Luke 2:8-14

Good Morning, if you have your Bibles this morning please turn with me to the gospel of Luke in chapter 2 starting with verse 8. Please forgive me this morning I am battling a very sore throat.

It is a good thing that the word of God is filled with power amen.

(Let’s read together)

Luke 2:8-

Luke 2:8–14 ESV

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. 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.” 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!”

(Let’s Pray)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Or so the song tells us, but what the song doesn’t tell us is that its also the most depressing time of the year. The most difficult time of the year, for many the suicide rate is up this time of the year, depression up this time of the year, frustration is up this time of the year, there are alot of reasons for this but one of the reasons for this is

When we look at the first coming of Jesus, the incarnation, where God became man and dwelt among us. There are certain things that can only be understood by those who know the Lord.

If you dont, then you only have a picture of what Jesus’ coming means. What we have is a world surrounding us that has determined to embrace the idea of JEsus’s birth but only in part.

We have decided to embrace Christs birth and not only to embrace it but play it up.

What do i mean, well the passage I read especially the end, is a very popular idea PEACE ON EARTH GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN, is the favorite translation of that last phrase and we hear that and we embrace it because its easy to embrace, its easy to embrace even by people who reject Jesus Christ.

One of the largest Christmas trees in the world and the most expensive Christmas tree in the world can be found in a shopping mall, in a place called abudabi, in the arab states.

The most expensive Christmas tree in the world, in the midst of a muslim country now in Islam if you say that the Lord God almighty left heaven and came to Earth they call it shirk or blasphemy its the worst kind of blasphemy to them that someone can commit and in most muslim countries it is punishable by death.

the birth of Jesus is about God the second person of the trinity wrapping himself in flesh and coming as a baby in a manger and yet we have so messed up our understanding of that in our world today that we have taken it and thrown it into a season of commericalism that takes this one idea PEACE ON EARTH GOODWILL TOWARD MEN, and says this is the reason for the season.

its all about peace and love and family and who cant embrace that?

The only problem is that that is not the reason for the season at all.

Thats not what its all about…

We need to understand that Christ first coming means there will be peace btween men, it means that wars will cease it means all of those things but not right now.

SO if thats all you focus on iis the peace then where is the peace on earth where is the goodwill between men?

Right now our president has been impeached, and every time you turn around you see anything but peace. So if that is your picture then where is the peace?

If its about family and love then how come when families get together there is often some misunderstanding, some awkward moment where someone gets their feelings hurt.

What about family members who are no longer with us?

If the season is all about family and love then when we lose someone we care about we simply feel like were lacking that thing that this time is supposed to be all about.

Its about that perfect gift and the perfect response, it doesn’t come, or that last for a moment and then the kid who screamed for the toy is spending more time playing with the box than with the thing that came out of it.

All of a sudden this meal that was supposed to be the perfect meal, this gift that was supposed to be the perfect gift, and were absolutely wrung out by emotional unrealistic songs for 2 months, that paint unrealistic pictures about unrealistic reunions and snow that most of us dont get...

Im dreaming of a white Christmas well keep dreaming it aint coming

Have you ever felt this way?: you know it just doesnt feel like Christmas this year?

Could it be that we have unrealistic expectations because we have a unfinished understanding of what this season is all about?

Whats in this text is something real and true and can make the true difference in your life and your Christmas.

This never dissapoints, but in order to get this joy you need to understand what is meant by this.

So let’s answer some questions about this passage:

Who Needs This Peace?

It’s interesting when you hear this talked about in the culture which by in large rejects Christianity, rejects the Bible, they reject the man Jesus but they love the baby in the manger.

Long as you can keep him ooin and awwin in the manger hes good. The minute He becomes a man who demands something of us crucify Him. That’s the mindset of the world.

So in this mindset they hear the word peace and we think strife that is in the world. They would say the baby came to the manger to end the strife in the world. I always find this hilarious, because these lost folks aint got a clue what they are talking about.

They want peace, world peace and where does this come from?

My question has always been this, how does the baby in the manger come to bring us peace of He is not God in the flesh?

The baby was come in a manger to bring us peace, HOW if you reject the message of the gospel?

Well he was an example, an example of what? How was he an example?

WHO NEEDS THIS PEACE?

What

Well its not just the people in power, often times this is the way we look at this eventually, these people who are causing all of these wars they will get the message and then there will be peace.

People always say well if the gospel would just sweep across the white house .... well amen and let it be Lord but you know what this message of the gospel did go to a king it went to shepherds out in the field. Not people in power the angels do not go and announce in the highest and most powerful places of the government this is it your time has come, you guys are gonna go and birng peace.

No they go and announce to shepherds in the middle of the field, in the middle of the night, and what do they announce? that a Savior has been born.

A Savior has been born, so this peace that Jesus came to bring is not a governmental peace yet. Rest assured in the age to come we will experience that amen.

But this is not just a peace thats needed for the government, there is no change in the government that can bring the peace that Christ came to bring. Listen you could get your whole slate of candidates elected and this peace would not come.

You could have an ideal slate of leaders people who arent even running, if we could just give you a piece of paper and we say you write em down and they’ll be in office.

they would not and could not bring this peace.

Cause who needs this peace?

ALL OF US NEED THIS PEACE

this goes back to the garden of Eden. This goes back to when Adam and Eve ate and when they ate and sin comes into the world, death through sin this separation and enmity between God and man they are out of the Garden and God makes a promise, and he curses the serpent.

I will put enmity between you and the women and between her seed and your seed and He will bruise your head and you will bruise your heel.

so there is a man child that is gone be born and this child is the answer to our separation between us and God, who needs this peace?

EVERY HUMAN BEING TO EVER LIVE

What is this peace?

this peace is the peace between God and man

Luke 2:14 ESV

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Peace, Peace, Peace with God

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ephesians 2:1-

What kind of peace did Jesus come to bring?

Peace between you and God!

while we focus on a day when there will be no Earthly strife that is not what God is talking about. When we understand this properly and we see that the enmity is between God and man and the need for peace is a vertical one and that this baby who grew up came to bring peace between you and God now we have to acknowledge the fact that we are sinners in need of a Svaior that we stand under the wrath of almighty, holy and righteous God and there is nothing in us aorund us or about us that can do anything to change it until Heaven breaks into Earth.

Listen to me clearly this morning, I am going to tell you an unpopular truth this morning, if you are not walking with the Lord if you have never experienced and are not experiencing the life changing power of the Holy spirit you are an enemy of God.

Under the judgement of God deserving the wrath of God unless and until you have come to Him in repentance and faith and the finished work of Christ on the cross has been applied to you, until that moment you remain under the wrath of almighty God.

This is a message you will not hear in the mall in abu dabi.

You wont hear it on CBS news, or in the mall in Tallahassee.

This is the message that calls everything into question, this is the question that get us out of our comfort zone, this is the message that makes us answer the question WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH JESUS?

This message reminds me that I am not alright but this is why the good news is good.

This is why the gospel never disappoints!

Because the fact of the matter is all those who come to Him in repentance and faith are recieved by Him, Redeemed by Him and saved from the wrath to come by Him.

So what do we do with this peace?

Everyone needs it, it is a peace between God and men, so what do we do with this peace?

We do what the angels did, we announce it to EVERYBODY!

Thats the beauty of this passage to me, you see it doesn’t just come to the royal and worthy, Jesus isn’t born with a silver spoon in His mouth in royal family with an announcement that comes to the king where he says now things are going to change, from the top down so that the world can be whipped into shape, no, He is a baby born in a horse trough to a peasant girl, whose first visitors were shepherds, the announcement is made and it is made to shepherds.

in many ways out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. Not powerful men, not influential men in the community and yet, important enough to god that when His son comes down from Heaven the angels call them to come in and become the first worshippers.

The angels announce but not just one or two but the Bibles says along with the angel a multitude a Heavenly host these common people in a common land with common ideas and common lives are all of a sudden swept up into the miraculous as an army of angels, an enormous Heavenly choir begins to sing out!

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!!!

Did you realize this is what the Lord desires for you? God desires to interrupt our common lives, with all of the things that vie for our attention in order for us to see and know who He is and how much He loves us!!!!

Not so that we would be special and keep it all to ourselves He wants us to be swept up into the miraculous and know that He is alive and He is Emmanuel God with us.

He wants you to know this morning, that Even though you and I feel like were very insignificant that to the Lord of all creation He cared enough for you and He cared enough for your family to leave the perfection of Heaven and come down in order to bring peace between you and God.

god does not want anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance.

The angels announce this good news, Peace with God, The shepherds announce this good news Glory to God, and we must announce the good news.

what is the good news?

THE GOOD NEWS IS FOR US TODAY THAT NO MATTER HOW DISFUNCTIONAL YOUR FAMILY IS, THERE IS PEACE WITH GOD AMEN!

The good news is no matter how little you have to give to others this Christmas there is peace with God.

The good news is regardless of whether the turkey is so dry you have to use a chainsaw to carve it, there is peace with God.

or you cant afford one, there is peace with God

Regardless of where the shots are being fired in anger all over the world or not, there is peace with God and more signifigant than that this peace that Christ has come to bring ensures and guarantees the greater peace that all the world will experience when oine day every knee will bow and eveyr toungue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Wars will cease opression will come to a hault, Satan will be defeated comepletely and utterly the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of our God will merge and Jesus shall reign forever and ever and ever.

You see the good news when you see this the right way is that you not only get all of that but do you know what else you get?

You get to rest assured that those that you love who have gone on home before you are waiting for you on the other side and you can look forward to the day when you will see them again face to face.

Because when God the Son died on that cross He brought you peace from the wrath of God in the future but it also brings you peace in the present knowing that all of these promises are not made by some 35 year olds opinions but these promises came from the very mouth of almighty God.

One day we shall see Him and see Him as He is, and one day what a glorious day those who are in paradise waiting for us will hold each other with a long embrace and we will get to know God in all of His fullness but we will get to know our loved ones once again, and NEVER EVER have to be afraid of losing them again.

JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY!

You not only get the right now peace but the forever peace

But the reason you may not be satisfied this morning with your life is because the gospel is being avoided by those who want the benefits without acknowledging the Christ.

We like the idea of everlasting peace without ever confronting the idea of sin being dealt with on an old rugged cross.

That will always lead to dissappointment and depression anxiety...

The good news is the prince of peace has come and that He has come for those who come to Him in repentance and faith He brings peace between us and God.

For the entire world that is anxious and groaning waiting for His second coming He is going to bring everlasting peace once and for all. This is as sure as His first coming in the manger.

(LEt’s pray)