Would you be an Angel?

In our Scripture passage today we will hear about a great announcement from angel, God’s messengers shared with a small group of shepherd many years ago.

Let’s read about it in Luke chapter two, starting at verse 1

Jesus birth

Luke 2:1–7 NIV

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

You and I might find it odd to see an American Baby swaddled,

that is wrapped up snug in strips of cloth, with maybe a little salt in there too.

But in Mary and Josephs day,

that was just what good mothers did,

they swaddled their babies,

there was nothing unusual about Jesus outfit.

One Great Big Announcement

Luke 2:8–12 NIV

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

If this will be a sign, something un-usual about baby Jesus, it’s not his outfit

It will be where they find him.

The baby they find in a feed trough, is the one the angel was talking about.

If they don’t find one in a feed trough, then they can forget about the message.

Luke 2:13–14 NIV

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When it says a great company of heavenly host

Host means army

This event was something huge so it’s no wonder

a really big group was sent to make the announcement,

an army showed up but

the way men cower in fear at the sight of angels,

it’s no wonder that One angel

just one

made the first announcement to the shepherds in the field.

If a whole angel army had shown up first,

that would have been like

terror to the Nth power

the angels might of had to do CPR on some of the older shepherds

before they could share the Good News with them.

Luke 2:15 NIV

15 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.”

Look at what the shepherds just said.

Are they believers yet?

Are they going to see if what the angels said is true, or

Are they going to see the promises of God?

Do they already believe, or do they need the sign of the baby in the feed trough to believe?

Well, they said

The New International Version Chapter 2

Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They already believe,

they are going to see what the Lord did.

This is not a fact finding missions

but a mission that will bring them joy and confidence that will

encourage them and strengthen their faith.

Isn’t that how faith comes to us.

God put a message in our heart, a conviction that we too are sinner in need of a savior,

we turn to God in faith and then begin a journey of discovery,

confirming and building on our faith.

Luke 2:16 NIV

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

The sign was true

their faith was confirmed be the reality

There was baby Jesus lying in a feed trough.

How did they respond to the Good News and it’s Confirmation

Luke 2:17 NIV

17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,

They told others.

Do you sense an air of excitement here?

This is in the middle of the night, how did they have people to share this good news with,

unless they were raising a fuss with:

shouting

yelling

laughing

all about this good news,

the long awaited savior had come and

God told these guys about it.

By men’s standards, these are the wrong guy to share this message.

It would be like the custodian to run into your school assembly saying,

“The superintendent of school just called him and said

School is canceled for the rest of the week”

You wouldn’t expect that kind of new from the custodian

you would expect to heart it from the principle or vice principle.

The message of schools out for the week

from the custodian would have had a mixed reception

some believing and some not.

who did the town of Bethlehem respond?

Luke 2:18 NIV

18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

All we are told was they were amazed.

You can bet some believed it

some denied it

and some slept through the whole event.

Mary pondered these things, [verse 19]

she had many things to think about

many joys and

many sorrows, raising the Son of God

someday seeing him die on the cross

But thank God, that was not the end of the story.

and the shepherd, what did they do

Luke 2:20 NIV

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.

They had to go back to their sheep, but you can bet, their lives were forever changed.

You can bet that over the years that followed, they looked for Jesus to grow into adulthood

and bring the rescue of Isreal into reality.

Some who lived long enough, would have seen and followed Jesus ministry.

Let’s talk about the Angels

Angels are spirits serving God.

Spirits that don’t serve God, we call demons.

Why do I say Angels are spirits, because of verses like Hebrews 1:7 and Ps 104:4.

look with me at the Hebrews verse

Hebrews 1:7 NIV

7 In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.”

We know from other scriptures that they can certainly look like us if they want to.

The one angel that spoke to the shepherds had a message of good news,

Let’s read it together

The New International Version Chapter 2

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord

That was very BIG NEWS!

The savior of the world is born

Without Jesus being born

Without Christmas,

HE IS RISEN!

would be meaningless.

By the way, I heard this week a story that took place some time ago in a country dominated by Russia.

The Communist leadership was holding some kind of public rally and trying to convince the people that belief in God and Jesus was nonsense, but they had a segment for the local pastor or priest.

I think they kept debating and shortening his time. Finally they said he could have 5 words.

he said that would be fine.

When his time came to speak he said

He is Risen!

And the audience echoed back in unison

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

BUT

You can’t rejoice over the statement

He is Risen!

without the savior being Born first.

So the message was, The Savior is born

To build their faith, it was confirmed with the prediction, they will find him in an animal feeding trough.

Then the angel army, the host of heaven burst into sight and demonstrated true worship of the Father saying

The New International Version Chapter 2

Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

In that phrase they do two things,

praise God and

announce peace to men.

What an awesome site that must have been.

What about the Shepherds:

They had to step up

and receive the message the angel / angels brought

By their actions we know they received the message

they believed the message

they ran into town to get the rest of the story.

They also had to step into the message

They had to receive it in their hearts, not just their heads and

by their joy, their excitement, their quick actions

we know they received the good news in their hearts

They had to step out

They had to step out and share this good news with others.

and so they did, to the amazement

and the interrupted sleep of many in Bethlehem that night

they indeed stepped out and shared their story

Like the janitor at the school saying, to the assembly that school is out for the rest of the week.

The shepherds truly had good news to share and they did.

You and Me

We need to step up and receive the Good News

God’s Holy Spirit brought a message of danger and hope to my heart a long time ago

I had to step up and received the hope.

Eventually Pam and I saw the Holyland,

places where Jesus walked and talked, but that wasn’t the tipping point,

we both believed God’s Word, long long before seeing Isreal.

Have you stepped up to faith in God

or will you today step up and receive His salvation in your heart?

We need to step in and rejoice in our salvation.

There is nothing like the joy of a new believers salvation, but

all of us need to rejoice in what the Lord has done for us.

Do you rejoice, or will you choose not to start rejoicing in your salvation?

Lord help us to feel and express more joy in our salvation! Amen!

We need to step out and share this good news with others

The shepherds had no problem sharing the good news of Jesus birth with anyone they could find

anyone they could rouse out of bed.

How many have you shared the good news with?

We heard at Annual Conference that over 80% of Christians never share their faith with anyone.

But if the lowly shepherds can share the good news with others,

why cant you and I?

We are going to sing the chorus to “God tell it on the mountains” a couple of times and then receive today's challenge and a prayer.

Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born 2x

The shepherds were ordinary hard working people like you and me.

There was nothing special about them, that the community leaders would have looked up to them.

But God chose them be the first :

to receive

to believe

to share

the good news

The Savior was Born

According to Scriptures, you and I will never graduate into being angels.

But we can be like angels

WE CAN BE

GOD’S MESSENGERS TO THE WORLD

IF we will go all the way from believing, rejoicing, growing

to sharing that good news.

Will you be an angel,

Will you be a messenger,

will you be a servant,

will you be a spreader of the light

and be a sunbeam for Jesus.

Today,

tomorrow and for the rest of your life.

If that is your intention then

stand up for Jesus now and receive the benediction

Romans 15:13 NIV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.