The first Christmas Carol

Luke 2:1–20 KJV 1900

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, Good will toward men. 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. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Introduction:Luke 2:14 has been called the first Christmas poem. I don’t know that it was sung (verse 13 used the word “saying”), but it is certainly worthy of our attention. There we see the angels glorifying God at the birth of the Saviour. There is no envy present in their carol of praise, no tinge of jealousy, no desire for the attention that belongs to Christ and Him alone. And there is no pride, no proprietary attitude, no hint that, “We are somebody because we knew what was happening before the rest of the world.” There is just pure, unadulterated praise.

I. This Is a Carol of Praise

A. The Person of Praise

The praise of the angels is directed to God who alone is worthy of our praise. Oh, it is right that we recognize and honor people (“…honor to whom honor.”—Romans 13:7). But all the people whom we praise are imperfect people. All of them have sins, problems, and difficulties of which we are not aware that would greatly limit our praise were we to know all about them.

God is perfect. He is worthy of absolute praise. Imagine being there in that moment when Jesus was born. Probably was a little gross, not gonna lie. Giving birth in a feed trough next to stinky animals who sleep in their own poop probably wasn’t the most sanitary place to birth a baby. But imagine being there after every thing had calmed down. Seeing Christ, the new born baby who was going to save the world. He hadn’t even done much yet, but he came to earth. He stepped off of his throne and became a baby because He loves us.

He is the only person who deserves our praise.

Decide to be intentional in your praise for God.

B. The Purpose of Praise

The angels are praising God because of the Incarnation; because God in the person of Jesus Christ has become man.

God’s creation praises Him: the dewdrop sparkles with His glory. The wildflowers whose beauty goes unseen and fragrance seems to be wasted offer the incense of praise that wafts toward Heaven. Every bird that fills the forest with its sweet singing does so in tribute to the Creator. The deer bounding gracefully through the woods, the stars twinkling like diamonds in a sea of velvet, the glorious sunset where God splashes a celestial palette of color across the evening sky: all give tribute to our Creator.

But there is much more glory in the Incarnation than in the creation. That God could make the world out of nothing inspires our appreciation. That God would become man inspires our amazed awe. If creation shows His competence, the Incarnation shows His compassion. Creation demonstrates His power; Incarnation demonstrates His pity.

Decide to be intentional in your praise for God.

II. This Is a Carol of Peace

The first portion of the carol is an old song, sung by the angels before the foundations of the earth were laid: “Glory to God in the highest.” The second part of the carol is new: “And on earth, peace.” There has been no real peace since man deliberately disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and was cast out of that perfect place. A Cherubim was left to guard the garden with a flaming sword lest man should now eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in his fallen state. But the angels say there is an opportunity now for peace on earth.

A. It Tells Us of a Present Peace

Man may know peace with God by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Child who is born this day in Bethlehem will live as Man a sinless life and as the God-Man who shed His blood on Calvary’s cross to pay for the sins of all mankind.

B. It Is a Prophetic Peace

In this carol is the promise of that millennial kingdom when the wolf and the lamb shall lie down together; the earth shall bring forth harvests in beauty and abundance, and Jesus Christ will rule and reign for a thousand years while the devil is bound.

Do you have peace?

Brother Andrew loves to talk about the difference between peace with God and peace of God.

Does anyone remember what the difference is?

Peace with God - salvation. You have been reconciled. He no longer has to punish you and execute judgement because you have been saved. You have peace with God.

Peace of God - is after salvation. You just have supernatural peace because you belong to the Father now.

Do you have peace with God? Is there a point in your life that you can look back to and say, there in that moment is when I confessed I was a sinner and believed on Christ’s death and resurrection for salvation and asked him to save me. If there’s not a specific moment that you can look back on and say that is when i trusted Christ as Savior and got saved, then God’s wrath and judgement is still upon you. If you do not have peace with God, if you’ve never trusted Christ as Savior, then take care of that today.

If you do have peace with God, do you have the peace of God? Or are you constantly stressed out, worried, anxious, scared, maybe sad or angry.

Philippians 4:6–7 KJV 1900

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

A lack of peace comes from a lack of faith. You’re stressed and worried and anxious because you do not trust that God is in control and that He is gonna take care of you. So we must increase our faith in order to have peace. How?

Romans 10:17 KJV 1900

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Increase peace by increasing faith by reading the Bible.

Then ask God for it.

Matthew 7:7 KJV 1900

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

God wants you to have peace, he doesn’t desire for you to be anxious or irritated.

III. This Is a Carol of Potential

Not only do the angels tell us this is an occasion to glorify God, an opportunity for peace on earth; it is also the potential of goodwill toward men.

A. God’s Plan

God sent his Son because He loves us. His plan for us has always been based on His love. Because love is such a huge and magnificent characteristic of God, then it should be a characteristic of us as well.

God tells us to love our enemies; to love our neighbors as ourselves, to love our brethren, and to love the lost.

We are to love our enemies, neighbors, brethren, and the lost. How can I love each of these people?

Love always requires actions, not just words.

The most loving action you can do for someone is to give them the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s plan for everyone. He wants every single person who walks on this earth to hear the gospel.

2 Peter 3:9–10 KJV 1900

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Choose to give someone the gospel this Christmas season. Proclaiming the gospel is one of the best ways to praise God and give Him glory, just as the angels were. The angels were basically proclaiming the gospel because the way that God brings peace on earth and good will to men is through the person of Jesus Christ.

So choose to give someone the gospel this Christmas season.

B. God’s Provision

God, in forgiving us through the person of His Son Jesus Christ, makes it possible for us to forgive others.

Christmas can be one of the happiest times of the year. It filled with love, fun, gifts, family.... but it can also be one of the hardest or most depressing times of the year for a lot of different reasons.

It can be a stressful time on families especially. Maybe a family or friend wronged you and you haven’t made amends and restored that relationship. Christmas time is one of the best times to forgive that someone and mend that broken relationship whether its a parent or a sibling, or another family member or a friend.

Application

Are you intentional in your praise for God?

Do you have peace with God?

Do you have the peace of God?

Will you give someone the gospel this week?

Will you forgive someone who has wronged you?