ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD

Luke 2:8-14

For the past month we’ve been studying the role of angels in the Christmas story.  The angel Gabriel came to the old priest, Zechariah in the temple and informed him that his wife was going to give birth to the forerunner of the Messiah.  His name would be John. Then, six months later, the angel came to Mary and said that she was going to give birth to the Son of God. Then several days later the angel came to Joseph and said, “Don’t divorce Mary because that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”  Now, today, we want to look at the appearance of the angel on the eve of the very day that Christ was born.  Luke the Gospel writer records the event with these words, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’”

I want us to consider the message of the angel in the outfield that night. There are four short phrases that communicate good tidings of comfort and joy to us as well.

I.                   FEAR NOT

“Fear not,” the angel said.  Now, there was much to be afraid of that night.  The shepherds were living in Palestine and the Romans were ruling. There were Roman soldiers all over the place. They could be arrested without reason. They could be imprisoned. They could even be executed. 

But they were guarding their flocks.  Guarding their flocks against what? Well, there were rustlers.  Or, perhaps they were guarding them against wild animals; predators that would feed on defenseless sheep.  And any sudden movement would certainly disturb the shepherds. And when the angel burst on the scene they were terrified.  I like the way the old King James reads.  It says, “They were sore afraid.”  But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid.”

They were living in a terrifying time, and that’s pretty much the way we live today. We’re sort of like the little first grader who was given a role in the Christmas pageant as an angel and his mother rehearsed his one line with him over and over again, “It is I.  Don’t be afraid.”  But when it came time for the pageant, he walked onto the stage and the floodlights, and the size of the crowd unnerved him.  When it came time for his lines he couldn’t remember them and suddenly he blurted out, “It’s me and I’m scared to death!”

John Ortberg in his book, If You Want To Walk On Water You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat, writes,  “The single command in Scripture that occurs more often then any other -- God’s most frequently repeated instruction -- is formulated in two words: Fear Not. Do not be afraid. Why does God command us not to fear? Fear does not seem like the most serious vice in the world. It never made the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. No one ever receives church discipline for being afraid. So, why does God tell human beings to stop being afraid more often than he tells them anything else? My hunch is that the reason God says, “fear not” so often is because fear is the number one reason human beings are tempted to avoid doing what God asks them to do”

Dr. Ralo May, psychologist at the Mayo Clinic said, “Anxiety is the official emotion of our age.”  But the angel said to the shepherds and says to us, “Do not be afraid. Because unto you is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”  Jesus Christ comes to save us from our fears.  Whatever you would say about that little baby as he grew up, you would have to say that Jesus was fearless. 

• When he was 12, he got separated from his parents in the Temple. But he wasn’t terrified.  He stayed for 3 days by himself. 
• He entered that Temple and debated with the religious rulers there.  And although he was only 12 years old at the time, he wasn’t stage struck. And the teachers were amazed at his understanding.
• When he was age 30, he was baptized and then he went 40 days into the wilderness to battle the elements all by himself. 
• He walked into the Temple and faced all the power-brokers of that day. He was really disturbed that they were making the Temple a market place and he fashioned a whip and he cleared the marketplace saying, “My house shall be a house of prayer and you’ve made it a den of thieves.”
• Jesus went to the cross and never said a word of protest.

Now, the Bible says this Jesus says to us, “Don’t be afraid.”  Now, he never promises us that we’ll never go through difficult circumstances, but he says, “In the world you are going to have all kind of troubles. But be of good cheer.  I have overcome the world.”  And he said, “I will with you always, even until the end of the age. . .  So, do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  The angel said to the Shepherds and he says to us, “Do not be afraid.”

II.                I BRING YOU GOOD NEWS

Because I bring you good news.  Boy, there’s so much bad news in the world today: murder, wars, and terrorism.  We like good news. We certainly don’t like bad news. A father came home from a very rugged day at work and said to his wife, “I’ve had a bad day. Please! If you have any bad news tonight, keep it to yourself.” To which she replied, “O.K. No bad news. Now for the Good News. Remember our four children? Well, three of them didn’t break an arm today.”

The angel said to the shepherds, “I bring you good news.  A child shall be born to you this day.”  I wonder if there was a little bit of a let down when they heard the birth announcement?  Good news? 

• Does that mean we’re going to have new jobs? 
• Does that mean we’re going to make more money?
• Does that mean we’ve won the Roman lottery? 
• Does it mean that the Romans have now been overcome and the Jews are now free? 

No.  A child has been born.  It takes awhile for a child to grow up. That means they had to be patient.  And their deliverance was going to be spiritual and not physical in nature. That meant they had to have a little deeper insight.  But he brought them good news.

And we need to understand that the message of Christmas is good news for us in this day and age of bad news.  The message of the Gospel is good news.  The book of Revelation says that one day Jesus Christ, this little baby that was born in Bethlehem, is going to come in power and glory and he’s going to put all of his enemies under his feet.  And it doesn’t matter how much it may seem that evil is winning the victory.  In the end, Christ is going to reign, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess him as Lord.  And that’s a message that’s too good to keep to ourselves!  It’s a message we just have to share.  This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. And the angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m bringing you good news.”  Good news of great joy.

III.             GREAT JOY

Now, there’s a lot of melancholy spirit that takes place at Christmas.  Not everything that takes place is laughter and happiness.  In fact, sometimes there’s more depression at Christmas than at any other time because the holidays just seem to underscore the fact that you’re alone and you hate it.  Maybe there’s been a death in the family, or a divorce and there’s an empty chair at the family gatherings this year.  Or, maybe, your children are older now and are gone from the house.  And maybe Christmas for you is not exactly ideal or perfect this year. But the angel said to the shepherds, I bring you good news of great joy. 

There is a difference between happiness and joy.  Happiness depends on happenings, your circumstances. And it can fluctuate.  But joy is much deeper.  It’s constant. It depends on our relationship with God and our hope for the future.  And Jesus didn’t have all ideal circumstances, either.  One little girl looked at the manger scene and asked, “Mother, did Jesus grow up to live happily ever after?”  And the answer is, No.  He grew up to be a man acquainted with sorrows and grief.  People rejected him.  People let him down.  People crucified him.  But just before he died, he gathered his disciples in a huddle and said to them, “Now, I say these things that my joy might remain in you and your joy might be full.”  Jesus’ inward joy did not depend on the outward circumstances of his life. 

And the good news today is that you can have joy this Christmas even though your circumstances aren’t ideal.  It depends on two things.  First, our hope for the future.  We have this promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ because he died for our sins and arose from the dead, and nobody can take that away from us.  The second thing that our joy depends on is our attitude.  Our attitude towards our outward circumstances is altogether different when we realize that God is working through all these circumstances, good and bad, to develop our character and maturity. 

In Decision Magazine, Joni Eareckson Tada writes: “Honesty is always the best policy, but especially when you’re surrounded by a crowd of women in a restroom during a break at a Christian women’s conference. One woman, putting on lipstick, said, “Oh, Joni, you always look so together, so happy in your wheelchair. I wish that I had your joy!” Several women around her nodded. “How do you do it?” she asked as she capped her lipstick.  “I don’t do it,” I said. “In fact, may I tell you honestly how I woke up this morning?”

“This is an average day,” I breathed deeply. “After my husband, Ken, leaves for work at 6:00 A.M., I’m alone until I hear the front door open at 7:00 A.M. That’s when a friend arrives to get me up. While I listen to her make coffee, I pray, “Oh, Lord, my friend will soon give me a bath, get me dressed, sit me up in my chair, brush my hair and teeth, and send me out the door. I don’t have the strength to face this routine one more time. I have no resources. I don’t have a smile to take into the day. But you do. May I have yours? God, I need you desperately.’”

“So, what happens when your friend comes through the bedroom door?” one of them asked.  “I turn my head toward her and give her a smile sent straight from heaven. It’s not mine. It’s God’s. And so,” I said, gesturing to my paralyzed legs, “whatever joy you see today was hard won this morning.”  I have learned that the weaker we are, the more we need to lean on God; and the more we lean on God, the stronger we discover him to be.”

Let’s suppose that a multi-millionaire comes to you and says, “I’ve got to go out of the country for awhile on a business trip.  Will you come and live in my mansion?  I need someone to watch over my entire estate while I am gone.  You can live in my house as if it were you own.  You can ride my horses.  You can drive my Jaguar.  You can swim in my pool.  I just want you to be there. And I’m not sure if I’ll be gone for three months or three years. But as long as I’m gone will you just live in my mansion and look after my things?”  Well, who could turn down an offer like that?  So you move in and you have a great time. And at the end of four months the owner comes back.  Are you going to be angry that he didn’t stay away three years?  Are you going to be jealous because two years ago someone else that you knew also house-sat for this same man and got to stay longer than you did on his estate?  No. You’re just going to be grateful for the privilege that you had of being in a place like that which really didn’t belong to you. 

You know, this while world belongs to God.  He hasn’t guaranteed how long we get to live here.  He never said, “You’re going to live 70 years or 80 years.”  So we ought to be grateful for every day of life that he gives us and just be thankful for the privilege of being alive.  28 times in the Scripture the phrase, “Rejoice and be glad” is used. 

• This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.
• Let us rejoice and be glad in the salvation of God.

So we can have great joy regardless of our circumstances.  And let me clue you in.  If you’re waiting until everything is absolutely perfect in your life before you enjoy Christmas, you’re never going to enjoy it.  You’re just going to make everyone around you miserable, including yourself.  You can have joy in Jesus Christ that is beyond circumstances.  “Don’t be afraid,” the angel said.  “I bring you good news of great joy which shall be unto all men.”

IV.             WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL MEN

It’s for everybody.  The Gospel is not just for the rich, it’s for the poor.  It’s not just for the young.  It’s for the old as well.  It’s not just for the white, or the black, or the oriental. It’s for everybody.  That’s why it’s significant that the very first announcement of the Savior’s birth is made to shepherds, because the shepherd was the lowest of all occupations.  That’s the equivalent of having to scrub the floors at McDonald’s.  Joseph told his brothers, “Now when you go before Pharaoh, don’t tell him that you’re shepherds because that is detestable to the Egyptians.”  But the Gospel came first to the lowly people, the shepherds. Then came the wise men, the wealthy men from the East with gifts. The Gospel was for the rich and the poor.

And the angel said to the shepherds, “Don’t be afraid. For I bring you good news of great joy for all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.  And suddenly, the whole sky was filled with angels.  And they praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”  

And his favor will rest on you today if you, like the shepherds and the wise men, will bow before him this day.  Today as we sing our hymn of invitation, we invite you to come forward and respond in a personal way by saying, “I need to receive the gift of God’s salvation in my life.”  That gift came in the form of a little baby who was given the name Jesus because he would save his people from their sins.  If you are already an immersed believer and you are looking for a church home, why not become a part of our church family?  If you have a decision to make, make it this morning as we stand and sing . . .