"And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them. And when eight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb."
Good Morning my beloved,
I never know what I'm going to write in the opening introduction, in fact, I've learned to really not even to think about it, because God much better at it than I am, and typically He lays something on my heart so strongly, that quite frankly, I couldn't avoid it if I wanted to. As I was reading and studying for our message, a flurry of thoughts began running through my mind, I remembered much earlier on in my ministry, having conversations with God, as I now think about them, they were more like unprofitable debates really, expressing all the reasons why I didn't want to talk about certain topics and issues, and believe me, there was usually quite a long list, usually centered around the idea that people were going to be offended or upset, and I really didn't want to deal with the aftermath of that, and I remember asking Him if I could just say something once and while that people would like, something they'd be happy to hear, at which point God made it very clear, He didn't call me to be a writer, He called me to be a preacher, a preacher of whatever message He gave me, and as long as He was pleased, I was not to concern myself with what others thought of me or the message. Then, I started thinking about my mother, who as many of you know, went on to be with the Lord nearly two years ago, and remembering some of the conversations I had with her in the months before she passed. I had to smile, as I remembered her calling me, "My son, the preacher of doom and gloom, it wouldn't hurt you to preach something nice. Even Jesus listened to His mother once and a while. A mother shouldn't have to worry that her son is going to be killed every time he opens his mouth!" to which I remember telling her she probably should have named me Isaiah, Ezekiel or Jeremiah, before explaining "I only preach what God gives me, so she needed to take it up with Him, as I already had. There are a lot of preachers who will say what people want to hear, but very few who will say what they need to hear. Then, reminding her, "Isn't that exactly what Mary did, she watched her Son die for telling people the Truth?"
And, as I'm sure you probably already know, I no longer concern myself with what others think of me or the message, even in this age of diversity, tolerance and political correctness, I am compelled to boldly proclaim what God commands me to preach, the Truth, regardless of all of the demands that are constantly coming upon me to "Tone down the message, you're going about ministry all wrong, people don't want to be confronted about their sin, they want to be encouraged, they need you to build up their self esteem and self image. The last thing that people want to hear is that God wants them to change!" While
it is never my intention to offend anyone, or to provoke anyone to anger, it is my desire to awaken the Church and
restore God's people to the Truth as it is written in His Word. You
cannot live in a Truth which you have not been told. Are we to dare to
imagine that God, Who gave His only begotten Son to die for
us, doesn’t care how we live? I believe that people must know the Truth; the life changing, salvation-giving, soul-transforming Truth, in a world that is overrun with suppressors of the truth, those who are supposed to tell the truth, everybody from governments, the media and sadly, even the church.
It's probably one of the reasons I identify so well with the heart of Jesus as He dealt with the phony religious leaders of His day, who supposedly knew the truth and how lonely and heartbroken He must have felt when the massive crowd, who followed Him superficially, suddenly abandoned Him when they realized they’re not going to get everything they think they ought to get, or those closet to Him left, when things became difficult. I've come to realize it's just one of the consequences of faithful ministry, especially in a culture where sin is no longer defined as sin that needs to be addressed and people are used to sinning freely, openly without consequences. Frankly, it is a hard sell trying to convince people that are used to getting away with sin, even professing Christians, that there are going to be consequences for how they live and they're not going to get away with anything, every sin will be justly punished by God, you’re just accumulating wrath for yourselves. Especially, when so many pastors don't want to talk about sin, repentance and hell; because that’s all very negative. Jesus preached about sin, repentance and Hell, wherever He went, regardless of His audience. In fact, I am reminded of our Lord's words when He said, "Fear not those that destroy the body, but fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." I am blessed to be among those who have been called to tell wretched sinners who are presently damned, that
God has a rescue plan to save them from the very dangerous and deadly consequences of sin. When we talk about "salvation," I believe the word rescued must be used, because that's exactly what salvation and being saved means, being rescued from the wrath of God, rescued from a real place called Hell.
The message of Scripture is not Jesus wants to fix your broken relationships, or rescue you from anxiety and depression, though He certainly can and does do all of that, the message of Scripture is Jesus wants to rescue you from eternal punishment and give you eternal life in His Kingdom. The problem with that is you don’t get to receive salvation on your own terms and believe me, there are many advocates of that in the church today, who tend to just throw away the verses in the Bible that they don’t like. In 1 Corinthians 5:5, the Apostle Paul in speaking of a professing Christian who was sinning in the church, judged the one who was committing sexual immorality and delivered such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. He later says you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person and poses the question "Are you not to judge those who are within the church?" Anyone with any knowledge of the Scripture would have a hard time trying to make their case that sexual immorality should be tolerated and accepted in the church.
The Christian life literally draws the parameters around the lifestyle that a Christian is expected to live, confined by whatever God commands, that's not negotiable. Jesus said, the Christian life is very defined, when He gave the command, "You must enter through a narrow gate and walk a narrow way that's constricted that leads to life," that's precisely what He meant, the meaning is not elusive, it's straightforward. But just to clear up any confusion, He said the way is broad that leads to destruction.
Christian liberty is not the freedom to do whatever you want without restraint, it's the freedom to do what is right, within the confines of God's revealed Word. In other words, Christians are commanded to live a pure life. If you really understood what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you, it ought to make you so grateful that obedience to His commands should be your immediate response. In comparison, it's such a small sacrifice for the inheritance that we receive. You know what God hates? It's not hard to figure out, God hates sin, that's why we're repeatedly commanded to abstain from it, and those who practice lawlessness and sin will be cast into the lake of fire.
It really saddens me that so many professing Christians lives are literally dominated by sin, so much that they refuse to listen to anybody who tells them they are to separate themselves from it. The mark of a true Christian, is whether you love righteousness and evil. Jesus said "If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." When you live a godly life, you bring honor to the One who transformed you, and you attract others to the One who transformed you. The Lord has redeemed us so that we might live an obedient godly life, that glorifies God. Christ came into the world to people from their sins and therefore rescue them from the wrath of God, which is torment and punishment, forever. Anyone who rejects Christ and the true Gospel, better be prepared to die in his sin.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Amen
Today's Message: When Heaven Comes To Earth
"And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began
saying to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing
that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them. And when eight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb."
Let's look at verse 15, "And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." After the angelic messenger and the multitude of heavenly hosts gave us a rare glimpse of heavenly worship, praising God for the salvation that He's brought on earth through the birth of the Messiah. Now, they've gone away from the shepherds in the field and returned to the throne room of heaven from which they came, to do what they do all the time in heaven, and will keep doing, for all eternity, praising God, in fact, they're doing exactly that right now. Before anyone asks, I don't know how long the angels were here on earth, or how long the worship lasted Scripture doesn't give us those details because that's not important, so we needn't become caught up in that. What is important is the shepherds spontaneous response, "Let us go to Bethlehem." Notice, there wasn't any deliberating who would go and who would stay to take care of the sheep, everybody left at once to go see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to them. The word "then" is the Greek word "dḗ," with an emphasis of urgency, implying it is to be obeyed at once. Unfortunately, it's not translated as dramatically in English. By the way, this "thing" is the Greek noun "rhḗma," refers to the word which has been spoken from God, that is strongly affirmed to be true. In other words, they understood that the Savior has been born was a reality. Folks, this is a proper illustration of how people coming to Christ are to respond after hearing the Gospel, they believe it and urgently respond in faith, repenting of their sin without speculation or deliberation, and they embrace Christ with enthusiasm. While it may not be the intent of this passage, I believe it is a powerful illustration of the sinners response.
Verse 16, "So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger." Bethlehem was a small village, located about five or six miles south of Jerusalem, with a modest estimated population of around 300-1000 people at the time of Jesus' birth according to most biblical scholars, depending on the calculation methods used. Today, its now a multicultural urban center, that still retains much of its ancient charm and biblical historical significance but no longer maintains its Christian stronghold, with many being Muslim. We don't know the process the shepherds went through to find that Child lying in that manger, or how long it took them, but eventually they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger, what is important is that they immediately responded to God’s Word with joy in their hearts, leaving everything behind, which ended with finding the Savior, being in the presence of God.
Verse 17, "And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child." Notice the first they did, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. In other words, their immediate response was they were compelled to go everywhere and witness to everybody with enthusiasm, they couldn't contain themselves because God chose to reach out in grace to include them in His plan of redemption. They didn't concern themselves with others might think of them or if anybody would believe them, they went out and told everyone the Good News of the Savior. The Good News which the angel brought to the shepherds is the same Good News of mercy and grace that must be proclaimed throughout all the earth today. Let me tell you something, if you are a Christian, you need to humble yourself and realize you don't deserve salvation, it is only by God's grace that you are in Christ Jesus. Frankly, I'm ashamed to say that I've seen a lot more Christians who are more excited in talking about sports and vacations then they are about telling others about the One who rescued them from God's wrath. Make no mistake, that's not salvation, that's the sin of ingratitude at its highest level. We who have been saved, should be compelled witness to others about the One Who came to grant repentance and
take away the sin of all mankind and testify that it is so!
It's sad really, that the longer people are Christians, they seem to lose the passion and excitement of telling others who do not know Christ and the more they become concerned about offending sinners by telling them their sin will damn them to Hell. The Apostles told it far and wide again and again, that Jesus was promised Messiah of Whom God has prophesied long ago through the prophets of old, to bring salvation to those who would repent and receive Him as Lord. Jesus taught repentance for the forgiveness of sin, to walk the narrow road and enter the Kingdom by way of the narrow gate. That those who try to force their way into the Kingdom on their own terms on the broad road, would ultimately be turned away. In Matthew 28, He said "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you." Yet, tragically today, the church seems to be confused about the message of salvation, redefining and minimizing sin, neglecting to tell people the Truth.
Verse 18, "And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds." And all who heard it marveled, it's the verb "thaumázō," they were awestruck, literally astonished out of their senses. Though it is certainly possible, Scripture doesn't indicate that those who heard the shepherds message from God believed as the shepherds did, just that they marveled in amazement at the things which were told them by the shepherds and went on with their life. It's kind of the same today, isn't it? Who has believed what he has heard from us that has been revealed by God? I dare say, only a few, the rest reject it and just go on with their lives.
Verse 19, "But Mary was treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart." The word treasuring is the verb "syntēréō," which means to guard closely to preserve. I cannot even imagine all the thoughts that must've running through her mind, it had to be overwhelming. This young girl who had never known a man in a sexual relationship, now has this little baby boy, a baby that came out of her virgin womb, Who is Son of the Most High God and let's not forget the shepherds, who were visited by an angel to announce the Savior's birth, then surrounded by a large heavenly choir, singing praises to God, then immediately left the field to find this baby lying in the manger, there is no way they could have known unless it was a divine revelation from God. All of this had to be beyond comprehension, she kept pondering them in her heart. I know the "normal" thoughts that go through a first time mother's mind, but this is the Son of God. I remember my own mother telling me she wondered what would be my first words, what would be like when I could carry on a conversation with her, instead of just looking at her intently, would she be a good mother never having been one before, how would she know what I needed when I was crying. Mary would certainly have all those thoughts, and a whole lot more. Her heart must've have been overfilled with joy and wonder, while trying to carefully guard every last detail of this miraculous experience exactly as it all happened in her mind.
Verse 20, "And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them." This really characteristic in the life of a believer, isn't it, after the overwhelming joy of a genuine encounter with God, after you go around telling anybody who will listen, there comes a point where life goes on and you have to get back to the mundane tasks of every day life, only with a completely different attitude! I still remember singing "Jesus loves me," after all these years, like it was yesterday. And, I didn't even have a multitude of angels to mark the event. To this day, I still can't get over the fact, that the Creator of the universe reached down from Heaven because He wanted to rescue me! Notice, they went back glorifying and praising God, I believe that's to be the expression of gratitude in every Christians heart, glorifying and praising God, and not just on Sunday's. The more you contemplate the reality of your salvation, the greater your praise from your heart should be, not just because somebody stirs your heart up with worship music, not that it's a bad thing, but that shouldn't be the primary cause of your praise.
That brings us to verse 21, "And when eight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb." As we've noted in chapter one, circumcision on the eighth day of every male child born was the prescription God gave the Jewish people back in Genesis 17, any male not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, was to be cut off from his people; he has broken God's covenant, naming of the child on the eighth day was not part of God's original prescription, that tradition came sometime later, but by this time circumcision was accompanied by the official naming of the child, even though the name may have known before the circumcision took place. So, Jesus was circumcised to obey the law of God and He lived a life that fulfilled all righteousness in every sense, so that He could take our sin and His perfect righteousness could be credited to you and me.
God wants His people to be holy people, to live a life separated from sin, so we can represent Christ in this fallen world. What are you going to do about the sin problem in your life? You should be mourning and grieving over the sin that exists in your life, rather than being arrogant and continually making excuses to justify it when someone lovingly points it out. Sin is like that, isn't it? What do you have to be so arrogant about? Your pride? Your disobedience to God's Word? Be very careful in evaluating your spiritual condition honestly. Don't fool yourself, going around thinking you're in great spiritual shape and everything’s fine between you and God, when your pride is affecting your other relationships. Don't just ignore your sin, it's like cancer, it will continue metastasize until it completely destroys your life, unless something is done about it. What good is it to go to church, to read God's Word, if you're not going to don’t obey it? Nothing!
I pray that you get down on your knees, and ask God to make you more sensitive to your sin, so that you can recognize it and deal with it as quickly as temptation arises. Far better to put your trust in God's Word, after all, you won't be standing in front of your pastor or anyone else when you die, but the Righteous and Holy God Himself, Who died to separate us from sin.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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