Untitled Sermon

The Angel and Shepherds

12-29-2019

Welcome

In preparing for this sermon I thought we were going to be in Matthew chapter 7 and headed towards the end of the sermon on the mount

Then I begin to scroll through the history of my Facebook

This morning I think will finish up with the angels and their encounters

See we started with Mary when she encountered the angel

Luke 1:37–38 NASB95

37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

We know how the story goes

Mary is engaged to Joseph and an Angel comes to her and says she is going to have a baby

Mary doesn’t understand how that can be because she is a virgin

The angel explains to her that she has found favor with God and she will become pregnant through the Holy Spirit

Mary’s first response is normal

But her final response is someone taking a leap of faith

Church are you willing to take a leap of faith

Then we went to Joseph when he encountered the angel

Matthew 1:20–25 NASB95

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Joseph who was planning to marry Mary

Things were going great and he finds out she is pregnant and then plans to send her away

Then he has an encounter with an angel

The Angel tells his do not be afraid but to follow through with his plans to marry Mary

Joseph goes through with the marriage because he has an encounter with the angel and the angel gives him instruction to name the child

This child would save His people

Praise the Lord Joseph took a leap of faith!!

Church will you take a leap of faith

And there’s another group that has an encounter with the angel

The shepherds encounter the angels

Luke 2:8–15 NASB95

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

The angels show up

The Shepherds are out in the fields doing what they do

The Angels tell the Shepherds that they are bringing good news!

Actually better than good news, it is the best news the world has ever known

Understand the news he is talking about is the fact that Salvation Himself step down from heaven and stepped into creation

That is the great news that the Shepherds are receiving from the Angel

The Shepherds are given instructions on how to go and find

They are told about the manger, they are told the baby clothes

Then all of the sudden a choir from heaven shows up Praising God

How cool is that

So after the angels leave them they talk amoungst themselves and decide to go into Bethlehem and see the things tha the Angel had talked about

They took a leap of faith to go into the Bethlehem to see the child

Once they got there they begin to talk about the Angel sharing with them and everyone wonders at it

See as they went into the town I am sure they begin to tell everyone why they are coming into town

Because people would have known them and known where they worked and would have thought it odd as to why they were coming into town

The Shepherds took a leap of faith following the instructions given to them when they encountered the angel

So church the question must be asked again

Will you take a leap of faith to follow after Jesus

If God is calling you to go on a mission trip will you go

If God is calling you to share Jesus with someone will you talk with them

But the Shepherds take a unique turn with what happens next

Luke 2:20 NASB95

20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

See the Shepherds go back to work, nothing unique about that

Nothing special about that in fact you and I have that in common with the shepherds

Since tomorrow is money and most of you will work either Monday or Tuesday

After worshipping Jesus today you will go back to work

You will go back to your everyday life just like the Shepherds did

But when they went back they were different

They went back praising and glorifying God because they had experienced Him

See church they encounter an Angel and are obedient and because of that they experience the Savior Himself

And because of that they go back to work different

They begin to share with each other and others about Jesus

About what they have experienced

Peter and James had a similar experience

Acts 4:17–19 NASB95

17 “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” 18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;

Peter and James are arrested because they are preaching and sharing about Jesus

After they are arrested they are told to stop preaching and sharing about Jesus and they are told when they will be released

Their response was similar to the shepherds

They cannot stop speaking about what they have experienced

These men had walked with Jesus for 3 years and have experienced Him

Because of that they were changed people

Just like the Shepherds after they returned back to work after experiencing the Savior

They were so different

See when you and I experience the Savior we cannot help but talk about what we have experienced

I wondering if you and I are so changed by the gospel that will return to work completely different and can’t help but share the gospel with our coworkers or with our family members

I wonder if you and I will go on a mission to our work places or to our homes to share the gospel

I wonder if you and I like Peter and James who cannot help but talk about what God is done in our lives

or the Shepherds

CLOSING

As the band comes up

Church the question for us this morning

is have you experienced the Savior

Meaning have you repented and believed

Have you turned from your sins and cried out to Jesus

If you haven't done that We want to invite you to the front where someone will be to open up the Bible and show you how you can have a personal relationship this morning

Or maybe you have experience Jesus and you simply need to take the leap of faith this morning

Maybe you need to take a leap of faith to go deeper into the garden to fully experience the blessings of Jesus