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From  the  Crib  To  the  Cross  

Valley  Center  Seventh-­‐day  Adventist  Church    

Written  By:  Pastor  John  T.  Anderson    

Delivered  On  December  21,  2013    

This Sermon is available in audio format for listening or downloading on our Audio Sermons web page.

We  have  gathered  here  today  to  celebrate  the  birth  of  our  dear  Messiah,  Jesus.  With  songs  and  Scripture  we  are  being  reminded  of  His  nativity  some  2,000  years  ago.  What  strikes  me  about  our  program  today  is  that  our  church  doesn’t  look  exactly  like  it  did  just  a  few  weeks  ago,  and  there  are  some  relevant  thoughts  we  can  consider  in  relation  to  that  this  morning.  Jesus’  birth  and  our  flood  damage;  what  do  they  have  in  common?  

Some  time  between  10  p.m.  Thursday  December  12  and  the  next  morning,  Friday  about  9:30  a.m.  a  fitting  on  a  water  supply  in  the  men’s  restroom  dismantled.  It  literally  came  “unglued,”  releasing  a  huge  amount  of  water,  resulting  in  massive  flooding  throughout  approximately  75%  of  our  facility.  What  a  blessing  it  was  that  Brother  Charlie  “just  happened”  (does  anything  “just  happen”?)  to  check  the  inside  of  the  church  that  morning  and  found  water  everywhere!  I’ve  tried  to  imagine  the  chaos  if  he  hadn’t  discovered  it  Friday  morning,  and  we  came  Sabbath  morning  to  find  that  out.  Of  course,  much  more  water  would  have  been  released  by  that  time,  causing  even  more  damage.  It  must  have  been  that  God  impressed  Charlie  to  look  inside  the  church  that  Friday  morning.  

Of  course,  immediately  we  began  the  work  of  preparing  for  restoration.  The  water  was  shut  off,  furniture  was  moved,  carpets  were  pulled  up  and  removed,  drywall  was  cut  out,  vacuum  machines  were  brought  in,  and  fans  and  dryers  began  their  work.  Thanks  to  the  many  who  responded  to  the  call  and  came  to  help  do  all  this!  We  didn’t  hold  church  here  last  week  because  in  the  immediacy  of  the  moment,  so  many  things  had  to  be  brought  into  the  sanctuary  (which  was  about  the  only  dry  place  in  the  facility).  But  the  floors  having  dried  out  and  the  furniture  having  been  relocated  in  a  more  organized  way,  we’re  glad  to  be  able  to  worship  in  our  church  here  today.    

We  believe  that  the  devil  is  the  one  who  causes  bad  things  to  happen,  and  he  doesn’t  like  it  when  God’s  message,  the  truth  especially  for  these  times  is  preached.  Nevertheless,  we  also  believe  that  God  has  a  wonderful  way  of  turning  bad  into  good,  and  that  our  church  will  be  blessed  by  this  event,  and  it  will  turn  out  that  it  will  be  even  better  than  it  was  before.  Praise  God  for  that!  We’ve  thought  that  this  is  the  time  to  address  a  few  other  needs,  and  that  may  mean  that  our  putting  

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things  back  together  will  take  a  little  longer  than  just  slapping  some  new  floor  coverings  down  and  calling  it  done.  For  this,  we  beg  your  patience.    

With  all  of  this  in  mind,  allow  me  to  share  two  thoughts  briefly  with  you  today  as  we  think  about  the  birth  of  Jesus  in  Bethlehem.  First,  we  worship  today  in  a  building  that  isn’t  in  the  best  of  conditions.  There  are  no  floor  coverings  in  the  fellowship  hall,  the  foyer  and  quite  a  bit  of  the  sanctuary.  There’s  “stuff”  placed  where  it  normally  isn’t,  because  of  the  emergency  situation  we  found  ourselves  in.  We  wish  it  were  better,  and  hope  that  it  will  be  someday  soon.  But  the  church  board  voted,  rather  than  to  “close  the  church”  until  the  work  of  restoration  was  completely  done,  to  go  ahead  and  hold  services  here,  despite  the  less  than  ideal  conditions  that  exist.    

Our  worship  environment  may  be  less  than  perfect,  but  we  believe  that  God  can  meet  with  us  here  and  give  us  a  blessing.  Do  you  see  where  this  is  leading?  Can  you  see  where  we’re  going  with  this?  Wasn’t  it  similar  to  this  when  Jesus  came  2,000  years  ago?  It  wasn’t  a  sanctuary  but  a  stable  in  which  He  was  born.  There  was  no  carpet  on  the  floor  there  either.  But  the  important  thing  was  that  He  was  there,  and  that  made  it  a  “temple.”  That  made  it  “holy.”  So  it  is  that  in  faith,  we  look  for  a  blessing  here  today,  notwithstanding  our  present  condition.    

We  are  reminded  that  others  around  the  world  this  Sabbath  are  worshiping  under  a  tree  or  in  facilities  much  less  “posh”  than  what  we’re  accustomed  to  here  in  America.  Yes,  we  should  do  our  best  to  make  God’s  house  attractive  and  comfortable,  and  by  God’s  grace  we  will  be  taking  steps  in  that  direction  as  a  result  of  the  water  damage,  but  at  the  same  time  we  can  be  confident  that  the  One  Who  was  born  in  a  barn  is  happy  to  meet  with  us  here  this  morning.  

The  second  thought  I  would  share  with  you  today  is  related  also  to  our  present  situation  here.  When  the  insurance  adjustor  called  me  up  and  arranged  to  meet  here  to  assess  the  damages,  he  suggested  that  he  bring  along  a  person  who  was  well  acquainted  with  situations  like  ours.  He  is  a  building  contractor  with  specialized  experience  in  repairing  structures  that  have  undergone  damages  by  water,  fire  or  other  cause.  He  was  introduced  to  me  as  a  “restoration  contractor.”  Hmmm.  A  “restoration  contractor.”  The  more  I  thought  about  that,  the  more  I  was  intrigued.  Is  that  a  title  that  could  apply  to  our  Savior  Who  came  and  was  born  2,000  years  ago?  Isn’t  He  the  greatest,  the  grandest  “Restoration  Contractor”  in  the  entire  universe?    

The  adjustor  gave  to  me  a  sheet  of  paper,  on  which  he  had  copied  a  number  of  business  cards  of  those  who  have  the  same  specialty.  Almost  every  one  of  them  contained  the  word  “restoration”  on  it.  “Silverstone  Flood  and  Restoration.”  “ESN  Restoration  Services.”  “Premier  Restoration  Services.”  “Servpro  Fire  and  Water  Cleanup  &  Restoration.”  One  card  read  across  the  top,  “Mission  Restoration.”    

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I  believe  that  there  is  something  to  think  about  here  also,  isn’t  there!  There  was  an  event  which  caused  great  damage  years  ago,  wasn’t  there.  In  a  spiritual  sense  something  “broke.”  It  wasn’t  a  supply  fitting;  it  was  the  relationship  between  mankind  and  God,  but  this  breakage  released  a  “flood”  of  woe  and  tragedy.  A  flood  of  sin  erupted  upon  this  world  when  Adam  and  Eve  disobeyed  God,  resulting  in  damages  beyond  calculation.    

What  did  our  God  do  when  that  happened?  Did  He  walk  away  and  say,  “You’ve  made  your  mess,  now  you  live  in  it!”  No.  He  took  immediate  steps  to  bring  repair,  didn’t  He.  The  work,  the  mission  of  restoration  began  when  Jesus  pledged  Himself  to  be  our  Redeemer  there  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  then  made  good  on  His  pledge  by  coming  to  die  for  our  sins  on  the  cross  of  Calvary.  

We  wish  Adam  and  Eve  hadn’t  sinned.  We  wish  the  water  supply  hadn’t  broken.  But  in  some  strange  and  mysteriously  divine  way,  God  has  the  ability  to  bring  good  out  of  bad.  Our  church  is  going  to  have  new  carpet  and  fresh  paint.  Along  with  that,  we’re  working  on  having  major  work  on  the  sound  and  lighting  systems  done,  which  will  be  appropriate  at  this  time  because  of  trenching  in  the  concrete  that  will  have  to  be  done  before  the  new  carpet  goes  down.    

Will  our  church  be  better  when  this  work  is  done?  Yes,  we  believe  so.  Are  we  “glad”  that  the  water  damage  occurred?  No,  it  wouldn’t  be  proper  to  say  that.  It  cost  time,  effort  and  a  lot  of  money  paid  by  our  insurance  carrier.  But  God  has  a  way  of  bringing  good  from  bad.  In  a  similar  sense,  sin  isn’t  a  good  thing,  and  it  wouldn’t  be  proper  to  even  think  of  it  in  that  way.  And  yet  because  of  what  has  happened,  God’s  love  has  shown  brighter  than  it  ever  did  before.  God’s  “restoration  mission”  has  resulted  in  His  agape  love  beaming  more  brightly  than  it  was  ever  seen  before.    

His  work  of  restoration  may  require  our  patience,  just  as  we’re  asking  for  yours  as  we  undertake  our  project  here.  But  we  can  trust  that  when  He  is  done,  all  things  will  be  perfect.  His  “Restoration  Mission”  will  have  been  accomplished.  The  physical  world  will  be  restored  to  beauty.  Our  physical  bodies  will  be  restored  to  strength  and  energy.  Our  natures  will  be  restored  so  that  the  leaning  to  sin  will  be  gone.  Our  relationship  with  Him  will  be  restored  to  the  “face  to  face”  communion  that  existed  before  sin  brought  the  curtain  down.    

A  bad  thing  happened  a  little  more  than  a  week  ago.  A  breakage  caused  great  damage  to  something  that  belonged  to  God.  Work  is  being  done  to  restore  and  improve  what  was  damaged.  In  a  similar  way,  a  bad  thing  happened  6,000  years  ago,  but  the  greatest  Restoration  Contractor  ever  went  to  work  and  is  working  now  on  bringing  a  complete  restoration,  including  our  characters,  so  that  we  can  become  like  Him.  We  know  that  He  wasn’t  born  December  25th,  but  He  was  born,  and  that  great  event  we  celebrate!  He  is  bringing  good  from  bad.    

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On  one  of  the  business  cards  given  to  me  by  the  adjustor  it  has  the  subtitle,  promoting  how  effective  their  work  is,  “Like  it  never  even  happened.”  God’s  solution  is  going  to  be  the  best  ever.  The  “Restoration  Contractor”  seeks  admission  to  your  heart  today.  Will  you  let  Him  in?