Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Luke 2:13,14)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:03.759 If you're able to remain standing, please do as we turn to the gospel 2 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:11.109 of Luke, Chapter Two, and here of the announcement of Jesus's birth in 3 00:00:11.189 --> 00:00:22.539 Luke, to beginning in verse eight, are many are very wonderful important things 4 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:29.339 to consider here. Will be focusing particularly on the announcement of the angels in 5 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:37.090 verses Thirteen and fourteen, the herald angels. And in the same region, 6 00:00:37.130 --> 00:00:41.409 there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night, 7 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:47.329 and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the 8 00:00:47.450 --> 00:00:54.920 Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear, and the Angel 9 00:00:55.039 --> 00:01:00.640 said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news 10 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:06.909 of great joy that will be for all the people, for unto you is 11 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:14.390 born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the 12 00:01:14.549 --> 00:01:18.549 Lord, and this will be a sign for you. You will find a 13 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:23.540 baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was 14 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:30.900 with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying glory 15 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:36.489 to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is 16 00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:42.769 pleased. When the angel went away from them into heaven. The shepherd said 17 00:01:42.810 --> 00:01:47.200 to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that 18 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:51.280 has happened which the Lord has made known to us, and they went with 19 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:57.640 haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. When 20 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.670 they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning 21 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:07.629 this child, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds had told 22 00:02:07.709 --> 00:02:12.389 them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 23 00:02:13.229 --> 00:02:17.659 And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and 24 00:02:17.819 --> 00:02:23.900 seen, as it had been told to them. You may be seated. 25 00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:35.849 What we have here in Luke to chapter eight or to Luke two, verse 26 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:44.289 eight through Verse Twenty, is this amazing account of something wonderful created wondering. 27 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:52.280 I was wonderful that God did in announcing the birth of our Savior. Indeed, 28 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:55.960 it's no surprise that we find it a wonderful the people that were there 29 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:02.030 found it wonderful. The shepherds did those that they told. Everyone was amazed 30 00:03:02.069 --> 00:03:08.949 at this thing God had done. If you have ever worked a night shift 31 00:03:09.150 --> 00:03:15.379 before, you know that the night is a strange time. Perhaps you haven't 32 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:20.340 worked a formal night shift, but maybe you've been up at night nursing a 33 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:27.770 baby, dealing with an injury, any number of things. The night is 34 00:03:27.810 --> 00:03:34.490 a weird time and things happen at night and then again nothing happens at night. 35 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:38.969 It can be a boring time, a night, that time that drags 36 00:03:38.090 --> 00:03:42.599 on and on. You sleep, you try not to sleep as you sit 37 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:49.439 there at the front desk or on your shift or in a field watching the 38 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.599 sheep. You wake for emergencies that turn out not to be emergencies. Your 39 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:58.030 adrenaline is kind of a false sweet sleep. It's quiet, it's dark, 40 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:06.949 it's it's disruptive in an apt way. It, I think it describes our 41 00:04:08.030 --> 00:04:12.060 life in general, as hard as we try to, even those who of 42 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:15.819 us who are a fortunate enough to live and work during the daytime, we 43 00:04:15.980 --> 00:04:25.649 never fully Um to become these kinds of things, the continually being knocked off 44 00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:30.410 our heels, never quite knowing where things are, how things are going. 45 00:04:30.730 --> 00:04:36.490 We face dangers, we find ourselves a limited, confused, sleepy, unable 46 00:04:36.569 --> 00:04:43.879 to see things as we we like. Well, here the shepherds are in 47 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:50.839 the night, both the figurative night of sin that we all find ourselves in 48 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:58.189 after Adam and eve fell, but very but most immediately, literally bear nighttime 49 00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:01.910 in the dark watching their sheep. And it's in both of these moments. 50 00:05:02.670 --> 00:05:09.860 But something really wonderful happens and angel appears, the Angel of the Lord. 51 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:17.139 Luke describes the event as the shepherds described it, as the glory of God 52 00:05:17.699 --> 00:05:26.009 shining around them. No doubt there was light involved here. Shining is the 53 00:05:26.089 --> 00:05:30.649 verb that's used whenever we read of the shining of the glory of God. 54 00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:34.129 This is the impression that's given. You might remember Jesus coming off of the 55 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:41.560 mountain where he was a transfigured and he shone, or Moses Rather, coming 56 00:05:41.639 --> 00:05:46.560 off Jesus at the amount of transfiguration, Moses coming down after seeing the Lord 57 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:50.550 Shining With glory of God's so bright that people asked him to put a literal 58 00:05:50.670 --> 00:05:58.829 veil over his face. Here this Angel Shining, not with its own glory 59 00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:02.310 but the glory of the Lord, Reflecting the glory of the Lord Shining around 60 00:06:02.310 --> 00:06:06.540 them. That so that they were filled with fear. Now notice at this 61 00:06:06.620 --> 00:06:14.819 point it's just one angel, just one and they're terrified. But then Angel 62 00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:19.490 says, fear not behold, I bring you good news of great joy, 63 00:06:20.410 --> 00:06:24.689 and then he tells them that that day in the city of David, Jesus 64 00:06:24.850 --> 00:06:28.610 was to be born, and he tells them how they will find him. 65 00:06:29.810 --> 00:06:32.319 Now, at that moment, you would think that this would certainly be enough 66 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:38.680 to announce the coming of the king, right and Angel Coming, the glory 67 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:42.839 of the Lord Shining around them, a sign given. And then it says 68 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:49.389 suddenly there was, with this single angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, 69 00:06:51.069 --> 00:06:56.149 and they're not just standing there, they're not just sort of hovering or 70 00:06:56.310 --> 00:07:03.300 whatever it was that they saw, but they are praising God. These shepherds 71 00:07:03.459 --> 00:07:11.220 can hear the angels of God, a multitude of the heavenly host, saying 72 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:17.329 glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among those with whom he 73 00:07:17.529 --> 00:07:29.529 is pleased. Can you imagine that, to hear the angels sing, to 74 00:07:29.689 --> 00:07:34.040 shine with this glory, to watch this happen? No wonder they said, 75 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:40.519 let us go over to Bethlehem, let's see this thing that has happened. 76 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.519 Of course you would. You wouldn't want to do anything else, at least 77 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.189 I would hope not. It's, of course, sad though, that this 78 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:54.949 is exactly what we do do. God Sends Messengers all the time. I'm 79 00:07:55.069 --> 00:08:00.699 no angel, but I am a messenger and I'm among a whole host of 80 00:08:00.860 --> 00:08:03.459 messengers, not just at this moment in time, but throughout the history of 81 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:09.019 the world and many other people in your lives, that come again and again 82 00:08:09.220 --> 00:08:13.970 saying this very thing, glory to God in the highest and peace on earth. 83 00:08:16.250 --> 00:08:22.569 Two men. This great thing, however, is often ignored. Instead 84 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:28.040 of saying let's go see, let's follow the Star, let's respond to the 85 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:33.679 sign, we say, I'm busy, I've got better things to do. 86 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:41.549 These sheep aren't going to watch themselves, but this is what's going on here. 87 00:08:43.190 --> 00:08:48.789 It's wonderful, glorious thing, and the shepherd's respond rightly and they're blessed 88 00:08:48.870 --> 00:08:52.389 by it. They go to see the child and when they see him, 89 00:08:52.429 --> 00:08:58.100 they tell everyone what had happened there. And what happens in verse twenty, 90 00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:03.299 we read that they return glorifying and praising God. Now they've joined their voices 91 00:09:03.419 --> 00:09:09.450 with the angels, praising the king for all that they had seen and what 92 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:15.490 it had been told to them. On this night, God comes into the 93 00:09:15.649 --> 00:09:20.649 world and there is this great fanfare. I want to think more about this 94 00:09:20.809 --> 00:09:28.080 angelic message with you by considering a him. We're going to sing after the 95 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.759 sermon, Hark the Harold Angels Sing. You can find it in your hymnals 96 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:35.559 on page two, hundred and three, if you like. This is part 97 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:41.950 of a little project I'm doing in helping us to understand these hymns and carols 98 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:48.789 that we sing. These are our prayers, they are our confessions of faith. 99 00:09:48.470 --> 00:09:52.429 They're the things that were speaking to God. What do we mean by 100 00:09:52.549 --> 00:09:58.100 them? Are they biblical? Are they true? Well, this Hark the 101 00:09:58.259 --> 00:10:05.019 Harold Angels Sing comes to us from these verses. They are a way in 102 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:11.649 which we, like the shepherds, join our voices in praise God. Want 103 00:10:11.690 --> 00:10:20.570 to begin with just a little note. It says Hark the Harold Angels Sing. 104 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:26.840 This isn't about our brother Harold Sam Rock. Hark the Harold. I 105 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.360 say this partly as a joke. You know I don't tell jokes very much, 106 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.990 but it is important because in a number of these hymns is me giving 107 00:10:35.029 --> 00:10:39.389 you a side note. In a number of our hymns, if you're not 108 00:10:39.590 --> 00:10:43.110 careful about the commas, if you're not careful about the meaning of the words. 109 00:10:43.470 --> 00:10:48.870 You can kind of collapse them together. Kids, this is a specially 110 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:52.139 for you. I'm trying to help you to understand what some of these words 111 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:58.860 mean. It's not saying Hark, it's Harold. It's saying Hark the Harold 112 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:03.809 Angels, saying it's it's an adjective. It's describing the angels. So what 113 00:11:03.970 --> 00:11:09.929 are these Harold Angels? Well, Harold is a word that means announce, 114 00:11:09.809 --> 00:11:16.490 just it is. It's a harold is something that announces something great. And 115 00:11:16.649 --> 00:11:20.200 so it says, pay attention, look, look up in the sky, 116 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.279 Hark the Harold Angels Sing. And then it quotes them. Glory to the 117 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:30.840 new born king, peace on earth and mercy, Mild God and sinners reconciled. 118 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:35.389 So that's all quotes there. That's a way of paraphrasing what he is 119 00:11:35.470 --> 00:11:39.870 they say in scripture. So that what do they say? What are they 120 00:11:41.070 --> 00:11:46.340 heralding? What is the fanfare about? Well, they are announcing these three 121 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:54.139 things. Peace on Earth, mercy, Mild God and sinner reconciled. Let's 122 00:11:54.220 --> 00:12:00.059 think through each of these briefly. First, peace on earth. When Adam 123 00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:05.330 and Eve were placed in the garden of Eden, there was peace on earth. 124 00:12:05.370 --> 00:12:11.409 Adam and Eve were happy together, they were happy with God, they 125 00:12:11.450 --> 00:12:16.320 were happy in nature, but sin destroyed all of that. It broke the 126 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:22.240 peace. It broke the peace between Adam and a eve. She did it, 127 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.600 he did it, the serpent did it. It broke the peace between 128 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:31.269 mankind and nature. It broke the peace between mankind and God. Everything was 129 00:12:31.350 --> 00:12:39.549 now broken. Man broke it, but man couldn't fix it. The effects 130 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:46.419 of this fall into sin are felt and seen immediately in the blaming, in 131 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:52.179 the hiding, in the shame, in the guilt. You see it in 132 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:54.899 the curse that God puts on mankind. You see it in the way that 133 00:12:54.940 --> 00:13:03.289 ane or cane, killed his brother Abel. You see it in the coming 134 00:13:03.370 --> 00:13:07.730 chapters of Gen assist is the history of the world unfolds. It's one tragedy 135 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:13.519 after another, tragedy after another, and every generation, every new generation, 136 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:18.840 promises to fix the peace, to bring the peace, will build faster and 137 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.440 higher and stronger, will do things better, will make things more beautiful, 138 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:28.429 will optimize them, will make them more lasting, will elect better leaders, 139 00:13:28.950 --> 00:13:35.350 will find the right people. But all of the world and in the history 140 00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:43.220 of the world, we keep failing and failing and failing. Everywhere you look 141 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:52.779 you will find the markers of failed peace. Once Great Kingdoms that no longer 142 00:13:52.860 --> 00:14:01.490 exist, monuments and testimonies to a earlier time with nothing but a torso left, 143 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:11.840 graves filled with the bodies of genocides, prisons filled with people that dissented, 144 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:18.519 and more and more and more in our own homes, in our own 145 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:26.149 lives, we find disunity, does vision, long term, family conflicts, 146 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:37.269 strife between husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends, and we keep 147 00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:43.580 hoping, we keep trying as a human race, as the human race, 148 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:50.419 to find a way to fix the problem. But we can't, but God 149 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:58.409 can. He is one who can bring lasting peace to the world, and 150 00:15:00.889 --> 00:15:09.120 that's who this newborn king was and is God, if you go back to 151 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:15.080 the book of Isaiah and you remember Isaiah Nine, for us, to us 152 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.759 a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the 153 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:24.909 government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor mighty 154 00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:35.590 God, everlasting father, Prince of peace. Later on, this piece that 155 00:15:35.669 --> 00:15:41.259 he brings is described in terms of the world and even of nature. I 156 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:46.940 want to read to you from Isail Eleven now, about ten verses here. 157 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:52.129 I want you to listen to WHO this coming child was foretold to be and 158 00:15:52.490 --> 00:15:58.169 and who he who he is. There shall come forth a shoot from the 159 00:15:58.210 --> 00:16:03.360 stump of Jessie, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit, and 160 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.919 the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and 161 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:11.480 understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the 162 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:15.200 fear of the Lord. Pause. This sounds like a leader. You would 163 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:21.509 want to have the spirit of the Lord, of God Resting Upon Him, 164 00:16:21.789 --> 00:16:25.549 with all of these things. Wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, 165 00:16:25.629 --> 00:16:29.509 fear of the Lord. Here is someone who can bring peace, and 166 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:33.580 indeed he does. We read on our description of our savior. His Delight, 167 00:16:33.700 --> 00:16:36.539 verse three, shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall 168 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:40.860 not judge by what his eyes see or decide dispute by what his ears here, 169 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:45.100 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the 170 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:48.809 meek of the Earth, and he shall strike the Earth with the rod of 171 00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:52.289 his mouth and with the breath of his lips. He shall kill the wicked. 172 00:16:53.289 --> 00:16:57.330 Righteousness shall be the belt of his Waiste and faithfulness the belt of his 173 00:16:57.490 --> 00:17:03.759 loins. This is not one of our rulers, and even one of ourselves, 174 00:17:03.960 --> 00:17:10.759 that often sees things poorly. Here's things poorly and misjudges it. Jesus 175 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:15.680 judges everything perfectly, and he upholds the cause, not of the wicked but 176 00:17:15.829 --> 00:17:18.990 of the righteous. In every moment, the weak, the failing, he 177 00:17:19.150 --> 00:17:25.750 lifts up the meek of the earth. He gives equity. For now, 178 00:17:25.869 --> 00:17:32.900 listen to this, this description of peace. The Wolf shall dwell with the 179 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:38.299 lamb, the Leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and 180 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:44.529 the lion and the fatted calf together, and a little child shall lead them. 181 00:17:44.609 --> 00:17:49.569 The cow and the bear shall graze there. Young shall lie down together 182 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:56.609 and the lion shall eat straw like the OX. The nursing child shall play 183 00:17:56.609 --> 00:18:02.039 over the whole of the Cobra and the weaned child shall put his hand on 184 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:07.240 the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my Holy Mountain, 185 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:11.680 for the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as 186 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:17.309 the waters cover the sea. In that day, the root of Jesse, 187 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:22.349 who shall stand as a signal for all the peoples. Of Him, shall 188 00:18:22.390 --> 00:18:30.339 the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. You see the 189 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:36.140 peace that comes with the new born king. This promised child is not a 190 00:18:36.420 --> 00:18:41.130 temporary fix, it's not a bandaid solution. It's not a legislative victory that 191 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:48.809 will be fixed up on the next term. It is final, lasting and 192 00:18:49.089 --> 00:18:56.640 glorious. Is Glorious or more glorious than the angels that sang in the heavenly 193 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:03.799 places the praises of God? This is the peace that the angels are singing 194 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.920 about, this is the peace that they are announcing at Jesus's birth. Will 195 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:19.029 you hear them? Will you respond in praise with them? The hymn goes 196 00:19:19.069 --> 00:19:25.539 on to say it says a glory to the newborn king, peace on earth 197 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:30.299 and mercy mild. These words, I think, refer to the way in 198 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:37.700 which peace comes. Peace can come different ways. Suppose someone breaks into your 199 00:19:37.819 --> 00:19:41.210 house and you find them in your child's bedroom. You pull a gun on 200 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:47.769 them and they leave. Well, you have restored the peace, right, 201 00:19:48.009 --> 00:19:53.759 but that's not what Jesus does. The way he restores the peace is by 202 00:19:53.839 --> 00:20:02.200 dying. He restores the peace he conquers the world. He creates peace where 203 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:07.589 there was no peace. He eliminates war where there's always been war, by 204 00:20:07.710 --> 00:20:19.950 dying by dying for our sins. Jesus is powerful, but that power comes 205 00:20:21.390 --> 00:20:27.819 as he humbles himself of all of his glory, becoming weak, taking on 206 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:33.299 the form of a servant, dying on a cross and even being buried in 207 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:41.690 the grave. His power is demonstrated is he overcomes weakness by taking weakness on 208 00:20:41.809 --> 00:20:49.400 himself, and then the little literally rising above it. He defeats sin and 209 00:20:49.640 --> 00:21:00.920 death and war in mercy. Mild peace gets attached to love. In the 210 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:06.269 Isaiah a nine passage, I read the passage. Oh, I'm sorry, 211 00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:11.069 and I meant Isaiah Eleven. N Isaiah Eleven passage I read. There is 212 00:21:11.309 --> 00:21:21.259 a note of of righteous a strength that is that comes out he, this 213 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:27.740 great king to come, is strong and he will not tolerate the wicked. 214 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:32.740 Remember this language. He shall strike the Earth with the rod of his mouth, 215 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:37.089 with the breath of the of his lips. He shall kill the wicked. 216 00:21:37.809 --> 00:21:44.410 If Jesus came without any mercy, this would be all that we would 217 00:21:44.410 --> 00:21:51.720 have and we would all be dead. The shepherds had a good sense of 218 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:56.680 fear when the angels arrived and started announcing that the king was coming. You 219 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:02.710 ought to be afraid if you don't know, this is good news. If 220 00:22:02.910 --> 00:22:07.190 all that you know, for example, is Isaiah Eleven, verse four, 221 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:11.109 then there should be nothing but fear, knowing that the king is coming, 222 00:22:11.549 --> 00:22:15.900 that in his Glorious and his righteousness, he's coming to strike the wicked. 223 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:21.940 But of course there's much more than Isaiah Eleven, for God has promised over 224 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:25.700 and over again that though he will come in strength and though he will set 225 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:32.210 all things right, he does this by giving himself, by reconciling, as 226 00:22:32.289 --> 00:22:37.130 the next clause says in the hymn, by reconciling us to himself through his 227 00:22:37.289 --> 00:22:42.730 own death. Let me consider, let me put this before you just one 228 00:22:42.769 --> 00:22:48.920 more way, from the passage we read earlier, from Colossians. From Colossians, 229 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:55.519 we read there that we are brought under him, he is a we 230 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:00.390 in verse twenty, that he reconciled to himself all things, whether on earth 231 00:23:00.430 --> 00:23:07.230 or in heaven, making peace not by the sword but by the blood of 232 00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:14.140 the Cross. This was no weak peace, because if you go on to 233 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:18.259 read in Colossians too, ah, we read that by this he canceled the 234 00:23:18.339 --> 00:23:22.779 record of death, as is verse fourteen, that stood against us with its 235 00:23:22.819 --> 00:23:26.099 legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He 236 00:23:26.250 --> 00:23:32.690 disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. 237 00:23:33.609 --> 00:23:37.769 In him you hear those words of strength, of victory, of conquering. 238 00:23:37.849 --> 00:23:42.440 There again, how does it happen? It happens through the cross. 239 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:56.990 With this knowledge, then we'd be in hymn. We join our voices with 240 00:23:56.069 --> 00:24:00.950 the angels. We say hey, Hark, pay attention, behold the angels 241 00:24:00.029 --> 00:24:04.710 Sing Glory to the new born king, peace on earth and mercy, Mild 242 00:24:06.150 --> 00:24:12.539 God and sinners reconciled. Then, having noticed the angels, we call out 243 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:18.180 to all the world, joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph 244 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:26.890 of the skies with angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem. You hear 245 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:30.849 what's going on there. We're seeing, we're hearing the message, and were 246 00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:37.210 responding by confessing that message to the whole world and calling the world to join 247 00:24:37.250 --> 00:24:45.799 us in praising him. Amazing thing. It's what we do every single Sunday. 248 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:53.190 Now let's move quickly through verses two and three of the hymn. Having 249 00:24:53.269 --> 00:24:57.630 noticed the angels and having decided to lift up our voices with them, having 250 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:03.309 heard God's words and Luke Chapter two and residing to respond to it. We 251 00:25:03.509 --> 00:25:10.140 now fill the world with praise of his name and of his works. Christ 252 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:15.180 by highest heaven, adored, reminds us that he alone is praised by the 253 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:21.809 angelic beings whom he made. This is because he is everlasting Lord. As 254 00:25:22.049 --> 00:25:26.410 with us, he is the creator of the angels. He created US and 255 00:25:26.529 --> 00:25:30.450 he created them too. As we read in Colossians and as we read in 256 00:25:30.529 --> 00:25:37.839 Genesis One, God made heaven and earth, visible and invisible. These angels, 257 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:42.279 as mighty and as glorious as they are, are creatures just like you. 258 00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.869 So when we join our voices with them, we are all of creation 259 00:25:51.069 --> 00:25:56.269 joining together to praise our great and everlasting Lord, who made heaven and earth 260 00:25:56.390 --> 00:26:02.789 and was from the beginning and before the beginning of the world. He became 261 00:26:02.789 --> 00:26:07.099 a human king, our human representative to God, but he had always been 262 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:14.220 king ruling in all time. I'm the hymn says, late in time. 263 00:26:14.420 --> 00:26:18.650 Behold he comes, because he is coming at the end of times. We 264 00:26:18.890 --> 00:26:22.410 live in a time, as we have seen in other places, but recently, 265 00:26:23.009 --> 00:26:29.569 that is at the end and at this time he is coming to bring 266 00:26:29.650 --> 00:26:33.119 about the things that have been promised a long time ago and Isaiah and many 267 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:38.960 other places. He's coming is miraculous. He is born of a virgin. 268 00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:45.640 It speaks to his unique nature as both God and man, veiled in Flesh, 269 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:53.029 the Godhead Sea. Shall we see God? Yes, in the face 270 00:26:53.150 --> 00:27:00.230 of Jesus Christ. We have God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with 271 00:27:00.430 --> 00:27:07.380 us, pleased as man with men to dwell. Jesus is our Emmanuel. 272 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:15.769 God brings about the reconciling he promised, the peace he promised by coming to 273 00:27:15.930 --> 00:27:26.130 be with us. This is mercy and grace. Verse Three continues and repeats 274 00:27:26.210 --> 00:27:30.920 the theme of Peace. It connects it with his divinity. He is the 275 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:34.279 prince, the son of God, the father born from all eternity. He 276 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:41.079 is the son of righteousness, as we've seen from Isaiah Elevens we've seen from 277 00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:47.589 Colossians, as it was told in Luke to the son of righteousness, the 278 00:27:47.670 --> 00:27:52.309 priests. The peace he brings is a holy peace. It's not a totalitarian 279 00:27:52.549 --> 00:27:57.349 rule in which he commands people against their will, in which he hates them 280 00:27:57.470 --> 00:28:03.740 and they hate him, and which he forces and threatens and coerces and manipulates 281 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:08.940 them into obedience. This is not our king our king, Jesus, rules 282 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:15.250 in righteousness. The for the brighteousness that he brings in part comes by the 283 00:28:15.369 --> 00:28:21.490 spirit that he gives to us, the dwells in us, that makes more 284 00:28:21.690 --> 00:28:25.490 war with our flesh, that brings our wills to life, so that we 285 00:28:25.970 --> 00:28:32.839 desire to praise him, desire to love him. This can be compared to 286 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:38.240 a son that rises in the morning and come and overcomes the darkness, The 287 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:45.309 Sun of righteousness that comes and fills the dark and righteous world with light. 288 00:28:45.789 --> 00:28:51.750 On the wings of the morning, he lifts us up out of darkness, 289 00:28:52.630 --> 00:29:03.700 out of sadness. He brings a worldwide power of change. Mild he lays 290 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:12.369 his glory by born, that man no more may die, born to raise 291 00:29:12.529 --> 00:29:26.480 the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. Hark the Herald 292 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:34.759 Angels Sing Glory to the new born King. This is the message that the 293 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:40.829 angels are proclaiming, and that's why we say all, just as the shepherds 294 00:29:40.869 --> 00:29:48.069 did, hey, everyone pay attention. God sent his angels into the world 295 00:29:48.230 --> 00:29:56.779 to announce an amazing thing. We pay attention to the angels, but only 296 00:29:56.019 --> 00:30:02.099 for a moment, so that we might go to the king, the king 297 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:08.250 that is born, that we might not die. Do you hear their message? 298 00:30:08.289 --> 00:30:22.640 Are you desperate for help? Do you see brokenness and elusive peace in 299 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:30.839 your life, in the world? Maybe you need to rehear the message that 300 00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:37.710 God sends about the son. Maybe your ears have grown dull and it's almost 301 00:30:37.750 --> 00:30:44.190 as if you hear it but don't really hear it. See The glory of 302 00:30:44.269 --> 00:30:48.670 God but don't really see it. But as you hear it again this morning, 303 00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:55.740 as you hear the message proclaimed to you of who Jesus is and what 304 00:30:55.980 --> 00:31:04.730 God has done, then hear a fresh be reminded of how amazing God's amazing 305 00:31:04.809 --> 00:31:14.930 grace really is. And, as you hear the message, believe, because 306 00:31:15.049 --> 00:31:22.000 it is us that believe in Jesus Christ who find peace. If you remain 307 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:26.680 separated from him, if you don't trust him, if you don't care about 308 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:30.960 him, if you don't go to him and find your life in him, 309 00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:37.829 then you will find your death in his judgment. He Will Come To Vindicate 310 00:31:37.990 --> 00:31:48.500 Righteousness, but receive him now will his mercies extended to all the world's message 311 00:31:48.579 --> 00:31:56.019 is proclaimed freely so that you may have peace. Praise God for this good 312 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:59.140 news. Let us pray