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Deity in Diapers Msg 320 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: The birth of Jesus was an extraordinary event in human history.
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Speaker 1: God became a man without ceasing to be the one
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Speaker 1: and only God. Amazing thing. Very few in Israel's well-educated
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Speaker 1: could see beyond those humble circumstances of Jesus' birth to
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Speaker 1: appreciate the immense implications. Ironically, Israel's outcast and forgotten people
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Speaker 1: were far more apt to recognize the truth. The story
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Speaker 1: of this advent is found in the Gospel by Luke,
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Speaker 1: his second chapter, verses 1 through 7. So if you
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Speaker 1: have a Bible handy, please turn with me to Luke
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Speaker 1: chapter 2, and I'll begin reading at verse 1. Now
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Speaker 1: in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
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Speaker 1: that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
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Speaker 1: This was the first census taken while Quirinius was the
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Speaker 1: governor of Syria, and all were proceeding to register for
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Speaker 1: the census, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went
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Speaker 1: up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea,
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Speaker 1: to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because
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Speaker 1: he was of the house of and family of David,
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Speaker 1: in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged
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Speaker 1: to him and was with child. While they were there,
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Speaker 1: the days were completed for her to give birth. And
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Speaker 1: she gave birth to her firstborn son. And she wrapped
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Speaker 1: him in cloths and laid him in a manger, because
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Speaker 1: there was no room for them in the inn. Now,
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Speaker 1: several years after the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus,
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Speaker 1: the Apostle Paul encouraged all the Christians living in Philippi
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Speaker 1: to imitate the sacrifice that Christ had made when he
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Speaker 1: set aside the privileges of deity to become humanity. Eugene
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Speaker 1: Peterson's wonderful rendering in the message captures the spirit of
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Speaker 1: Paul's instructions. So listen carefully as I read Philippians 2,
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Speaker 1: 5 through 8 from the message. Think of yourselves the
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Speaker 1: way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status
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Speaker 1: with God, but didn't think so much of himself that
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Speaker 1: he had to cling to the advantages of that status,
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Speaker 1: no matter what, not at all. When the time came,
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Speaker 1: he set aside the privileges of deity and took on
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Speaker 1: the status of a slave, became human. Having become human,
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Speaker 1: he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He
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Speaker 1: didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life,
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Speaker 1: and then died a selfless, obedient death, and the worst
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Speaker 1: kind of death at that, a crucifixion. Christmas always brings
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Speaker 1: great stories to mind, and Today I want to start
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Speaker 1: with a great story that's true and end with another
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Speaker 1: true story that I've thought about as the Christmas season
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Speaker 1: has arrived. Go back with me to the year 1943,
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Speaker 1: Christmas Day. For some of you, that sounds like ancient history.
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Speaker 1: For others of us, we remember as little children being
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Speaker 1: caught in the middle of an enormous war that had
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Speaker 1: our nation on its knees. It's obvious at that time,
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Speaker 1: as I recall, that the war was escalating and not
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Speaker 1: decreasing and our worry list was probably longer than our
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Speaker 1: prayer list as Americans. On Christmas Day, this particular bombing
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Speaker 1: mission was to take place over Germany. War has a
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Speaker 1: way of overlooking holidays. And this particular flying crew in
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Speaker 1: the squadron had flown so many missions together they had
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Speaker 1: begun to feel like a family. But they were worried
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Speaker 1: because this particular mission would take them over a heavily
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Speaker 1: fortified area in the inward part of Europe, in fact,
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Speaker 1: right near the border of Germany. The chaplain realized that
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Speaker 1: the anxiety level was so great, he probably should fly
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Speaker 1: on this particular plane, the old flying fortress of the
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Speaker 1: Second World War. And so he climbed aboard with the crew,
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Speaker 1: and as they took off, he reminded them this was
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Speaker 1: Christmas Day, and he prayed. The crew was a pretty
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Speaker 1: hardened group of young airmen and sailors, They passed it
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Speaker 1: off as another prayer, and they got over enemy territory.
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Speaker 1: And before long, as expected, German airships swarmed this particular bomber.
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Speaker 1: And even before they got to their destination where they
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Speaker 1: would unload the bombs, heavy aircraft came. Anti-aircraft shells came
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Speaker 1: from below and began to explode around them. They were
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Speaker 1: bouncing around in the sky, and every gunner in this
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Speaker 1: particular flying fortress was literally fighting for his life. The
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Speaker 1: chaplain looked over the crew and realized it was time
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Speaker 1: to reassure them, and he grabbed the intercom again, and
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Speaker 1: he said,' Man, I want to remind you that all
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Speaker 1: of us are surrounded by the presence of God. He
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Speaker 1: will protect us this day. He is on board this aircraft.'
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Speaker 1: And he will see us through this mission as he
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Speaker 1: has seen us through all the other missions we have
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Speaker 1: flown together. A brief pause in the flight occurred. The
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Speaker 1: fighting let back for a few seconds and the tail
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Speaker 1: gunner way back on the other end of the plane
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Speaker 1: grabbed the same intercom and said, well, chaplain, God may
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Speaker 1: be up there near the cockpit with you guys, but
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Speaker 1: he sure ain't back here in the tail of this thing.
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Speaker 1: And all of a sudden, an explosion occurred just outside
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Speaker 1: his turret. And then, though it didn't explode, a shell
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Speaker 1: blew through the fuselage of that plane, leaving a gaping
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Speaker 1: hole below where it came in and above where it
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Speaker 1: went out. The tail gunner grabbed the intercom again and said, correction, chaplain,
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Speaker 1: God just walked in. It may sound like just another
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Speaker 1: war story, but it reminded me as I read that
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Speaker 1: true story of Christmas. It's easy to think that the
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Speaker 1: world into which God just walked into was a world
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Speaker 1: at peace with itself. I mean, after all, we do sing,
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Speaker 1: O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.
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Speaker 1: And that most beloved of all the carols, silent night,
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Speaker 1: holy night, all is calm, all is bright. No, not really. No,
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Speaker 1: there was nothing calm and there was nothing bright about
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Speaker 1: the world into which the Lord Jesus entered as a
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Speaker 1: little baby. As a matter of fact, it was not
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Speaker 1: a still and sleepy Bethlehem into which he came. The
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Speaker 1: world was in turmoil. A madman named Caesar who had
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Speaker 1: the audacity to add to his name Augustus was ruling
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Speaker 1: the throne in Rome. In fact, to him, the Jews
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Speaker 1: who lived in that little finger of land named Palestine
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Speaker 1: were sort of pawns on a chessboard to push around
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Speaker 1: as he pleased. Furthermore, the world was in sort of
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Speaker 1: an uproar because he had demanded a fresh run of taxes.
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Speaker 1: And so people were moving back to their homes where
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Speaker 1: they might re-register because this new census was being taken
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Speaker 1: so that the Roman Empire might receive even more money
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Speaker 1: from the citizens of the empire. Economically, it was threatening,
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Speaker 1: especially for the Jews. Chuck Colson writes in a book
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Speaker 1: named Kingdoms in Conflict, 2,000 years ago, Palestine was as
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Speaker 1: it is today. a land in turmoil, its two and
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Speaker 1: a half million inhabitants bitterly divided by religious, cultural, and
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Speaker 1: language barriers. Now imagine the scene. An unlikely mix of Jews, Greeks,
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Speaker 1: and Syrians populated the coastal towns and fertile valleys. of
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Speaker 1: the ancient land of Palestine and tensions among them often
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Speaker 1: erupted in bloody clashes. Rome did little to discourage this
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Speaker 1: volatile bitterness. As long as the people's passions were spent
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Speaker 1: on each other, they weren't being vented on their own conquerors.
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Speaker 1: Among this disparate group, the Jews alone had hope for
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Speaker 1: the future for they clung to the promise that a
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Speaker 1: Messiah would soon come. sent from God and would set
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Speaker 1: them free. Now then from that scene imagine yourself sitting
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Speaker 1: among a pocket of shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem
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Speaker 1: You've heard the prophet's words. You remember those terms that
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Speaker 1: he used. Isaiah from his courtly setting. Unto you a
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Speaker 1: child is born, a son is given, and his name
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Speaker 1: will be called a wonder of a counselor, mighty God,
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Speaker 1: everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Those words must have seemed
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Speaker 1: hollow and irrelevant to a group of shepherds watching over
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Speaker 1: their flocks at night. about as empty as the prayers
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Speaker 1: of a chaplain sitting in the front end of a
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Speaker 1: flying fortress, almost being shot out of the sky. Or
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Speaker 1: the other words, a virgin will conceive and bear a son,
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Speaker 1: and you will call his name Emmanuel, God with us.
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Speaker 1: Can't you just hear the shepherds as they, with curled lips,
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Speaker 1: answered back, Oh, Isaiah, you dreamer. If you could only
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Speaker 1: enter this real world, you'd realize that God is a
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Speaker 1: long ways away from here. And all of a sudden,
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Speaker 1: the sky exploded with light. And all of a sudden,
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Speaker 1: there was a word from the angel of the Lord
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Speaker 1: who said, fear not. That's always made me smile. Here
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Speaker 1: are these shepherds sitting alone telling shepherd stories. And the
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Speaker 1: sky is ablaze and there are these angels that appear.
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Speaker 1: And the first words are, don't worry. Yeah, right. We
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Speaker 1: wouldn't worry, would we, if we were sitting among the shepherds.
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Speaker 1: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of
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Speaker 1: great joy, which shall be to all the people. For
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Speaker 1: unto you is born this very day in the city
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Speaker 1: of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. She
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Speaker 1: has called his name Jesus, God with a Savior. And
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Speaker 1: I think that same shepherd that had earlier thought, Isaiah,
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Speaker 1: you're a million miles away from reality, must have thought,
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Speaker 1: God just walked in. Here he is. And within a
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Speaker 1: matter of minutes, they found themselves beneath the star and
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Speaker 1: in the stable looking into the face of deity in diapers.
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Speaker 1: My Bible is open to Luke chapter 2 that is
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Speaker 1: so familiar to all of us, our lips move when
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Speaker 1: someone reads the story. We've heard this story since we
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Speaker 1: were little children sitting in our family rooms as our
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Speaker 1: moms and dads read the story to us. Christmas was
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Speaker 1: never complete in our home without the reading of Luke
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Speaker 1: chapter 2. It came about in those days. We've just
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Speaker 1: heard about those days. Days of economic turmoil, days of
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Speaker 1: political intrigue, days of assassinations and volatile terrorist plots by
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Speaker 1: the zealots of the Jews. In those days, not a
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Speaker 1: little sleepy town of Bethlehem, not when everything was calm
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Speaker 1: and peaceful, but in those days when all hell was
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Speaker 1: breaking loose on top of everything else. This Caesar, Augustus,
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Speaker 1: says that there has to be another census. And that
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Speaker 1: means that you who live in Nazareth, who find your
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Speaker 1: heritage in Bethlehem, need to make that 90-mile trek. And
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Speaker 1: in this particular case, this young couple found it necessary,
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Speaker 1: even though she was heavy with child, to make that
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Speaker 1: journey along that north-to-south route down to the town of Bethlehem.
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Speaker 1: All were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to
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Speaker 1: his own city. It's easy to read that and forget
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Speaker 1: that that's a rather maddening setting. Some people are going
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Speaker 1: north to south. Some are going south to north. Some
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Speaker 1: are going east to west. Some west to east. Some
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Speaker 1: are getting out of the land. Some are coming into
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Speaker 1: the land that didn't live in that area. They were
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Speaker 1: moving all about. It was a time above evil and
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Speaker 1: turmoil and there was Literally no place to stay. People
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Speaker 1: must have been sleeping in the alleys and along the
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Speaker 1: gutters and everywhere they could. But here was this young couple,
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Speaker 1: Mary and Joseph, knowing in their hearts something no one
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Speaker 1: else would have even imagined, that she was in fact
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Speaker 1: carrying the one Isaiah had prophesied would come. She had
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Speaker 1: God in her womb, if you will. Joseph went up
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Speaker 1: from Galilee, up in terrain but down in direction, from
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Speaker 1: the city of Nazareth down to Judea to the city
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Speaker 1: of David called Bethlehem because that's where his family roots were.
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Speaker 1: He was of the house and the family of David
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Speaker 1: to register. That's why they went. I would imagine Joseph
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Speaker 1: and Mary talked about this before the journey. Is it
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Speaker 1: necessary that I go with you? Yes, I think you
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Speaker 1: should go. You may deliver while I'm gone. I don't
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Speaker 1: want you to have that baby while I'm not around.
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Speaker 1: Young mothers and dads-to-be talk about things like that all
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Speaker 1: the time. Guys want to go hunting? The wife's going
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Speaker 1: to have a baby in a few hours. He probably
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Speaker 1: says to her in a weak moment, I think I
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Speaker 1: can get the kill and be back in time. Guys
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Speaker 1: have done that, you know. Or, you know, I got
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Speaker 1: to make this great sale and you give me a call.
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Speaker 1: I got my cell phone ready. But in those days,
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Speaker 1: there weren't cell phones. In those days, that kind of
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Speaker 1: stuff wasn't available. So I'm sure Joseph said to Mary, look,
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Speaker 1: we've got to travel together. You come along with me.
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Speaker 1: Isn't it great, however, that the prophet Micah had said
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Speaker 1: it will be in Bethlehem, and they lived in Nazareth.
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Speaker 1: And if it hadn't been for Caesar Augustus' determination that
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Speaker 1: a census would be taken, they would have never gotten
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Speaker 1: down to Bethlehem. But that was all part of the
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Speaker 1: perfect plan called the prophecy in the scriptures. Caesar Augustus
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Speaker 1: thought he was the big deal running things. He was
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Speaker 1: a piece of lint on the page of prophecy. Get
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Speaker 1: him off out of the way. All he's doing is
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Speaker 1: running the errand of God. Of course they're going to
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Speaker 1: be in Bethlehem. That's exactly where Micah said that this
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Speaker 1: baby would be born. Bethlehem. You think Nazareth is a
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Speaker 1: bad spot. Bethlehem, I mean, have you been there lately?
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Speaker 1: I mean, it's not one of the great lights in
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Speaker 1: the world. And it wasn't then. It was in sort
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Speaker 1: of the off-scouring of Jerusalem, one of those little towns
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Speaker 1: outside the main place. Kind of like Frisco is to Dallas.
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Speaker 1: You knew I was going to say that when I
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Speaker 1: got there. Bethlehem, just another country town. But this is
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Speaker 1: where the action was going to happen. And Mary and Joseph,
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Speaker 1: exactly as the father had planned it, made their way
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Speaker 1: to the town. And it was there that the days
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Speaker 1: were completed for her to give birth. Hold on here
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Speaker 1: and go back to that passage we looked at last time,
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Speaker 1: John chapter 2. You really do need to go, John
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Speaker 1: chapter 1, you really do need to turn back. Now
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Speaker 1: the reason I want you to do that is because
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Speaker 1: when you get to John 1, in our terms, you
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Speaker 1: find he sort of cuts to the chase. John is
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Speaker 1: writing about Jesus as the Son of God, so you
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Speaker 1: don't read any genealogy. God has no genealogy. You don't
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Speaker 1: read anything about a human birth. God has no birth.
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Speaker 1: As we learned last time, In a beginning which really
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Speaker 1: never had a beginning, eternally existed Lagos, John's favorite nickname
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Speaker 1: for Jesus. Eternally existed the Word, and the Word was
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Speaker 1: with God, and the Word, Lagos, was in fact deity.
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Speaker 1: The same was in the beginning with God. Verse 14,
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Speaker 1: John 1. And the Lagos became flesh. Now, I know
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Speaker 1: you've heard it half your life, but just for a moment,
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Speaker 1: give yourself the opportunity for a surprise. Imagine having never
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Speaker 1: read this before, and some listening to me right now
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Speaker 1: may never have read it before. The one who has
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Speaker 1: eternally been with the Father and the Spirit, a fellow
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Speaker 1: member of the Godhead, the second member of the Trinity,
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Speaker 1: existing eternally in the past as creator, Lord, and soon
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Speaker 1: to be savior of the world, now is reduced to
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Speaker 1: this infinitesimal size of an egg. No genealogy, no earthly
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Speaker 1: birth mentioned, but now God... is planted in that womb
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Speaker 1: of a woman who never has known a man intimately
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Speaker 1: and begins to grow during that nine month period when
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Speaker 1: the embryo becomes a fetus and the fetus is soon
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Speaker 1: to be a crying baby. existing in a crib called
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Speaker 1: a manger, which is a feeding trough in this backwoods
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Speaker 1: town of Bethlehem. A member of the Trinity blinks human
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Speaker 1: eyes and cries in a crib, and of all things
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Speaker 1: must learn how to walk and talk and control his bladder.
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Speaker 1: This little infant born who once held the universe in
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Speaker 1: place is now dependent upon his mother's milk to survive.
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Speaker 1: Just imagine that. These thoughts kind of race past our
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Speaker 1: minds because we all know the story so well but
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Speaker 1: it is easy to forget what they represent. This is
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Speaker 1: the most mysterious of all miracles. God now with a
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Speaker 1: body who deliberately empties himself of all the voluntary use
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Speaker 1: of his divine attributes and is dependent upon the Father
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Speaker 1: for these 33 and a half years journey when he
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Speaker 1: pitches his tent on earth. There's an enormous amount, not
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Speaker 1: only amount of theology, but mind-boggling truth in that mystery.
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Speaker 1: Do you realize that John wrote his gospel after Paul
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Speaker 1: was converted? Do you realize that John the Apostle, who
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Speaker 1: was no doubt among the closest of Jesus' earthly friends,
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Speaker 1: do you realize that he had spent years thinking about
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Speaker 1: what he would write while Paul was converted, began his
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Speaker 1: missionary journey, and in fact had been beheaded and was
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Speaker 1: dead before John took up pen to write? So it
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Speaker 1: seems appropriate that we listen to what Paul said in
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Speaker 1: the meantime. Hold on here and go to Philippians chapter 2.
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Speaker 1: It's really worth the look. Philippians chapter 2, in my opinion,
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Speaker 1: one of the finest, clearest, and succinct sections on the
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Speaker 1: coming of the Lord Jesus to this earth. This passage
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Speaker 1: was read for us a few moments ago, so there's
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Speaker 1: no reason to read it again. But listen to the
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Speaker 1: New International Version as it renders the same words you
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Speaker 1: heard read earlier. Christ Jesus, being in very nature God,
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Speaker 1: did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
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Speaker 1: You got that? He is with the Father, the Father,
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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, the Son, working together on the salvation
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Speaker 1: plan for this earth. And the Son, realizing that it
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Speaker 1: would be his role to come to this earth, did
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Speaker 1: not regard his position of authority and power, his role
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Speaker 1: as creator and master of this earth, something to be
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Speaker 1: held on to. It's a silly illustration by comparison, but
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Speaker 1: it's as though you are the CEO of one of
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Speaker 1: the largest corporations in the world. And you willingly say
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Speaker 1: to the board, I'll step away from this role and
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Speaker 1: for the next 33 years, I'll happily become a custodian
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Speaker 1: for the organization. In fact, I I'll be happy to
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Speaker 1: be in the lowest position we have for the next
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Speaker 1: number of decades. That's exactly what Jesus is saying. Or
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Speaker 1: what Paul is saying of Jesus. Did not consider his
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Speaker 1: role as equal with God something to be grasped. Now
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Speaker 1: look at the process. But made himself nothing. Taking the
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Speaker 1: very nature of a servant. being made in human likeness.
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Speaker 1: This has never happened before, and it will never happen again.
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Speaker 2: This is the unique God-man, theologians call him the theanthropic person, theos, anthropos,
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Speaker 2: put together in one.
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Speaker 1: God-man in one, in the womb of Mary, who is
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Speaker 1: this amazed teenage Jewess living in Nazareth, listening to the
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Speaker 1: angel telling her, you're going to bear the Christ child.
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Speaker 1: Joseph had nothing to do with this conception. For the
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Speaker 1: first and only time in all of time, a virgin
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Speaker 1: conceives without ever knowing a man. Amen. Let me show
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Speaker 1: you how specific scripture is. I love this little comment
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Speaker 1: that I want to share with you from Matthew. Hold
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Speaker 1: on here. You're now holding on to three other passages.
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Speaker 1: So hold on to Philippians chapter 2 and look at
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Speaker 1: Matthew chapter 1. This is great. Matthew 1 traces the
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Speaker 1: genealogy because Matthew is tracing the genealogy of a king.
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Speaker 1: But look at Matthew 1, and I'm going to show
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Speaker 1: you just a little example of the power of one
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Speaker 1: word in the scriptures. We've got all this genealogy, verse 1,
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Speaker 1: the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David,
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Speaker 1: son of Abraham, go all the way down to verse 16. Okay? Okay?
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Speaker 1: And to Jacob was born Joseph, not called the father
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Speaker 1: of Jesus because he wasn't. What's he called? The husband
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Speaker 1: of Mary because he was. Now look, by whom? Jesus,
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Speaker 1: that refers to Jesus. By whom? That refers to Mary.
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Speaker 1: By whom was born Jesus? See the word whom? It's
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Speaker 1: singular feminine. Isn't that great? Only a guy that loves
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Speaker 1: the scriptures could say that little word is great. It
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Speaker 1: is wonderful. Not of both of them, but of her alone.
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Speaker 1: Singular feminine. Of Mary alone was born Jesus. I used
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Speaker 1: to teach a Bible class in North Dallas back in
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Speaker 1: the very early 1960s. And One of the ladies in
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Speaker 1: the class said to me one Monday morning, she said, Chuck,
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Speaker 1: I just want to know why that virgin conception of Jesus,
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Speaker 1: is that important? She said, I really know it's got
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Speaker 1: some importance, but I want to know why. She said,
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Speaker 1: I asked my, she named a particular minister at the
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Speaker 1: church where she was attending. And he said, ah, that's
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Speaker 1: not important. Who's worried about the sex life of Mary?
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Speaker 1: Who concerns himself with the sex life of Mary? And
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Speaker 1: she said, should I be concerned about the sex life
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Speaker 1: of Mary? I said, you better believe it. You better
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Speaker 1: believe you ought to be concerned about it. God's so concerned,
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Speaker 1: he limits it all to one feminine singular statement right
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Speaker 1: here in the middle of the genealogy. Now back to
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Speaker 1: Philippians 2, of whom was born Jesus. Now, he emptied himself,
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Speaker 1: taking the form of a bondservant, verse 7, and being
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Speaker 1: made in the likeness of men. Amazing, huh? And being
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Speaker 1: found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
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Speaker 1: became obedient even to a cross kind of death. The
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Speaker 1: one who had power over death submitted himself to that power.
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Speaker 1: The one who could command a legion of angels to
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Speaker 1: come to his rescue doesn't. And submits himself to others
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Speaker 1: as a common slave. I've always liked the way Eugene
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Speaker 1: Peterson in his paraphrase called the message handles this section.
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Speaker 1: He had equal status with God, but didn't think so
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Speaker 1: much of himself that he had to cling to the
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Speaker 1: advantages of that status, no matter what, not at all.
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Speaker 1: When the time came, he set aside the privileges of
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Speaker 1: deity and took on the status of a slave. He
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Speaker 1: became human. Having become human, he stayed human. It was
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Speaker 1: an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead,
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Speaker 1: he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless,
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Speaker 1: obedient death. And the worst kind of death at that, crucifixion.
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Speaker 1: Look at your Bibles, Philippians 2, verse 6. he existed.
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Speaker 1: Verse 7, he emptied. Verse 8, he humbled himself. and
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Speaker 1: verse 8 he died that's the story of Jesus he
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Speaker 1: existed as God he emptied himself as he became a
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Speaker 1: man he humbled himself And he died. You see, Paul
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Speaker 1: didn't believe that early in life. And on his road
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Speaker 1: to Damascus, he dropped to his knees. And the Lord
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Speaker 1: directed his words to Paul, who was then Saul, the Pharisee.
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Speaker 1: And he said to him, why do you persecute me?
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Speaker 1: And you know what happened to Saul? God just walked in.
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Speaker 1: God just walked in. And he was never the same.
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Speaker 1: God just exploded in his mind. And Saul realized he
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Speaker 1: had missed it by a lifetime. That this one whom
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Speaker 1: he was persecuting was, in fact, the Son of God. Now,
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Speaker 1: backtrack to Luke chapter 2. We were there earlier. We
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Speaker 1: come back to the stable. This is a great setting.
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Speaker 1: While they were there, verse six, the days were completed
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Speaker 1: for her to give birth. And she gave birth to
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Speaker 1: her firstborn son. She wrapped him in cloths and laid
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Speaker 1: him in a feeding trough called by us a manger
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Speaker 1: because there was no room for them in the inn.
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Speaker 1: Philip Keller, in his fine work entitled simply Rabboni, writes
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Speaker 1: of this stable. The sheep corral, filthy as only an
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Speaker 1: eastern animal enclosure can be, reeked pungently with manure and
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Speaker 1: urine accumulated across the seasons. Joseph cleared a corner just
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Speaker 1: large enough for Mary to lie down, Birth pains had started.
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Speaker 1: She writhed in agony on the ground. Joseph, in his
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Speaker 1: inexperience and unknowing manly manner, did his best to reassure her.
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Speaker 1: His own outer tunic would be her bed, his rough
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Speaker 1: saddlebag her pillow. Hay, straw, or other animal fodder was non-existent.
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Speaker 1: This was not hay or grain growing country stock barely
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Speaker 1: survived by grazing on the sparse vegetation that sprang from
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Speaker 1: that semi-desert terrain. Mary moaned and groaned in the darkness
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Speaker 1: of the sheep shelter. Joseph swept away the dust and
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Speaker 1: dirt from a small space in one of the hand-hewn
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Speaker 1: mangers carved from soft limestone rock. He arranged a place
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Speaker 1: where Mary could lay the newborn babe all bundled up
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Speaker 1: in the clothes she had brought along and there alone
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Speaker 1: unaided without strangers or friends to witness her ordeal in
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Speaker 1: the darkness. She delivered her son. Isn't that great? I
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Speaker 1: never will get over the amazement of this birth. I mean,
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Speaker 1: Joseph is wringing his hands wondering what he can do,
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Speaker 1: and here she is helping herself give birth. It was
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Speaker 1: the unpretentious entrance, the stage entrance of the Son of Man,
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Speaker 1: the Son of God. Very God in human form on
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Speaker 1: earth's stage. And God just walked in. He just walked
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Speaker 1: right in. No blaring of trumpets, no white stallions, no
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Speaker 1: swords and spears flashing, no grand comfortable scene in a
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Speaker 1: palace with comfort But in a filthy stable, God just
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Speaker 1: gushed his way through the birth canal and was born
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Speaker 1: a little baby. I have both women and men hearing
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Speaker 1: me today, and I want to speak to both of
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Speaker 1: you as I close my talk. First, the women. Especially
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Speaker 1: you women who have given birth. You knew I would
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Speaker 1: come to this moment, didn't you? Just remember you're first born.
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Speaker 1: You too were inexperienced. You didn't know what you would
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Speaker 1: go through. It's easy to forget the pain of it
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Speaker 1: once that little baby comes into your arms and the
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Speaker 1: joys begin to follow. Can you imagine looking into the
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Speaker 1: face of God in infant form? I mean, how would
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Speaker 1: you hold him? How would you teach him? We have
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Speaker 1: Max Lucado to thank for 25 questions for Mary. I've
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Speaker 1: picked just a few of them. as only my friend
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Speaker 1: Max Lucado can ask them. These are questions he has
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Speaker 1: for Mary. What was it like watching him pray? How
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Speaker 1: did he respond when he saw other kids giggling during
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Speaker 1: the service at the synagogue? Did you ever feel awkward
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Speaker 1: teaching him how he created the world? When he saw
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Speaker 1: a lamb being led to slaughter, did he act differently?
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Speaker 1: Did you ever see him with a distant look in
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Speaker 1: his face as if he were listening to someone you
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Speaker 1: could not hear? Did it ever occur to you that
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Speaker 1: the God to whom you were praying was asleep under
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Speaker 1: your own roof? Did he ever come home with a
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Speaker 1: black eye How did he act when he got his
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Speaker 1: first haircut? Did he have any friends by the name
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Speaker 1: of Judas? Did he do well in school? Did you
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Speaker 1: ever scold him? Did he ever have to ask a
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Speaker 1: question about the scriptures? Did he ever get angry when
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Speaker 1: someone was dishonest with him? Did he ever wake up afraid?
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Speaker 1: When someone referred to Satan, how did he act? Did
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Speaker 1: you ever accidentally call him Lord? What did he and
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Speaker 1: his cousin John talk about as kids? Did you ever
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Speaker 1: think God is eating my soup? A lot to think about, ladies,
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Speaker 1: when you think about your own firstborn as compared to
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Speaker 1: this firstborn. What an unusual moment was Mary's. No other
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Speaker 1: woman on earth would ever know it. Not even Joseph
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Speaker 1: understood it. He accepted it. But only she pondered all
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Speaker 1: these things in her heart. And now for the men.
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Speaker 1: Where are you in the story? We could be several places,
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Speaker 1: couldn't we, men? We could be among the shepherds sitting
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Speaker 1: out on that windswept hill, watching over our flocks and
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Speaker 1: suddenly seeing the sky ablaze with light and hearing the
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Speaker 1: antiphonal voices of the angels. Glory to God in the
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Speaker 1: highest and on earth. Peace among men of goodwill. We
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Speaker 1: could be among the shepherds. Or put yourself in the
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Speaker 1: sandals of Joseph being told by your now pregnant fiancé
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Speaker 1: that it is from God. How would you respond? Just
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Speaker 1: like Joseph, if that well. But you know, there's a
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Speaker 1: person that is often unmentioned in the story. He's never
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Speaker 1: named here in legend, yes, but never in the scriptures.
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Speaker 1: And he is seldom referred to even in sermons about
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Speaker 1: that first arrival of the Lord Jesus. And I have
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Speaker 1: in mind the innkeeper. Ever thought about the innkeeper? He
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Speaker 1: just mentioned in passing, verse 7, they laid him in
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Speaker 1: a manger because there was no room for them in
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Speaker 1: the inn. Had you been the innkeeper, busy about your work,
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Speaker 1: doing what you were paid to do, dealing with the public,
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Speaker 1: overrun with people, would you have had the sense to
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Speaker 1: realize that this couple was special? Probably not. You and
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Speaker 1: I in our work, men, are often so preoccupied with
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Speaker 1: the work to be done, we are often insensitive to
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Speaker 1: the moment when God is trying to step in. That's
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Speaker 1: probably why I love this story I want to end
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Speaker 1: with so much. I told you I would start with
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Speaker 1: a story, and now I end with one that will
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Speaker 1: be of interest even to the children among us, because
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Speaker 1: this is about a child. For years now, whenever Christmas
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Speaker 1: pageants are talked about in a certain little town in
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Speaker 1: the Midwest, someone is sure to mention the name Wallace Pureling.
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Speaker 1: Wally's performance in one annual production of the Nativity play
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Speaker 1: has slipped into the realm of legend. But the old-timers
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Speaker 1: who were in the audience that night never tire of
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Speaker 1: recalling exactly what happened. Wally was nine that year and
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Speaker 1: in the second grade. Though he should have been in
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Speaker 1: the fourth, most people in town knew that he had
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Speaker 1: difficulty keeping up. He was big and clumsy, slow of
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Speaker 1: movement and mind. But Wally was well liked by the
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Speaker 1: other children in his class, all of whom were smaller
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Speaker 1: than he, though the boys had trouble hiding their irritation
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Speaker 1: if the uncoordinated Wally asked to play ball with them.
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Speaker 1: Most often they'd find a way to keep him off
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Speaker 1: the field. But Wally would hang around anyway, not sulking,
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Speaker 1: just hoping. He was always a helpful boy, willing, smiling,
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Speaker 1: and the natural protector of the underdog. Sometimes if the
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Speaker 1: older boys chased the younger boys away, it would be
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Speaker 1: Wally who would say, hey, can't they stay? They're no bother.
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Speaker 1: Wally fancied the idea of being a shepherd with a
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Speaker 1: flute in the Christmas pageant that year, but the play's director,
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Speaker 1: Miss Lombard, assigned him to a more important role. After all,
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Speaker 1: She reasoned the innkeeper did not have too many lines,
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Speaker 1: and Wally's size would make his refusal of lodging to
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Speaker 1: Joseph more forceful. And so it happened that the usual
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Speaker 1: large partisan audience gathered for the town's yuletide extravaganza of
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Speaker 1: staffs and beards and crowns and halos and a whole
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Speaker 1: stage full of squeaky voices. No one on stage or
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Speaker 1: off was more caught up in the magic of the
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Speaker 1: night than Wallace Pearling. They said later that he stood
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Speaker 1: in the wings and watched the performance with such fascination
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Speaker 1: that from time to time, Miss Lombard had to make
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Speaker 1: sure he wouldn't wander on stage before his cue. Then
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Speaker 1: time came when Joseph appeared slowly, tenderly guiding Mary to
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Speaker 1: the door of the inn. Joseph knocked hard. On the
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Speaker 1: wooden door set into the painted backdrop, Wally the innkeeper
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Speaker 1: was there waiting. What do you want? Wally said, swinging
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Speaker 1: the door open with a brusque gesture. We seek lodging. Well,
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Speaker 1: seek it elsewhere. Wally looked straight ahead, spoke vigorously. My
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Speaker 1: inn is filled. Sir, we've asked everywhere in vain. We
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Speaker 1: have traveled far and we're very weary. There's just no
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Speaker 1: room anywhere else. Well, there's no room in this inn
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Speaker 1: for you. Wally looked properly stern. Please, good innkeeper, this
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Speaker 1: is my wife, Mary. She's heavy with child and needs
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Speaker 1: a place to rest. Surely you must have some small
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Speaker 1: corner for her. She's so tired. Now for the first time,
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Speaker 1: The innkeeper relaxed his stiff stance and looked down at Mary.
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Speaker 1: With that, there was a long pause, long enough to
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Speaker 1: make the audience a bit tense and embarrassed. The prompter whispered, no,
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Speaker 1: be gone. No, while he repeated automatically, be gone. Joseph
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Speaker 1: sadly placed his arm around Mary and Mary laid her
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Speaker 1: head tenderly on Joseph's shoulder as the two of them
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Speaker 1: started to move away. The innkeeper did not return inside
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Speaker 1: his inn as he should have, however. While he stood
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Speaker 1: in the doorway watching the forlorn couple, his mouth wide open,
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Speaker 1: his brow creased with genuine concern, his eyes filling unmistakably
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Speaker 1: with tears. Don't go. Don't go, said Wally out loud.
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Speaker 1: Don't go, Joseph. Bring Mary back. You can have my
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Speaker 1: room in the inn. Some people in town thought that
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Speaker 1: the pageant had been ruined. Yet there were many others
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Speaker 1: who considered it the most Christmas of all Christmas pageants
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Speaker 1: that they had ever seen.
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Speaker 2: Ha ha.
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Speaker 1: There's just something that happens when God walks in and
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Speaker 1: you forget your lines and you forget your hatred and
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Speaker 1: you forget all those bundle up grudges and scars and
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Speaker 1: pain of your past. And you just say, come on in,
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Speaker 1: come on in. I'd like us to bow our heads.
46:07
Speaker 1: So we can let him in. Just close your eyes
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Speaker 1: for just a few moments, please. There's something wonderful about Christmas.
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Speaker 1: There's something wonderful about the arrival of God. Very God
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Speaker 1: is a little helpless baby. Who wouldn't want to give
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Speaker 1: him a place in their hearts? If you've never done that,
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Speaker 1: this is the perfect moment. Sitting in this unusual place,
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Speaker 1: perhaps among people you've never been around before, and for
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Speaker 1: some reason you were strangely drawn to this gathering only
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Speaker 1: to find out in a few moments time that joy
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Speaker 1: really has come to this world because the Lord has come.
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Speaker 1: And that there really is now a place in your
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Speaker 1: hearts for him whom for whatever reason you've resisted over
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Speaker 1: the years. I invite you at this very moment, just
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Speaker 1: sitting where you're sitting, to offer the simple prayer, Lord
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, I've turned you away long enough. Come into
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Speaker 1: my life. I believe you died for me on that cross,
47:45
Speaker 1: and I believe you rose from the dead for me,
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Speaker 1: and you live willing to take me and forgive me
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Speaker 1: and give me a place in your house forever. In
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Speaker 1: this quiet moment, our Father, perhaps quieter than any place
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Speaker 1: we could find at this time of the year in
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Speaker 1: our city, we pause to acknowledge your Son, his very God.
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Speaker 1: As the Savior of our lives and the Lord of
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Speaker 1: our times, thank you for the sweet spirit and presence
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Speaker 1: that he brings and fills us as he comes into
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Speaker 1: this place. Thank you for what he means to us
48:42
Speaker 1: in his model of coming and giving up all of
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Speaker 1: those privileges. We live in such a selfish world and
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Speaker 1: such a demanding time. We need models like him to
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Speaker 1: pattern our lives after. Thank you, Father, for your plan
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Speaker 1: to rescue us from the filth of our lives and
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Speaker 1: bringing him to a place like this. Thank you that
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Speaker 1: he paid the penalty that we should have paid and
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Speaker 1: he took the debt that we had created and he
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Speaker 1: paid it in full. Minister, our Father, even when this
49:25
Speaker 1: message ends to those who wrestle with this decision to
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Speaker 1: turn their lives over to Christ, woo them and win
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Speaker 1: them to yourself, our Father. And now may the grace
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Speaker 1: of our Lord Jesus and the fellowship of the Saints
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Speaker 1: and the blessed work of the Holy Spirit abide with us.
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Speaker 1: And unto Him who is able to guard us from
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Speaker 1: stumbling and present us faultless before the presence of His
49:57
Speaker 1: glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our Savior,
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Speaker 1: be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.
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Speaker 1: We ask it in the name of Jesus, our Lord.
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Speaker 1: And everyone said, Amen. Amen.
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Speaker 3: The preceding message, Deity in Diapers, was copyrighted in 1998, 1999, 2007,
50:30
Speaker 3: and 2023. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2023
50:31
Speaker 3: by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
50:43
Speaker 3: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
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Speaker 3: In the preceding message, Charles R.
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Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
50:52
Speaker 3: Is grateful to Guidepost Magazine for the article, Trouble at
50:56
Speaker 3: the Inn, by Dina Donoghue from Guidepost's Treasured Stories of Christmas,
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Speaker 3: copyrighted in 1997.