Narnia: Discover The Wonder Series

Message #4 Advent Narnia Series – Discover the Wonder

Introduction:

Always Winter but Never Christmas – How the life of Christ changed everything in the world.

Encounter the Power – The Power of Christ is greater than the spell of sin and death.

Discover the Light of Christmas – Looking at the lamppost, following the light.

Luke’s gospel, chapter 2, describes a wonderful scene in the Christmas story of the portal which the angels stepped through in announcing to the shepherds the good news of Jesus Christ. As the shepherds watched over their flocks at night, the proverbial wardrobe was opened there on those hillsides above Bethlehem, and the angels entered are world much as the children had entered Narnia through the wardrobe. Just as the four children discovered wonder and adventure in the Chronicles of Narnia, so those humble shepherds nearly 2,000 years ago discovered an incredible story which they had to wonder about. Let’s read the passage together.

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.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Wouldn’t you have loved to have been there that night, to see the angels, to hear their songs, wouldn’t that have been an incredible experience, to be the very first person to receive the herald of the birth of Christ? As full of wonder as the angels appearance must have been, think for just a moment how even more full of wonder the words of the angels were to those men.

“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…Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

And just as the angels stepped into our world to announce the good news of heaven to those shepherds, Lucy stepped through the wardrobe in order to discover for herself the same good news. And this morning, you and I can enter into the joy of rediscovering the wonder of Christmas as we hear again the message of angels.

1. It’s time to release your fears!

The first thing the angel said was, “Do not be afraid!” Fear is your greatest barrier to knowing God and fulfilling his purposes for your life. Fear is a self-imposed prison that keeps you from living the life God intends for you.

Fear does all sorts of destructive things to our spiritual lives. Consider the following examples:

Fear makes us hide from God.

Genesis 3:10, when God came down to the garden after Adam and Eve had sinned the Lord called for the man who was not there to greet the Lord. Adam told the Lord, “I was afraid, so I hid.”

Fear makes us tell lies.

Genesis 18:15, Sarah overheard the Lord talking to Abraham telling him that he and Sarah were to have a child in their advanced age. When she laughed at the news. When the Lord asked “why she laughed”, the passage says; “Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, I did not laugh”

Fear takes our eyes off of Jesus.

When Peter got out of the boat to walk on the water to meet Jesus it says, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Moral of this verse, fear sinks our faith and keeps us from doing the impossible.