Sunday, December 9, 2018 - God’s Message to the Shepherds: “The Greatest News”
Pastor Roger Marcos
December 9, 2018
Text: Luke 2:8-20
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Last Sunday, talked about the faithfulness of Mary as an instrument of the divine plan of God.
” Today, we are going to learn with the shepherds to “prepare the Greatest News.” God’s message through the angels to the shepherds represents His universal message to all of humanity.
It was a group of angels giving God’s message to a group of people THE SHEPHERDS.
God Sending His Message to all humanity.
1. God Message To The World.
A. For Real People Living Real Life. 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Notice that the shepherds were living in the fields with their sheep. That was their life and their livelihood. They were real people with real lives doing real things. I want you to understand that the Christian message is not for perfect people, but for real people. .that the angels said that the good news would be for all people.-- And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Mat. 24:14
2. God Message the World is Good News. the shepherds are talking quietly in the blackness of the winter sky. The next moment the hillside is ablaze with light and booming with the sound of an angel's voice.
"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." 2:9
The angel moves first to calm their fears....
"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" (2:10-11)
3. God’s Message for the World Demands a Decision. How would the shepherds know that the angel's message is true?
"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 2:12
The shepherds decided to act on the message and go meet the Savior. Every time we hear the message of the gospel, God’s good news, we are called to a crisis of faith, a moment of decision. We must decide what to do with Jesus in this life or perish for eternity. You see, we are all responsible to respond to the light God gives us. We should know from nature that there is a God and seek Him further. We should hear our conscience telling us that we’ve sinned and we should seek to repent. We should hear the gospel and respond to the light of God’s message, God’s revelation. The Bible and the gospel preached by preachers across the land is God’s message of warning and consolation to us today and we must respond.
After the angel's startling declaration, the heavens reveal a huge crowd of angelic beings:
"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'" 2:13-14
The Shepherd's Response.
Now the shepherds have a choice.
"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." 2:15-18
4. God’s Message Changes Lives Forever.
Notice the change in the shepherds’ lives. Their newfound faith prompted them to do at least two things:
A. Tell others about Jesus.
B. Offer praise to God.
"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." 2:19
Joyful Shepherds (2:20)
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." (2:20)
The final scene in this passage is the shepherds climbing back up the hill to where their flocks lie. The angel had told them what to expect and that's just the way they found it. We leave them glorifying (Greek doxazo, the verb form of doxa discussed in 2:5 and 2:12) and praising (Greek aineo, discussed in 2:13) God.
Conclusion:
The shepherds hearts were changed! They had a new message to give and a new song to sing because things were different for them now. They had met the Savior!
What about You? Have you received Jesus message?
Are you different now than before? What have you done with Jesus?