If you have you Bibles this evening please open them to Luke chapter 2 verse 8.
This morning we are going to look at the experience of a group of people who visited the birth of Christ. We are also going to look at what their experience says to each of us today. This exciting little story is many times brushed over shoved around, kind of like the characters as well as many of us. I believe this message is a message of encouragement and hope for each of us as we read.
Luke 2:8-20 says;
8That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”
13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:
14“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”?
15When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said. (Luke 2:8-20, NLT)
Several years ago probably in the early eighties there was a song on the country radio stations by John Connelly. I’ve heard him singing it more recently listening to the Grand Ole Opry… the basic chorus says:
“I’m a common man with a common van … my dog ain’t got a pedigree….” You see this is the kind of people that the shepherds were … Just common people…like you and me.
When we see what happened in their lives we need to remember that we are exactly were they are and we have an opportunity to do great things for God.
We look at the text and we find it immediately following the story of the birth of Christ. This exiting night the Savior was born. The people had been told for centuries that a messiah would come. Now HE has come and the angels found the common people to share the message with. We are in a similar situation today. We are waiting for the messiah to return … people have been teaching about it for centuries. Yet, we have been given more explicit information about his second return than ever from the first appearance. The books of Daniel, Ezekial, Isaiah, and Revelation go into great detail about the second comming of Christ. We will see how the shepherds reacted to the first coming, how will you react when we see the messiah come again?
So lets take time to look back at the text … Who did the angels speak to … who are these common men that received this special message?
Verse 8-9.
8That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,
When I was preparing this message and reading this passage the detail that struck me about these men the most was in verse 8, it reads they were “keeping watch over their flocks by night.” Do you know what this tells me? … It tells me that they work the third shift. How more common can you get! … These people are just like me! I remember working at the Holiday Inn in Louisville. Every night I would go to work at llpm and get off work at 7am … All night I would be there with a skeleton crew of people–it was a lonely job..and the people during the day would dump all their work on me–because, of course, I had nothing else to do!!! That’s what happened to these guys in the night … everynight!!! They were third shifters … working the late night shift … the shift no one else wanted, they worked because they needed the work. Does this sound familiar? You may not work the third shift, but all of us know what it means to feel dumped on … basically a drone bee just buying time until retirement … just another common man or women.
Dr James Dobson says one of the greatest causes of drepression is self esteem. And if we look at the many suicides every year we find that there is a big Self Esteem problem in America. Its hard to get up in the morning when you don’t feel significant … But Jesus says that you are significant. He describes us all by the parable of the prodical son … we may have done wretched things against the father, we may have committed adultry, we may have stolen, we may have lied, the Bible says that these are all sins and they seperate us from the Father. When we repent and return to him, he puts a ring on our finger and calls us His own. The most significant thing we can do is to repent and return to the Father.
Jesus says that no one come to the Father except by him. You can come to the Father through Jesus. The answer to the self esteem is Jesus. Through Jesus we are made as kings!! Through Jesus, he says the first will be last and the last will be first. Through your acceptance of Christ, even the angels rejoice!!! You can accept Christ this morning. In a few moments … I will complete this message. I will stand here at the front … You can come forward and accept Christ this morning!! You can make the decision in your chair right now… but Christ says that we should come publicaly and acknowledge him publicaly. This will be your opportunity to acknowledge Him and do the most significant thing any one can do.
These shepherds, yes, were common people, but they had an uncommon experience.
Look with me at verse 10-14
10but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”
13Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:
14“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”
The mesage to the shepherds began with one angel and then
with countless angels! The sky was full of them all praising the name of God!.
Illustration:
This can best be described by looking at fireworks. This new year’s eve will definatly bring fireworks. If you watch closely enough you will see rocket being launched into the sky. It seems all by itself as it travels then all of a sudden the sky is filled with the sparkeled payload of the rocket. The first one traveling gets you attention and focuses your eye. Then the most important occurs the explosion of the round.
The message of the birth was secondary to the Glory of God. The message of the Birth was precise and accurate but the excitement was the Glory given to the most high.
Christians this should be an example to you to witness and Glorify God! We must make worship a part of our lives. Witnessing and evangelism flow from this worship. When you are in Love with someone you can’t help to tell others. If you are worshiping God, you won’t be able to hold it in. Have you accepted the message of theses angels? Have you accepted the Birth of the Savior as your very own? You can do this today. Jesus said “For God so loved the world that whosever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish but have ever lasting life”. God sent His son for you and for me and we can have eternal life through Him. By accepting Christ as your Lord and savior, you too can give Glory to God in the Highest for the Birth of Christ the Lord.
When the shepherds saw this great event what did they do?
Finally lets look at verse 15-17.
15When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
The shepherds went to see this sight. It was an opportunity they could not pass up. They were witnessing Israel’s promise. The promise to David as he sung about the crucifixion, to Isaiah as he described the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus, and to Zechariah who explained the Procession of Jesus into Jerusalem.
The promise reminds me of Simeon further down in verse 25. The prophet waited all his life for the messiah. God promised that Simeon would not die until the messiah came. He knew the scriptures he knew the promise. He waited desperately for the Savior of the World. The nation of Israel waited as Simeon for the promise messiah.
We read in verse 17, after the shepherds saw this they told everyone about it. The birth of Christ demands us to tell others. Anything this wonderful must be shared with others. We can do this by sharing our own testimony. We can always tell what has happened to us and if we honest people no one can take away our witness. Do you have a story to tell of how you found the Son of God? You can begin your story today by asking him into your heart, today.
We are now awaiting another appearance of Christ. The Bible says Jesus is coming soon. How long do I think it will be? The Bible says soon!
How soon will it be?
What if it were today, would you be ready?
This sermon was preached a Camp Spiecher, Iraq December 2006