Introduction:
I. Signs of the Season!!
II. A Salvation Army women was doing what Salvation Army people do this time of year, she was ringing her bell and collecting money for the needy.
A. Shortly she was informed by a policeman that a local ordinance prevented her from ringing her bell.
1. She was apologetic about having broken the law, and she packed up her bell and left for the day.
2. The next day she was back and collecting more money that she had the day before, AND she was not breaking any law.
3. Rather than ringing her bell, she now waved a sign in each hand.
a. One sign read “ding”
b. The other read “dong”
III. For the past month or so, there have been all kinds of signs that remind us that this is the Christmas season.
A. There are Christmas lights on houses and stores,
B. There are blow-up reindeer, Santas, and snow globes, and all manner of decorations that mark the season.
1. There is a home in my neighborhood that has so many decorations in the front yard, that you couldn’t possibly walk through it without breaking something.
2. I bet they have a couple thousand dollars in decorations in their yard; to mark the season.
C. The seasonal departments of the stores have Christmas trees, wreaths, tinsel, and all things Christmas,
D. And the Bucks County Courier Times is making is annual “Holiday” fund drive.
IV. All kinds of signs tell us it’s Christmas, which means it is time to drink Egg Nog and max out our credit cards.
V. I wonder what God thinks about our signs that proclaim this season as the birth of Jesus Christ?
A. When I read the passage of scripture earlier, you may have missed it, but that passage said that God sent a “sign” to proclaim the birth of the savior.
VI. Luke chapter 2, verse 12 read, “And this will be a sign for you, you will find a baby, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
A. And we all go, “Oh, what a terrible way for a baby to come into the world.”
B. By our standards, I supposed that was a pretty terrible way for any child to enter the world, BUT, do you realize that it probably wasn’t all that terribly unusual for the 1st century.
1. Baby’s were typically wrapped in cloths when they were born, now we just call them baby blankets, so we can charge more money for them.
2. And the stable was often attached to the home, so it is quite possible that even the manger was not really that strange.
C. What does your mind see when you read the word “sign”
1. Maybe a street sign, that tells you the direction to go; turn left, go right, STOP.
2. Maybe a marker, that says you have reached a certain destination, “Walmart” or “Target” or such.
3. Maybe an item that signifies something deeper, like a wedding ring is typically a sign that a person is married.
VII. In the Greek language, that word “Sign” is also translated as
A. “Miracle”
B. “Wonder” and
C. “Token”
1. You see, I believe that seeing a baby “wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger” was not really the sign that this was Christ,
2. I believe seeing “God, come as an ordinary child, lying in a manger” was a sign that something great had finally come, for salvation had taken on flesh, and was in our midst.
VIII. A universal truth about signs is that their purpose is to motivate us to some kind of action.
A. A street sign tells us to turn, stop or go; and if you don’t a ticket may follow.
B. The sign that says Salvation Army, especially when coupled with the ringing of bells is to motivate us to give.
C. The sign that says Newtown Community Church, soon to say, The Connection is to motivate people to worship.
D. Like all signs, the signs of Luke chapter 2 serve the purpose of motivating people to some kind of action.
IX. The first response to this sign moved the shepherds to inquire.
Moved to Inquire (vs. 9-16) 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
I. We all know who the first sign was revealed to; shepherds.
II. The Angel announces - The Savior is born; to shepherds.
A. God is come in the flesh, to shepherds.
B. Not
1. To rulers, but to shepherds
2. Not to the elite or wealthy, but to shepherds,
3. Not to religious leaders, but to shepherds.
III. It is a good thing God was in charge of this announcement and not me.
A. I would have tried to figure out a far louder way to make the arrival known.
B. But not to shepherds.
IV. Shepherds were considered to be like the lowest of the low.
A. Sheep owners, now maybe your could use them for the announcement,
B. But not shepherds
V. But isn’t that like God, to do the unexpected.
VI. Maybe if the announcement had come to the rulers, their response would have been far different.
A. Maybe they would have ignored it,
B. Maybe they would have tried to kill the babe, Oh, that’s right, Herod did try.
VII. The wealthy often have great spheres of influence, but they often feel that they are their own savior.
VIII. And certainly the religious leaders didn’t respond very well once they learned of Christ.
IX. But the shepherds, now they had a response, - vs. 9 says that first, “...they were terribly frightened.”
A. Terribly frightened
1. A loose translation is “scared out of their wits.”
2. Some believe this phrase to mean, “to frightened to even move.”
B. But once a reassuring word came to them, and they calmed down, look at verse 15 - 15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
X. I find it interesting, they didn’t say,
A. “Let’s go see if this is true.” or
B. Forget it.
XI. They shepherds said, “Let’s go see this thing that the Lord has told us about.”
XII. When we finally come into contact with the truth of Christ, our first response is often, “Let me see this thing that I have just heard about.”
XIII. The next response to the sign, moved the Shepherds to tell others.
Moved to Tell Others (vs. 17-19) 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
I. The shepherds received a sign, a message from “an angel of the Lord.”
II. The shepherds respond to the sign, after they come to their senses, by going to see God’s Word come alive.
III. Now, according to Luke, their next step is to go and tell others, that is they go and become a sign to others.
IV. A professor once told me, “Scripture is all truth, but all truth is not in scripture.”
V. Consider,
A. An angel appears and says, “You will find the savior wrapped in clothes and laying in a manger.”
B. The shepherds go and see this amazing thing; God come to earth as a babe.
C. How did they do that?
1. Go from stall to stall saying, “Where’s the savior?”
2. Go to some information center and say,
a. “Hey, we heard that this pregnant couple was in town, and the women gave birth.
b. Do you know where their staying?”
D. We know the wise men had a star to follow, but that was some time later; how did the shepherds find Joseph and Mary?
VI. WE DON”T KNOW.
A. Scripture is all truth, but all truth (how the shepherds found Jesus) is not in scripture.
B. But what we do now is this,
1. They heard that Jesus was born.
2. They went to see Him with their own eyes.
3. Then according to verses 17 and 18, they went and told others, and understand,
a. The formation of verse 17 is, “they continued to make known” or “they made known far and wide.”
b. In other words, they didn’t just tell a few people, they told everyone they could.
VII. The typical responses to the sign of Christ,
A. Inquire for yourself; find out the truth of the claims of God.
B. And when you find it to be true, don’t stop telling others.
VIII. Christ is not meant to be kept a secret.
IX. The third response of the shepherds to the sign of Christ; they were moved to worship.
Moved to Worship (vs. 20) - 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
I. The shepherds heard the great truth of Christ from the angel.
II. The shepherds saw the great truth of Christ for themselves.
III. The shepherds immediately went and told as many people as they could this great truth - “The Savior has come, wrapped in cloths and laying in a manger.”
IV. And finally the shepherds became worshipers.
V. Read verse 20 again, - “And the shepherds went back”
A. Went back where?
B. To the fields of course.
VI. The shepherds went back to doing what they were doing before they found Christ, only with one difference.
A. They were now worshipers of the Savior.
B. They discovered that God was no liar.
VII. What happens when people respond to a message from God?
A. They inquire for themselves, and when they accept the truth,
B. They become the ones to tell others about Christ,
C. And all the while, when the sign that Christ has arrived is accepted, those accepting become worshipers of God.
Conclusion:
I. Tomorrow,
A. Have a great time
B. Enjoy the presents, the food, the family and friends.
II. But at some point in the day,
A. Remember what Christmas is really about.
B. Tell someone you care about that you know the real reason for the celebration.
C. Maybe take a minute at some point to get off by yourself, and just worship the Savior, on a day that was set aside to do just that.
