Angel's Song
Notes
Transcript
Opening
Opening
Jesus is Born
Jesus is Born
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
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!”
Peace
Peace
This one word in v. 14 set the stage for this entire passage. Of course it defines what just happens and tells us how to fill. Because Jesus is born we can have peace. Let us then think on this for a few moments this morning.
What is peace?
The absence of conflict. Everything finally working out. Quietness after a busy day. The ability to enjoy ones self without any cares.
I mean we look for peace in all kinds of places.
We try to find peace in others. Like if I can restore that relationship, or make friends with my boss, I can have peace. If I could find a significant other, if I could have kids or grandkids, if fill in the blank.
Or we look for peace in the march to accumulate more, and make more money. If we think we have more life will be easier. It will all work out.
There is also the reality that we look for peace at some times in our life, and we stop looking at others.
When life is bad we really want peace. If only the bill collector will stop calling, if only the doctor will finally give me a clean bill of health. On the flip side when life is good it is good and you don’t think about the need for peace. Life is good.
But the peace we are looking for does not come from those things. We do not need more peace when life is going rough and we do not need less peace when life is going easy. Peace is a necessity all the time and this peace we are looking around for is not found in an event or a circumstance. Biblical peace is found in a person. Peace as the bible defines it is a resting in the sufficiency and faithfulness of God.
Notice
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
The fear of the Lord leads to life,
and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm.
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
But this is also what the angels are saying in
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
The reason that we can have peace has nothing to do with circumstances and everything to do with who God. In this passage we have three things to keep in mind as we think about peace and the peace that comes from God. This peace as the apostle Paul says is a peace that passes all understanding.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let look at the high points of this passage.
Glory
Glory
This is about God’s position.
This is about importance. We give glory to God above all else.
When we speak of the glory of anyone we are talking about how important they are. When we give another person glory we are bestowing honor on them.
So if that is the case then the glory of God carries with it more weight.
It speaks to standing in awe. Listen to the Psalmist
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
We find peace in god when we see his glory. To know who he is, and specifically in this moment the angels are saying glory to God because of Jesus. Are you looking to glorify God? Then praise him for Jesus. Are you looking to be reminded of the goodness of God then remember Jesus.
When we think of glorifying God we realize and rejoice in the fact that is the only one worthy of Glory. So when we look for peace we remember God’s glory. He is above all in importance.
Highest
Highest
But when we think about the peace that passes all understanding we also must think of highness of God, and specifically in this passage where God dwells.
This stands in contrast to the earthly high places. In the OT high places are not a good thing.
High places.
He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim
There were places that the altars were built to the idols. The angels are saying that there is nothing higher than our God.
This should give us pause. There is something about God that shows that he is above it all. Aren’t you glad that God is not swayed, motivated or lobbied by all that you see around you. He is in the highest. He is above it all.
Why does it bring peace that God is in the highest place, that he rules and reigns from heaven?
Well let me unpack it from a different angle.
September 11, 2001 is a day that none who lived through it will forget. But I still remember the address President Bush gave, but more specifically I remember where he gave it from. He gave it from the White House, from the Oval Office. This is important to Americans. It gives us peace that the President is where he belongs and is doing his job and that though we do not have all the answers or know how it will all play out it is going to be ok.
Peace for the Christian comes in knowing that God is in Heaven, the place from where he controls everything. This brings us more confidence than knowing the President is in the Oval Office because God is in control of everything, nothing surprises him and he is absolutely in control.
So we have peace because of the Glory of God, we have peace because of where God lives, but we can have peace also because he cares for us.
Pleased
Pleased
whom he is pleased.
This is about how he relates to us.
This does not denote what we do, but what God has done. Difficult idea to translate, but essentially the idea is that God has given us Jesus because he loves us.
This is a sentiment we already talk about, that Jesus, this baby wrapped in swaddling clothes is the best gift ever. That if people want to know how we know that God loves us we simply point them to Jesus who was born in a manger. On Earth peace to men whom his favor rests. He loves us and allowed Jesus to be born for us.
This birth of Jesus was not something that was a last minute, spur of the moment plan.
Jesus has always existed.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Not only that he knew before the foundation of the world that he would come.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Thus when we hear
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
We know that God loves us and that he does care for us. That this little baby was not a contingency plan, but instead was the only plan. That is little baby has been known about since Genesis.
The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
This should bring us peace. It should calm our hearts in the midst of what are uncertain times to us. God loves you. God is pleased by you. This is why Jesus has been born.
Change
Change
This Christmas remember that peace is not about circumstances, instead it is about trust. Circumstances come and go, are good and bad, God is always full of glory and living in the highest.
Ultimately peace comes to us because of Jesus. It is about a understanding of our position and standing before a holy God.
Our peace is completed in knowing who God is and that he cares for us. I understand sometimes you can’t see how God is going to pull you through and that is ok. Simply trust God. Trust that he can bring peace in various seasons of life.
You can have peace in times of sickness, pressure, hardship.
In times of death and grief
It is through the peace that we have in Jesus that we experience and offer forgiveness, encouragement, security and hope.
We maintain this peace by remaining in Christ and walking in the power of the holy spirit, obeying god’s word and keeping the lines of communication open with God through a dedicated prayer life.
But I encourage never think that God’s peace is not near because of what you perceive as a bad day or negative events. God transcends all of that. His peace transcends all of that. This Christmas don’t allow momentary events cause you to lose your peace.
We can have all of everything we think we want or need and without Jesus we have nothing. If you want peace that passes all understanding then today choose Jesus.
