The World on Notice

[00:00:00] Thank you for the salvation that we have in Christ. We ask that you would help us to hear your word now, your word about him and of him, your word that is made effectual by your spirit for belief in him. We ask for that work now, even tonight, among those who do not know you and those who do, we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. [00:00:27] Let's turn to Luke, chapter two, verses eight through 21. [00:01:03] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock 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 great fear. [00:01:17] And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. [00:01:42] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, 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 them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds had told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [00:02:45] Praise God. You may be seated. [00:03:13] So, as we've been thinking about Jesus coming into the world today, there's a number of directions we could think about this theme in light of this passage, I'd like to think about it in terms of the title. I gave this sermon called the world on notice. [00:03:31] The world on notice. [00:03:33] As Jesus comes into the world, there is a notifying about it, an announcing that it is happening and what it means. [00:03:43] I'd like to think about that with you this evening in terms of how the world is notified, what the world is notified of, and what's an appropriate response in light of that. So let's think about each of these first. How are we notified about the work of God and the birth of the savior of Christ? [00:04:08] Well, we've seen that it is in some cases private. [00:04:13] So, for example, Joseph, that we talked about this morning. Joseph in a dream, right? Hardly more private than that. He receives information about what God is doing in the womb of his bride to be. [00:04:27] Here we have also a public announcement to these shepherds in the field gathered together, going about their business, and then all of a sudden, they receive this news, good news of great joy, it's called. [00:04:47] So we have public announcements and we have private announcements. Another way we could think about it is we have both common announcements and kingly announcements. These shepherds, workers, common people. But then, as we'll see and think about next week, we have the wise men and, of course, Herod and others who are high ranking and have important titles and jobs and things like that. [00:05:15] We also have other people. [00:05:20] We think of Simeon, we think of Anna, we think of, of course, Mary and Joseph, all these ways in which God is working. [00:05:32] One of the interesting things that we see, at least I think it's interesting in this passage, is a moment when these people are coming together. If you've ever watched a movie where you, as the audience, knows something that's going on and various characters in the movie all know it, but they don't know that each other knows these things, and then at a moment, they connect, and we see some of that happening here, right? Mary and Joseph obviously know what's going on, and these shepherds are told out in the field. [00:06:06] And then when they come together, what happens? The shepherds make known the saying, this is in verse 17, that had been told them concerning the child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds had told them. [00:06:21] It's sort of this moment where they're realizing that this word is not just confined to one family. And the shepherds are realizing that this is not just confined in a special message to them. But the word is out there already. It's spreading, and people know it, even independently of each other telling it. And as they come together and they see that the Lord himself is making these connections, that the Lord himself is spreading the word, they wonder at what they hear. And Mary treasures all these things and ponders them in their heart. [00:06:58] We also see, so in addition to this, where we think about the, how we can notice that the Lord is using means. He uses the means of these angels, these messengers, to Joseph, to Mary, and also to the shepherds. And yet, although the Lord uses means, he also certainly is the one who is bringing the message. [00:07:24] We see, for example, the way that the shepherds respond. [00:07:28] This says in verse 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen, as it had been told them. [00:07:40] They know that the message they receive is not just from angels, but it is from God speaking through these angels. And how glorious a message that is, the means of the message is quite glorious. So this we can add to our how list, right. How does the Lord come to them in the field by night? We read in verse nine that an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. What an amazing thing to contemplate. [00:08:15] Hard to know exactly what this would be, except that maybe similar to the light that's shown from Moses's face, or the light of God in the transfiguration of Jesus, this light, this glorious light, the light that led the people of Israel through the wilderness, that great pillar of fire, the glory of God on display, shining around them. [00:08:45] Probably hard to describe in some ways, but glorious nevertheless. First, this angel. So scary, right? So scary that it says they were filled with great fear. Not just they were afraid, but they were filled with fear. And not just filled with fear, but filled with great fear, right? Terrified, you might say, really, really scared at the one angel proclaiming this news. [00:09:18] The angel, of course, says, fear not. Why? Because he brings good news of great joy. So this great fear is counteracted by great joy. You don't need to be afraid, he says, you don't need to be worried because I come with good news, not terrifying news, not news of judgment, not news of your destruction, but good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [00:09:48] Well, that's how this message is delivered. And then, in an amazing way, after the giving of the headline, right, which the angel just gave, he then continues to say, for unto you this day, he gives them the sign. [00:10:03] Unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. He describes how they will find him in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloths. And then after the description of the news, the headline of the news, the sign that is given. Suddenly, in verse 13, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, verse 14, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. [00:10:43] This is pretty glorious. It was glorious enough with just one angel when the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear. But now the glory is so immense that a multitude of angels, and they're singing and they're praising God with these wonderful, glorious words. Glory to God in the highest. [00:11:07] These are the means that God is using in a way. He's being like a king making a grand entrance, right, with all the pomp and circumstance of a great parade as one goes to a coronation here. Though he is not surrounded by earthly servants and animals and things like that, he is surrounded by these, he is, he is announced by these heavenly beings which we read in other places. He is surrounded by around his heavenly throne. [00:11:43] The glory of God is so evident here, so amazing. No wonder the shepherds wanted to talk about it when they got and actually saw in Bethlehem exactly what had been told them. [00:11:59] This glorious, glorious message comes to them in this glorious way. [00:12:07] Well, what is the message? [00:12:09] Well, as we've begun to hear already, it's first of all good news. It's good news. This is what gospel means. It is good news that has announced them. And here I love this phrase so much. Good news of great joy. [00:12:25] When we think about the gospel and we think about what it is, this is a good phrase to remember. It's good news of great joy. And specifically it is. He goes on to say, the angel goes on to say that in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord is born. [00:12:46] This tells us that a king is born. The Christ the Messiah is this awaited ruler, this high king, this priest of the Lord who will come and rule over his people. The fact that it's in the city of David is not just a hey, so you know where to go. Plug it into your phone. It's an announcement that the one has come, not just where to go, but who you're going to see. [00:13:14] I was reminded that the great promise that was made to David is being fulfilled here. He is a savior. He is the Christ. He is the Lord. He's here, right? The long awaited one, the long prophesied one, the one whom Israel and all the whole world has been depending on. He is here. [00:13:40] But in all this glory, we have an additional element that's added to this good news of great, and we could say glorious joy. And that is a note of humility, a strong note, we could say. And what will be the dominant note in the life ministry of Christ here on earth in our salvation? All of this glory, all of the singing, the choirs, the praises, all of these events that are happening, these miraculous, amazing things at the same time they're being announced. And we can see that glory. We also see the way that they are wrapped in the humility of our savior. [00:14:25] Go and see him not at the palace. Go and see him not in his royal robes, but go and see him in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. [00:14:38] Go and see a baby. [00:14:42] A baby. [00:14:45] This humility, the glory of the Lord coming in this humble way, is going to go directly to the cross, ultimately, where Christ is crowned as king and is declared to be not only the one who is the conqueror, but who is our savior on the cross. This moment when Jesus humbles himself even to the point of death, death on a cross, a cursed death on the cross, we see Jesus'salvation and his glory will come through suffering. It will come through meekness. It will come through humility. [00:15:29] This is part of the news. It is glorious. But we have to know the way in which it comes as well. [00:15:37] It's a gospel that is for everyone, freely offered. The angel says this when he says that it will be for all people. And to those who believe and trust in the Lord Jesus, it is guaranteed salvation. [00:15:52] This is good news for people that are broken, for people that are suffering, for people that are struggling in all of the inglorious things of the world. [00:16:06] So that's the how and the what of the notice that is given to the world. [00:16:13] What about the response? [00:16:16] What's a right response to good news of great joy? What is the right response to hearing and seeing the message of the gospel? [00:16:26] I think the shepherds provide a good example. [00:16:29] They point the way, as does Mary's. Mary does, as we read in verse 19, treasures up all of these things, pondering them in her heart. [00:16:43] The treasuring, of course, has to do with valuing, right? It's not in one ear, out the other. If I have it, I have it. If I don't, I don't, right? This is important. [00:16:54] She has in her heart a protectiveness, a treasuring, a holding of these truths and a considering of them as well. [00:17:04] In some ways, the message is so simple, right? The angel is able to say it in just a few sentences, and yet it's so deep, it's so rich, it's so wonderful that you and I, along with Mary, can spend our entire lives and I think, even eternity pondering this, meditating on what the Lord has done and who he is and is doing it. [00:17:30] That, of course, leads to another thing that we can and ought to do as the shepherds lead the way, the glorifying and praising of God, that internal valuing and treasuring and pondering leads to an externalizing and appraising and relating to God himself. [00:17:52] They return, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen. This is one of the amazing things that we see in the scripture about the glory of God, is he shines it down on us. As his glory shines on us, it redounds back to him. [00:18:11] It's like one of those bouncy balls. You throw it on the ground, it pops back up. It's like that with us. As he shines his glory on it. We're like mirrors reflecting that glory back to him. We become creatures who are glorifying creatures, experiencing a glory in ourselves, but not of ourselves. [00:18:31] A light that shines in the darkness is true of our savior, and it's true of all those who are in him. [00:18:39] We glorify God. We praise God for all that we have heard and seen, as it has been told to us. [00:18:51] It reminds us that the good news of great joy is not something we make up. It's not something we speculate about. It's not something we just wish for. It's a message in history that we receive. And as we trust in it, we glorify and praise God. [00:19:09] We can do so for his providence, for the ways in which he prophesies these things and fulfills them, his work and history and all the details and actions of every moment. We can see it in the way that he fulfills his promise and in the greatness of the promise. And we can glorify and praise God in the hope of paradise that is to come. [00:19:38] The message of Luke two. Here is a great message. [00:19:44] It's a message of good news and of great joy. And in all these details, we come to see quickly both who our savior is and how we ought to worship him and receive him. [00:19:57] My encouragement to you, my admonishment to you, my urging to you is to trust in the baby, the one who became a man, the one who died on a cross and now lives forever interceding for you. Trust in him because he brings to you good news, news of salvation, news of his kingdom, a news of his authority over the heavens, the angels, and the earth and all its creatures. And as we put our trust in him, let us also be lights for him, shining his light, sharing it with others, and telling the world about the great joy we have received in him. Let's pray. [00:20:50] Our Lord and God, we praise you this evening for the message that we have received, the message that comes to us not only in the announcement of angels, but also in the very body of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world in a humble way so that we could be saved. Lord, if you had come in all of your glorious judgment, no one would have survived. But instead, you came into this world in such a way that you would call sinners to yourself, the weak and wounded, the broken hearted, the lost. [00:21:34] Lord, we ask that you would be with us and that your call would be a call that we would hear and respond to. [00:21:45] We also pray, Lord, for those who do not yet know you. We ask that they would hear your call and that they would come to rejoice and enjoy life along with us. [00:21:57] Let us be creatures that are for your glorifying creatures that praise you and enjoy you now and forever. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.