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The Christmas story is filled with unexpected choices by God, from the humble town of Bethlehem to the unlikely recipients of the angelic announcement. Why would the heavens open with glorious news not to kings or priests, but to ordinary shepherds watching their flocks at night? What does their immediate response reveal about true faith, and how might their transformation challenge our own encounters with the Messiah today?
π Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/the-right-response
#mlcc #church #churchonline
π Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/the-right-response
#mlcc #church #churchonline
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LearningTranscript
00:00There was a gospel group a long time ago called the Williams Brothers.
00:03Some of you may remember them.
00:05One of their favorites or one of their most known songs is,
00:08I'm Just a Nobody.
00:10And it was about a guy who was a down and out guy living on the streets
00:13that would tell everyone about Jesus.
00:16And he said, I'm just a nobody telling everybody about somebody
00:20who can save their souls.
00:21And that's kind of what he did.
00:22That's kind of how the song goes.
00:24And Dr. David Jeremiah in one of his Turning Point devotions said,
00:28the shepherds in the field outside Bethlehem might have felt the same way
00:32when the angels from heaven appeared to them.
00:35Why did God choose us, a bunch of nobodies, just shepherds,
00:40to be the first to hear of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem?
00:43Just us, a bunch of nobodies.
00:45They were just a bunch of nobodies, Dr. David Jeremiah says,
00:49who probably later told everybody about the somebody in Bethlehem,
00:53which the text says they actually did.
00:55They told everyone what they met.
00:56So the question he asked, and it's a good question,
00:59is why did God choose to reveal himself to shepherds,
01:03considered some of the lowly in the social structure of the nation?
01:08Why not the king in the palace or the major officials of the land?
01:13Why just a bunch of shepherds?
01:16It's a good question.
01:17And he kind of answers that by saying,
01:19perhaps it's to signal what kind of king that was coming.
01:23It wasn't a king that would be in a palace.
01:25He would be a king that would be a servant.
01:28He would be a servant, humble, who would take care of God's flock.
01:32Maybe that's why he went to the shepherds.
01:35We're not sure exactly, but that is actually how the story goes.
01:38You know it as well as I do.
01:39It's not an unfamiliar story to you.
01:42And here in Luke chapter 2, we're going to see that God revealed to the shepherds
01:47the birth of the Messiah, and they responded immediately to his revelation.
01:51So he came and he showed them something, and they said,
01:54hey, we've got to go see this.
01:56So they respond positively, immediately to that revelation.
02:01So to introduce the story, let's go ahead and read verses 1 through 7.
02:04I'll read them.
02:05You can kind of follow along.
02:06If you have your Bibles, open it up to Luke chapter 2.
02:09I'll begin reading it one time.
02:11Set the stage.
02:12It's something, again, that's familiar.
02:13It's not unknown to you.
02:15So Luke chapter 2, verse number 1.
02:18So this is God's word.
02:19We want to look at it together.
02:21So the text says, in those days, and that's Luke's way of saying that something is happening,
02:25something new is taking place.
02:27He likes that phrase, in those days.
02:29In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
02:34That actually is a tax.
02:36Governments love to tax people.
02:38So they're registering to pay a tax, okay?
02:41They're registering.
02:41This was the first registration when Quiranius was governor of Syria.
02:45Luke's giving us a lot of details so we can kind of pinpoint this in history.
02:50And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
02:54In other words, the origin of where his tribe came from.
02:57And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David,
03:03which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, which comes from Judah.
03:08House and lineage of David.
03:09And to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
03:14She was with child, okay?
03:18She was with child.
03:19And while they were there, you can imagine how packed it was.
03:22If they're having, everyone has to go back to their own hometown of the tribe they came from,
03:26then you can imagine how packed Bethlehem was.
03:28I'm sure not only were all the houses taken, but there were probably tents outside the city stretched out
03:33so that people could come and be registered.
03:37Which is called Bethlehem, because he was a house and lineage of David,
03:40to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
03:43And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
03:46And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.
03:52And why would you put him in a manger?
03:54Why not a bed?
03:55Why not a little crib?
03:56Because there was no place for them.
03:58The only place they could find was a cave-like structure where animals were at,
04:02and the straw, and the hay, and the feeding troughs, and the smell of a stable.
04:11Teresa and I visited a place in Bethlehem that they think is perhaps that cave where the Messiah was born.
04:18It's very likely that was a cave.
04:20We got to go down and see it, and they think that perhaps this was it in Bethlehem.
04:27Just a smelly stable.
04:34Why would God do this?
04:36Why would he even come to us?
04:40I mean, we who were the rebels in the garden that said,
04:44we don't want anything to do with you, God.
04:46We thumbed our nose at him and said, hey, I got this on my own.
04:49Why would he even come to us?
04:52Look at verse number eight.
04:55So in the same region, so this is that night, the same night,
05:00in the same region thereabout by Bethlehem,
05:03there were shepherds out in the field,
05:05keeping watch over their flock by night.
05:09And the angel of the Lord appeared to them.
05:11So a single angel, one,
05:13and the glory of the Lord shone around them.
05:15So not only came the angel, but God's Shekinah glory,
05:19that glory that comes with God was around the angel.
05:22And they, the shepherds, were filled with great fear.
05:25Makes perfect sense.
05:27And the angel said to them, fear not, don't be afraid,
05:32for behold, I bring you good news.
05:35It's this good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
05:38For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
05:44who is Christ the Lord, three terms, Savior, Christ, Lord.
05:47And this will be a sign for you.
05:49In other words, how will you know which child it is?
05:51There's going to be a sign.
05:52And the sign is you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths
05:56and lying in a manger.
05:58And suddenly there was with the angel
05:59a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
06:02in other words, the angels were praising God and saying,
06:06glory to God in the highest,
06:08and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
06:13That same night, God comes to these shepherds
06:16and reveals to them something that just took place.
06:19So from the birth of the Messiah here in the first part,
06:24the scene shifts to now these shepherds,
06:26these humble shepherds who were visited from God.
06:30It reminds us of Mary's song of praise
06:32where she talked about the lowly will be exalted
06:34and the exalted will be humbled.
06:37In Luke 1.52, he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
06:41and exalted those of humble estate, the humble shepherds.
06:45Some considered the shepherds unclean
06:47because they spent so much time out in the field,
06:49they weren't able to get to the temple to be cleansed.
06:52And so they were considered to be unclean, lowly status.
06:56Although even King David was a shepherd,
06:57which would have been a high status in those days.
07:00By this time, the status of a shepherd,
07:02they were very humble and lowly,
07:04not looked upon as favorable.
07:05Again, unclean because they can't get to the temple
07:07to cleanse themselves.
07:11People viewed them as unclean.
07:14They represented, in a sense, the outcasts of Israel,
07:19the sinners of which Jesus came to save.
07:21That's what he said in Luke 5.32.
07:23I have not come to call the righteous,
07:25but sinners to repentance.
07:27These are the picture of the people that he's coming to save
07:29as the humble, the lowly,
07:30the ones who realize they need a savior.
07:35So according to historical records,
07:37the shepherds were in the field from March to November.
07:39It doesn't really tell us anything
07:42because if these were also the shepherds
07:44that took care of the sacrifices for the temple,
07:47they were in the field all year long.
07:48So we really don't have a time frame here.
07:50We don't know if this is December or January.
07:53We don't know the time frame.
07:55Could have been any time.
07:57Many commentators even think that the shepherds there
08:01were watching over the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem,
08:05which is possible.
08:06Jerusalem was not very far away from this region right here,
08:08less than eight kilometers.
08:10So maybe that was, I mean, what a picture that would be
08:13if those were the shepherds looking over the temple sacrifices
08:16of which Jesus will become the great sacrifice.
08:21Earlier in chapter one, the angel was called Gabriel.
08:24So we knew it was Gabriel.
08:25We know twice it was Gabriel.
08:27This one is just the angel.
08:28So we don't know which angel this was.
08:29We don't know which one.
08:32Whether it was Gabriel, we don't know.
08:33Some angel appears and God's glory was around the angel.
08:39God's glory is the manifestation of his presence.
08:43They knew that God was present here with this angel.
08:46God's glory was around it.
08:47The word glory actually in the Hebrew has the idea of,
08:49oh, we'll wait.
08:50And I can imagine if the glory of God appeared to us right now,
08:53you and I would feel weighted down
08:55that we would have to just bow ourselves
08:56in front of this holiness of God.
08:59This glory shone.
09:01It's God's presence among his people.
09:03They knew God was there.
09:05In Exodus, we read this.
09:07Now, the appearance of the glory of the Lord
09:09was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain
09:11in the sight of the people of Israel.
09:13They knew God was present on that mountain.
09:15They could see the fire and the smoke
09:17and they could hear the trumpet sound.
09:19They knew God was there.
09:20These shepherds knew God had come to them
09:22with a message that they didn't know ahead of time.
09:26They couldn't have guessed that was going to happen.
09:29Unless God revealed it to them,
09:30they would have never known.
09:32Of course, the typical response of seeing an angel
09:34was they were terrified.
09:36The text actually says they feared a great fear
09:38is what the text says.
09:39They were terrified.
09:41It was understandable.
09:42I could see that.
09:44But it wasn't just the angel, I think, that scared them.
09:48It was the glory of God that intimidated them,
09:50that frightened them,
09:51God's glorious presence among them.
09:54So in Luke's gospel, when he uses that phrase,
09:58the people, singular,
10:00he's usually talking about the nation of Israel.
10:02Yes, the Messiah came for all peoples.
10:04That's true.
10:05But he's specifically dealing with the nation of Israel
10:07here in the text.
10:09I find this great.
10:11The shepherds were just doing their duty at night.
10:13They were watching their sheep,
10:14make sure that no one stole them,
10:16make sure no animals came to devour them.
10:18They were just doing their job.
10:20And they're sitting there,
10:20and all of a sudden, this angel appears
10:22and gives them information
10:23that they didn't have ahead of time
10:24and would have never known
10:26if God hadn't revealed it to them.
10:27They would have just went about
10:28their normal duty that night,
10:30got up the next morning
10:31and went about their duty
10:31and would have never known
10:33that the Messiah had been born that night
10:35if God would not have revealed it to them.
10:38They would have never known.
10:41They would have been in darkness still
10:43as the light of the world was born
10:45if God would not have revealed it to them.
10:48It was a supernatural event.
10:49It was not a natural thing.
10:51They didn't sit around and say,
10:52hey, I think maybe the Messiah
10:53is going to come today.
10:54Let's go over to Bethlehem.
10:55No, God supernaturally revealed it to them.
10:59And it's the same with us.
11:03You and I didn't sit around and say,
11:04hey, I want to come to God.
11:05I think I want to know about God.
11:07No, you and I sat around as rebels,
11:11alienated and hostile towards God,
11:13and God came to us
11:15and revealed His Son to us.
11:16It was a supernatural event.
11:19It wasn't a natural thing.
11:20The natural man cannot receive
11:21the things of the Spirit.
11:23God came to reveal His Son to us
11:25and to save us.
11:26We would have never known about the Son.
11:28In fact, the text, the Bible says,
11:29the God of this world
11:30has blinded the mind of those unbelievers
11:33lest they see the light of the glory
11:35of the gospel of Christ and be saved.
11:37You and I were blinded
11:39until God came with His glory
11:41and revealed the Messiah to us.
11:43Without that, we would not have known Him.
11:47They would not have known
11:48that the Messiah had been born
11:50if God hadn't revealed it to them.
11:53Luke says, today.
11:55He loves to use those.
11:56It's a new day is starting.
11:57The day of the Messiah.
11:59The Messiah is coming.
12:00The new age has started.
12:01And the Savior has come.
12:03The Savior, of course,
12:04to Israel, but to all nations of the earth.
12:06That was God's promise.
12:08All the nations of the earth
12:09will be blessed in you, Abraham,
12:10and in your offspring, which is Christ.
12:14But when it says Savior,
12:15it just implies that we need a Savior.
12:19He didn't come to be a Savior
12:20because people didn't need to be saved.
12:22We needed to be saved.
12:23We needed to be delivered
12:24from the wrath of God that's upon us.
12:26We needed a Savior.
12:27And I hope today that He is your Savior.
12:30I hope that you've trusted Him today
12:31and believed on Him for salvation.
12:33And you can say, He's my Savior.
12:36He has saved me.
12:37And the Savior, the text says,
12:40was Savior, Christ, and Lord.
12:42And when an angel's speaking about Lord,
12:44he's talking about the Yahweh of the Old Testament,
12:46God Himself.
12:48He has come to us.
12:50Even Paul said in 1 Timothy 3, he said this,
12:53Great indeed, we confess,
12:55is the mystery of godliness.
12:57He, that's God,
12:58was manifested in the flesh,
13:01vindicated by the Spirit,
13:02seen by angels.
13:04Interestingly,
13:05the infinitely pure Spirit
13:07who has no material form
13:08has taken on material form
13:09in Jesus the Messiah.
13:12And the angels see Him,
13:14seen of angels,
13:16proclaimed among the nations,
13:17believed on in the world,
13:19taken up into glory.
13:20Yes, He was manifested in the flesh.
13:24And at His birth,
13:25Jesus was already both Christ and Lord.
13:28He didn't become that.
13:29He was already the Messiah.
13:31He was crucified before the foundations
13:32of the world.
13:33He was always the Lord.
13:35He's always been co-equal
13:36with the Father and the Spirit
13:37for all of eternity.
13:41Heavenly hosts were there.
13:43No one angel.
13:44Now, the heavenly hosts.
13:45And the heavenly hosts
13:46are the armies of heaven.
13:48So the armies of heaven
13:49are coming with this one angel.
13:51Now, the armies of heaven,
13:52so you've got one angel
13:53in the glory of God,
13:54and then you've got
13:54the armies of heaven,
13:55which is multiple, multiple angels.
13:58I don't know how many of them.
13:59Armies of heaven.
14:00And when you hear the word army,
14:02what would you think?
14:03You would think army
14:04is going to be a fight.
14:07But what do the angels,
14:09the armies of heaven,
14:10proclaim?
14:11Peace.
14:13Not war.
14:15He didn't come to make war with us.
14:16He came to make peace with us.
14:18He came to reconcile us.
14:20He came to make sure that
14:21our souls can be in a state
14:23of well-being, harmony.
14:25Peace is more than
14:29the absence of conflicts.
14:31It's the sense of wholeness.
14:33It's a sense of well-being.
14:35It's a sense of harmony
14:36and security.
14:37So when everything is going
14:39crazy around you,
14:40you can still say,
14:42it is well with my soul.
14:44When life is falling apart
14:46around you,
14:47we can still say,
14:48it is well with my soul.
14:49That's the peace
14:50he came to give us.
14:51Praising God
14:54is what they were doing.
14:55It's a correct response
14:56for all of creation.
14:57That's what all of us should do
14:58is give praise to him.
15:01Not only for his wonderful grace
15:02and his wonderful mercy
15:03that he would even dare to,
15:05he had even deemed to come to us.
15:09It's a correct response.
15:10The psalmist in Psalm 148,
15:12listen to all of creation
15:14that he's telling to praise God.
15:15Praise the Lord.
15:17Praise the Lord from the heavens.
15:19Praise him in the heights.
15:20Praise him, all his angels.
15:22Praise him, all his hosts.
15:23Praise him, sun and moon.
15:25Praise him, all you shining stars.
15:27Praise him, you highest heavens
15:29and you waters above the heavens.
15:31All creation, natural response
15:33is praise to God
15:34for who he is and what he has done.
15:37He's to be glorified
15:38all the way to the highest of heavens.
15:41That's how far his glory should go,
15:42to the highest of the heavens.
15:45That's how we should live our lives as well,
15:46whatever we do.
15:48In fact, Paul said this to the Corinthians.
15:50So whether you eat or drink
15:51or whatever you do,
15:53do all to the glory of God,
15:54to the highest of heavens.
15:55May our lives glorify him.
15:59And when we read this,
16:00we think, oh yeah,
16:00this is really all about the shepherds.
16:03Well, they're part of it
16:04and they receive the revelation.
16:06But technically, if you look at it,
16:07who are the angels praising?
16:09God.
16:11This whole thing the angels are praising
16:12is about God.
16:14The angels are praising God.
16:15The shepherds is the recipients
16:17of this message,
16:18but it's all directed towards God.
16:20He's the center point in this.
16:23The angels,
16:24they sang at creation
16:25and now they're praising God
16:27at the new creation
16:28that's going to come through the Messiah
16:30for being born again,
16:31a new creature in Christ Jesus.
16:34They sang at the first creation
16:36and now they're singing
16:36at the beginning of the new creation
16:38and the Messiah.
16:39Job 38.
16:40God's talking to Job.
16:44Where were you
16:44when I laid the foundation of the earth?
16:47Tell me,
16:47if you have understanding.
16:49Who determined its measurements?
16:51Surely you know.
16:52Or who stretched the line upon it?
16:54On what were its bases sunk?
16:56Or who laid its cornerstone
16:58when the morning stars sang together
17:00and all the sons of God
17:02shouted for joy?
17:03They sang at the first creation
17:04and now they're singing
17:05at the Messiah
17:06who's coming to bring
17:07the new creation
17:08for all who will believe.
17:10to give him glory.
17:12We don't give God glory
17:13because it's something
17:14he doesn't already have.
17:15We're just acknowledging
17:16what he has.
17:16We're confirming
17:17what he already has.
17:18Glory.
17:19Give him glory.
17:20It's his forever possession.
17:23God's glory now came to earth
17:25in the presence of his son.
17:27His glory.
17:29John said to us in John 1.14,
17:30and the word became flesh
17:31and dwelt among us
17:32and we have seen his glory.
17:35Glory as of the only son
17:36from the father.
17:37God's glory now has come
17:38in the person of the son.
17:40Full of grace and truth.
17:43This peace that he's coming
17:45to give us.
17:45Peace.
17:46Isn't that what Zechariah
17:47earlier in chapter 1
17:48of Luke talked about?
17:49In Zechariah's divine
17:50prophetic utterance,
17:51peace is what the Messiah
17:52will bring.
17:54And peace is what we need.
17:56This world,
17:57this world does not
17:59understand peace.
18:01Us human creatures
18:02are warlike creatures.
18:04We love to fight.
18:06We love to have our own way.
18:07We're proud.
18:10We don't understand peace.
18:12It's relatively very rare
18:14on this earth
18:14to see peace.
18:16He came to bring us peace.
18:18Luke 1.79,
18:20to give light to those
18:21who sit in darkness
18:22is what Zechariah said.
18:24He's speaking under the presence
18:26of the Holy Spirit
18:26to give light to those
18:28who sit in darkness
18:29and in the shadow of death
18:30to guide our feet
18:31into the way of peace.
18:32Peace is what you
18:34and I long for.
18:35We long for that settled soul
18:37that we're not restless
18:38all the time.
18:40God's peace.
18:42The ancient philosophers
18:44always tried to find peace
18:46and understand
18:46where it came from
18:47and this one recognized
18:48that it didn't come
18:49from the outside.
18:53Epictetus,
18:53the Stoic philosopher,
18:54said,
18:55while the emperor
18:56may give peace
18:57from war on land
18:58and sea,
18:59he is unable
19:00to give peace
19:00from passion,
19:01grief,
19:02and envy.
19:02He cannot give peace
19:03of heart
19:04for which man yearns
19:05more than even
19:06for outward peace.
19:08Even the pagan philosophers
19:10realize it's not something
19:12that comes externally.
19:13It's something
19:13that comes internally
19:14and only God
19:16can bring us peace.
19:18Only God
19:18can bring us peace.
19:20I hope today
19:21that you have peace
19:22with God,
19:24that you stand
19:24in a relationship
19:25with Him,
19:26that you are born again,
19:27a new creature
19:28in Christ Jesus
19:29and God's peace
19:30is resting upon you.
19:32Romans chapter 5,
19:33verse 1 says,
19:34therefore,
19:35since we have been
19:35justified by faith,
19:37in other words,
19:37we believe in the Lord
19:38Jesus Christ
19:38for salvation,
19:40we have peace
19:41with God
19:41through our Lord
19:42Jesus Christ.
19:43Peace is that blessing
19:44that the Messiah
19:45brings to us,
19:47His salvation.
19:49At the bottom,
19:50verse number 14,
19:51there's various
19:52translations
19:52of verse number 14
19:53and Biblical Studies
19:56Press Net Notes
19:56has a good note
19:57on this.
19:58He says,
19:59the meaning
20:00seems to be
20:01not that the divine
20:02peace can be
20:03bestowed only
20:03where human goodwill
20:05is already present.
20:06In other words,
20:06the humans didn't sit
20:07around and make
20:08goodwill happen
20:09and then God
20:09bestowed His peace.
20:12But at the birth
20:13of the Savior,
20:13God's peace
20:14rests on those
20:15whom He has chosen
20:16in accordance
20:17with His good pleasure.
20:19So it wasn't that
20:20God sat around
20:20and waited for man
20:21to become good
20:22and then just bestow
20:23His peace upon us.
20:24No,
20:24He would be waiting
20:25still.
20:27We can't make
20:27ourselves good enough.
20:29He had to come
20:29along and make
20:31us what we are
20:32today.
20:33And from this
20:34experience comes
20:36the song,
20:37Angels We Have
20:37Heard on High,
20:39Gloria in Excelsis
20:41Deo,
20:42is part of this
20:42song.
20:43Glory to God
20:43in the highest.
20:45So now the shepherds
20:46have heard the
20:47revelation.
20:48They've heard
20:48something that they
20:49would not have
20:49known unless God
20:50revealed it to them.
20:51Now what's going
20:52to be the response?
20:53Well, you know
20:54the story.
20:54Let's look at
20:55what happens.
20:55Verse 15.
20:57When the angels
20:57went away from
20:58them,
20:59so in all the
20:59first one angel,
21:00then the heavenly
21:01host,
21:01they all went
21:01away,
21:03the shepherds
21:03said to one
21:04another,
21:05wow,
21:05that was neat.
21:06Let's go back
21:06to dinner.
21:07No, wait,
21:07that's not what
21:08the text said.
21:09Hold on.
21:09Okay, hold on.
21:10Let's go over
21:11to Bethlehem
21:12and see this
21:12thing that has
21:13happened,
21:14which the Lord
21:15has made known
21:15to us.
21:16He revealed it
21:16to us.
21:16We wouldn't
21:17have known it
21:17if He wouldn't
21:18have told us.
21:18We may have
21:19heard the story
21:20years later,
21:21but we wouldn't
21:22have been witnesses.
21:23And they went
21:25with haste
21:26and found Mary
21:27and Joseph.
21:27They were determined
21:29to find them.
21:29And you can imagine,
21:30again,
21:30there's people all
21:31over the place,
21:32lots of people
21:32in the city
21:33at the time.
21:33They have a sign,
21:34the sign is
21:35swaddling cloths
21:36and in a manger.
21:36So they're probably
21:37first going to places
21:38where mangers
21:39are at.
21:39Makes sense to me.
21:42And the babe
21:43lying in a manger.
21:45And when they saw it,
21:46they made known
21:47the saying that had
21:48been told them
21:48concerning the child.
21:49So what was revealed
21:50to them,
21:51they made known
21:52to others.
21:53And all who heard it,
21:55the story that the
21:56shepherds were telling,
21:57wondered at what
21:58the shepherds told them.
22:00Really?
22:01The Messiah?
22:02Christ?
22:03The Lord?
22:04He came?
22:05Really?
22:05I mean,
22:05they wondered,
22:06they were perplexed,
22:07they were amazed
22:08at the statement.
22:11But Mary treasured
22:13up all these things,
22:15pondering them
22:15in her heart,
22:16just like a good mother.
22:17She's holding
22:18all these things
22:18and she's thinking
22:19about them,
22:20all of this stuff.
22:21I mean,
22:21Mary didn't understand
22:22everything that was going on.
22:24She's pondering this,
22:25she's holding in her heart,
22:26she's cherishing
22:27these moments,
22:27these thoughts.
22:29And the shepherds
22:30returned back
22:31to their job,
22:32their normal
22:33shepherding job,
22:34glorifying and praising
22:36God for all
22:37they had heard
22:38and seen
22:39as it had been
22:40told them.
22:42So immediately
22:43they get up
22:44and they go to Bethlehem.
22:45This thing that was told
22:46them actually
22:47is the word
22:48word or message.
22:50Like when you say,
22:51can I have a word
22:51with you?
22:52I have a message for you.
22:53Can I have a word
22:54with you?
22:54It's the idea of this thing,
22:55this message that was told
22:56to them,
22:58this message.
22:58Once it was proclaimed
23:00by the angels,
23:01they took off
23:02in obedience
23:02immediately to Bethlehem.
23:04Immediately.
23:06There's a guy,
23:07Mr. Martin,
23:08who was preaching,
23:09I don't know him,
23:09but the story,
23:10he tells this story.
23:12He called attention
23:13that what the shepherds
23:14in the field
23:14said to one another
23:15about the birth
23:16of a Savior,
23:17which is Christ the Lord.
23:18They did not say,
23:20let us go and see
23:21if this thing
23:23has come to pass.
23:24They said,
23:25let us now go
23:26and see this thing
23:27that is come to pass.
23:29See the difference?
23:30They didn't question,
23:31oh, let's go see
23:31whether it came to pass.
23:32It's really true.
23:33No, they knew it was true.
23:34So they went to see
23:35what had truly come to pass.
23:38And it was already told
23:39that it was going to be,
23:39that the Messiah
23:40was going to be born
23:41in Bethlehem.
23:42In fact,
23:42700 years before
23:43the Messiah's birth,
23:44we were told
23:44that he's going to be
23:45born in Bethlehem.
23:47700 years.
23:48The prophet Micah
23:49predicted that his birthplace
23:50would be Bethlehem.
23:51In Micah chapter 5,
23:53verse 2,
23:54but you,
23:54O Bethlehem,
23:55Ephratah,
23:55who are too little
23:57to be among
23:57the clans of Judah,
23:59from you shall come forth
24:00for me one
24:00who is to be ruler
24:01in Israel,
24:02whose coming forth
24:03is from of old,
24:04from ancient days,
24:05from eternity,
24:05everlasting.
24:07We knew,
24:08they knew.
24:09In fact,
24:09even Herod,
24:10when he asked the Pharisees
24:11or religious leaders,
24:12hey,
24:12where's the Messiah
24:13going to be born?
24:13And they said,
24:14oh, Bethlehem.
24:15And I'm thinking to myself,
24:16why don't you have
24:17an office in Bethlehem
24:18awaiting the Messiah,
24:19the coming Messiah
24:21office in Bethlehem
24:22waiting for the,
24:23no,
24:23they didn't have that.
24:25They weren't waiting
24:26for the Messiah,
24:27the religious leaders.
24:29They should have had
24:30an office in Bethlehem.
24:31Even King David
24:32was a shepherd
24:33towards Bethlehem.
24:34So there's a connection.
24:36There's a connection.
24:38The shepherds
24:38were excited,
24:39but they were determined.
24:40The text says
24:41they searched diligently
24:42for it.
24:42That's the way
24:43that the verbiage
24:44is used in the text.
24:44They looked intently
24:46for the child.
24:46They looked all over,
24:47where is this child?
24:48And they found him
24:50lying in a feeding trough
24:52for animals.
24:53A swaddling cloth,
24:54I mean,
24:55that's when most babies
24:56would be swaddled up.
24:57It makes sense.
24:57It makes them feel tight
24:58and safe.
24:59But laying in a manger
25:01doesn't seem to be
25:03an appropriate place
25:04for a child,
25:04a feeding trough.
25:06What a contrast.
25:08The lawfully titles,
25:09Christ,
25:10Lord,
25:10and Messiah,
25:11ascribed to Jesus
25:12and the lowly place,
25:13the manger,
25:14where the shepherds
25:15would find him.
25:16What a contrast.
25:16You wouldn't think,
25:17you would think,
25:17a palace.
25:18Go look in the palace.
25:19Go look in the mayor's house
25:21in Bethlehem.
25:22That's where you're going
25:22to find the Messiah.
25:23No,
25:23you're going to find him
25:24in a feeding trough
25:25for animals.
25:28We talked about
25:29this Christmas Eve
25:30that the Lord of creation,
25:32the Lord of glory,
25:34was in a feeding trough
25:36for animals.
25:39Can you imagine
25:40what the angels thought
25:41when they saw
25:42the creator of the universe
25:43as a helpless babe
25:44laying in a feeding trough
25:46for animals?
25:48The one who spoke
25:49all things into existence
25:51is now a helpless babe.
25:56They marveled at it.
25:59They wondered.
26:00All the people
26:00that the shepherds told about,
26:02they wondered.
26:02They were surprised.
26:04They didn't expect it.
26:07And Mary,
26:08it was all too much
26:09for her to comprehend,
26:10so she kind of just
26:10buries it in her heart
26:11as a mother,
26:12and she's pondering.
26:13She thinks about it later.
26:14I mean,
26:15so many things
26:15are going to come at her
26:17about her son Messiah.
26:20So she holds it inside.
26:23And so what the angels
26:24started by praising God,
26:25now the shepherds
26:26carry on that praise.
26:28Did you see that?
26:28The angels went away.
26:30Now the shepherds
26:31go back praising
26:32and glorifying God.
26:33So they pick up
26:33where the angels
26:34left off, basically.
26:36Praise and worship
26:37are the proper responses
26:38to God's mighty works.
26:41Thank you, God.
26:42Praise your name.
26:43You are so great
26:44and so awesome.
26:45We give you glory.
26:46Thank you, Father.
26:47Thank you for what you've done.
26:48It's a proper response.
26:51So the shepherds
26:52then go back
26:52to their daily work,
26:54but they're changed people.
26:56They're not the same.
26:58When you see
26:58the Lord's Messiah,
26:59when you see the Christ,
27:00when you see
27:01the Lord himself
27:02come to us
27:04in human form,
27:04you cannot remain the same.
27:07You are changed.
27:08They're changed.
27:10In an old
27:10daily bread devotional,
27:11the writer DCM,
27:13I'm not sure
27:13who it stands for,
27:14wrote,
27:15after hearing
27:16the angels' announcement
27:17of Messiah's birth,
27:18after visiting Bethlehem
27:19where they found
27:20the baby lying
27:21in a manger,
27:21after telling people
27:22the amazing things
27:23they had heard
27:24about this child,
27:25after all this,
27:27the shepherds
27:27went back to the fields,
27:29the sheep,
27:30and their daily routine.
27:31But they returned
27:32from that first Christmas
27:33with something new,
27:35hearts full of praise
27:36for what they experienced,
27:37what God had revealed
27:38to them.
27:39Their circumstances
27:39were the same,
27:40but they themselves
27:41were different.
27:42They had encountered
27:42Christ the Lord.
27:45That's the part
27:45of this Christmas time
27:47that I like.
27:48It's like we set aside
27:49this special time
27:49to remember his coming,
27:51to encounter him again
27:52in his first coming.
27:54So the writer
27:55of this devotion said,
27:56have you encountered
27:57Christ this Christmas,
27:58perhaps through his word
27:59or a new appreciation
28:00of his coming?
28:01When someone asks,
28:02how was your Christmas,
28:03what will you say?
28:04With Christ in your heart,
28:06you can go back to work
28:07with joy
28:07and a word of witness
28:08to others,
28:09glorifying and praising God
28:10for everything you have
28:11heard and seen.
28:13They were different people.
28:15When you encounter God,
28:17you become a different person.
28:19You're not the same.
28:20You're a new creation
28:21in Christ Jesus.
28:24The recipients,
28:25the shepherds
28:25were the recipients
28:26of a divine message
28:28of God,
28:28good news,
28:29and they had to tell everyone.
28:31They had to tell everyone.
28:32It was too good of news
28:33to hold on to themselves.
28:34They had to share it
28:35with everyone.
28:36This is what God showed us.
28:37This is what God revealed to us.
28:39This message was too good
28:40not to tell.
28:41The prophet Isaiah says this,
28:44how beautiful upon the mountains
28:45are the feet of him
28:46who brings good news,
28:48who publishes peace,
28:50who brings good news
28:51of happiness,
28:53who publishes salvation,
28:54who says to Zion,
28:56your God reigns.
28:58Oh, how beautiful
28:59are those feet
28:59that bring the peace,
29:01the gospel.
29:03That's actually the impetus
29:04for the Christmas carol,
29:05go tell it on the mountain.
29:08John Wesley Work Jr. wrote it.
29:10He wrote,
29:11while shepherds
29:11kept their watching
29:12over silent flocks
29:14by night,
29:15behold,
29:15throughout the heavens
29:16there shone
29:17a holy light.
29:19The shepherds
29:20feared and trembled
29:21when low above the earth
29:22rang out the angel chorus
29:24that hailed
29:25our Savior's birth.
29:27Down in a lonely manger
29:28our humble Christ
29:30was born
29:30and God sent us salvation
29:32that blessed Christmas morn
29:34and then the refrain says,
29:37go tell it on the mountain
29:38over the hills
29:39and everywhere.
29:40Go tell it on the mountain
29:42that Jesus Christ is born
29:44and that's what they're doing.
29:45They can't wait
29:45to tell people about it.
29:47God revealed something to them.
29:49They were changed people
29:50and now they've got to
29:50tell everyone about it.
29:52This is what God showed me.
29:53This is what God did with me.
29:54This is what he's doing in me.
29:56I've got to tell people about it.
29:58I've got to tell them.
29:59The shepherds now become,
30:00they were the first evangelists
30:02of the Messiah,
30:03these lowly shepherds,
30:05the first evangelists
30:06of the Messiah.
30:08Did they have a theological degree?
30:10Probably not.
30:11Did they spend time
30:12in the synagogue?
30:12I think so.
30:13They were in the synagogue
30:14learning the Torah
30:15and the Old Testament.
30:16They were there,
30:17but they didn't have
30:17a theological degree.
30:19What did they do?
30:20Did they have some,
30:21well, here are four points
30:22I want to share with you.
30:24No, not necessarily.
30:25What did they do?
30:26They simply told
30:28what they heard
30:29and what they saw.
30:31That's all they did.
30:33That's really,
30:33we make evangelism
30:35far too hard
30:35and we get too scared about it.
30:37It's simply telling people
30:38what we have heard about God
30:40and what we've seen him do
30:42in your life
30:42or my life
30:43or other people's lives.
30:44It's just telling that.
30:46We can't convince anyone
30:48to become a Christian.
30:49That's God's job.
30:50Our job is just
30:51to tell people about it,
30:53to say,
30:53hey, this is what I've heard
30:54and this is what I've seen
30:55and this I know to be true
30:57and may God open your eyes
30:58to understand
30:59and may the God of this world
31:00be wiped out of your thinking
31:01so that you can be revealed
31:03that the Son of God
31:05has come
31:05and you can believe.
31:07They simply told
31:08what they heard and saw.
31:09Don't make evangelism too hard.
31:12Don't make it too hard.
31:14So here's what we can,
31:15here's what we can get out
31:16of this passage today.
31:17Number one,
31:18listen to the word of God
31:19he sent you in the Bible
31:21and respond to it in obedience.
31:22Listen to God's word
31:23when he speaks.
31:25Listen to his word
31:26and respond.
31:27They heard the word
31:29and they responded appropriately.
31:31So listen to God's word
31:33as he reveals it to you
31:34and respond appropriately.
31:37Second,
31:38after seeing and believing in Jesus,
31:40tell the good news
31:41about him to others.
31:42Just tell them
31:43what you've heard and seen.
31:44It doesn't have to be complicated.
31:46You don't have to have
31:47all the answers
31:48when we talk about Jesus.
31:50You can simply say,
31:51you know,
31:51I'm really not sure
31:52but I'll look into that
31:54and maybe we can talk again
31:55and I'll give you an answer to that.
31:56It's okay not to know
31:57the answer to a question.
31:59We simply tell them
32:00what we've heard
32:00and what we've seen.
32:03And lastly,
32:04we are new people
32:05after believing in Jesus
32:06so go about your daily lives
32:09as changed people.
32:10When we encounter God,
32:12our lives change
32:13and it is continually changing.
32:16The saying goes,
32:17we are not what we once were
32:19but we are not yet
32:20what we will become.
32:22He has changed us
32:23and is changing us.
32:25Go about our daily lives
32:27as changed people.
32:29Let's pray.
32:29Father, thank you.
32:31Thank you for this familiar story
32:32that we are reminded once again
32:34that it's your revelation
32:36that enlightened the shepherds.
32:38They would have never known.
32:40You came to them
32:41and revealed your word to them
32:42and it was the same with us.
32:43You revealed your word to us.
32:44We would have never known about you
32:46if you wouldn't have come
32:47and revealed yourself to us.
32:49And once you've revealed yourself
32:50to the shepherds,
32:51they went out and told everyone
32:52what they saw and what they heard.
32:54Oh Lord, may we be like the shepherds
32:56to go out and just tell people
32:58what we have heard
32:59and what we have seen
33:00without having every answer.
33:02Just tell them what we know.
33:05Because others need to know
33:07about Jesus,
33:08the Messiah,
33:09who is Christ the Lord.
33:10We pray in Jesus' name.
33:12Amen.
33:12Amen.
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