Pastor John Nixon Sr. | "If God is a Baby"

happy sabbath everyone and seasons greetings thanks for the privilege of speaking to you today and uh let's let's begin with prayer father in heaven we pray that as we open your word you will be our guide and our teacher in everything in jesus name amen this is a story that was carried by the berlin newspapers last month of an unusual lost and found incident it seems a certain german businessman traveling from dusseldorf to tel aviv suffered a costly lapse in concentration at airport check-in he left a painting on the counter that was valued at three hundred eighty thousand dollars he didn't realize his mistake until he was airborne when he landed he immediately made contact with the authorities and a frantic search ensued but no one could find his treasure they looked everywhere he sent multiple emails describing the painting its size its dimensions the color of the frame but nothing his nephew made a two and a half hour drive from neighboring belgium to join in the search and working with the authorities finally the painting was found where was it where had it been in a recycling dumpster used by the airport's cleaning surface 380 000 in a dumpster how why the painting was wrapped in a cardboard box its value was concealed no one knew what it was so it was treated as though it was worthless i'd like to talk about concealed wealth for the next few minutes under this title if god is a baby luke chapter 2 verses 4 to 7 to begin so joseph also went up from the town of nazareth in galilee to judea to bethlehem the town of david because he belonged to the house and the line of david he went there to register with mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child so it was that while they were there the days were completed for her to be delivered and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn if baby jesus is like the average newborn then he is 20 inches long and weighs seven and a half pounds as he comes into the world his eyes are a little puffy his head is slightly elongated from the birth process and measures one quarter of his total body length his bones are not completely set yet they are a little supple and pliable with two noticeable soft spots of the undeveloped skull anterior and posterior the fontanelles he has all of his muscles but none of his teeth his depth of perception is only about 18 inches though he can see he can hear he can smell he can taste and feel pain he can turn his head and raise his chin and cry but he cannot walk or crawl or feed himself or even roll over on his own baby jesus is just as helpless and just as vulnerable as any baby ever born and yet this is almighty god he could have done it another way but this is how the father chooses to send his son into the world so that even before he gives his life on the cross the son of god has already made an indescribable sacrifice just by becoming one of us jesus doesn't come into the world with special powers other babies do not possess having laid aside his divinity the son of god is born under the normal constraints of human infant capacity he can't read minds he can't see through dense objects he doesn't possess adult intelligence he doesn't know the future doesn't even know who he is yet doesn't even know he exists he's helpless and unknowing as any baby ever born but when mary kisses the cheek of her little boy she's kissing the face of god she cradles in her arms the one who cradled the world she nurses at her breast the one who is the bread of life she whispers in the ear of the one who spake and it was done and commanded and it stood fast when she snuggles him she's embracing the one in whom all the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form colossians 2 9 the great creator himself uncreated enters the world through the birth canal in order to save and creation is recast in redemption and we have escaped from condemnation and when we stop to think of what god has done in his holy son jesus we are stunned into absolute silence and we have no science to explain it the implications stagger us beyond our capacity to fully comprehend so we tiptoe around the manger of bethlehem in reverence and awe picking up scraps of meaning here and there as we're able knowing that we're out of our depth and will never have full knowledge because we're standing on holy ground and more than any other case anywhere anytime when it comes to the birth of jesus our knowledge is dependent on our faith science logic can help us our knowledge is depend we have to believe in order to even begin to understand this is the science of all sciences the science that will be our study throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity it's the foundation of everything there is concerning eternal redemption and one day by the grace of god not long from now we'll look into its mysteries with rejuvenated minds unhampered by sin better minds than we have now under the tutelage of holy angels and what wonders will then appear of the son of god wrapped in swaddling clothes and the subject will never be exhausted the curriculum will never end the textbook will never run out of pages this life is preschool graduate school comes after we are elevated we're not ready for it yet so for now we must endeavor to learn what we can about jesus so when he comes in the clouds we can be with him forever we can learn from the manger about what god is like beginning with this if god is a baby then the presence of god is hidden in a fallen world the glory of divinity is concealed in humanity a priceless painting in a cardboard box the creator lives among his creatures in disguise the savior unrecognized by those he came to save the superman writers got it from the bible the field the theologians call it the incognito those who see jesus of nazareth only on the service do not know whom they've seen they brush by him in the marketplace they sit next to him at a dinner table and don't realize they've made contact with the light of the world they shake hands with the carpenter and think he's only a carpenter they do not know that they have just touched their creator the one who formed them in their mother's womb the one who knew them before they knew themselves and who alone can save them from their sin if they will only put their trust in him the son of god in disguise the priceless painting in a cardboard box and the question comes down to us do we see god in the hidden places in our own lives do we detect his movements on our journey do we see the blessing in the trials the grace of the ordinary things that we tend to take for granted do we understand the victory that is ours if we can only accept by faith the lord's mysterious ways even when they cause us pain have we learned to trust where we cannot see because if god is a baby his presence is hidden in a fallen world what could be more perplexing right now than the plague of the silent killer covet 19. what do we do when it hits close to home when the statistics on the evening news become actual people that we know what do we do when it invades our friend's list or touches our dearest family you've heard the stories of children losing both parents days or in some cases even just hours apart of loved ones dying alone in a hospital or nursing home surrounded by strangers of front-line workers suffering from insomnia and exhaustion as they try to protect other people only to fall victim to the virus themselves where is god in all of this what are his secret ways what is he up to but beloved the presence of god is hidden in a fallen world we're not able to understand what he's up to even if he explains it to us we cannot understand it because divinity wrapped in humanity is beyond our comprehension how does god come into the world in swaddling clothes in a manger surrounded by barnyard animals we cannot see it we cannot understand it the just shall live by faith especially at the beginning of his life and at the end the manger and the cross jesus of nazareth is completely unrecognizable as god isaiah says he had no form or godliness that we should desire him isaiah 53 2 only the eyes of faith could penetrate the incognito and behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world the presence of god is hidden in a fallen world the spotlight is on stage the holy one is backstage the paparazzi is shooting on the red carpet the star of bethlehem is shining on a lonely street corner the course of the earth leads in the wrong direction human nature tends in another way believe and be saved only faith can guide us in a world like this and one more thing i want us to see back to luke 2 verses 15 and 16 this time the bible says when the angels had left them and gone into heaven the shepherds said to one another let's go to bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the lord has told us about so they hurried off and they found mary and joseph and the baby who was lying in a manger this too if god is a baby then salvation is within the reach of everyone babies represent accessibility babies are not exclusive they have not learned the biases and prejudices that divide the human family and make some people valued and other people worthless babies don't discriminate they don't even know how that god would send his son as a baby and then send angels to appear to shepherds is a revelation of his character they're just a bunch of shepherds the bible doesn't even give their names they're on important people in their place in time in the first century world shepherding was a despised occupation it had no special meaning it took no special training or talent to be a shepherd sheep herders were not considered productive or creative they were lowlifes the common conception of them was that they were lazy kicking back in the fields all day napping while their flocks strayed and ate grass on other people's lands they were hardly the cream of the crop and yet angels appeared to them to make the greatest announcement that was ever heard in the history of the world the important people didn't come to the manger the church leaders didn't come even though they were just six miles away in jerusalem but the shepherds were there by a special invitation and all of their insignificance because if god is a baby salvation it was within the reach of everyone god is a baby it doesn't matter who you are how high or how low if god is a baby it doesn't matter how far you've drifted away from god if you're living and breathing there's still hope for you there is no one so low that god will not hear their prayer of confession prayed in faith there is no mistake so awful that god will not forgive us and cleanse us when we confess our sins first john 1 9. christ already knows our shameful secrets he sees all the dark corners of our hearts he knows us through and through and yet he says to us whosoever will let him come and drink the water of life freely so god calls the lowly shepherds to come and he tells them that what they're looking for is in a stable and after they've seen him in all of their spectacular ordinariness the bible says the shepherds return praising god this is what god has done for us he came to the world through the birth canal to put salvation within our reach divinity in our midst he came as a baby so we could understand his intentions toward us he came in a manger so we could follow our lord jesus he gave himself up even before he ever reached the cross the cross of calvary is the ultimate sacrifice but it was preceded by a series of sacrifices of infinite scope bringing the son of god further and further down from his throne closer and closer to our level until he reached the lowest of us and then then he died so we can trust him and it's time for us to do so come out of hiding it does not matter what you've done through confession of sin and true repentance of heart you can be restored back to god that can happen for you to give yourself the best christmas present you will ever receive confess your sins and let god bring you back to himself and i'm speaking now to the worst sinner hearing my voice the biggest liar the biggest cheat the greatest hypocrite you are not beyond hope if god is a baby then although his presence is hidden his salvation is within your reach to everyone no matter who you are what do you believe let me close with this it's a story of an 80 year old man in france who was tired of the pesky fly buzzing around his kitchen landing on his food blurring his vision decided to do something about it and he knew just the thing he had purchased an electric bug zapper designed to kill flies with a single touch he went and got it looks like a tennis racket but there was a serious slip up something he had not accounted for he was in for a disastrous surprise the old man waved the wand but it never touched the fly instead it ignited the gas in his kitchen caused by a leak he did not know he had and there was a great explosion the whole kitchen blew up it was destroyed the roof of the house was practically blown off the old man escaped with a small injury because he died under the table at the last minute and the fly escaped overnight that story is a metaphor for what happens when we try to make our own way in this world when we try to figure out our own future try to arrange our own salvation that's when this happens we wave the magic wand but we never catch the fly it all blows up in our faces we have no remedy for our condition there's no hope that we can create for ourselves but god has already made exactly what we need when he came as a baby in the manger hidden from view but available to all come out of hiding receive him now as your lord and savior let's pray father in heaven oh how grateful we are for the greatest christmas gift ever given which can never be outdone the gift of your son for the world how grateful we are lord that his his coming his gift is for the world lord we receive it today we accept that gift receive our confession we pray and give us the salvation that we could never find for ourselves thank you lord in jesus name amen god bless you [Music] [Applause] [Music] time [Music] hey [Music] hey [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] okay [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] me thank you so much felipe pacquinella on the keyboard and douglas lyra on the saxophone for that wonderful rendition of oh holy night each time you gentlemen bring your gifts to our congregation you leave us blessed so thank you so much for that i also want to say a thank you to pastor nixon senior for giving us our word for this morning our message that we can take with us throughout this week one of the benefits that this season this quarantine this pandemic has brought about is a stronger sense of community of course we are familiar with who our colleagues are around the conference or neighboring churches but this pandemic has i wouldn't say force but has really urged us to do more collaborative work together specifically um i'm speaking of my colleague paul the saint at the sligo seventh-day adventist church and michael patterson at spencerville seventh-day adventist church one of the we are the three churches in the area three adventist churches in the area that still have a choir a formal church choir and we all have had um obligations and responsibilities to take care of music during the christmas and the holiday season so what we combined together to do something during thanksgiving and we decided to do it again uh here for christmas and what better song to come together and sing than the song that resonates so loudly and so um with so passionately with most of our protestant brothers and sisters which is handles hallelujah chorus i will be joined by musicians from the montgomery county symphony orchestra also led by brother paul the saint over at sligo and this was a labor of love and putting all these videos together from different congregations but i invite you to sing along your part as we celebrate of course the second coming um the first arrival the second arrival um celeb the celebration of just christ in general through his lordship his sovereignty and his reign and handles hallelujah chorus [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] huh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] is [Music] oh is [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] and now the benediction father we thank you for what you have done for us today in this service lord we know that you have everything in your hands and even though jesus came as a baby he grew up he became a man he died on the cross for us he raised back to life he went to heaven and because of that we can be sure of our salvation so bless us today to have everything that we need and now as we uh depart from this online service dismiss us from here but never from your presence may we enjoy the season of christmas knowing that it's all about you that we share the love of god with everyone that we come in contact with until jesus comes again in his name we pray amen god bless you happy sabbath to you enjoy the rest of your sabbath and please enjoy your family merry christmas you

Channel: Takoma Park SDA Church

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Id: 8_lin4kOszg

Length: 31min 19sec (1879 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 12 2021