The Amazing Brightness of Christmas
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The amazing brightness invaded the extreme darkness
The amazing brightness invaded the extreme darkness
The shepherds
The occupation in the Old Testament
It was the occupation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
Genesis 13:
It was considered abominable by the Egyptians
Their status in life was with the lower class of society
Genesis 46:
that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
It was the early occupation of David
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
Their occupation in life made them ceremonially unclean
Their home address was near the town of Bethlehem
Their living quarters was living out in a field either in a tent or shelter
Their main responsibility in life was caring for sheep that was being raised for Temple sacrifice
Their greatest gift in life was being selected to view the glory of the Lord and see the Savior of the world
The night
That night a promise was fulfilled
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
That night darkness was doomed
Darkness and light cannot coexist at the same time
Darkness and light cannot coexist
God divided the light from darkness at creation
Day and night were established at creation
God called the light day and darkness night
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
The world reverses the truth of God’s word
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
Darkness cannot overcome the light
Genesis
The true Light of the world came to earth that night
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:3
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.
The world hates the Light and attempts to rid itself of it’s penetrating conviction
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
John 3:19
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
An amazing brightness created by the glory of the Lord
An amazing brightness created by the glory of the Lord
The glory of the Lord manifested itself at the appearing of angel of the Lord
The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
The glory of the Lord engulfed them
To illuminate all around
The glory of the Lord produced fear and worship
Initial response is fear
Those who witnessed the glory of the Lord respond at first with fear and worship
The children of Israel
Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
Roman soldiers
Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Moses
And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Exodus 33:18
Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
Exodus 34:
The Tabernacle and the Temple
Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus 40:34-35
When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying:
“For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.”
so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
The glory of the Lord
They had first saw the glory of God in the shining stars
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Now they saw the glory of the Lord in the light of the angel of the Lord
An amazing brightness that is present at the glorious announcement
An amazing brightness that is present at the glorious announcement
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
An announcement of good news
The good news that removes all fear
The amazing grace of the gospel produces joy
The amazing grace of the gospel is global
The same God who brings fear and awe brings amazing grace, peace, and joy
An announcement about an amazing Savior
Jesus was born
He was born for us - “born to you”
He was born this day
A day on the calendar
A day appointed by God
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Galatians 4:
He was born as a Savior
His role and reason for coming to earth
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:
His chosen name identified Him as Savior
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew
He was born as the promised Messiah
He was the Lord dwelling in human flesh
Jesus was lying in a manger
An unusual sign
An announcement that caused all of heaven to praise God