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God-Sends-His-Son · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Why am I but she we watched that the blood
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Speaker 1: time at a job broad her bread to joy or
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Speaker 1: joys me the bas by.
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Speaker 2: He shall be as So she didn't see.
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Speaker 1: He didn't know the chi toody. So all crazy do
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Speaker 1: read to do it.
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Speaker 2: To the familiar story of our Savior's birth is recorded
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Speaker 2: in Luke chapter two. If you will locate that in
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Speaker 2: your bible, that would help you follow along. And once
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Speaker 2: you've located Luke two, be reading just the first seven verses.
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Speaker 2: Then turn to one other, and you might put the
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Speaker 2: little ribbon from your bible or your worship holder at
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Speaker 2: second Corinthians nine, just the one final verse at that
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Speaker 2: chapter two Corinthians nine, verse fifteen, the first Luke two
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Speaker 2: one to seven. I'll be reading from the new American
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Speaker 2: standard version, please stand, or the reading of God's word. Now,
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Speaker 2: in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
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Speaker 2: that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
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Speaker 2: This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor
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Speaker 2: of Syria, and everyone was on his way to register
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Speaker 2: the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went
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Speaker 2: up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea,
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Speaker 2: to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because
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Speaker 2: he was of the house and family of David, in
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Speaker 2: order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to
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Speaker 2: him and was with child. While they were there, the
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Speaker 2: days were completed for her to give birth, and she
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Speaker 2: gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him
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Speaker 2: in cloths and laid him in a manger because there
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Speaker 2: was no room for them in the inn. And one
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Speaker 2: other verse fifteen of Second Corinthians nine. Thanks be to
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Speaker 2: God for his indescribable gift. Amen, Amen, you may be seated,
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Speaker 2: join me, will you? Before this morning's offering. We pause
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Speaker 2: this day, our Father, the significant day. We recognize your
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Speaker 2: son's birth and were grateful that it was a plan
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Speaker 2: that you had put together from eternity past. And as
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Speaker 2: the days were accomplished and just at the right time
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Speaker 2: according to your plan, that baby was born and was
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Speaker 2: watched over Batu, who loved him dearly and reared him well.
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Speaker 2: Thank you for the difference he makes, not just in
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Speaker 2: coming to this earth, but when he comes into our
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Speaker 2: lives to fill the empty spaces, to provide light in
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Speaker 2: the midst of our darkness. And hope beyond our sinful nature.
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Speaker 2: Thank You for the preservation of his sinless life through
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Speaker 2: the virgin birth of Mary. In this profound plan, you
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Speaker 2: have put together an arrangement that keeps him sinless and
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Speaker 2: provides for us the spotless Lamb who would take away
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Speaker 2: the sins of the world. And we cannot think of
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Speaker 2: Bethlehem without also remembering Calvary. How grateful we are for
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Speaker 2: the mission that he accomplished. Unlike us who come to live,
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Speaker 2: he came to die, and having died, he rescued us
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Speaker 2: from our complete difficulty and inability to rescue ourselves. And
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Speaker 2: thank you Father for all that Jesus Christ means, especially
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Speaker 2: on this day when we remember his birth. For the
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Speaker 2: many who were laid aside, we pray today for them,
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Speaker 2: Christmas is not all that they had hoped it to be.
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Speaker 2: So we prayed that You would use others to lift
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Speaker 2: their spirits and strengthen them through the presence of loved ones.
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Speaker 2: We pray for nursing staffs today who minister in hospitals.
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Speaker 2: For those who are on the police force watch over
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Speaker 2: our safety, protect them and encourage them. How grateful we
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Speaker 2: are for each one. Thank You for those who declare
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Speaker 2: the good news today around the world, some in difficult,
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Speaker 2: rugged places, others in sophisticated places. But in each your
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Speaker 2: word is being declared, and we pray that it will
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Speaker 2: go forth with power and effectiveness. We commit to you
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Speaker 2: this time of worship that we have before us. Now,
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Speaker 2: just as you gave to us, we give now to you.
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Speaker 2: And we do so full and overflowing gratitude, as we
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Speaker 2: let the wonder in and release to you our offerings
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Speaker 2: in the name of Jesus, who came that we might
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Speaker 2: live and have life more abundant. We pray everyone said, amen,
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Speaker 2: the words are so familiar. You can help me finish
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Speaker 2: the opening lines. I'll start, and then you join in
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Speaker 2: twas the night before Christmas went all through the house,
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Speaker 2: not now. Isn't that fascinating? You did not know I
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Speaker 2: was going to do that. You hadn't any time to prepare.
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Speaker 2: But because you're so familiar with those words, familiarity made
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Speaker 2: it possible for you to join write in, and you
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Speaker 2: quoted it perfectly. There are so many things we know
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Speaker 2: like that, but having quoted them or having learned them,
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Speaker 2: there are many more things about those things that we
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Speaker 2: don't know. Let's stay with that piece. It's not really
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Speaker 2: called twas the Night before Christmas. It's called A Visit
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Speaker 2: from Saint Nicholas. That's the exact title. Do you know
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Speaker 2: who wrote it? Probably not. His name is Clement Clark Moore.
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Speaker 2: You know when he wrote it? Have any idea over
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Speaker 2: one hundred and ninety years ago? You know why he
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Speaker 2: wrote it? You're again you know the words, but you
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Speaker 2: don't know why he wrote them. Well, Clement Moore had
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Speaker 2: six children, and he wrote the little piece like a
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Speaker 2: ballad for all six of his children. Did he write
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Speaker 2: anything else like other poems for children? Oh no, no.
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Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, he did write, and I
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Speaker 2: quote the book, a compendious lexicon of the Hebrew language.
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Speaker 2: Who would have ever guessed that? But of course, because
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Speaker 2: you don't know of Clement Moore, you wouldn't realize he
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Speaker 2: is a Greek and Hebrew scholar. In fact, he was
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Speaker 2: a rather distinguished professor of linguistics at a seminary, an
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Speaker 2: Episcopal seminary. He wrote this poem, The Visit from Saint
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Speaker 2: Nicholas anonymously on purpose. I guess we could use the words.
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Speaker 2: He felt it was a little bit beneath his dignity,
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Speaker 2: shall we say, for a linguistic scholar to write, it
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Speaker 2: was the night before Christmas, all through the house, and
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Speaker 2: the creature was stirring, not even a mouse. By the way,
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Speaker 2: he got that line from a mouse. You know where
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Speaker 2: he got that William Shakespeare, Act one, Seene one Hamlet.
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Speaker 2: He refers to a mouse, a little detail regarding a
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Speaker 2: mouse on the loose, And he picked it up from there,
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Speaker 2: and he also learned a little bit of that style
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Speaker 2: from Washington Irving. He considered the piece he wrote that
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Speaker 2: you and I can quote and enjoy most every Christmas,
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Speaker 2: especially when reading to our children and grandchildren. He called
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Speaker 2: it a mere trifle, just a mere trifle, because you see,
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Speaker 2: this is a fascinating series of background facts that you
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Speaker 2: don't know, and often to enjoy it you don't have
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Speaker 2: to know. But when you know them, it gives greater
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Speaker 2: meaning to what is familiar to most people. Things we
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Speaker 2: can quote often have a story behind them we've not
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Speaker 2: researched or known before. Ample the Birth of Jesus, The
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Speaker 2: Birth of Jesus. I want you to listen to the
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Speaker 2: opening line, and if your lips aren't moving before I finish,
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Speaker 2: it's unusual it came to pass in those days that
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Speaker 2: they went out a decree from that all the world
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Speaker 2: should be. Isn't that interesting? You can quote that right
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Speaker 2: out of Luke chapter two, but you remember when you
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Speaker 2: first heard it? Probably not. I think I first heard
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Speaker 2: those words from Luke too, when I was just a
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Speaker 2: little boy in a little Baptist church in El Campo, Texas.
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Speaker 2: Our pastor manfred Enman was teaching from Luke two, and
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Speaker 2: my earliest recollection was his reading this story. And my
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Speaker 2: little ears perked up when I heard about a decree.
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Speaker 2: I didn't know what that meant. And then I heard
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Speaker 2: about Caesar. I had a buddy who had a dog
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Speaker 2: named Caesar, and I wondered how a dog owned by
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Speaker 2: a ni god named Augustus could bark out an order
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Speaker 2: that would make everybody move all around and wind up
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Speaker 2: in a place like where Bethlehem? Why there? And all
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Speaker 2: of it sort of ran together. So in the days
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Speaker 2: that followed I have done some work on it, as
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Speaker 2: you would imagine, and so much of it makes better sense,
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Speaker 2: Just like that little ballad I quoted to begin with.
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Speaker 2: You appreciate it more knowing who wrote it and why,
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Speaker 2: and how long ago did I tell you eighteen to
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Speaker 2: twenty three he wrote it. But this is written way
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Speaker 2: back in the first century by a physician. The physician
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Speaker 2: wrote the details of Jesus' birth. Of course, it makes
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Speaker 2: sense his name doctor Luke, and he writes of well, Interesting,
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Speaker 2: when you read the story in Luke two, the first
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Speaker 2: person he names isn't Mary or Joseph. It isn't an
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Speaker 2: angel or one of the shepherds. Interesting, it isn't even Jesus.
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Speaker 2: It's Augustus, which wasn't even his name. It was a
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Speaker 2: name they gave him. His name. Gaius Arcadius born in
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Speaker 2: Italy sixty BC. He was in fact related to Julius,
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Speaker 2: who was the caesar, and Julius was his great uncle
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Speaker 2: on his mother's side. Julius got picked off in forty
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Speaker 2: four BC, and to the amazement after that assassination, when
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Speaker 2: the will was read, Gaius Octavius was the only one
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Speaker 2: recognized in the will as being the sole heir to
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Speaker 2: the inheritance. So at age nineteen, Gaius Octavius became Emperor
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Speaker 2: of the Romans, the Roman Caesar. There's more. The senate
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Speaker 2: ingratitude for the peace that Octavius restored to a batter.
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Speaker 2: Empire heaped honor upon honor on this man, gave him
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Speaker 2: incredible power, the most powerful man in the empire. They
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Speaker 2: proclaimed him Emperor, which was their word Caesar, and they
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Speaker 2: gave him the title Augustus, which evoked reverential awe and authority,
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Speaker 2: unhindered control over all of the affairs of the empire.
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Speaker 2: You may not know it, but they considered individuals in
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Speaker 2: that category a god, a god, little g but a
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Speaker 2: god which troubled them when the Christians worshiped another God,
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Speaker 2: and led to the persecution that followed. At the time
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Speaker 2: of Jesus' birth, the Roman Empire was massive. It encompassed
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Speaker 2: fifty five million people. It stretched from the English Channel
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Speaker 2: through present day Europe, all of Europe to the lands
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Speaker 2: of the Eastern Mediterranean, down to Egypt, back across North
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Speaker 2: Africa all the way over to Spain, massive land mass.
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Speaker 2: In the eyes of those living in the empire, Rome
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Speaker 2: controlled the entire civilized world. All of this political intrigue
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Speaker 2: would affect Mary and Joseph in an indirect way, because
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Speaker 2: Augustus realized, as his kingdom was progressing, that more money
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Speaker 2: was going out than was coming in, so it needed
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Speaker 2: a way to determine the size of his kingdom. There
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Speaker 2: were several reasons therefore for the ordering of the census.
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Speaker 2: Three I found to be worth mentioning. Number One, it
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Speaker 2: would give the emperor there or some idea of how
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Speaker 2: many male Roman citizens lived in the empire. Second, his
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Speaker 2: enrollment would push the noses of the empire's conquered people
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Speaker 2: into Roman authority. He was determined for everyone to know
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Speaker 2: in the kingdom who was boss, who led the world,
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Speaker 2: and there was no question about it. As he saw himself,
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Speaker 2: he did. But the most useful function of the census
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Speaker 2: was taxation. By the way, what an interesting little tidbit.
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Speaker 2: When I was a kid, I didn't know what taxes meant.
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Speaker 2: I remember asking my dad, and his comment was worth remembering.
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Speaker 2: You'll know someday, son, Well, we all know what it means.
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Speaker 2: But in those days, they realized if they're gonna get
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Speaker 2: the money, they're going to have to get it through taxing.
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Speaker 2: The people running an empire required money, and Caesar Augustus
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Speaker 2: wanted everyone's contribution, so a decree went out that everyone
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Speaker 2: in the Roman Empire should register in the city of
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Speaker 2: their ancestral family's origin. Joseph related to the line of
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Speaker 2: David explains why Joseph was required to go to Bethlehem.
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Speaker 2: He didn't have to take Mary. Women didn't register, only men.
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Speaker 2: But she was heavy with child, very close to delivery,
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Speaker 2: and I'm sure in their conversation together there was a
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Speaker 2: determination that she would go along, as uncomfortable as it was.
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Speaker 2: All of that background material for what appears in our
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Speaker 2: lips move when we read it. There went out a
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Speaker 2: decree in the days of Caesar Augustus that the whole
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Speaker 2: world would be taxed by the way a word about Joseph.
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Speaker 2: A number of reasons they had to be concerned about
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Speaker 2: their lives. First of all, being Jewish and living under
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Speaker 2: Roman rule, they were like nothing. They were a conquered people.
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Speaker 2: In addition to that, because she was pregnant out of wedlock,
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Speaker 2: and it was obvious shortly after the ceremony that she
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Speaker 2: was very much pregnant, they were shunned by the people
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Speaker 2: of their community. Easy to forget that and to pass
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Speaker 2: it off as insignificant until you have been shunned. And
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Speaker 2: if you've known shunning, then you know the heartbreak that
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Speaker 2: it brings. The humiliation that was theirs throughout their months
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Speaker 2: remaining in Nazareth before they took the trip down to Bethlehem.
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Speaker 2: Both were pulled between wanting to be obedient to God's
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Speaker 2: plan and yet forced to obey Caesar's demanding decree. Were
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Speaker 2: never told in detail that their going to Bethlehem did
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Speaker 2: not surprise them, or did surprise them except for the
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Speaker 2: fact that he was the register at his place of
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Speaker 2: ancestral origin. I want to think that they realized that
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Speaker 2: this was very clearly the way God was lining all
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Speaker 2: the facts together that had been set forth in the scriptures.
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Speaker 2: For Mike of the Prophet had said, from Bethlehem a
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Speaker 2: ruler will be born. They made the journey ninety miles
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Speaker 2: south of Nazareth down to Bethlehem, and they arrived exhausted.
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Speaker 2: After that lengthy, lengthy journey. Both had to have been
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Speaker 2: disappointed when there was no room in the inn. We
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Speaker 2: go over those words quickly because we're familiar with them,
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Speaker 2: but we forget our first born. We forget the importance
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Speaker 2: of the health of our baby. We tend to forget
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Speaker 2: the value of a good doctor and a nursing staff
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Speaker 2: to assist or midwife if that would be our choice.
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Speaker 2: And can you imagine when they finally wound up in
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Speaker 2: the one place that was available. Either it was a
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Speaker 2: cave out of limestone rock where animals would sometime gather
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Speaker 2: for shelter, or it was the back of the inn,
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Speaker 2: an animal enclosure. I like the way Philip Yancy puts
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Speaker 2: it in his book on Jesus. After Jesus was born
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Speaker 2: tiny baby, a mule could have stepped on him, just
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Speaker 2: a little tidbit to put it in the in the
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Speaker 2: real setting, unlike the normal Nativity scene that we see
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Speaker 2: all around us. One man describes it in in rather
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Speaker 2: coarse detailed The sheep corral filthy as only an Eastern
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Speaker 2: animal enclosure can be reaked pungently, with manure and urine
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Speaker 2: accumulated across the seasons. Joseph cleared a corner just large
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Speaker 2: enough for Mary to lie down, and the dirt birth
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Speaker 2: pains that started. She writhed in agony on the ground.
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Speaker 2: Pause and imagine that they're alone. She's on the ground. Joseph,
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Speaker 2: in his inexperience and unknowing manly manner, did his best
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Speaker 2: to reassure her his own outer tunic would be her bed,
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Speaker 2: his rough saddle bag, her pillow, hay straw and other
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Speaker 2: animal fodder was nonexistent. This was not he hay or
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Speaker 2: grain growing country stock barely survived by grazing on the
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Speaker 2: sparse vegetation that sprang from the semi desert terrain around
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Speaker 2: the town. Merry moaned and groaned in the darkness of
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Speaker 2: the shelter. Joseph swept away the dust and dirt from
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Speaker 2: a small space in one of the hand hewn mangers
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Speaker 2: carved from the soft limestone rock covered with cobwebs and
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Speaker 2: debris that was fallen from the ceiling there. As best
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Speaker 2: as he could, he arranged the place where Mary could
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Speaker 2: lay the newborn babe, all bundled up with clothes that
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Speaker 2: she had brought along. There get this alone, unaided, without
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Speaker 2: a friend or even a stranger to witness her ordeal.
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Speaker 2: In the darkness, Mary delivered her son, a more lowly
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Speaker 2: or humbled birth. It is impossible to imagine. It was
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Speaker 2: the unpretentious entrance, if you will, the stage entrance of
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Speaker 2: the Son of Man, the Son of God, God, very God,
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Speaker 2: in human guise and form upon earth. Stage. In the
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Speaker 2: dim darkness of the stable, a new sound was heard,
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Speaker 2: the infant cry of a newborn baby. These peasant parents
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Speaker 2: were the first of multiplid millions upon millions in the
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Speaker 2: centuries to follow, who would be cheered and comforted by
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Speaker 2: the sounds that came from that voice. God has come,
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Speaker 2: God is with his people. Emmanuel I sat alone in
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Speaker 2: my study with the lights off, late one evening and
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Speaker 2: pondered all of this study so much cleaner than anything
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Speaker 2: they had around them. So I tried to imagine that
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Speaker 2: the first time he inhaled, it was the manure and
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Speaker 2: urine he smelled from our contaminated planet, and he would
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Speaker 2: encounter contamination far worse than that, as he met up
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Speaker 2: with the sins of the world. At every turn he
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Speaker 2: was seen as an illegitimate, never received the respect. John
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Speaker 2: puts it well, though succinctly. He came into his own things,
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Speaker 2: but his own ones did not welcome him. You remember
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Speaker 2: the crass line from one of the gatherings with the Pharisees.
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Speaker 2: As they were arguing with him, and they said to him,
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Speaker 2: as he referred to his father, they said, with a
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Speaker 2: snide remark, we know who our father is, implying you
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Speaker 2: have no idea who your father was. Some Roman soldier,
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Speaker 2: some fling Mary had, in a moment driven by her
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Speaker 2: sexual drive. Can't imagine the comments made against him. He
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Speaker 2: had left the pristine presence of Heaven, come through the planets,
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Speaker 2: through space to this earth, to a feeding trough, never
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Speaker 2: wants to be honored for who he was until he
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Speaker 2: would return to glory. All of this caused me to
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Speaker 2: turn to the marvelous statement made by Paul in tewod
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Speaker 2: Corinthians nine. Once again, some of the great things are
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Speaker 2: often said briefly to make them stick. If you will,
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Speaker 2: Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift period end
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Speaker 2: of chapter Wait. That verse is is packed with meaning.
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Speaker 2: First of all, it's written sixty years after Jesus' birth
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Speaker 2: of Bethlehem. Paul has lived this violent life and done
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Speaker 2: his best to put Christians out of their misery, if
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Speaker 2: you will. But he has since been converted, and he's
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Speaker 2: now pondering in a fleeting moment on God gave. And
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Speaker 2: he sets forth a truth that a hurried I would
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Speaker 2: would miss. He begins with words of thanks, as we
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Speaker 2: all do when we think of the Savior. How often
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Speaker 2: we began our prayers with thank you. Our breakfast prayer
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Speaker 2: began this morning with thank you, and yours probably did too.
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Speaker 2: Thanks be to God, writes the Apostle for DIAMAI is
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Speaker 2: the word translated indescribable. You know what it means. Bear
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Speaker 2: with me. The root of the word means to give
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Speaker 2: a detailed account of something in words, to tell in detail,
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Speaker 2: to relate, to describe. But what makes it interesting is
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Speaker 2: that it has a prefix that turns the word on
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Speaker 2: its head. We have prefixes like that. We have the
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Speaker 2: word able, but when you add the prefix you in
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Speaker 2: you make it unable, which is the opposite of being able.
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Speaker 2: We have the word fulfilled. If you add on, it's
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Speaker 2: the opposite of being fulfilled. And on and on we
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Speaker 2: could go. This is the word that refers to the inability,
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Speaker 2: the impossibility of putting something into words. Thanks me to
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Speaker 2: God for the gift so spacial, so significant, I can't
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Speaker 2: even find the words to put them on the page.
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Speaker 2: That's Paul's statement. Here the NIV uses the word indescribable.
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Speaker 2: Canneth weast ineffable the New English Bible his gift beyond words,
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Speaker 2: the amplified, precious, beyond telling. At Robertson wonder beyond description.
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Speaker 2: Alfred Plummer incapable of expression by speech. Charles Virgin used
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Speaker 2: these words. You cannot estimate the value of God's dear son.
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Speaker 2: You could certainly give no expression to any estimate you
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Speaker 2: had formed if it were in the least degree worthy
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Speaker 2: of the subject. The love of Jesus is inconceivable, infinite, unspeakable.
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Speaker 2: The Church has produced thoughtful scholars, whom it is called
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Speaker 2: divine described them as eminent theologians. From these teachers we've
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Speaker 2: received much help in the exposition of the Word. And
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Speaker 2: yet if we put them all together, they've never been
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Speaker 2: able to unfold to us the entire meaning of the
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Speaker 2: gift of the Son of God. Perhaps I've labored too
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Speaker 2: long over one word, But when you get to this word,
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Speaker 2: found only here in all the Bible, it's worth an
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Speaker 2: extra few moments to hover over it. He is God's
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Speaker 2: indescribable gift from a past of pristine perfection and spotless
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Speaker 2: purity which existed throughout eternity past. He arrived on this
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Speaker 2: place in an animal enclosure, with sheep grazing nearby. God,
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Speaker 2: our heavenly Father, gave him to us, preserving his sinlessness.
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Speaker 2: Before I'm through, I have to give you God's options.
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Speaker 2: He had four of them, four options in bringing his
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Speaker 2: son to this Earth regarding his nature as being sinless. First,
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Speaker 2: Jesus could have been conceived from a human mother and father.
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Speaker 2: The problem there is that he would have inherited our
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Speaker 2: sin nature, so that wasn't an option God could use.
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Speaker 2: Second Jesus could have miraculously been deposited on Mary's doorstep,
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Speaker 2: sent from Heaven as a new born babe created by God.
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Speaker 2: The problem there is he would not have been truly human,
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Speaker 2: no valid member of the human race, because he would
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Speaker 2: not have been born, no human genealogy, if you will.
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Speaker 2: Third option, Jesus could have taken possession of some other
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Speaker 2: human being alive on Earth at that time, sent from
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Speaker 2: Heaven and incarnating another individual. The problem there, obviously is
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Speaker 2: he would not have had his own body. Furthermore, he
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Speaker 2: would have possessed the sinful nature of the one he inhabited.
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Speaker 2: Only one option remained, and that was to bring him
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Speaker 2: through the womb of a virgin. Don't let anyone ever
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Speaker 2: tell you the virgin birth is not all that significant.
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Speaker 2: It is the point of preserving his seamless condition. This
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Speaker 2: awesome son of God sealed in perfection from his conception,
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Speaker 2: wrapped in love provided by God's grace for all of
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Speaker 2: us to come to know and to trust. Now then
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Speaker 2: back to things a little more practical, And I conclude
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Speaker 2: with these words. Ever wondered why God has us return
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Speaker 2: to this very familiar story from Luke to one to
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Speaker 2: fourteen every year? Ever wonder about that? If you're like me,
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Speaker 2: you've heard it since you were a little child. You
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Speaker 2: could probably tell without missing most of the details because
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Speaker 2: of familiarity, just as you could quote that ballad that
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Speaker 2: I begin with. Then why do we return again and
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Speaker 2: again year after year to the same story. I came
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Speaker 2: up with the thought that I've never had before. I
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Speaker 2: believe it is God's hearing test for all of us.
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Speaker 2: That test is given to all who will listen closely,
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Speaker 2: and God never screeps it. When Christmas arrives. Remember it's
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Speaker 2: often at a very quiet time. He comes in a
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Speaker 2: silent night, on a holy night to us. He comes
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Speaker 2: to whisper his message in our ears. And would you believe?
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Speaker 2: When I got that far, I came across the writings
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Speaker 2: of Mary Anne Bird, whom I've never read before. She
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Speaker 2: wrote a piece called the Whisper Test. Listen to this,
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Speaker 2: I quote Mary Anne Bird writes, I grew up knowing
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Speaker 2: I was different, and I hated it. I was born
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Speaker 2: with a cleft palate. When I started school, my classmates
41:35
Speaker 2: made it clear to me.
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Speaker 3: That I.
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Speaker 2: How I looked to others, a little girl with a
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Speaker 2: misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. When
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Speaker 2: they asked me what happened, I'd tell them that I
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Speaker 2: had fallen and cut it on a piece of glass.
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Speaker 2: Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident
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Speaker 2: than to have been born like this. I was convinced
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Speaker 2: no one could ever love me. There was, however, a
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Speaker 2: second grade teacher that we all adored. Her name was
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Speaker 2: Missus Leonard. She was short and happy and round, a
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Speaker 2: sparkling lady. Annually she gave all of us a hearing test.
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Speaker 2: She gave the test to everyone in the class, and
42:40
Speaker 2: finally it was my turn. I knew from past years
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Speaker 2: that as I stood near the door and covered one ear,
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Speaker 2: the teacher would stay seated at her desk and would
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Speaker 2: whisper something. Would have to repeat it back to her
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Speaker 2: to test start hearing, like the sky is blue? Or
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Speaker 2: do you have on new shoes? But when my turn came,
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Speaker 2: I waited there for her words which God must have
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Speaker 2: put on her heart and enter her mouth. I love this.
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Speaker 2: There were seven words that have changed my life. Missus.
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Speaker 2: Leonard whispered, I wish you were my little girl. When
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Speaker 2: I read that, I thought every Christmas God whispers that
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Speaker 2: to you who are not his child. I wish you
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Speaker 2: were my little boy. I wish you were my little girl.
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Speaker 2: I gave you my son, I sent him for you,
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Speaker 2: And now that Christmas has come, I again give you
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Speaker 2: the same test. Are you listening. I want you to
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Speaker 2: be mine. I want to adopt you into my family.
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Speaker 2: I want you to be my little girl, my little boy.
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Speaker 2: Bow your head with me. Will you please just sit quietly?
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Speaker 1: There?
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Speaker 2: Those are words of love, and oh how he loves.
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Speaker 1: You and me.
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Speaker 2: He says them every year at every Christmas. But you
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Speaker 2: must listen and believe him and receive him. Jesus has
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Speaker 2: come to give us life abundant, and Christmas is the
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Speaker 2: perfect time for you to begin that journey of an
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Speaker 2: abundant life. Right where you're sitting, just a simple prayer. Lord,
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Speaker 2: I am hearing you, and for the first time I
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Speaker 2: believe you. I trust your son as my savior and
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Speaker 2: my master. I take him now it's easy for all
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Speaker 2: of us to think that everyone at Christmas time is rejoicing,
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Speaker 2: as happy as free of care, looks forward to the
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Speaker 2: days of quietness solitude. Not really. If your world is
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Speaker 2: dark and you've never known the reassurance of life eternal,
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Speaker 2: there's no doubt in my mind why you find yourself depressed.
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Speaker 2: But you need to hear the words of your Lord.
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Speaker 2: I want you to be mine. I want to adopt you.
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Speaker 2: I want to show you a love you've never known before.
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Speaker 2: Take me as your own. I'll change your life. Your Father,
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Speaker 2: we pause on this wonderful Christmas day to thank you
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Speaker 2: for the love story that comes to our attention every year,
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Speaker 2: as familiar as it could possibly be, and yet how
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Speaker 2: easy for us to walk past it and miss what
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Speaker 2: you were saying to us, since so many things shall
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Speaker 2: at us, demanding our attention. But you quietly give us
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Speaker 2: this test, making certain that your words are clear. You
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Speaker 2: wait for us to hear you and believe you. For
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Speaker 2: those of us who know your son, we thank you
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Speaker 2: for the missus Leonards and our lives who faithfully told
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Speaker 2: us of a life beyond our own and a love
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Speaker 2: deeper than we'd ever known before. For many of us.
47:38
Speaker 2: It was faithful parents. For some, it was a friend
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Speaker 2: at school. For others, it was another family member, for
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Speaker 2: someone we've met along the way. Thank you for each
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Speaker 2: one we've set apart. This day is a very special
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Speaker 2: time of remembering and giving you thanks for making us
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Speaker 2: a part of your family. With great gratitude, we expressed
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Speaker 2: you our praise, our adoration. Because of Jesus who came
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Speaker 2: that we might live abundantly, we pray in his name.
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Speaker 2: Everyone said, Amen, have a wonderful Christmas Day together.
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Speaker 3: The preceding message God Sends his Son was copyrighted in
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Speaker 3: twenty sixteen and twenty seventeen, and the sound recording was
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Speaker 3: copyrighted in twenty seventeen by Charles R. Swind all Ink.
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Speaker 3: All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for
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Speaker 3: commercial use is strictly prohibited. In the preceding message, Charles
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Speaker 3: RS wind all Ink is grateful to Stonebrier Community Church
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Speaker 3: for permission to use their twenty sixteen performance of How
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Speaker 3: Great Our Joy arrangements by Paul Thompson, copyrighted in twenty
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Speaker 3: sixteen by Stonebrier Community Church. All rights are reserved worldwide.