Unto You

Read: Luke 2:8-20

Luke 2:8–20 KJV 1900

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Beth-lehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

TEXT: Luke 2:11

Luke 2:11 KJV 1900

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

The story is told of a certain family which has for years spent a Saturday in mid-December finding and bringing home the right Christmas tree. They do not buy a tree off a lot. Instead, they prefer to go to a tree farm. There they spend much time selecting the tree that is just right--not too tall, not too thin, with just the right shape. Then the tree is cut down and brought home. Last year the choice was very difficult. Not because there weren't a lot of beautiful trees available. The problem was that the youngest member of the family, little Jeannine, didn't like any of the really pretty ones. Her attitude was different. She said, "I'm looking for a tree that needs me. Then I'll make it beautiful."

This little girl captures so much of God in that little sentence.

God didn't come for the rich and famous,

the powerful and mighty,

but he came to seek and to save that which was lost,

the poor,

the weak,

the blind

the outcasts of society

the common the unclean.

To restore to rebuild.

This tremendous message came to some lowly shepherds from the mouths of exalted angels on the hillside of Bethlehem.

One Bible Commentator said, "The pastoral scene described in this section actually conveys more theological significance than is sometimes realized. Both the words of the angel and the symbolism of what happened have theological implications."

The shepherds of Bethlehem remind me that God does not favor certain people:

The shepherds were as common as the sheep they cared for, and no cleaner.

They were the rednecks of Judea.

Shepherds as a group were so notoriously dishonest that the law courts of that day did not allow them to give testimony.

Shepherds were considered unclean, and were often due to their responsibilities kept from the Tabernacle to be made clean.

The Shepherds were an obscure and lowly lot.

Yet, the shepherds were the only group which received a personal invitation to come view the baby Jesus.

Luke quotes the angle of the Lord saying: “…unto YOU is born…a Savior…”

Unto You - The Least, The Lost, and The Lonely

I sometimes think of those beautiful, precious words inscribed on the plaque at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty taken from the poem "The New Colossus" written by Emma Lazarus in 1883

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I think if we could have looked on that night, as the fires light was dimmed by the brightness of the angelic host singing their praises to God,

we would have seen as it were God himself standing with his arms outstretched saying, "Come, Come, Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Or again as the glorious strains of the heavenly host echoed off those Judean hills I can see God standing there saying, "Come, Come…17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

I like the poem I was priveleged to hear Bro. Spencer Johnson quote several years ago;

The Christ of Common Man

I love the name of Christ the Lord, the man of Galilee

Because he came to live and toil among the like of me

Let others sing the praises of a mighty king of Kings

I love the Christ of common folks, the Lord of common things

The beggars and the feeble ones, the poor sick and blind

The wayward and the tempted ones where those he loved to find

He lived with them to help them, like a brother and friend

Or like some wandering workman finding things to mend

My job is just a poor man's job, my home is just a shack

But on my humble residence He has never turned his back

Let others sing their praises of a mighty king of Kings

I love the Christ of Common folks, the Lord of Common things.

George Liddell- Found in Contending for the Faith Spencer Johnson P. 63 ( I was also privileged to hear Bro. Spencer Johnson quote this poem in a BMC Revival at St. Louis MO)

Recently I ran across a personal testimony by a lady named Mary Ann Bird.

Mary Ann says, "I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to them: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. "When schoolmates asked, 'What happened to your lip?', I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident that to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me.

"There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored--Mrs. Leonard by name. She was short, round, happy--a sparkling lady. Annually we had a hearing test...Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class. Finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back--things like 'The sky is blue' or 'Do you have new shoes?' As I waited and listened, she spoke seven words that God must have given her, seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in a whisper, 'I wish you were my little girl."'

Tonight I'm so glad he came, and might I say he came, "UNTO YOU" the least the lost the lonley, as it were looking through the whole world for the ones he "could make beautiful" he could whisper in their ear, "I want to make you my little girl, my little boy"

He came unto You.

What will YOU DO?