What I should say first is take your Bible and open it.
And turn in your Bible this morning to Luke chapter 2.
I'm going to read from the text beginning in verse 8.
In the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them,
And this will be a sign for you.
You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning the child.
And all those who heard it wondered at what the shepherds had told them.
Let's pray.
Our Father God, this morning it is so easy for us to be distracted.
And we confess that we are dependent upon the word that You've given to us.
And the ministry of the indwelling Spirit in those of us who know Christ.
And the convicting power of the Spirit in the lives of all who are here.
To lift up Jesus that He who is our Savior and our Lord.
The one that someday we will enjoy forever in eternity.
Is the one that is justly worshipped here as He is in heaven.
We pray that our affections will be warmed by the passage that we study together.
That our thoughts and interest in the Lord Jesus Christ will be stirred and strengthened.
And as a result of our attention to the word.
That what we have described in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 might be true.
That we would grow from glory to glory as we behold as in a mirror.
The truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And enjoy the working of the Spirit of God in us.
This morning.
And we ask this in Jesus' name and for His glory.
Amen.
I want you to stop and think just for a moment this morning at a question that has really,
I'd say close to obsessed me for the last several weeks.
And that really is, why did God choose to make the announcement of His Son,
our Savior, the one on whom we rest for all eternity?
Why did He choose to make the announcement of His incarnation in such an unassuming and quiet way?
I didn't do it, but just imagine that this morning when it came time for the preaching of the sermon,
I had had John ask all of you to stand.
And then I had walked in to hail to the chief.
Now, think about that.
It would have been so inappropriate for me.
Isn't that true?
It would have been wrong.
Now, had the president actually arrived here, I mean, there would have been a motorcade,
and there would have been helicopters, and there would have been police officers over every overpass,
and his transfer from Port Columbus over to here would have been,
all the streets would have been blocked off.
Every police officer would have been called in off of duty,
and it would have been just a, and then he walks in, and how, you know,
even though it was church, probably someone would have said,
we ought to play hail to the chief, you know.
It's like, it is the president.
Here I am.
So why did Jesus come in such a humble fashion?
I think it's pretty important for you to think about.
How many of you, by the way, as this little sidebar,
have been eating in a restaurant with your wife or your husband,
and they happen to order something that's really outstanding?
At least they think so.
And they're kind of, how many of you, when you are enjoying food, make good sounds?
You're like, mmm, ah, man.
In fact, I am that way to the point that my wife sometimes, when she is, you know,
just stop.
No, it's like, that adds.
How many of you understand that that kind of amps it up?
Just go ahead and verbalize it.
Mmm, mmm.
And so here we are, we're in the restaurant, and Judas says,
man, this, you know, this salmon is just exceptional.
But, you know, in order to give credit, and I don't mind salmon, I'm just kind of over,
just, but in order to give credit to the value of that taste, how many of you go ahead and stuff a
couple extra fries in your mouth, a little bit of ketchup on top of that, and then you just pop the
salmon in on top behind it, right?
You don't do that.
I mean, if you're serious about the taste, you want to give credit to your wife's appreciation.
I mean, top off, what you do is you rinse your mouth out a little bit with water, you know,
and switch it around, and now you don't spit it out in a restaurant.
I understand that.
You swallow it, but, you know.
And then, when your palate's marginally clean, then you take the taste.
Am I right?
And you say, oh, that's good.
That's good.
I would ask that by the help of the Holy Spirit, you kind of clean your palate away from the
garbage and think carefully about why Jesus chose to come like he did.
Why did God choose to announce the birth of his son the way he did?
Well, as we think about this, and I think there's tremendous value in the thought, I want us to
begin at least by following the text here and recognizing that he announced this to an interesting
group.
As we open the lesson this morning, we look there and we see that Christ's first earthly arrival
was not announced in a dramatic fashion.
Instead, his birth took place in a neglected corner of Israel in a shack that was normally
used to shelter animals.
I want you to pick up, if you would, there in verse 8 and just remind yourself of how the
Christmas story plays out.
And we read there that the angel of the Lord in verse 9 appears to these shepherds that were
marked out in verse 8.
They're out in the field.
They're taking care of sheep.
And we have kind of idealized shepherds and sheep because, you know, after all, it's part of Christmas.
And by the way, how many of you know that bales of hay were like nine bucks a bale?
Is that over the top or what?
I mean, it's like, I can't believe that.
By the way, I didn't buy these.
Sharma lent them to me.
The pickup truck is where they go back afterwards.
Horses need them.
But, you know, I want you to recognize that this passage gives us a picture of some very
unusual people chosen by God to bring some pretty important information to.
And I do want you to understand that shepherds were not well respected.
In fact, you don't need to turn there, but just kind of turn back.
Think in your mind back to Genesis chapter 46 in verse 24.
Remember when Joseph is in the land of Egypt and it comes time to bring Jacob and the whole
clan into Egypt.
And Pharaoh says to Jacob, so what do you do for a living?
How many of you have those questions?
Well, I'm a doctor.
I'm a shepherd.
What?
And it says this, that the Egyptians abhorred.
Shepherds were an abomination to Egyptians.
Now, the Bible picture of shepherds is a little more positive.
I mean, after all, how many of you know the shepherd's psalm?
I mean, every one of us, right?
Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd.
And we think about the fact that God in his care for us, he's like a shepherd.
In fact, Old Testament kings like to carry that idea a little bit.
But it was more idealized than in practical reality because the truth of the matter is
is that shepherds were not well regarded in Jewish culture.
So much so that if Jim Bob had seen Bubba murdering Sally.
You got that?
I mean, are we tracking so far?
Jim Bob saw Bubba murder Sally, and Jim Bob was a shepherd.
When they asked publicly, did anybody see Bubba murder Sally?
And Jim Bob raised his hand and said, I did.
They'd say, disqualified.
Shepherds were not allowed to ever give testimony publicly.
God chose a shepherd group.
To be the ones that he announced the coming of his son to.
And I want you to stop and think with me just for a moment.
Why did he do that?
Why would he have the Lord of glory come the first time
in such an unassuming, quiet manner to a corner neglected
and then announce his coming to people that by the community and culture
were not chosen and regarded?
Oh, by the way, so that you understand,
there were some other people that knew about Jesus' birth.
How many of you know the wise men?
Where did they come from?
By the way, they were what?
What's the word for them?
They were pagans.
Pagans.
Remember, they showed up and they said,
all right, where is the king of the Jews?
And Herod was pretty lit up about this, remember?
And he says, when you find him,
you come back and let me know where he is.
And they were advised by angels to go a different way.
And as a result of that,
Herod slaughtered all the children in that area up to two years old.
Shepherds and pagans were the first ones who were given advice
about the coming of Christ, Joseph and Mary.
And so I want you to kind of chew on this.
Why?
How many of you understand that one of the more important questions
to answer when you're studying the Scriptures is that why question?
Why did he do it this way?
Why is that here?
What is its value to me?
And I have to confess that as this question just lingered in my mind
over and over again through the last several weeks in particular,
I could not come to one particular passage that said thus,
well, here's the answer.
But on the other hand,
there is much in the Scripture
that indicates the gentleness of our God in meeting our need
and his readiness to condescend on our behalf.
Let me have you think with me just for a moment
and kind of frame this out.
Job.
Remember Job?
The King James says he was an upright man who eschewed evil.
How many of you like that word, eschewed?
Practice it at home and say it three or four times around the dinner table, okay?
He was a good guy.
And God allowed some real difficulties to come into his life.
And in the face of all these difficulties,
you remember that Job finally at one point in frustration says,
man, I wish there was someone who would put his hand on God
and his hand on man and kind of bring them together.
A daisman.
Someone who could be a go-between.
Remember when Moses went up the mount to receive the law
and God revealed himself to the nation of Israel
and he comes back, Moses comes back,
and he lays out the glory of the revelation of God
and the people, they're kind of overwhelmed by the reality
of the glory of God and the word that he has for them.
And they say, Moses, Moses, would you do the talking with him
and then you come down here and communicate with us?
We're terrified.
God in his awesome glory, knowing our frame and our dust,
chose to come with unbelievable humility
and in that humility to reveal himself as our Savior.
I do want you to understand this issue of God coming down, for one,
reflects this matter of humility in a profound fashion.
Several different things come to mind.
I do want you to understand that what it says in Scripture
is that the ones who are blessed
are those who are humble and broken.
And here is God presenting his son in a humble fashion
and he reminds us of the reality
that the ones who receive the blessings of God
are those who are humbled and contrite.
I think about Isaiah chapter 66 where it says this,
that the prophet recounts and says,
who is it that God reveals himself to?
The one who is humble and broken and trembles at my word.
I couldn't help as I was praying earlier today
to stop and think about the culture we have
that pushes against the idea of humility.
I mean, what kid doesn't go to school
and hear about from the time they walk in
through the doors of the school
to the time they at least come out.
At least in the professional context,
you're special, you're the best, you're the winner.
Everybody gets, you know, we're full of ourselves.
And our community encourages that.
And yet the Scripture tells us
that the one that God reveals himself to
is the one who recognizes his sin
and is humble in the prospect of his soul's condition.
I think also of this business of who God calls.
Turn over in your Bible just for a moment
to 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
1 Corinthians chapter 1,
verse 26 through 29.
The church at Corinth was a church that was full of people
that had a fairly inflated view of themselves.
Hello?
Let me give you a couple hints of what were indicators
that they had an inflated view of themselves.
Okay?
Number one,
inflated self-appreciation
is invariably the cause
of a lot of dissension
and bickering among people.
How many of you understand that?
Overly simplifying it,
let me put it this way.
When Judith and I were younger
and our four children were still with us
and we would decide that we were going to go out to dinner,
we would ask early on,
this is before we learned the importance
of the appropriate approach.
We would say,
all right, all right,
where would you like to go to dinner?
And we'd kind of address it as a general view.
And guess what would happen in the back of the car?
We had four professional opinions
of where was best to eat.
And everyone not only proposed
where the best place was to go,
but on top of that,
they would then begin throwing stones.
You want to go to McDonald's?
I can't believe...
They were over the top
with approval of their own
and disapproval of everybody else's vote.
Why do we have arguments and dissent
and irritable attitudes?
Full of ourselves.
Corinth, full of themselves.
And Paul says,
a remedy to your being so full of yourself
is understanding, number one,
why God picked you
and where He drew you from.
That's what we're dealing with there
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
And we mark out what it says there in verse 26.
For consider your calling, brothers.
Not many of you were wise
according to the worldly standards.
Not many were powerful.
Not many were of noble birth.
But God chose what is foolish in the world
to shame the wise.
God chose what is weak in the world
to shame the strong.
God chose what is low and despised in the world,
even things that are not,
to bring to nothing things that are,
so that no human being may boast
in the presence of God.
Everywhere the shepherds turned,
they had people telling them consistently,
you ain't nobody.
Nobody.
And God shows up and says,
and by the way,
it's the nobodies that I want to use
to draw attention to the fact
that the Savior of the world has come.
More importantly than that, though,
it is appropriate that our Savior
who came in humiliation
should present His coming
in a humble fashion.
So remind yourself,
Christ humbled Himself
to become our Savior.
Turn in your Bible, if you would,
to Philippians chapter 2.
You're there in Luke.
Keep your finger
because we're coming back to it.
But I want you to turn
to Philippians chapter 2
and mark what it says
in verse 5 through 9.
Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who though He was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God
a thing to be grasped,
but made Himself nothing,
taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of a man.
Hey, guys, listen.
To lay aside His regal splendor
as the second person of the Godhead
and to take upon Himself
the fashion of a man
was the incredible,
unfathomable step of humility.
And so to choose
to come in that profoundly humble way
and then to come in
with any kind of flair and panache
would have come off
actually being inconsistent.
And so I want you to understand
that as the Bible tells us,
Christ came with this humility
for our sakes.
And He did it so that
He would be humbled unto death,
even the death on the cross for us.
I think about another passage
in relationship to this
over in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9.
And in essence what it says is this,
is though He was rich,
He became poor for us.
How many of you ever stop
and realize that the shepherds,
the manger,
is not an idealized
little Christmas decoration,
it is a reminder
of the abject humility
with which Christ came
to meet our broken state?
So how else
to announce the unbelievable grace of God
in sending His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who willingly humbled Himself
to be my Savior
and die in my place?
How else to make that announcement
but to do it with the same kind
of humility
that we find in the passage of Scripture
that we look at this morning?
But I want you to look at
a second part of the text this morning
because it's not just
the fact that Jesus came
and His coming was something
that was announced by shepherds.
That's a small sidebar
and an issue that,
while it deserves our attention,
is not the center of the story.
I want you to recognize
what we find there
in the passage in verse 10.
It says,
So I want you to think about
this issue of good news for all.
It was for the nation.
It was for the world.
And I want you to stop
and think with me just for a moment
about what that little word
good news means.
Am I right?
Tonight in the program,
Steve, I know you're the one
who rocks it out,
so I got to,
you're the,
aren't we doing this good news number?
John, where are you?
Way back.
It's, by the way,
little solicitation off the page.
The Christmas program
is knockout good.
I went home and I told my wife,
she's in the nursery
so she can't hear,
don't tell her what I said.
Everybody always does.
I came home,
I said,
man,
it was a really good Christmas program.
It was really good.
I mean,
by the way,
clapping is allowed.
I will clap
if nobody else does tonight.
It was,
but one of the numbers
in particular
that I really like,
I did not know
that
white Anglo-Saxons
could be as
into it.
I'm a lot of friends.
I know,
I grew up with that,
don't you be moving like that,
that could be dancing,
you know.
Okay.
Good news.
What's the good news?
I'm not going to bore you
with the details,
but not bore you,
that's not the way
I want to say it.
I'm not going to
overweight you
with the Greek here,
but the word euangelion,
which is the word
from which we get good news,
is a word that was used
in the Roman world
for special things.
You know,
we overuse words
and they kind of
lose their effect.
it's like,
outstanding,
you know.
My favorite one
is when you go
to the restaurant,
I'm picking on
restaurants today,
but,
you know,
and you tell the waitress
that you're going
to order something
and she says,
excellent choice.
Like,
give me a break.
Every time I've been here
you've said the same thing,
you know.
It's like,
really?
I'm going to have
a hamburger again?
Excellent choice.
You know,
sometimes we overdo words.
euangelion was not
a word that was overdone.
It was a word
that when Luke penned it,
had a fairly narrow
use and understanding
in the ancient world.
It was a word
that was used
to kind of announce
exceptional things.
Two primary illustrations
come to mind,
maybe three.
One was that
when an emperor
had a son born,
this was the heir,
a parent,
and he was the one
the kingdom was going
to be handed off to
and everybody could,
okay,
we're not going to go
through a messy,
bloody kind of transition
when the king dies.
Maybe be reasonable.
And when the king
had a son,
it was like,
this is euangelion,
this is good news.
Another thing
that really brought
about good news
is when the army
came back victorious
from a campaign
that had defeated
a mortal enemy,
the news would come
and it would,
good news,
the Roman legion
has won.
Another good news
would be
when a city
that had irritated
the emperor
and all the legion
had kind of circled
around the city
and there they were.
And by the way,
I want you to know
that the Roman legion
was not someone
to mess with.
So there's the foreign legion,
the Roman legion
around the city
and they send out delegates
and say,
we're really sorry,
we're sorry,
we offended the emperor,
we're going to pay
all our taxes back
and you don't have
to kill us,
we'll be good people
and good news,
you're not going
to be slaughtered,
right?
Wow!
That's good news.
And so here,
you get this picture,
here in Luke,
the angels say,
don't you be afraid,
I bring you good news.
What is the good news?
You see,
the good news
that we find here
is one that deserves
great joy
and that's the thing
I want you to recognize.
woven into this passage
is the reality
that there is something
that God is doing for us
that is incredible.
I wonder this morning
as you stop
and think about it,
whether or not
every time you think
about your salvation,
you do not kind of thrill
at the thought of it.
Stop just for a moment.
Check your pulse.
Mine is about 62.
Sometimes when I'm worked up
it goes a little higher,
but you know.
Hey,
if you're a Christian,
if you know Jesus,
the thought of your salvation
is good news
and it ought to cause
your soul to thrill.
So here we look
at this passage
and we understand
that the great joy
of this blessing
is not freedom from tax
or deliverance
from having your head cut off.
It's more than that.
It's of eternal consequence
and this blessing
as we read in the passage here
is good news
not only for the Jews
but for the entire world.
What is it?
Salvation and forgiveness
for sin
is available to all
because of Christ.
That's what this is saying.
Salvation
and forgiveness
from sin
available to all
because of Christ.
Now Mark,
if you will,
there at the last point
as you look there
in verse 11
it says,
For unto you
is born this day
in the city of David
a Savior.
What does it
say
to us
when you read
that word
Savior?
what does it
say about you
when you admit
that you need
a Savior?
I want you
to think about that
because
when we
come to grips
with the reality
of our own condition
and we are
persuaded
by the Spirit
of God
at just how
miserable
and how broken
we are
it becomes
reasonable for us
to recognize
I need a Savior.
I need someone
who can do
for me
what I cannot
do for myself.
And so I want you
to recognize
this morning
as you look
at this passage
that what the
Scripture makes
clear is that
salvation is
through God's
Son.
That's what
happened at
Christmas.
This little
child
would become
our Savior
Savior.
Saving us
from our
greatest fear
and our
greatest problem
namely from
the holy
wrath of God
against sin
and how did
He do that?
I want you
to recognize
as we look
at the passage
and think
about this
issue of
Christ being
our Savior
that it is
fair for us
to understand
that at the
heart of this
is first of
all a
recognition
that man
cannot save
himself.
Man cannot
save himself.
I cannot
help but think
of a little
review that I
did earlier
this week
doing some
reading about
Islam
and then
making some
comparison with
Hinduism
and I was
doing that
just because
of all things
happening in
the world
today and
we hear a
lot about
Islam,
Islam and
I recognize
that it
kind of has
a presence
in a lot
of our
thinking but
it is not
the only
religion out
there and
having grown
up in
India I
saw that
Muslims
and Hindus
hated each
other as
much as
you can
imagine.
In fact
it was not
atypical for
slaughters to
take back
and forth
and both
actually
proposed
that man
ultimately has
responsibility for
the outcome of
his soul in
that his own
effort is what
is at the
heart of his
redemption.
How many of you
would like to
have your salvation
based upon your
own efforts?
Think about that.
God's
The only reason
you shake
your head
is because
by the
spirit of
God you
have become
fully persuaded
of your own
complete
inability.
Were it
not for the
grace of
God which
lovingly revealed
to you your
inability to
save yourself
you would be
like the rest
who when you
asked them
how is it that
you're going to
get to heaven
guess what
their answer
usually is?
Well I'm doing
the best I can.
I hope he grades
on the curve.
I'm at least
better than some
of the people I
know who live in
my neighborhood.
I mean I do go
to church
occasionally and
they never go.
They got a boat.
You know it's
really bugging me
but
no.
The truth of
the matter is
is that man
cannot save
himself and
underlying the
reality of the
need that I have
for a savior is
that I can't do
anything to change
me.
As a sidebar
one of the
things that I so
love about the
gospel is the
reality that
because of
salvation not
only do I have
the certainty
of a home in
heaven but I
also have great
confidence that
because of what
he has done in
me Tim Kenoyer
doesn't have to
stay the way he
has been.
I can change by
grace and you
can too.
I want you to
recognize as we
think about this
matter of salvation
man cannot save
himself we accept
that but there's
another thing that
that stands out in
this verse and
when it says good
news namely you
have a savior we
recognize that only
God can save
fallen man.
That's why God
sent his son
the Lord Jesus
Christ.
That's why Jesus
came and died on
the cross and
rose again.
He did all that
because salvation
is of the Lord.
How many of you
recognize and kind
of have it stick in
your mind that
actually the name
of Jesus means
what?
How many of you
know what it
means?
Jesus,
Yehoshua,
God saves.
Even in giving
Jesus the name
that he received
what God chose
to do was
communicate to
us that we
cannot save
ourselves that
God has to be
the one that
saves us.
And so I want
you to recognize
that that first
Christmas morn when
the shepherds with
that rejected
attitude in the
community that they
kind of endured
under, they
received the
information.
I want you to
know there's good
news because
today in the
city of Bethlehem
is born your
Savior, God
having done this
for you.
So you look at
the passage here
and bring it
together, it
says, this day
in the city of
David a Savior
who is Christ
the Lord.
So let me ask
you a couple
questions as I
close this morning
and have you think
with me about it.
First of all,
very practically,
have you come
broken and
wounded by your
sin to God and
asked Him to be
your Savior?
Have you confessed
the need you have
for Christ and
recognized that the
absolute darkness
of your soul has
no remedy apart
from the work of
God in saving you?
And I would
encourage you as
you sit here this
morning, don't just
think to yourself,
well, hey, listen,
I grew up in this
church, man, I've
heard this a
thousand times.
Do not think
that sitting in a
pew is a guarantee
of salvation.
Do not think that
going to a
Juana, do not
think that anything
apart from broken,
contrite humility and
dependence upon God
being your Savior is
remedy for the need
of your soul.
And it takes humility
to be able to come to
Him and say, look, I
stand condemned before
God and I realize the
bankruptcy of my soul.
I need Christ to be
my Savior.
Incidentally, let me
tell you this, if
you're sitting here
this morning and you
are one who still is
resisting the grace of
God, let me appeal to
you, practically
speaking, how much
more evidence do you
need of how messy
your life can get?
Make sense?
Apart from God and
His grace, our lives
are a mess.
And I would appeal to
you this morning, say,
I've got enough
information.
I don't need to have
any more experience.
I need Jesus as my
Savior and I recognize
that.
On the other hand, let
me ask you this.
Have you discovered
the joy of complete
forgiveness for all of
your sins?
Has that happened?
Does that thought
resonate and make a
difference in the life
that you live?
Right?
By nature, by nature,
it's fairly easy for
us to become kind of
focused on the
circumstantial issues
around us and take
our eyes off of the
absolute certainty of
our salvation and our
eternal destiny.
Isn't that right?
Huh?
And I want to
encourage you this
morning as you stop
and consider this
wonderful, wonderful
news that we find in
Luke that here is this
kernel of information
about the reality of God
being our Savior.
And when you, who are
children of the living
God, hear that truth,
it ought to make a
difference in your life.
I got to tell you, I look
forward to this evening's
Christmas program.
How many of you are in for
cold chills?
Do you like cold chills?
How many of you, I get
cold chills.
I'm a cold chills specialist.
I'm not talking about the
heating.
It's over the top.
I'm talking, I just, I get
those, it happens.
Hair kind of stands up on the
back of my neck.
Listen to some of the
singing tonight.
But that's not to be
compared to the joy of my
salvation.
What about you?
Let's close in prayer.
Our Father God, this morning
as we stop and think about
the absolute wonder of
salvation through the Lord
Jesus Christ, we marvel that
you who abide in heaven, who
have no need for us,
nevertheless, willingly, sent
your Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, to take upon Himself
the absolute humiliation of
being a man instead of just
the glory of heaven, and He
became a man for our sakes.
We're thankful that He came
to be our Savior, that He
lived here, that He died on
the cross and rose again, that
all who believe in Him might
have everlasting life.
And this morning as we think
about the gospel, we're
thankful for what Jesus has
done for us.
And I ask practically that
those who are here that do
not know Christ will be drawn
to confess their sins and
believe in Jesus alone.
I pray, Lord, also for our
baptism now as we have the
privilege of hearing one
young man share the testimony
of what you did in saving
him, that we would thrill
together at the good work of
God and broken and ruined
sinners.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you.