Let's Hear God's Voice in a Baby's Cry, Part 3

When we truly engage in the Christmas story. The contrast between heaven and earth is shocking.

After all, God willingly gave up his throne in heaven to break onto the world stage as an innocent baby taking on a physical body with all its frailties today on Insight for living.

Chuck Swindoll invites us to imagine what it was like to witness this transition from the glory of heaven, humble feeding trough. If you missed any portion of yesterday's program will begin with helpful review.

Chuck titled his message. Let's hear God's voice and the babies cry go back to Isaiah chapter 9 verse six turn their were the prophet writing this, seven, 800 years before the birth of the Messiah, 7 to 800 years before then. Isaiah wrote nine verse six a child was born to us a son is given to us. Look at those two phrases the child is born. That's the earthly point of view where a woman has a child, a son is given, that's the heavenly point of view, for God gave his son. So both are covered here and then immediately the prophet races to the time when he will reign as King of Kings and Lord of lords and look at visit these exalted words, the government will rest on his shoulders. The word will moves us to the future future, even to our day. The government will rest on his shoulders. He will be called literally a wonder of a counselor, mighty God, father of eternity literally.

Peace prints those words wonderful mighty eternal prints his government and its peace will never end and on and on it goes. When you read that you you anticipate the arrival of royalty, but that's not how we came the first time. That's how we will come the second time, but the first time, which is what we observe every Christmas season is arrival is anything but a Arroyo arrival in the flare and flourish of our Christmas season. Plus, we still return to the realism of the original scene, don't dress it up. Don't make it look good or smell good. It was a rough place even though we read the familiar account in Luke chapter 2 every year. It never fails to grip us with a sense of surprise when God made his entrance onto this earth.

He came as an unknown and unexpected. One note trumpet player. No loud announcement from some king he chose a virtually unknown couple from up in Galilee Nazareth for a contemporary once said, can anything good come out of Nazareth, sort of military town. This couple traveled on foot from Nazareth 90 miles down to Bethlehem of Judea while she was heavy with that child of hers, and when they reached their destination. Get this, no one was there to greet them because no onehad been reserved for their lodging all the places were filled because this was taxation time and everybody had returned to their distant County seat to register. There was no food original water brought to them only what they could scavenge or draw from a nearby well in a borrowed bucket. There were no bathroom facilities available.

No wife was there to assist this Julius.

This teenage girl this mother-to-be about to bear her firstborn, but we read in Luke two, and I want them to land hard in your mind while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She's never had a baby. She's going to have it on the dirt floor of an animal shelter where she will squat Joseph will help as best he can. We have a friend who not married at the time was driving her who he was and who her driver and your Newburgh driver you see everything and he picked up a lady he said I notice he was a little large and she got in the back and Susie got in on driving her Judaism and she says the baby coming his driving along as his dad is that it will be all over the backseat of a guy gotta stop soon.

Stop caring a little more about his car than the woman he drags driving around nobody else around the clock and see what I mean he gets rover in the driveway and in the front yard and there he is with the other hand, dialing 911 and out comes the baby delivers this paid this former Marine number driver is delivering a baby. That's a scary thought right there and everything's fine design is all his stuff wrapped around a big long cord, leaving out a loan and so finally the emergency people, greatly take care of everything is going good old… So typical Joseph water and his rags and what I do next when you might wipe off the babies face. Okay, so this is all happening with two teenagers. I mean if you want to make it in today's terms, the two millennial's having a baby is going to call a millennial. She said don't work don't call a millennial's alignment. So honey I'm using the word so there you go, that they know what they're doing with this thing all religions looking at that nativity scene is no blood stuff all over everything. I shouldn't be, but it's really clean something clean about this, she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she cleans them up as best you can cut the cord and hold him close and like the song goes, that we love. When she kissed her little baby. She kissed the face of God. For the first time somebody on earth, kissed her baby that was God and we should those blue eyes, her tiny baby's eyes. She looked in the eyes that only months before, had witnessed the glories of heaven and had been there and all the resplendent splendor of the third heaven the throne room of the King, from which he had come in here he is in really cries out for the first time on earth. The voice of God is heard from the throat of an infant 33 years later, shall hear her cry again.

She witnesses her grown son hanging from across crying out to tell us this is he pays the price for the sins of the whole world and completes his mission. Mary was therefore it all.

Can I remind you of something you may have forgotten.

That's why he came. That's why you came.

It is unlike any one of us were all born to to reach our potential to find our area gift to go over our place of success. He came to die. He came to die. How magnificent it was the Charles Wesley would write amazing love how can it be that thou my God Don informed me throughout my ministry I've been intrigued by the two natures of the God man I've always loved the study of the hypostatic union undiminished deity in true humanity, and one person unmixed forever.

There in bodily form. The only member of the Trinity with the body altogether unique and you can witness these two natures at work throughout his earthly ministry he just tired like a man would be tired and he sleeps but he gets up in a column of the sea is only God can call me. His heart is broken over the needs of a woman who hemorrhaging and is God, the touch of his garment, heals her of the flowing of the blind. He weeps over the loss of the Lazarus. It is only God can do the raises from the dead, the God man, the one who began life had bypassed Caesar's Palace and became to be born in a an animal shelter, of all places that greet with animal urine and dong is here he is an infant to could not speak when he's born and infants who could not eat solid food until he got teeth that grew from his gums and who couldn't control his bowels or bladder, when he comes onto this earth and infant who depended on a teenage couple for protection and love and shelter. And yet he held the universe in place baby lying on a stroll in the feed 12 holds the universe in place. Keep that perspective in mind and your stay healthy in your theology of Christmas. Here he is the one whom no one cared for. You came unto his own things, but his own ones did not receive him and did not commit. But as many as did receive him.

He gave them the authority to become children of God, even those that believe in his name. I'm one of you maybe one of them. You may not. You may not celebrate opening gifts and that the songs of Christmas and then the sounds of the smells and the beauty of the food and all that. Things that go with it to go to bed at night with an empty heart and no Savior. Not sure you'll wake up tomorrow morning just met a couple just this morning who are here to visit the man's mother. They live in another state.

Mother is been the picture of health until a stroke came. She's now different person.

Never saw it coming. There wasn't a hint. Everything changed. Here's the Savior. It's got season to you and he says to you, taking over this gift. He comes without any cost to you. He picked up the tab at Calvary. He paid the price at Golgotha. So I love every Christmas Eve when we close our time together to remind everyone about of a beautiful piece that I quoted every year for as long as I can remember since I was celebrating Christmas as a pastor many of you miss the Christmas Eve services and you may not have heard others of you have heard it, but it doesn't does you good to hear it again. Listen to this this point.

In contrast, listen to the contrast, the maker of the universe as man for man was made a curse.

The claims of loss which he had made unto the uttermost paid his holy fingers made the bow for grew, the thorns that crowned his brow.

The nails that pierced his hands were mind in secret places. He designed he made the forests quince there sprung the tree on which his body hung. He died upon a cross of wood made the hill on which it stood.

The sky was dark and or his head by him above the earth was spread the sphere which spilled his precious blood was tempered in the fires of God the grave in which his form was laid was huge and rocks his hands and made the pronoun, which he now appears was his, from everlasting years, but a new glory crowned his brow and every knee to him shall file a man every knee to him will, but yours universe cynics you have this idea that you're your own person. It's all about you.

You will believe that until you have your stroke and then you can take care of yourself and then you realize what you've missed my pleasure this Christmas message to make you aware of the Savior.

Not that you won't enjoy your Christmas celebration. Enjoy it. Delighted.

Have fun saying and dancing rejoice together. But somewhere along the way. Pause and let the wonder in and thinking company and dying for you thunderheads please to sit quietly there for a few moments.

You listen so well and I appreciate that. But now's the time to respond.

If you've never given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ you're not ready to celebrate your living on borrowed time and empty hopes you're only human. You must draw your breath like everyone of us and when that breath stops you're going. My mother died in her sleep lay down for a nap.

Not that old and never woke up.

But she was ready. She went to sleep on earth and woke up in heaven, or when you wake up today. You can guarantee where you'll wake up by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as your own God and Savior do that now. Right now, simple prayer. Heavenly father I I'm I'm lost. Sinful. I live at a distance from you and I acknowledge today that Jesus came and died for me and I take them as my own because of your grace. Thank you for coming into my life dear Lord. By doing so you will begin to worship him. The songs will begin to make sense in the season will have a ring of joy truth about's never had before their father how grateful we are for the message of hope there is a Jesus, thank you for sending him to us. Thank you for releasing him from the joys of heaven in the magnificence of splendor, allowing him to come price for our sins of his thinking that he fulfilled his mission and pay that price in full. Today we worship him.

In fact we have, nor him as our Savior and all God's people said amen and amen. You're listening to the Christmas Eve edition of Insight for living Chuck Swindoll titled today's message. Let's witness a troubled romance in Nazareth. To learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org now just before your closing comment from Chuck today and please remind you that Insight for living has access to several years of preaching material never before shared on the program. In fact, the archive of sermons in our possession is very deep and this January we had the delight of hearing a brand-new series from Chuck. It's a verse by verse study through the New Testament book of Matthew to prepare for this enlightening study.

We invite you to purchase the brand-new hardbound two-volume commentary from Chuck. It's called Swindoll's living insights commentary on Matthew. If you secure the two books now, you'll receive them in plenty of time to prepare for the study that begins in January to purchase when dolls living insights commentary on Matthew go to Insight.org/store or call one of our friendly staff members. If you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 Chuck thanks Dave. No one is come to the challenges of 2020 completely un-skinny all of us have suffered loss at some level for their we lost someone we love to the coronavirus or suffering a financial setback or maybe you've been removed from seeing your family as you would love to do all of us have stories to tell. I know this is true because during the pandemic of 2020. I've heard from many of you I've read your stories. Some of them heartrending. These shared stories of struggle have woven us together. In fact in this history of Insight for living ministries. I've never felt a greater connection to our family of supporters all around the world, even though many of us have been self isolated or even quarantined. Thankfully, because of the Internet and the reliability of our radio stations are daily visits on Insight for living have continued during this year without interruption and as God provides through men and women like you. We promise to be with you every single day in 2021 as well.

Along those lines cannot count on your support as we come to December 31.

Many of already given generously to help us enter the new year with strength, some due to the challenges imposed by this pandemic have not been able to do so.

We fully understand yet many of us can give an even should give God will lead us in how much we should give. And when we should do that. So as we conclude the unforgettable year of 2020.

I am personally inviting you to participate in the mission of Insight for living ministries. Please give a generous end of the year donation as you were able, let's pull together as a family.

One member at a time. Thanks so much for doing your part. And here's how to respond to Chuck Swindoll right now you can get today by calling us glistening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 forget when you go online to Insight.org.

We know that you undoubtedly have plans to be with your loved ones tomorrow Christmas Day. Recommend that you carve out a half-hour to join us on Fridays program. Chuck invites us to celebrate Christmas through the majestic music performed by the choir and orchestra of Stone briar Community Church. This is become a favorite annual tradition at Insight for living as we lift our voices together as one dear the program on your own schedule.

Feel free to download the podcast or stream the audio directly from Insight.org time to explain behalf of Chuck Swindoll and all of us at Insight for living. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. The preceding message. Let's hear God's voice in a babies crying was copyrighted in 2019 and 2020 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2020 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited