Followed By Mercy

The Word Made Flesh: Love Moves In

• W. Austin Gardner

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Christmas isn’t about us reaching up to God, but about God coming to live with us? The Word who created galaxies and then shared our skin, our hunger, our fears, and even our accents. The incarnation made clear: love that comes close.

We start with a story about a runaway daughter and a father who searches for her, finds her, and, in a surprising twist, moves into her broken world. This picture shifts faith from following rules to being rescued. From there, we follow the story from creation’s carefully prepared 'nursery,' to the serpent’s lie, and then to God’s long-promised answer: the Creator entering creation. Not as a visitor, but as a neighbor who understands the pain of need and the hurt of loss.

John tells us we saw His glory, full of grace and truth. This isn’t about balancing the two, but about a fullness that never runs out. We discuss how grace is a favor for those who don’t deserve it, and truth is faithful love that always keeps its promise. The result is a Savior who, even when pressed, lets mercy overflow.

If you’ve ever heard that God scolds before He loves, this conversation offers a new perspective. You’ll hear how the Word made flesh changes shame into welcome and turns striving into rest.

Listen, reflect, and take in the good news that God didn’t stay far away. He moved in next door, and He’s still here, full of grace and truth, ready to welcome you home.

In this episode:

• The incarnation explained in plain sight
• From creation to the cross: the rescue story unfolding
• Jesus’ ordinary life and shared humanity
• Grace and truth contrasted with religion’s rule-keeping
• Lost-and-found stories that end in feasting, not scolding
• An invitation to trust Jesus—or to pause and give thanks

Closing Line:
Trust Him today as your Savior. If you already belong to Him, take a moment to be thankful for the grace that is overflowing.

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Austin Gardner:

To share with you one of the most wonderful, beautiful stories of all the Bible. The Christmas story. John 1, 1 through 14. Read with me if you would. In the beginning, this is how it all got started. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. John came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men might believe. He was not the light, but was sent to bear witness of the light. That was a true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And here's the verse I really want you to focus on with me today. And the word God, Jesus, fullness of God, was made 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. Father in heaven, in my meager attempt this morning, I want them to see how you love us and how Christmas is a story of your love invading our world to rescue us and take us home where we belong. And I'll give you praise, honor, and glory as you work through me and tell your story of your love in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, there's a story of a man and a woman who were deeply in love. They lived in a very nice house on a nice side of town. They ate the best of foods and slept in a very good bed and had all nice furniture. And in the time of all of this happiness, they found out that they were going to have a baby and they began to prepare everything in the house for the birth of this baby. They couldn't wait for the baby to be born. And everything in the house revolved around the big day when the baby would be born. The nursery was all prepared, and even down to lights and things that swing around above the kid's head and paintings on the wall, and everything is ready because this baby's coming to this family. The baby was born, brought great joy to the family. Everything was wonderful. And they fed that little baby the food the baby liked. Can't believe it, but you know how it is. You spoil the baby. And they hugged the baby and they kissed the baby, and they kissed the baby from the top of its head down to the bottom of its feet. They'd have loved having that baby, and that baby grew up. And the whole time that baby was in the house, everybody in that house, the world revolved around the child. It was something special. And then one day the child grew tired of the constrictions and the confinements of mom and dad's house. And all the love relationship was not as important as freedom. And she decided that she would do what she wanted to do, even if it broke mom and dad's heart. And so one day she just disappeared. And she was gone and she was lost. And mom and dad were in a tinsie. They didn't know what to do, didn't know where to turn, but they knew this. There was no way this was going to stay like that. They were going to find their baby and bring her home. She was lost for the moment, but not lost forever, because her parents would not give up. And they searched day and night, all the time they searched and they looked and they called and they asked everybody and they got help everywhere they could possibly get help with no no results. She remained lost. And then one day they found out where to find her. And they went to where she was and they had to search up and down the streets of that city until they found her. And finally, and finally they found her. But the dad didn't go in angry. He didn't go in, I'm going to whip you. He didn't go in, I'm going to beat you. He didn't go in, I'm going to make you pay for this. He went in like, I found my baby. And I'm going to bring my baby home. The story doesn't end there. They went to the hovel, the shack, where when you run away from home and you don't have any money, when you run away from a loving, kind, caring home, where there's a bond of love and friendship and family, and you run away from that and you go to this other place, you're living in squalor. You're living in poverty. You're basically living on the street. Life's over. You know what a dad does in the story? He just moves in. He just moves in and said, if this is the way you want to live, I love you so much, I'll just live here with you. And I'll eat the foods you eat. And I'll go hungry like you go hungry. And when it gets cold, I'll get cold. And I notice you're sleeping on the floor, so I'll just get me a mat and sleep on the floor with you. And so he did. Until one day he said, Are you tired enough of this? Are you tired enough of this? Because I love you, and I came to rescue you, and I'm going to take you home. And getting home was a party. Getting home was fun. Getting home was all the love back. Because the love had never changed, the heart had never changed. It was the child who had broken the relationship, not the parents. That's a man-made, made-up story. But that's the story of John chapter 1. That's the story of John chapter 1. Those are the lessons you can learn from the big word we call it, incarnation. That's a big word for the fact that God became man. God became man. Look at John 1.14. What did it say? And he he was made flesh. He became one of us. He moved into our squalor. He moved into our poverty. He knew Jesus for 30 years knew what it was like. Can you imagine him getting cussed out by customers? Can you imagine he and his dad have been making this piece and they formed it and they've given a price and everything ought to be that way? And they're not happy and they're griping and they're just trying to get a better deal. Can you imagine the times as a kid? He may have heard his mom and dad having a conversation. I don't know what we're going to eat tomorrow. Or maybe he watched as his mama didn't get as much to eat, and dad got more, and he got more, but mom went without to make sure they had enough. I've seen Peruvian families do that. He lived that life. And he dwelt among us. He became a man and he felt everything you felt. He knew what it was like to be fear attacking him. What are people going to do to us? Will thieves break through and steal? Or are we going to have enough to eat? What are we going to do when it gets cold? He knew about fear. And he knew about the temptations of vices and things that might take his mind off of what was happening. He knew about all of it. But he came to seek and to save. John chapter 1 and verse 14, if you would. The Bible says, and the word was made flesh. Now we're going to go back through it and you'll see it, but in this passage of scripture, the word was with God, and the word was God. And nothing was made on the earth that the word didn't make. The word's Jesus. And Jesus was in the very beginning with the Father. He's the eternal God. He's always been, He's the creator God. But He took on flesh. I need you to imagine with me for just a moment. Just think in terms of the Bible. You realize that long before it ever began, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit were in beautiful and wonderful fellowship. God with God. And everything was great. And God made a plan to create us. God made a plan to create us. And you can make, I don't know if you can, you just probably don't have my imagination. If I can hear them talking, they'll mess up. They ain't like us. Because they're going to be our creation. We're going to make them, but they're not God. They're going to mess up. I want everything we do for them to be so beautiful. Let's just deck the halls. Let's prepare it all and make it wonderful. And so they took six days and created the most wonderful thing you could ever see. All the provision that was ever needed, all the protection that was all ever needed, all the food, all the light, all the water, everything is done perfectly. So there's no doubt this is the most wonderful nursery you've ever seen. It's the most wonderful environment you've ever seen. And every day when they'd finished, they'd go, it's good. We did good today. But on the last day when he made Adam and Eve, he said, it's very good. Now they're happy. And then every day, the word that was in the beginning, he came down and he walked with them. And he talked. He said, Hey, tell me what's going on. What do you think of the world? What do you think of the creation? How you like your nursery? How you like the animals? It was like the most wonderful, sweet, and tender relationship you could ever imagine. Can you imagine? Can you imagine one afternoon? They're just walking, and Adam says, I had no idea when you told me about them mangoes. Them things are good. And he said, Mangoes, nothing. That ain't nothing, God. I like grapefruit. Man, God, it's a wonderful place you made. Wonderful fellowship. And then one day the scummy snake steps into the story and he's a devil in snake form. And he said, God doesn't really love you. And they're like, Yes, he does. Look at all of this. Yeah, but he won't achieve that tree, will he? Because he knows if you ever found out, if you ever eat the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you'll be just like him. You'll know everything you can make your own decisions. But that's not what he wants us to do. But in the day they eat that fruit, they break the relationship. Like the day the daughter snuck out of town. It's over. No, there's been no change on the part of mom and dad when the daughter leaves. They're so terrified and worried about their daughter. How do we find our daughter? How do we get her back? And the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are like, we made them. We love them. How do we get them back? But they had a plan made before it ever happened because they love us. God loves us. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit loves us so much. And that plan was that God would be made flesh. Somehow, the great creator who stands above and beyond it all, outside of time, who made us, joined the gang. Joined the game, came into where we are and became one of us. He was born like a regular human being is born. He was born in a gush of water and blood, just like we were. He sucked at his mother's breast, just like we did. His mama changed his doper just like happened with us. He got burped. He spit up. You ever notice how babies do that kind of stuff? He was made flesh. And he grew in wisdom and sature with God and man. He grew up like we grew up. So the first thing I want you to realize is God so loved the world that the creator God stepped out of who he was, still being who he was, still being who he is, and became one of us. He became one so that he could sit by the side of us when a loved one dies and say, I know what that feels like. I loved Lazarus. And I cried when he died. I love you. And I hurt when you hurt. He knew what it was like to walk into a room and see a person sick and in pain and agony and to feel for them because he became flesh. He knew what it was like to see people sick. He knew what it was like to see people hungry. He knew what it was like to see outcasts because they had leprosy on the outside edge of the village and they're being laughed at and mocked and cursed. He knew what it was like to wake up one morning and for somebody to look down at their skin and say, honey, I'm scared. Is that leprosy? Is this the beginning of leprosy? Jesus became flesh. That's the first step. The next thing was he dwelt among us. The word dwelt there means he moved in to stay. It wasn't a, he didn't go to the motel. Now when Betty and I travel, Betty moves in to wherever we go. As soon as we pull up, I gotta unload enough luggage to take care of you for five years. Honestly, five years. I mean, you're gonna be gone one day. Two pairs of underwear is enough. That's one for tomorrow, and the next trip you need it. She got 150 pairs. And you pull in, and I gotta get all of it out. And then we get in the room, she says, I gotta get unpacked. I said, We're leaving tomorrow. But she opens up the suitcase and she empties everything out, and everything's got a drawer, and she says, This is your drawer. I said, For how long? She said, Oh, the next eight or ten hours. Boy, what a dingbad. Amen. I married her for 52 years, but that's weird. Come on. That's not what Jesus did. Jesus moved in and dwelt among us. He lived here. He lived here so long and in such a way that when he finally decides to start the ministry at the age of 30, people said, Who is that guy? Somebody else said, Who does he think he is? I know his daddy. I know his mama. I know his brothers and sisters. Who does he think he is? He became one of us. He learned to speak the Hebrew language just like he was one of them. He had their accent. He had their inflection when he spoke. He dwelt among us. The word dwelt there is the same word they use when he built the tabernacle in the tent and said, I'm going to live there. I'm going to dwell there. That's where I'm going to stay. He came to stay. I need you to understand because I'm really messed up and not going to get all the message to you, but see, it's the incarnation when God made flesh, when God was made flesh, that is, God took on humanness. Humanness. Would y'all like to have an idea of what Jesus looks like? Look in the mirror. Oh, he might be taller than you. Or darker skin or lighter skin. Might have different kinds of eyebrows. But you know what he had? He had a nose. And lips. And cheekbones. Was his neck long or short? I don't know. Was he kind of thin and compact or was he a little bit bigger? Since he was Jewish in that day and time, he was only probably five foot five, maybe. Jewish man. He dwelt among us. He lived among us. He became human. You want to hear a wild one? He still is. He's the he's the God man. In fact, is in heaven, when you see him, he says, I can still show you the scars. That's what they did to me. He didn't just go back to being a spirit. He became one of us. And this isn't part of the message, but that's so he can look at you and say, I understand you. I know what it feels like. When you're losing a loved one, your mom dies, or your dad dies, and somebody says, Oh, it'll be okay. You know, you'll miss them for a while, but it'll be okay. And you're like, you probably hadn't lost your mom or dad, have you? You can tell right off, no? They don't understand. I've been known to tell people they'd be asking me, How are you doing? And I try not to even say. And then finally somebody said, No, come on, really. I said, Well, I've got cancer. And they say, I got a stomachache too. And you know what I find works best for my problem? I'm like, oh, give me a break. Everybody ever Meat's got a solution to my problem. I mean, I've been told to eat cactus leaves. I've been told to eat the cactus flower that grows on top of the cactus leaf. I've been taught to eat certain fit, there's fish junk. Everybody's got a vitamin. Everybody knows about a vitamin. But Jesus doesn't do that. He said, I know exactly what it's like to be you. I know what it's exactly. I know what it's like to have a punk baby brother. Because he did. I know what it's like to have sisters, because he did. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Now I'm going to skip the part in parentheses just for a second to go to this. And he was full of grace and truth. Yeah. First off, the word truth there is not a word for law or rules. It's a word that in the Greek meant he always tells the truth. He's full of truth. In other words, he can't lie. He's full of, I'm always the same. He's full of faithfulness. He's full of being who he says he is. Have you ever been around one of those people? Have you ever been around one of those people that when when you see them in private, they can be pretty nice to you, but in public they act like they've never seen you? You know, you're like, I don't know who he thinks he is. Yesterday he was pretty nice to me. Today he acts like he had never even met me. Had a guy come back from Lima one time, a Peruvian pastor, and he said, I was up in Lima, and he said, When you had that guy down here preaching, he treated us all like we were somebody. But I saw him in Lima and he treated me like he'd never even heard of me. Well, that's not Jesus. He's full of truth. He's like, if you saw me yesterday, you see me today, I'm still the same old guy. I'm faithful. Fact is, I don't change. I was this way yesterday, and I was I am this way today, and I will be this way forever. You don't ever have to worry about me changing. Nothing changes. I'm truth. Then it says he's full of grace. He's full of grace. Grace is loving kindness, grace is mercy, grace is God loving you, loving you so much. But the word I want to focus on just for a second is full, full of grace and mercy. Of grace and truth. Full of grace and truth. Now, I drink out of a large mug. I mean, it'll hold a good, an entire Diet Mountain dew and some ice. It'll hold it all in one jug. And I drink, I drink a lot of that every day. I know it's causing me cancer. I've been told that a hundred times. If you quit drinking that, you wouldn't have cancer. But I'm like, good night, I've already quit everything else, so just let me have my diet mountain dew. Amen. But let me tell you what happens at our house. My wife will bring that cup in and she'll set it down, and she never fills it up, ever. She'll fill it up to about that close to the top, and then she'll say, That's full. She walks out, I reach her, I pour more in. I'm like, that ain't full. She said, You put any more in, it's gonna spill. I have to admit, I spill it all the time. I reach over and I grab it. And when I go take a drink, I I leave, I soak my t-shirt. Because it's just full. When I say full, I mean full. Can I get an amen? No, ho. You know what? Jesus is full of grace and truth. You know what happens, don't you? You jostle him. Grace and truth fall out. You spill it all over your t-shirt because he's full of it. He's up to the brim and over. I like a lot of ice. I often mound the ice up outside of my cup. And I don't, it's not totally full, but as it begins to melt, it'll actually overflow. She's not in there most of the time. When I see it, I'm cleaning that up quick because she'd come in and go, I told you that was too full. How many of y'all married your mother? Say amen. Jesus is full of grace and truth. I know what you're wondering. Does he love me today? Because you see, last night I messed up again. Well, let me put it to you this way. He's full. He's full of grace. He's full of truth. He never runs out. In fact, his Betty sometimes says, you need to take a sup of that before you pick it up. If you don't, you're gonna spill it. I'm like, that's the way I like it. That's the way I like the Lord too. Because he's full. With some of you, not really you personally, I don't know if you like me today or not. I don't know if tomorrow you might change. Not with my father. Not with Jesus. He's full of being the same all the time. You wake up on the day you preached your best sermon, and he's full of grace and truth. You wake up on the day you preached your worst sermon, he's full of grace and truth. You wake up on the day after you gave away a thousand dollars to help somebody, he's full of grace and truth. You wake up on the day you stole money. He don't like that. But he'd still be full of grace and truth. Because he's full of grace and truth. Here's a beautiful thing. I need you to understand that when the dad found the girl in the room living in squalor, things were dirty, no bathroom close and easily accessible. She did not want to be found. Because she was kind of tired of dad's rules. She was tired of being told what to do. Dad didn't stop loving. Dad loved her on the day she was at home and everything was great, and dad loved her on the day she ran away. Dad loved her while she was living in the filth, and dad moved in, but she didn't want him to. But see, Dad in the story is a representative of Jesus who's full of grace and truth. Do you understand that? He's full of grace and truth. I'd like to go ahead and tell you that I can prove to you biblically that when he found us, he's so full of grace and truth, he didn't scold us. He didn't condemn us, he didn't give us a series of rules and regulations to follow. He just said, sin pays death, but I give salvation. The gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You say, how can you prove that? Well, when the sheep, the little lamb, escaped from the foe and ran away. I've heard Baptist preachers all my 71 years of life talk about how when he found that sheep, he hit that sheep, he broke its leg. He broke that sheep's leg so it couldn't get away no more. He drug that sheep home. Well, I don't know what story they're telling, but ain't the story Jesus told, can I get an amen? I do think he probably tied his legs. He reached down and grabbed him, put him around his neck, and tied him so he wouldn't fall off, held him securely, and all the way back to the all the way back to the sheep fold, he would just say, Man, I'm so glad I found you. I love you. You're my sheep, you're my little lamb. Come on home. We're gonna have a party tonight. And you ain't gonna be that sandwich meat. Amen. Because in the story I was told by the Baptist preachers was probably he's gonna barbecue you tonight. He didn't barbecue him, he was glad he had him home. Can I get an amen? They found a lost coin, and when he found a coin, he just, the little girl just had a party. Come be with me. And when the when the prodigal son returned home, the the mother, the father, excuse me, is waiting and goes running and excited and walks out on the porch and picks up her, picks up the kid and loves on the kid and and spends time with the kid. And you know how many rules he gave him? The kid's going, I'm not worthy, he says. Let's have a party. He doesn't look at him and say, Yeah, you're. He doesn't look at him and say, now you're gonna have to, you got to memorize the Ten Commandments. And you're gonna have to, you've got to stand before the church and tell them you're sorry. You're a bum. He didn't do anything. He just said, let's have a party. My boys, come home. So let me read to you John 1.14 one more time. The Bible says, and the word was made flesh. God, the creator, the eternal, came and was made flesh. And the people on earth didn't want him. He came to his own, and his own received him not. And then we beheld his glory. You know what his glory is? It's I am in the squalor and I am living, breaking the relationship, and he loves me so much, he finds me and he says, if you'll just receive me, I give you the power to be made a son of God. Because God loves you right where you are, right what you're doing, right what's happening in your life, he is full of grace and truth. And I want to challenge you from the bottom of my heart to trust him today as your Savior. And if not, if you're already saved, to be so grateful and thankful for all that he's done. Father in heaven, I love you and I thank you for the chance to serve you, and I pray that.

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Austin Gardner

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