[0:00] Well, it's Christmas Eve. Why, there's just no other time in the whole of the year like Christmas Eve. I just wish I could go to worship many times, and I wish I could just sit around with cherished friends and just read the story again and talk about the story.
[0:24] I've been living in this story 68 years. I've been preaching it 45 years, and every time I read it, I go, Oh, I forgot that, or I didn't see that before.
[0:37] Let me just read the heart of the story again for us. It's in Luke 2, verses 8 through 11. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
[0:51] And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them. Luke loves this word, suddenly, by the way. It's his way of saying, nobody expected this, and nobody planned this.
[1:03] I mean, these shepherds are just hanging out. They're just doing their job. And in the middle of the night, an angel shows up. Who would have ever thought? And the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. I definitely would be. Actually, Luke says they were mega phobied.
[1:16] They were really afraid. And the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which shall be for all the people.
[1:30] For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. The two phrases that are grabbing me this evening are, Do not be afraid, and a Savior.
[1:45] We don't have to be afraid because there's a Savior, is what the story is telling us. If I am listening to the people of our world right now, fear is on most people's mind and heart.
[2:01] People are really afraid, and I understand why. But the message of Christmas Eve is we don't have to be afraid. In fact, when you read the whole Christmas story, you discover that angels show up often, four times.
[2:17] And each time an angel shows up, says the first thing. The first thing each time is, Do not be afraid. Because it's a way of saying that the events of Christmas are speaking to human fear.
[2:30] God knows who we are, and He knows we're afraid. And the messenger then is saying, Do not be afraid. You don't have to be afraid. Why? A Savior has been born for you.
[2:41] A rescuer. A redeemer. A fixer. Someone who can put things back together again. Every Christmas, I hear that word Savior.
[2:55] But for some reason, this Christmas, that's the one that's jumping out at me the most. First, we have a Savior. Somebody who can save us in every way that we need to be saved.
[3:09] I don't know what you need to be saved from. Well, I do know some of you, and you've told me what you need to be saved from. I know what I need to be saved from. And the angel is saying, You don't need to be afraid anymore.
[3:24] You don't have to be afraid. I know what you need to be saved from. Despair. Depression.
[3:37] Financial ruin. Sickness. Death. He can save us from death. I mean, talk about a Savior.
[3:47] Savior. I just wish there were a way for the whole world to know that we have been given a Savior. I was watching the news the other night, and two of the great leaders of the world were going to meet together.
[4:03] And the commentator says, I wonder if they can find any common ground. And I wanted to cry out. Both of these leaders went to church when they were boys.
[4:16] One in one part of the world, another in the other part of the world. And throughout their life, they've been to church, and I would imagine most Christmas Eves go to church.
[4:28] I would imagine this Christmas Eve will go to church. They have something in common. They have a Savior in common. And if they and the other world leaders who know, who've heard this story, could together reach out to this Savior, Jesus can save the world from everything we need to be saved from.
[4:53] That's why this is the most special night of the year. He gives us hope. A Savior who has come. And this Savior gives us a future that no other Savior can.
[5:06] Because, you see, this Savior, if you know the story, is the Creator. Who has come into our world as one of us.
[5:17] Taken our flesh and blood onto Himself. He has become us. He has become humanity. He has become the human race.
[5:30] Which means the future of the human race is pretty secure. Our future is all tied up now with the future of the Creator. Nothing is going to thwart the Creator and His purposes.
[5:43] Nothing. The Creator is going to get His way. And the Creator now has become us. And we now have His future. And we now have His future. Wow.
[5:54] We do not need to be afraid. There's no reason to be afraid. We have a Savior. Merry Christmas to you and to all those you love.