jesus and love our brothers, our sisters, and God’s going to promptly deal with the rest of the affairs of this world. Please remember He has not abdicated His throne. He’s still very much on the throne and still very much in love with us and in control. As I tell you often, Jesus said that you are the apple of His eye. He’s madly in love with you. He wants to spend time with you. So my encouragement for you this Christmas is spend time with Him. Take a walk with Him. As we read in Genesis, He likes that. Get to know His footsteps the way Adam and Eve did. His embrace. Be consumed with Jesus. Be all-consumed with Jesus.

Guest (Male): What a good and needed reminder today on *His Perfect Love* to spend time with Jesus this Christmas, to realize that God is with us and has invited us to be with Him in a loving relationship. Pastor Matt VanderVen is our Bible teacher. And I'll remind you this five-part Christmas series will be posted online at hisperfectlove.org and oneplace.com, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Don't go away; Matt will be right back.

If you'd like to support this radio ministry with a year-end gift, there is a place to do that at hisperfectlove.org. Pastor Matt loves to hear back from his listeners, so shoot him an email today. Let him know what God is up to in your life and how we can pray for you and what stood out to you in today's message. Email us there at the website hisperfectlove.org. And whether you live in or around Mechanicsburg, PA, or will be visiting the area soon, we'd love to have you join us for a service during the Christmas season at Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore. Sunday morning services begin at 8:30 and 10:30. We have a midweek service too, Wednesdays at 7:00 PM. You'll find us at 28 North Locust Point Road in Mechanicsburg, PA. Go to ccharrisburg.org for more information. As promised, here's Pastor Matt to close our time together.

Matt VanderVen: I’m going to leave you with some of the most beautiful words echoed as we read them earlier by the angels and the shepherds as they began praising and singing to our Lord and Savior: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" So be kind. Love one another. Never let your love grow cold. Never let your ember go out because Jesus is the light of the world. Let His perfect love refract or reflect in you this Christmas and every day. Amen. Merry Christmas, my beloved.

Guest (Male): Our Christmas series resumes tomorrow on *His Perfect Love* with Pastor Matt. Join us in these days leading up to Christmas as we celebrate Jesus together. *His Perfect Love* is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Harrisburg West Shore.