In harmony with heaven

Luke 2:8–14 (KJV 1900)

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.

In Harmony with Heaven

As the angel declared the good news to the shepherds, the scripture tells us that a heavenly host suddenly appeared…that being the armies of heaven.

ancient history records that the iGrecian Kingdom of of Macedon had been invaded. After a gruesome and bloody battle had been waged, with grave casualties and many wounded. When the war had ended and the invader was finally expelled, the victorious Greeks, who heard the news and so learned that freedom had come, and fighting was over, and home was near, lifted along the lines and throughout the camp such a shout of "Sorer! Soter!" — "a Saviour! A Saviour!" — that birds in flight dropped from the sky.

It may have been so; but what was that little peninsula of Greece, as compared with this entire race.

Imagine the shout of heavens army as the invasion of sin and the decimation of iniquity was put on notice, as the Great God of heaven…He whom the prophet extolled as the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace…The savior not of a small plot of land…but the savior of the World stepped down out of eternity into time…putting on a robe of flesh and dwelt among us!

And this great army of heaven declared three eternal proclamations! Three heralds of the heavenly host, which call us today to enlist in this eternal purpose and to advocate and advance the redemptive plan of God.

Glory to God

“Glory to God” focuses the praise on the one who set these events in motion, the one who controls all events on earth.

The birth of Jesus Christ, was not merely to bring hope to humanity, but first to bring Glory to God!

It has been 2,000 years since heavens army appeared to shepherds in the field, but today, we extend the herald of angels when we bring Glory to God!

With our lips

We bring glory to God when we declare unto him, his greatness

Psalm 8:9 KJV 1900

9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

We bring glory to God when we declare unto others, his greatness

Psalm 71:15–16 KJV 1900

15 My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness And thy salvation all the day; For I know not the numbers thereof. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

With our lifestyle

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV 1900

31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Theologian John Piper states that to glorify simply means to "reflect his greatness” or “reveal his character to others.

Peace on Earth

As shepherds trembled in fear, heavens army heralded peace.

In spite of the war and the turmoil in our world today, Jesus Christ was born to bring the peace of heaven, down to earth

As we celebrate Christmas, more than remembering the tiny babe wrapped in swaddling close and laid before lowing oxen, we should remember that he came to bring peace.

God was at last in the world reconciling it unto Himself; the hearts of His creatures were coming back to Him;

their allegiance was to be restored,

their wills were to be surrendered,

their minds were to be enlightened;

thus peace over all the world would be established, God's wrath would be averted, and the long wrestle of man with Satan would reach its end.

For when men are really at peace with God, they will come to peace with each other.

Romans 5:1 KJV 1900

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 2:15–16 ESV

15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

We are in harmony with the armies of heaven when we:

1. Make peace with God (repenting of our sins)

2. when we work to bring mankind to Peace with God.

Through our persuading others to surrender their will to Him, we bring peace to earth!

Matthew 5:9 (KJV 1900)

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of

Hebrews 12:14 (KJV 1900)

14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Goodwill toward men

The birth of Jesus was to bring goodwill toward men

"God cherishes only goodwill toward any of us. Even the wicked; He takes no pleasure in their death. He would rather they would turn unto Him, and live.

The scripture commands that we love our brothers

John 13:35 KJV 1900

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

1 John 4:20 KJV 1900

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

The scripture commands that we love our neighbors

Leviticus 19:18 KJV 1900

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

The scripture that we love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us

Matthew 5:43–44 KJV 1900

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

We are in harmony with heaven when we:

Forgive those that have done us wrong

Ask forgiveness of those that we have done wrong

Seek to love others the way that Christ loves us