In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of studying the Word of God and understanding His purpose and will. He highlights the progression and growth of the Word of God throughout different stages in the Bible. The speaker also mentions the significance of the virgin birth and how it relates to the will of God. Additionally, he emphasizes the need to come to Jesus and learn from Him, rather than just learning about Him.

Well, good morning, brothers and sisters in the Lord. Isn't the Lord good this weekend? Isn't he good all the time? Do you like my shirt? Thank you. My daughter-in-law said, don't wear that, it's corny. I love Nike, that's corny. As we come to the study of God's Word, there's a principle of Bible study that is absolutely indispensable. Now, we say that over and over and over again. I say it every time I come to the Word of God, even when I'm alone. I say that, I recite that, because I don't want to forget or ever depend upon anything except Him, who alone can open the Word and open my heart and unveil the Lord Jesus. And the last, the bottom line of all Bible study, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, learn of me. That's not learn about me. He's the teacher. Learn of me. He's the one that leads us to himself and into rest. Now, I want to share a Bible verse before we pray together. It's a precious verse in 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9. And I'm sure you're familiar with this wonderful verse. It says, the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he may strongly support those who are his. And what I want to call attention to is this, that the eyes of the Lord are searching to and fro on the earth, but he is not looking for those who are strong toward him. That's not what it says. He's looking for those to whom he can be strong. That's not the same thing. And I have an idea, and we have a room full of those to whom he can be strong. He's looking for those who will allow him to strongly support them. And in a special way this morning, I would ask you to pray for me. I need to have the Lord strong toward me. And we all need it. So let's trust the Lord together, and let's pray that God will meet us again. Our Heavenly Father, how glad we are to come to you in the name of our Lord Jesus, and to be able to claim, to know, that it is your great desire to unveil Christ to our hearts. Far more desires are you than we are to see. And we ask you, Lord, to work in us that childlike attitude of helpless dependence, that we might trust you this morning as you minister your word and perform all of your purposes in us. We pray for all the will of God this morning. Meet us where we are, and then take us where you desire us to be. We ask in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Well, we don't need to review quite as much because we're into the weekend. You know we're looking at this wonderful 30 years, this, those years of preparation of our Lord Jesus Christ. I've suggested to you that that record the Bible gives us of those 30 years, are God's record of the progressive revelation of the Lord Jesus. I don't know of any, perhaps you do, but I don't know of any scripture, section, segment, portion of God's word that more clearly presents the progressive revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ than those 30 years. And it's sad that often those 30 years are neglected by God's children in the study of his word. He is progressively manifest. Those were preparation years for our Lord Jesus, according to Hebrews chapter 5 and other places, that he learned obedience by the things that he suffered in those 30 years, in those days of his flesh. And he was made perfect, it said. You say, well, wasn't he already perfect? Oh, indeed he was perfect. But if you read the context, what it says is, he was made by those 30 years the perfect Savior. Qualified, that's what it means, that those years qualified him for the ministry, the redemptive ministry that he did. Now we've been following those handout sheets. That's only an aid, you know. It's not inspired, but it helps us to see where we are and where we're going. I've suggested to you that the way he came is the way he comes. And what he was then, he is now. He's everlastingly the same. The same yesterday and today and forever. And as he was progressively revealed in the gospel record, is exactly the way Christ is formed in our hearts now. God in his greatness condescended to give us this wonderful picture. Adam, you know, was created an adult. He was already an adult. Christ could have come as an adult and just done the work. But in the wisdom of God, he wanted us to see how Christ was progressively formed. And so he gave us this marvelous, marvelous picture. First, as he was conceived in Mary, he is conceived in us. And as he was formed in her, he is formed in us. And in the fullness of time as she gave him forth, and he was an infant. So there is a stage in our life where he is an infant. And as he matured and grew and developed, he matures and grows and develops to a young adult in our life. We'll follow the record of that progress, of that growing, of that maturing. Because as he grows, as he matures, as he's formed, he finally reaches the place where he can begin his ministry. It's after those stages that he begins his ministry. We are always, from the time we come to know the Lord, ready to roll up our sleeves and wade in. Let's start ministering. And we minister long before he does. He matures in us. He grows in us. But there comes a day, and we'll look at it standing in the waters of baptism, and in the wilderness where he's tempted, where he reaches that maturity, and his ministry begins. Oh God, may he help us. Again our prayer, we're sighing with the Apostle Paul, Galatians 4.19. My children, with whom I am again in labor, in travail, Paul says, until Christ is formed in you. My son shared with me last night, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 6. Philippians 2.6 says, He who has begun a good work in you. Can you finish it? Oh, bless the Lord for his goodness. Has he come into your life? He will mature. He will. He will grow. And he will use you redemptively. Now that may be a bumpy road along the way. But he's going to mature. He's going to bring you to those places, and those seasons that we see. And I don't think we can nail it down and say, well this happens eight days later, like it happened in his life. But there are seasons, give or take, depending on many things that we can't go into. But that's what we're looking at. Last evening, we looked at the nine months that our Lord Jesus was in Mary. Her pregnancy, that Jesus has a fetus. And there we saw the first principles. And Christ at that time, and I hope you remembered, as I shared with you, those early days. When Christ was so small. He was so tiny, almost imperceptible in your heart, in your life. And the facts of the Bible record give us the great principles. Let me just set that before your heart again, and then we'll move on. When Christ is first conceived in my heart. I don't know much. I know very little, but I do know these things, and these are the principles we looked at last night. I know this. It's not by man. He has discovered to me, I didn't word it that way at that time. I didn't say, well now I have discovered the virgin birth. But I knew it was not by works, but by his Spirit. That's not a lot, but that's the beginning. And that was the introduction of Christ being conceived in your heart. At that time I didn't know much, but I knew this. God had written a magnifica in my heart. There's a song. There's a joy. Can't explain it, it's just there. Praise God, and I was alive with Thanksgiving, and the exuberance of emotional joy was a chief characteristic when Christ was a fetus in my heart. Those days I don't know much, but I know there's something in me drawing me to be with those who have had a similar experience. And I find myself gravitating to those who by his miracle have also been prepared by God. At that time I don't know much, but I know this. That God is doing something in the lives of my loved ones. Because there's no way I can explain what happened in my life. And God begins to do miracles in my family. Praise God for that. At that time when Christ is just a fetus, when everything's new, when there's this song in my heart and I'm rejoicing in God's people. I don't have a clue about the Word of God. But God does. And so he guides me by circumstances and he leads me to the house of bread. Mary had no clue she had to arrive in Bethlehem at a certain time, so God used the government and Caesar and all the rest in order to bring her to that place. Well, that's how it was then. That's how it is now. And that's how it shall ever be. God be praised when Christ is a fetus in my heart. That brings us this morning to the second stage of the maturity of our Lord Jesus. His infancy. His babyhood. He's still young. He's still unformed. He's in process. He's growing. He's developing. He's maturing. It's different than when he was in the womb. At least you can see him now. He's born. He's a baby. He's an infant. He can be seen and be held and be hugged and be appreciated and be admired and be shown off. You can see from the outline that this section is going to include all of those famous Christmas stories. The shepherds going to the temple to have the Lord circumcised and dedicated. The coming of the Magi and so on. Now I didn't include this on the outline but you might want to also include Matthew 2, 12-23. And it's really the last story of this section of his infancy. This section closes with Herod's wickedness. Slaying all the infants of Bethlehem. Am I disconnected? I have a little problem with a section like this because we're so accustomed to study these stories in an isolated way. And they're so familiar. Like last year Brent shared about the shepherds. And he just took that story. And I understand. I didn't get to hear the tape and all. But I just understand he shared. And shared. You might get the idea that we're going to start with the shepherd story and we'll look at that. And then we'll go to the temple and look at Simeon. And then we'll do the Magi and all that kind of thing. That's not how we're going to do it this morning. And so may God help us as we just sort of get out of that mold just for a little bit. There's nothing wrong with that. But we're trying to follow this progress, the development of our Lord Jesus. We're not just looking at Christmas stories one story after another. But we're going to focus more on the development, the forming of Christ. So I'm going to try, God helping, to weave the stories together. In order that we might not just look at four stories. Because it's not four stories. It's one story. It's the story of Christ when he was an infant. And so we're going to look at it as one story. Now, you're going to, I hope we don't judge one another when we go from stage to stage and say, Well, Christ is a fetus in his life. No question about that. God hasn't called us to do that. God has called us to rejoice that Christ is maturing in our lives. And he's going to come to maturity in order that he can minister through each one of us individually. And through us corporately as a body. That's the glory of the whole thing. There are some in whom Christ is still a fetus. They know about grace and they know it's not by works. And they gravitate to God's people and they're not grounded in the word. And God is still guiding them by circumstances. There are some that are, that Christ has only become an infant in their life. And that's a different thing. And so the assignment that I believe God has given me this morning is to set before you as we tried to do last night. What does it look like? What are the characteristics of my life? When Christ is just an infant. And so may God help us. Now I don't want to jump right in. I want to make an observation before we begin with those principles. And that is this. That the way the Holy Spirit tells the story. Although the stories give us clear demarcations. Concerning the progress, the growth of our Lord. We can see these are 9 months and then these are 8 days. And then this is 2 years. And then this is 12 years. He marks it off. So that he's almost inviting us to say study this. And then study this. Because this is different than this. And so on. Just so there are other truths that are observable. As you go through the record. That are also growing and maturing. But in an abbreviated weekend like this. There's no time to develop those refrains. Let me give you a couple of examples. So you know what I'm talking about. In each stage of the record. There is an emphasis on the word of God. By the word I don't just mean the Bible. I mean the purpose of God. The will of God. And as you go from stage 1 to stage 2. The will of God gets bigger also. And as you move into the next stage. The will of God. You see it in every stage. The word of God. The purpose of God. Let me try to illustrate that for you. For example. You looked yesterday at the virgin birth. Why was he virgin born? Well among the many reasons. And some we touched on yesterday. Is this. Because it was prophesied. In Isaiah chapter what 7. Verse 14. To fulfill the word of God. And why was he born in Bethlehem? Among many reasons. To fulfill the word of God. Micah said he was going to be born in Bethlehem. And when he was a baby. Remember we quoted the verses. Why did he come? He said. In Hebrews chapter 10. 5 to 7. To do thy will. So even in the beginning we see. It's about God's will. It's fulfilling God's purpose. It's fulfilling God's word. And when they brought him to the temple. In Luke 2. 22 and 23. Why did they bring him there? They said according to the law of Moses. As it is written in the law. To fulfill the law. And so we see even in his infancy. And why did he come out of Egypt? To fulfill Hosea 11. It's about the word of God. And why did he set it in Nazareth? That it might be fulfilled. Which was written by all the prophets. That he shall be a rejected person. That's the principle of the Nazarene. And when he was 12. Why did he go to Jerusalem? Because of the word of God. It was commanded. That three times a year they would go up to Jerusalem. And what was it all about when he was 12? Chapter 2 verse 49 of Luke. The father's business. I must be about my father's business. There's this growing emphasis on the word of God. And when he was baptized by John. There was this little argument. John didn't want to do it at first. And why did he finally do it? Matthew chapter 3 verse 15. Permitted at this time. To fulfill all righteousness. To fulfill the word of God. And so I'm suggesting as Jesus matures. There's this growing maturity also. Of the will of God. The purpose of God. And not only the truth of God's will. But as you look at from the very beginning. At first it's a shadow. You can hardly see. But then you go to the next. It gets clearer and clearer and clearer. You know what else is in every story? The cross. The cross. You see he's moving toward the cross of course. But every story has a hint. And it gets bigger and bigger. And the cross grows and grows. Even in his infancy. Some suggest that the swaddling clothes. That he was wrapped in. The same that Lazarus was wrapped in. Their grave clothes. I don't know if that's so or not. But it wouldn't surprise me. If his first wrappings. And his final wrappings. Were the same. Some have seen the cross. In some of the offerings. That the wise men brought. Especially in the myrrh. The sufferings. You've studied that kind of thing. And it's included in Luke 2.34. Simeon's word. The child is appointed for the rise. And fall of many in Israel. Assigned to be opposed. When he was born. He said I come to do thy will. Sacrifice and offering. You didn't desire a body. You've prepared for me. Jesus was 12 years old. What's the whole background of that story? It's the Passover. Is the cross in there? Well that's the whole point of that. That's the celebration of. Deliverance through the blood of the lamb. And when Jesus was 8 days old. That's the first shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus. As he was separated from the flesh. It's all a picture. And the cross grows and grows and grows and grows. And when he stood in Jordan's stream. And identified with. Hell deserving sinners. And that dog came down. He said oh there's the dove of peace. Not primarily so. That's not the dove of peace. You know what the dove is in Luke. It's the poor man's lamb. It's the cross. And as he stood in the water. God anointed him. With the cross. As he stood among those. He came to save. And so the point I'm trying to make is. We're following the growing the maturing of Jesus. But as you follow that. It's also the word of God. The purpose of God gets bigger and bigger. And the cross gets bigger and bigger. And there are other things as well. That grow. And I'm suggesting. In proportion to the revelation of Christ in my life. And in proportion to the revelation of Christ. In your life. So will grow. The purpose of God in your life. And so will grow the cross. In your life. The more you see Jesus. And so other things are also growing. But we're going to. Come back and focus just. On our Lord Jesus Christ. Begin by calling attention. I'm going to look at the characteristics of Christ. As an infant. But let me begin by calling attention. And I'm not going to just. I'll give verses. And you can look at them if you'd like. Or trust me on that. But again it's not this story. And then this. I'm going to try to bring it together. And I want to show you a transition. Between Christ as a fetus. In my heart. And Christ as an infant. When I described. Jesus as a fetus. I called attention to the fact. That Mary. The instrument. Of the indwelling Christ. Brought. Christ. To the door of. Those prepared by God. Remember we talked about that. And I illustrated at that time. That when Mary brought Christ. To Elizabeth's door. Christ was so small. He was so imperceptible. That Elizabeth looked in an unhealthy way. Toward the instrument. Praise God for the Christ. But also praise God for the instrument. That's not unusual. And I'm not saying it's wrong. At that stage. To be thankful for the instrument. That brings Christ to your door. But that's sort of where we closed. Last night. The instrument. And the Christ in the instrument. Are so united. That you can't really take them apart. They're one. And only the instrument. Well I can't say only the instrument is seen. But the instrument is certainly prominent. In that fetal stage. But now watch. How this begins to change. When the Lord Jesus comes out of the womb. The first story is about the shepherds. And again if you want the full record of that. Get Brent's tape. But for our purposes. I want you to see this. Luke chapter 2. Verses 6 to 20. When the glory of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field. And I believe that's the Shekinah glory. That had left the earth 600 years before. In the days of Ezekiel. Notice. In the word. There's not a word about the human instrument. Verse 10. Luke chapter 1. And the angels said to them. Be not afraid. I bring you good tidings of great joy. Which shall be to all the people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David. A savior who's Christ the Lord. And this is the sign to you. You shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Lying in a manger. The instruments are mentioned. But only incidentally. It's not about them. It's about him. Unto you is born this day. A savior. Christ the Lord. This time it's not the instrument. Indwelt by an unformed Christ. Gravitating toward those prepared. So that she can have fellowship. This time. The prepared are seeking her out. The shepherds are coming to her. She's not going to them. I have an idea the shepherds would have never gotten the news that night. If they waited for Mary to show up in the fields. Or waited for Joseph to show up and tell them. Take a look at my baby. That's not how it happened. Mary and Joseph. At this time. Were themselves as instruments. Very Christ centered. As any new parent would be. They would be focused on their baby. Focused on their child. But at this point. Others are coming to see the baby. Now when they arrived in Bethlehem. And sought out. By the sign that the angel gave them. Did they find the human instruments? And the answer of course is yes. They found the ones that brought Christ into the world. Mary was there. So was the stepfather of the Lord Jesus. Luke 1 16. They came in haste. And they found both Mary. And Joseph. And the baby. Lying in a manger. The instrument is still there. But I want you to notice. That there is a separation now. It's not that the baby is hidden in the instrument. So all you see is the human instrument. Now they see the instrument. But they also see the baby. And there has been a separation. Of the instrument. And the Christ. Mary is still there. Jesus is still there. But now the attention comes off Mary. And they look in the manger. And they see the Lord Jesus. When the shepherds finished sharing what they had been told. Everyone was amazed. Including the instruments that brought him into the world. Luke 1 19. Mary kept all these sayings. Pondering them. In their heart. Now hold that for a moment. And let's go 8 days ahead. We come into the temple. And there is another that has been prepared by God. Luke 1. I'm not going to read the record. Because you know the story. 2. 26. Luke 2. 26. Thank you Kathy. It had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit. That he should not see death. Before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Truly this man was a seeker. Prepared by God to meet Jesus. The timing is impeccable. Verse 27. He came in the Spirit. Into the temple. Let me ask you again. Did he see the human instrument? The answer is yes. She is carrying the baby. When he was a fetus. Was she carrying the baby? Yes. That's how we express it. She is carrying the child. Is there a difference between carrying a baby and carrying a baby? Yes. She was carrying the baby. In such a way that all you could see was the instrument. Now she is carrying a baby. In such a way that you can see the instrument. But you can also see the baby. And then look at verse 28. He received him. Into his arms and blessed God. You see the progress. Elizabeth sees mostly the instrument. The shepherds see the instrument and Jesus. But he is sort of down there. And now Simeon. Bless the Lord. Simeon actually takes Christ. From the arms of Mary. And embraces him for himself. Now he is holding Christ for himself. I tell you brothers and sisters in Christ. This is part of the infancy of Christ. But it is a wonderful day. In the formation of Christ in our life. When as instruments of God. We learn how to hand Christ to somebody else. In such a way that they can embrace him. Without embracing us. That is what took place here. And that is all part of the infancy of Christ. It is a wonderful wonderful day. And that is the first observation. As we move from Christ as a fetus. To Christ as an infant. And it is that there is a gradual separation. Between the instrument and the Savior. Until finally the instrument is able to hand off the Savior. And they can embrace him. Now let me show you another observation. Of our Lord Jesus. As an infant. And how he develops. Now let's go back to that Simeon story. Simeon holding Christ. I want to take the perimeter. I want to look at the terminal points. Of the record of the infancy of Christ. As he embraces Jesus. He takes Christ from the instrument. And he holds Christ to himself. And as he looks at the instrument. What does he see? Now according to the testimony. Luke 1 verse 29 or 229. I am wrong on this. I have got it wrong on every page of my notes. Now let us. Now thy servant depart in peace. According to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light for revelation to the Gentiles. And the glory of thy people Israel. And God is giving us an illustration of Christ in his infancy. That he is embraced. And now in a clear way. We look at Christ. And we say I have seen salvation. Salvation. Salvation is a person. And his name is Jesus. It is more than a plan. A plan of salvation. It is now a person. And that is how it begins. When Christ is an infant. And in verse 29. In effect he says this. I am ready to die now. I found Christ. Let your servant depart in peace. Do you remember when that is about all you knew? Do you remember when you embraced Christ for yourself? And all you knew is this. I found salvation. I am ready to die. Now I am ready to. See that is infancy. That is when he is just a baby. And all you know is he is savior. And you are ready to die. And then you go tear it out into the neighborhood to tell everybody else. You are going to find him. And you will be ready to die. Beautiful to see Christ as an infant. In his children. Not just the instrument now. Now it is the person. On whom we pin our hopes. For all eternity. But that is not the full story. Embracing him as savior. The other end of the infancy record. There is the story of the Magi. We are going to pass over all those interesting facts. About the amazing star. And how many Magi were there. And the relation of the Magi to the Old Testament prophets. And astrology and all that kind of thing. Come to the main point. Jesus is now about two years old. We learn that from Matthew 2.16. When Herod saw that he was mocked. By the wise man. He was exceeding wrath. And sent forth and slew all the male children. That were in Bethlehem. And the borders thereof. From two years old and under. According to the time. He had exactly learned of the wise man. So from the infant in the manger. Now it is about two years. Some Gentiles. Seekers come from the east. They are seeking him. But now notice the difference. God is calling attention. To a progress. From the shepherds. To Simeon. And now to the Magi. What is their vision of him? Chapter two. Verse two. Where is he that is born. King of the Jews. We have seen his star. And we have come to worship him. This is infancy. On one end. He is salvation. My eyes have seen salvation. I am ready to die. On the other end. He is King. He is Lord. I want to bow down. I want to worship him. I want to lay my gifts at his feet. Matthew 2.11. They came into the house. They saw the young child with Mary's mother. They fell down and worshipped him. Opening their treasures. They offered him gifts. Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. They find the King. They bow before the King. They worship the King. They lay their gifts before the King. May I suggest. Those are the terminal points of the infancy of Christ. Remember in your life. He is my Savior. As he began to develop. He is also Lord. He is my Savior. He is my Lord. You have heard the testimony. For years I knew him as Savior. I knew him as Lord. But then finally I came to know him as Lord. Now. Brothers and sisters in Christ. I know. We speak of Jesus as Savior and Lord. And we are accustomed to think this way. Many. Many. Many Christians know him as Savior. But not everyone has come to know him as Lord. And it is a crisis. In our lives. When finally we see he is Lord. And we bow down. And we worship him as Lord. And we think we are pretty far down the road by that time. That is part of his infancy. You are not very far down the road at all. You have not even begun. When you see him as Savior. And finally as Lord. And you begin for the first time. Do not forget this is progress. This is the first time we have introduced worship. And all of a sudden they are introduced. He is Lord. And we begin to worship the Lord. And this is their first real taste of surrender. And now we begin to know a little bit about laying things down at his feet. That is all early stages. That is threshold truth. Praise God for threshold truth. Praise God for the day when he opens our eyes. We see he is my Savior. I am ready to die. He is my Lord. He is my King. I bow before him. I lay down all these gifts. That is an incomplete view of a very complete Savior. Finally he is undisputed Lord. That is infancy. He has only begun to be formed in you when you come that far. And it is true that some have not even come that far. Alright now hold that for a moment. And let us go eight days after he is born. We are sort of backtracking but I want you to see eight days later. Another characteristic of this period in my life. When Christ is being formed in me. When he was a fetus. I did not know the word of God. And I knew I wanted to be around God's people. I was happy and all that kind of thing. But now I have seen him. And it is not a thing. It is a person's salvation. I am ready to die. He is my King. I fall before him. Eight days later. According to the record. Luke 1 31. God had told. Mary before Jesus was conceived. You will call his name Jesus. Matthew 1 21. An angel told Joseph. You will call his name Jesus. And so it happened in Luke 2 21. When eight days had passed. Before his circumcision. His name was called Jesus. They did not name the baby when the baby was born. They named the baby. At the dedication. At the circumcision. Eight days later. I want to call attention to this. Federation of Christ. In his infancy. One of the big things that will then become real in our life. Is dedication. And there is going to be dedication. And you will see it. And rededication and so on. Now at this time. We have only seen him as Savior. And as Lord. Is that all he is? I want to give. This is machine gun again. I looked up some of the titles that were given to him. When he was a baby. This is not for later on. This is when he was born. Matthew 1.1.1.16. Messiah. The Christ. Matthew 1.1. Son of David. Son of Abraham. Matthew 1.23. Emmanuel. God with us. Matthew 2.6. A shepherd. Matthew 2.15. Son of God. Luke 1.35. The same. Luke 1. 69. The horn of salvation. Luke 1.76. The most high. Luke 2.32. A light for the Gentiles. Luke 2.32. The glory of Israel. John 1. Verse 1 and 14. The word made flesh. John 1.4. The life and the light of men. Malachi 3.1. The messenger of the covenant. Isaiah 9.6. Wonderful counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace. Hebrews 1.10. The first born from whom are all things. Hebrews 2.10. The author of salvation. Genesis 3.15. The seed of the woman. 1 Corinthians 15.45. The last Adam. Zechariah 6.12. The branch. Haggai 2.6. The desire of the nations. Those are all infancy titles. This is amazing. When you have a baby and you say, come look at my baby. Let me tell you about him. How many things can you say? He's cute. He's fat. Look at all that hair. What do we say? Look, he's got a dimple. That's all we say. Jesus was all of these things. They thought they had arrived because he's Savior, he's Lord. That's all they saw. They had not yet seen that he's the Everlasting Father and the Mighty God and the Counselor and the Prince of Peace. The desire of the nations. He was all those things. I'll tell you. This is a stupid question, but how many angels are there? None tell us. Every now and then it gives us a thing like it says, there were 10,000 times 10,000. You ever do the math? That's a hundred million. 10,000 times 10,000. Then it says, and thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads. And one place said an unnumbered host. You know when Jesus was born, God called them all together. Called them all together. Every one of them. However many there are. Millions and millions and millions. He called them all together. The Bible tells about it. Hebrews 1.6. When he brings his firstborn into the world, he said, let all the angels of God worship him. They all gathered together. And he says he's about to be born when he's born. Every one of you. No exception. Worship him. And we think we've seen him. He's Savior. He's Lord. We haven't begun to see him. That's his infancy. That's his infancy. And then as I said. Far more than our dim eyes can see as he begins to grow. Even though we have him. A million years can go by. You'll never have more Christ than you have right now. You'll see more, but you won't have more. You have him. He's a person. You have all of him. And he's going to increase and increase and increase. Well, anyway. In this infancy stage, there begins to be a separation of the instrument and the Christ. There's this incomplete view of a complete Christ. And as I started to tell you about. Now I've tasted a little bit of worship. I've tasted a little bit of surrender unto him. But now there's this thing. In Luke chapter 2. Verse 22. Describe Mary and Joseph. When Jesus was an infant. And dedication. They dedicated the baby. And that's going to be a big part of the infancy. I could give so many testimonies. I won't bore you with it. How many times in his infancy do you dedicate your life? And then you rededicate your life. And then someone else. You keep surrendering and surrendering and surrendering. You don't know at that time that you don't need more surrender. You need a greater revelation of Christ to whom you can surrender. We need a greater vision of him. We need him to grow. And then you can surrender to that new revelation. But at this time. As he's an infant. All you know is that he's your Savior. And all you know is that he's your Lord. And you want to worship him. And you want to give him everything. And you want to dedicate yourself. That's not wrong. That's how it is. When he's just an infant. When he's just a baby. There's more. He wants to grow more. But that's how it is in those early stages. Let me make one more observation. And then we'll wrap it up. When Christ was a fetus. I pointed out that. Even though the instrument didn't know the word of God. God in his great grace guided through circumstances. And he protected. He took care of it. The story ends. The infancy section. With Matthew 2.13-33. God's supernatural protection. Of the Christ. This is that wonderful story in Matthew. Which illustrates another characteristic. We're going to move now deeper into the grace of God. This is where Mary and Joseph are sent by God into Egypt. And then later called out of Egypt. It has to do with spiritual warfare. Now as you would guess at this stage. When Christ is just a baby in your heart. When Christ is just a baby in my heart. I don't have a clue. About spiritual warfare. Not then. I don't have a clue. Mainly. Imagine that I've seen a lot. Because I've tasted a little worship. And tasted a little bit of surrender. I've seen him as Savior. I've seen him as Lord. I think I know. But they're about to come in for a big surprise. And learn. That there is an enemy. That hates their guts. And there is an enemy that hates. The Christ. That is now an infant. In their arms. At that time. You don't know one. Thing. About the devil schemes. At that time. You don't know one thing about his malice. At that time. You don't have a clue. About your armor. At that time. You know nothing. Of his victory. You don't know about prayer. And you don't know. About fasting. And you don't know. About loosing and binding. And you don't know. About corporate authority. And you don't know about anything. You are vulnerable. And then you read the record. I love this great illustration with Herod. Pictured as. The servant of Satan. I'm totally vulnerable. I speak as a fool. Christ is an infant in my life. He's unformed in my life. He's undeveloped in my life. Wouldn't you think when Christ is that. Small in my life. That the devil could come in and pounce all over me. And wipe out the Christ in my life. That Satan hates Christ. Is certainly illustrated by what Herod did. To those innocent babies in Bethlehem. And in the surrounding region. And if history tells the truth. It illustrates the malice of that mad man. He's so stupid. That his edict. Kill every baby two years and under. Forgot where his daughter was living. And his own child two years old. Was killed in that edict. One historian at that time wrote this. One would better be a hog of Herod. Than his son. That will stand forever. As a symbol. Of the futility. Of any enemy going after Christ. If Satan. When you knew nothing of spiritual warfare. If Satan couldn't get Christ when you were that vulnerable. Do you think you're safe now? You are so safe. God is going to protect his Christ. You know it's interesting that God said go into Egypt. You say why Egypt? You know what Egypt represents. You've read the record. That's bondage. That's slavery. That's oppression. That's not the place for him to be protected. But at that time. When he's an infant. I don't know anything about liberty. I don't know anything about deliverance from the flesh. I don't know anything about victory. I'm operating still by the principles of the world. And by the flesh. And I'm in Egypt. And is he going to send me to Egypt to protect Christ there? Not only to protect Christ there. But in Egypt Christ continues to grow and to live. Herod. Rots and dies. Christ grows and lives. There will be a day and this ends the infancy. When we'll get a word. Come out of Egypt. I've called my son. But not yet. We're still in the infancy stages. And so even in Egypt. When we're in Egypt. Christ comes into our bondage. When he's protected and he grows there. And then one day God's going to teach us. A new deliverance and he'll call us out. But not yet. He's still an infant. As an infant then. Let me just summarize these characteristics. As an infant you can see. Now the instrument and the Christ. Being separated so much so. That the instrument can hand off the Christ. To someone else who can embrace him. As salvation. In the infancy stage. We have a very incomplete view. Of a complete Christ. And we think it's a complete view. We see him as Savior. We see him as Lord. We've tasted only a little bit of worship. We've exposed for the first time. Laying down our gifts before him. Our lives are marked by dedication, dedication, dedication, dedication. Still living in Egypt. And God in his grace. Is protecting the Christ. And Christ is growing and developing. And we get ready for the next stage. Out of Egypt I've called my son. And he moves on. And he takes us forward. In the heart knowledge of God. Do you see? How he developed. The record is exactly what happens in our life. Now we're ready for ministry. Not yet. He's still a baby. He still prays God for this revelation. But it's only his babyhood. He needs to grow and to grow and to grow. So someday. He can have a redemptive ministry through his body. And pour his life out for the world. That's coming. And so we'll look at the next stage tonight. But I want you to see. These characteristics. Now in the light of the one principle. We have a very dim view of a very great Savior. There is a song. A precious song. That has the fullness of Christ. These great titles. And Debbie Greenlee. If you'd be willing to come. And she's going to sign. I want you to listen to the words of the song. Because this is Christ. As he grows. And as he grows. Debbie. And thank you.