The First Missionaries

Christmas Sermon Series

Emmanuel – The Greatest Gift Part 4

The First Missionaries

Luke 2:8-20

The birth of Christ is undoubtedly the greatest gift ever given, but not only is it the greatest gift ever given, but this series also showed us how God orchestrated the birth of the New Born King. The one thing that stands out other than Christ coming into the world is that God used regular people to usher in the Savior of the World.

I love that about God.

He wants His people like you and me, and all the other born-again believers in the world, to be part of what He is doing. Think about it like this; we have an active role in God's plan. That's what we have seen in this sermon series.

We began by looking at the immaculate conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Just like us today, she wrestled with the plan that God had for her life. You know it's easy to get all caught up in our lives, wants, and desires. But when God wants us to follow His plan, we can struggle with stepping out on faith to God's plan. Thankfully through Mary, we see that there are three steps that we have to go through to get from where we are to where God wants us to be.

First, we must overcome our own fear of letting go of our plans.

Second, we must also overcome the doubt that plagues us of not being good enough and really trusting that God will take care of us.

Then third, we must accept God's plan.

In the second week, we saw how God used Joseph as the angel of the Lord who came to him in that dream with a revelation. We learned that God intervenes in people's lives to reveal His plan and purpose of His Son.

The scripture taught us three things. First, there is no other way to get to heaven but Jesus.

Second, we found that being a good person doesn't get you to heaven.

And third, becoming a believer opens your eyes to God's plan for your life.

Then last week, we saw how God used Zachariah and Elizabeth as part of His plan for the birth of their son, John the Baptist. We said that God is faithful and true because

1. God answers prayer- Not only was John a fulfillment of prophecy, but also of a lifelong prayer of Zechariah.

2. we found that God has a willingness to use us for His purpose.

3. God calls us out of our wilderness.

4. when God calls us from the wilderness, He wants us to take action.

Well catches us up, and today, in our last sermon of this series we turn our attention to those shepherds. Those who were the first to come in contact with the light of the world.

Join me in prayer.

If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, I invite you to open it with me to the book of Luke chapter 2 and let me remind you that Luke is the third book on the New Testament – Matthew – Mark – Luke, Luke Chapter 2.

The book or Gospel of Luke was written by none other than Luke; we are told that he was a doctor and that he wrote both this book and the book of Acts to one person named Theophilus and that he carefully investigated everything from the first to the last and put them in an orderly sequence.

The title of today's message is The First Missionaries.

Now the definition of a missionary can vary. Some people believe that missionaries are only those called overseas to evangelize un-reached people groups of the world. However, that definition is not entirely correct. A missionary is sent by God to spread the Good News of God's Love through His Son anywhere where there are lost, people.

If you have found your way to the book of Luke, begin reading with me from chapter 2, starting with the 8th verse.

This is the Word of God, and it begins like this:

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them."

This is part of the story of the birth of Jesus. I mean it's in the manger scene. You know the Church began Christmas on December 25th to change the focus on worshipping a harvest sun god during the winter solstice and place it on the birth of Christ.

The celebration of Christmas was brought to life to point the lost towards Jesus. And to be honest, according to God's Word, this is something that we should be continually doing. The truth is, if the church is not pointing humanity to Jesus, then we are not doing our job. With that said, today, I want to share with you how God uses the Birth of His Son to show us that mankind has an active role in His work.

Which brings us to our TAKE-HOME TRUTH.

THE TAKE-HOME TRUTH IS THIS:

GOD USES ORDINARY PEOPLE TO POINT OTHERS TO THE HOPE OF SALVATION.

The Bible from Genesis to Jesus spans 4,000 years, and throughout those years, God used people to bring people to Him. The prophecy of the coming of His Son came some 700 years before His birth. In the books of Isaiah, and Micah, even the writers of the book of Psalms, we can see the mention not just of Christ's birth, but we see specific details of the Birth of Jesus.

Once that time came, God again used His people to deliver the Messiah, from Zechariah and Elizabeth to Mary and Joseph. Once Jesus was born, we find that God again calls on the shepherds to share the Good News of Christ the King, to point others to the Savior. Once Jesus grows and begins His mission work, He trains the eleven men as disciples and others to spread the Good News.

At one point, He sends out 72 to spread the Word. Soon Jesus' life is sacrificed for the sins of the world. And as He leaves the world, He gives the Gospel message to His people to share, and the church is born. Jesus gave the disciples a directive to reach people and make disciples.

We find that Apostle Paul gives his life to God and changes radically. He begins to preach, and he says in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 That Christ “has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us."

This leads us to today, this very moment, and how we are called to be missionaries in our lives, pointing others to the Savior.

Do you believe today that God has called His people to share the Good News of Christ with others?

Today as we look at our scripture I want to share with you three action points that the shepherds went through on how they became the first missionaries.

You can even call them three steps that happened to the shepherds on that night that Jesus was born.

Here is step one:

FIRST, THEY HEAR THE MESSAGE OF GOD.

It all begins with the message. Think back to when you received Christ as your Savior. Somehow someone spoke the message of God to you. And as such, that message turned into faith. Amen?

Notice with me what happens in verses 8-14:

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”

The message was that the long-awaited Messiah had come, and the message came to those shepherds.

Have you ever wondered why the shepherds?

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, we find that some of Israel's greatest heroes were shepherds, think about it, there is Abraham, Isaac, David, and even Moses. Then we see in Psalm 23 we find that God is called a shepherd, and Jesus made the claim that He was the GOOD SHEPHERD in John 10

But in the New Testament times, shepherds were of the lowest class of people. They were uneducated, and people did not like them. They spent most of the year away from people keeping watch over the sheep. The shepherds made sure that the sheep were safe from wandering off and injuring themselves, as well as protecting them from thieves and wolves. Yet they seemed to have a bad reputation by leading their herds onto other people's land. They were dishonest and often times thieves. Shepherds not only represented the men of faith that God used but they also represented the outcasts and sinners for whom Jesus came to save.

In an unusual way, the angel of the Lord appeared to the Shepherds. It was at night; it was a time of rest and peace for them. Remember we said that often God comes to you in the quietness of life so that we can hear Him. Some of the shepherds were sleeping while others were standing guard. And let me remind you that this is not the first time we find Gabriel standing before people giving a message. First, Zachariah tells him that he will have a son named John. Second to Mary, third to Joseph in a dream, and now here is the magnificent Gabriel again.

Notice with me the message itself- verses 10-11

"Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

The angel of the Lord came to deliver a message that the world had been waiting to hear for centuries. Ever since man sinned in the garden of Eden, the world has been groaning under the curse brought about by that sin. Back on that dark day, God made a promise. We learn of that promise in Gen 3:15. God promised Adam and Eve that one day a woman would bear a Son and that Son would defeat the power of sin and the serpent. This angel appeared to share the good news that God's ancient promise had been fulfilled!

The message is of good news and great joy for all the people, not just the rich, not the religious leaders, but by coming to the shepherds, we see that the message is for all people.

As the angel continues to deliver his message, he tells the shepherds about the birth of a baby. As he does, he gives baby Jesus three names. He tells us that the baby will be "Savior," "Messiah," and "Lord." These three names are essential because they reveal the identity and the ministry of the newborn child in Bethlehem.

1. He is called Savior – He came to "save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). This baby came into this world to lay down His life on a Roman cross so that lost sinners might be saved from their sins. Isaiah chapter 53 tells us that He came to this world to die to rescue all people.

2. He is called Christ in other versions the Messiah – Meaning "anointed one." This name identifies the baby as the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews. He is One Who will fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies. He is the One Who will reconcile men back to God.

3. He is called Lord – The shepherds are told about a baby in a manger, but that baby is identified as Lord. This speaks of the One in control. He is the Savior, but He is also the Sovereign. You see, that baby lying in that manger was no ordinary baby! That baby was actually God in human flesh, John 1:1; 14; Phil. 2:5-8. God had become a man!

Next came the conformation of the message given through the multitude of heavenly hosts. I find that interesting because we all want confirmation from God, don't we?

I mean, I wish I could have a confirmation like this when God tells me to do something. RIGHT?

WELL, THIS WAS A CONFORMATION- the multitude is a military term meaning an Army of angels. Too many to count- they must have lit up the sky. The power of God was on display for the shepherds as the angels shouted "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST"-

This was the message that the awaited prophecy of the Messiah would come to save people from their sin.

Isn't that the message that you received? That Jesus came for all people, and when you put your faith and trust in Him, your sin is forgiven, and you take your rightful place as God's Child. The Bible says in Romans 10:9 that when you "declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." This is the reconciling message of God.

WE MUST HEAR THE MESSAGE.

BUT SECONDLY, THEY ACTED ON GOD'S MESSAGE.

Look back at verse 15 " So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

How did the shepherds respond? With urgency. They ALL knew God Himself had just given them a message through the angels…no doubters remained…and they also knew just what they needed to do.

I love this because it is so much unlike us today. We want to answer God's call in our own way, on our own time, when we feel like it, don't we?

The shepherds didn't stop and pray, they did not say, "well let's wait." They did not ask for another sign.

It was time to search out the sign the angel had promised them…time to start searching the stables for a baby lying in a feeding trough! They must have said forget the flocks for a minute. Let's go! And they went in a hurry and soon found Joseph and Mary and the baby in a feeding trough, just as the angel had said…all 4 elements of the sign promised by the angel were there.

Folks listen; when you receive the message, God calls us to act on it. To show our faith. Sometimes God calls us to do things that we often don't understand- God called the shepherds to leave their flocks and find Jesus. To leave the helpless, the sheep needed their protection and direction. I guess they might have been bewildered at first, I mean, I am, but God wanted the people that Jesus came to save to know that He had come.

The simplicity of the birth of Christ is this when people hear the message of God, they must respond to it with haste.

Let me ask you; have you responded to the message of the birth of Christ and what that represents the Savior, Christ, Lord?

Isaiah calls him “the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, The everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.” Have you responded to His call?

YOU SEE, FOLKS, ONCE WE HEAR THE MESSAGE, THEN WE MUST ACT ON THE MESSAGE OF GOD.

Some folks keep hearing the message, but they refuse to act on the message. Hearing and knowing the message is not good enough; we must act on it in such a way that it changes our lives. Once we act on in such a way that it changes our lives, then:

THIRD, THEY SHARED GOD'S MESSAGE.

LOOK WITH ME AT WHAT THESE SHEPHERDS DID IN VERSES 16-20:

"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them."

These shepherds made haste; they acted quickly, they hurried off in search of the Savior of the World.

Where do you find a manger? They probably checked out all the places Mary and Joseph could have been and came across one with a baby sleeping in it. There they are standing before the Savior of the world, and they begin to share with Joseph and Mary what the angels had said. Then they go and tell others what the angels had told them, just like the villagers did after the remarkable birth of John the Baptist (1:65). The NIV's translation says they "spread the word." The KJV translates it this way: "They made known what had been told them about this child." The angel's announcement of "a Savior, Christ the Lord" is spread throughout the area, resulting in the amazement of those who heard.

When people hear the message and respond to it, they should encourage others by telling them what happened and then spend time praising and glorying God. Jesus said in Matthew 28, "Go therefore and make disciples."

God's Word continually tells us that once we have received the message of salvation, we are to tell others. My life changed when I began sharing my faith with people, and yours will be too.

I love that about my mother; after taking her to church on Mother's Day a year and a half ago, just before she went home to be with the Lord, she kept going to that little church. When I was at the funeral, I heard the most incredible story. My mother went to the store where her friend worked and told her that she was going to church and invited her. You see, folks, she did not know when she would die, but she knew that she needed to share the news with someone. And she made haste to tell a friend.

As a missionary, we are all called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, just like those shepherds.

YOU SEE, FOLKS, ONCE WE HEAR THE MESSAGE, THEN WE MUST ACT ON THE MESSAGE. THEN WE MUST SHARE THE MESSAGE.

There are so many things we can take away from this familiar account of the shepherds, the angels, and Jesus' birth.

But what you do with it is most important.

What I see in this message is that God will use you as you are. He used the most unlikely people- Mary, Joseph, the shepherds to glorify Him. You don't need to alter who God has made you be. You do not need to be like anyone else to please God. You do not have to compare yourself with other people. God wants to use you today to share His message to the world.

God wants us in 2022 to be a church body that Loves Him and the people around us.

He wants us to grow in Christ-likeness.

He also wants us to serve Him through serving His church.

He wants us also to share that good old redemption story about a savior who came from glory. Sharing with the people who we see in a day.

How can you support God's vision?

1. Get behind the vision. You must know that that vision for the world is to be reconciled to God; after all, that is what Jesus was born for. Getting behind the vision means that not only do you know the mission, but you support that mission in any possible way.

2. We must make God's vision our vision. We must adopt the vision and the role each person plays in the vision. God's vision is about the world, and we fit into that vision right.

My point is we all have a piece of the pie, and each of us is reasonable for it.

The birth of Jesus teaches that we must HEAR- ACT -SHARE the greatest gift, Emmanuel.

THAT IS WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO DO.

Invitation