GREAT JOY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE
SCRIPTURE READING:
Luke 2:10 "10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."
INTRODUCTION:
We have been on a series of studies from the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I hope that you have been blessed by our mini Christmas message series.
Let me give you a short review regarding several things we have learned so far.
We started our series with the birth of the Savior on Micah 5:2 that says: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
We have learned three things regarding this verses:
1. The Savior''s Humble Beginnings. This talks about Christ's Humanity.
2. The Savior's Rise To Kingship. This is about Christ's Rulership.
3. The Savior's Existence from Time Eternity. This is about Christ's Divinity.
Then, we discussed Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
We talked about three things regarding the birth of the Savior from this passage.
1. The Sign from the Lord. This talks about the authentication from the Lord regarding the message of the Messiah.
2. The Virgin Birth of Christ.
We said that the miraculous virgin birth of Christ has lost its meaning during the Christmas celebration.
We need therefore to reaffirm ourselves and to re-focus to the truth of God's Word.
3. The Name of Christ - Immanuel - "God with us."
We had a lot of practical implications of His name to our every day lives.
Then, last week, we discussed the text from Isiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
We said that these words: "a child is born" talks about Christ's Humanity.
Then, the words: "a son will be given to you." talks about Christ's Divinity.
Then, there are four implications of the phrase: "The government will be upon His shoulders."
1. There will be no DISORIENTATION or CONFUSION because "He is a Wonderful Counselor."
2. There will be no DISCORD or CHAOS because "He is the Mighty God."
3. There will be no DIFFICULTY or COMPLEXITY in life because "He is the Father of Eternity."
4. There will be no DISAGREEMENT or CONFLICTS because "He is the Prince of Peace."
Let me again quote to you from the Church of the Nazarene Manual specifically Article 2 on what we believe about Jesus Christ.
"We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man, Jesus Christ."
I hope in our series in these Christmas messages, we have uncovered the truth regarding the true nature of Christ, that He is fully God and fully man.
There are two whole perfect natures in Him.
That means 100% God and 100% man.
We can't be able to fully comprehend this truth because of our very limited understanding but we believe it by faith because that is what the Bible says.
Because Christ is fully God, He can carry the sin of the entire human race (past, present and future) at the cross and offer forgiveness to whoever who who would believe Him from the time of Adam to the last man standing on earth.
His sacrifice at the cross is sufficient for all but effective for the elect of God.
Because Christ is fully human, He can relate with us, he can experience what we are going through as human beings and he had been tempted just like we have gone through in order to offer a victorious Christian life.
My prayer is that we will all be fully convinced regarding this truth.
In our message for today, we will conclude our mini-series on Christmas with the declaration of the angel to the shepherds that wonderful Christmas eve found in Luke 2:10 "10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."
We will focus on the words: "all the people."
It said that the message of Good News regarding the birth of the Savior will cause great joy to all the people: whether rich or poor, man or woman, young and old, black or white, near and far.
There is no distinction of personalities with God's salvation, whether famous or common.
God is willing to save everyone who call upon the name of the Lord.
This is the Good News of salvation that will cause great joy for all the people.
So, what is the Good News?
That salvation is being offered to all.
That Christ is fully God and fully man.
That God loves us all regardless of what we have gone through in life.
That we can be saved by faith through the finished work of Christ at Calvary's cross.
Such Good News if received and believed will bring great joy even to the unpopular and to the nobody's of this world.
You see, every year, when we celebrate Christmas, we do it the same way, we go shopping for gifts, we had to overcome the traffic, we decorate our Christmas trees, we turn on those colorful Christmas lights, we sing Christmas carols, we prepare those delicious food, and many more, all to the spirit of Christmas.
However, when we gather together for worship and study God's Word, we are always looking forward for fresh new ways to appreciate Christmas more meaningfully and fruitfully.
We need the power and the message of Christmas to come alive in our hearts so that we need be caught up just with the traditions of Christians.
In our study for today, we will discover that one way to do so is to remind ourselves how normal people were drafted into the greatest story ever told.
Common people like us have been incorporated by God to that wonderful story of Christmas.
The website mostfamousperson.net had an online survey of the top 100 most famous person for this year.
Rating is based on popularity on social networking services like the facebook, twitter and others.
Last 2014, it was Michael Jackson won as the most famous individual award even though he died already several years ago.
This year, he is still on top followed by Lady Gaga (2nd), Justin Bieber (3rd) and Jenifer Aniston (4th).
Our US President Barack Obama is number 27 while the number two Billionaire Bill Gates is number 64 in the popularity contest.
Of course, I did not find my name there, but I don't care.
The problem is many people are hooked up to those who are popular in the media.
They consider those who are popular to be powerful and very important.
They want to be like them, to follow their footsteps and to discover what made them popular in the first place.
And so, when popular personalities come to town everyone knows it.
NBA stadiums sell out months before Stephen Curry or Le Bron James show up for game time.
Tickets sell fast when Lady Gaga performs or when the Star Wars finally opened in the theaters.
They would pay great amount of money just to be with those famous super stars.
While those who are insignificant with no social media following seemed to be left out in this world.
Of course, I am not saying that it is bad to be popular but in the Bible, popularity is not that important after all.
One day, you might be popular, but the next day, people will forget you because somebody else is more popular than you.
God takes great concern of those who are not famous and not well known in this world.
To God, they are super stars.
God takes them and uses them for great purposes ahead.
The Christmas story shows us that God chose the nobody's in this world, the ordinary and unpopular people like us to make them somebody's.
Let us go back to that old Christmas story.
The most important person in the history of the world (Jesus Christ) came into town late one night and definitely did not stay in a five-star hotel like Hilton.
Actually, Jesus entered into Bethlehem through the womb of a teenage girl, who gave birth in a barn where animals ate and lived.
The place looks bad and smells bad, but it does not matter.
Our Savior was born there and that's made it important before God.
In that classic Christmas story, we all remember the the baby, the parents (Mary and Joseph), the barn, the shepherds and the magi or wise men.
Hidden inside that familiar story is the surprising revelation that God’s way is to ignore those popular and famous of the world and use those nobodies, those common people instead.
And these nobody's were obedient and submitted to God's will.
We will look at the ordinary and unpopular life of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, Elizabeth and Zechariah, then Anna and Simeon.
Let us start with MARY.
She was a teenage girl from an unknown town in a very remote village.
In Bible times, women were not important people, and teenagers were even lower on the scale. Mix in her premarital pregnancy, and you’ve got a real nobody on your hands.
But Mary was God’s choice.
She conceived the baby Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
God considered her somebody important and gave her a pretty tough assignment!
Consider what the angel of the Lord told her:
"Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" Luke 1:28.
Then, consider what her cousin Elizabeth said when she was pregnant with a child and she visited her.
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:42)
After this, she gain her self-confidence and her outlook at life became different.
She appreciated her being chosen by God and cherished her new purpose in life.
She said to the angel: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38).
And looking forward, she knew that her future will be good and bright be as long as she obeys the Lord.
She said, "For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call be blessed." (Luke 1:48).
At the end, her heart was transformed because she appreciated her calling by God as the most important thing that has ever happened to her.
It as not her popularity with the media that was important to her but God's choice for her to be part of the message of salvation that made her so fulfilled and happy.
Let us look at JOSEPH, the earthly father of Jesus.
He was also a nobody, just like you and me.
He was just an ordinary handyman or carpenter earning a decent wage each day.
He fell in love with a beautiful teen age girl and because he respected her, he did not have any sexual relationship with her until they are married.
He knew that having a sexual relationship before marriage is sin before God.
But he later discovered that her fiancé was pregnant with a child that is not his.
Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law, but she could also be put to death by stoning.
Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, yet he treated Mary with extreme kindness and respect.
He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly.
Then, God sent an angel to Joseph to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will.
Joseph willingly obeyed God, in spite of the public humiliation he would face.
Joseph said yes to God, so God chose Joseph to act as a foster-father to the Savior of the world.
Consider what the Bible says about him in Matthew 1: 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
He was a nobody in the eyes of the world, with no facebook or twitter account, but God made him to be somebody because of his obedience to God's purposes.
That is all that matters.
Surely, God can do the same to you and me.
Then, there were the Shepherds.
SHEPHERDS are not important people, just the opposite: they work hard to earn a decent living.
Back in those days, watching sheep was not exactly a job for the extraordinary people.
They spend a lot of time in the field, watching sheep (a very boring job), rain or shine and be exposed to the elements.
Once in a while, they get too excited when they had to fight wild animals like lions or bears in order to protect the sheep from being eaten.
Because of their daily work, shepherds were rugged fellows and smell bad.
Yet they were the first guests invited to the celebration of that first Christmas.
They saw the skies one night well lighted and heard the glorious songs of the angels from heaven.
They listened to the message of the angel declaring about the birth of the Savior.
This is what the Bible says about them from Luke 2:15-18 "15 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.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."
These shepherds were nobody's who became somebody's because of their obedience to the Lord.
THE MAGI: They were nothing more than rich pagan astrologers.
It didn’t matter if they had money but the truth is, they were foreigners from distant lands.
And many people don't want anything to do with foreigners especially those Muslim immigrants coming from warn torn countries of Syria and Iraq.
Foreigners have the wrong religion, the wrong clothes, and the wrong sacred books.
They are not popular and considered as insignificant.
Yet the Father invited these rich pagan astrologers, strangers in Israel, to celebrate the birth of the King.
God guided them through the brilliant star that they saw as far as Persia, or modern day Iran.
They focused on that star, followed it day and night traveling through rough terrain on the back of their camels for more than 800 miles in order to witness the birth of the Savior.
They did not give up until they reached to their destination.
Their excitement and joy did not waver over time through the desert.
They brought with them costly gifts, humbled themselves and worshiped Jesus.
This is what the Bible tells of the wise men.
Matthew 2:10 "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed."
They were overjoyed because they knew that it would point them to the Savior.
They Good News of Christ's salvation had a great impact on their lives.
ELIZABETH and ZECHARIAH were righteous before God, walking in all the commandments of the Lord but were childless.
While Zechariah was in the temple of the Lord, the angel Gabriel visited him.
The angel told him not to be afraid because his wife Elizabeth will bear a son and will be called John.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born.
This couple are the kind of people our modern society ignores.
This childless couple found themselves unexpectedly drafted to care for and raise the greatest prophet of the Old Testament tradition, Their son was John the Baptist who became the forerunner to the Messiah.
This is how Elizabeth looked at herself after she became pregnant with John.
"The Lord has done this for me. In these days, he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people." Luke 1:25.
They were nobody's who became somebody's because of the Lord's choosing.
Then, there were ANNA and SIMEON:
Alone and elderly, they were two people almost completely unseen in Jerusalem.
They were invisible to everyone except the Holy Spirit.
They were righteous and devout.
They were waiting for the coming of the Messiah and the Holy Spirit was upon them.
The Spirit of God had been whispering to them for decades that they would witness the most important event in human history.
They did not lose faith but believed and waited for a long time.
The first was Simeon, he was moved by the Spirit, went into the temple courts that day and met Jesus and His parents 8 days after Jesus was born.
When the parents brought in the child Jesus, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying, "Sovereign Lord, you can dismiss your servant now for my eyes have seen your salvation. He will be the light for the Gentiles and the glory to all the people." Luke 2:32.
Then, there was the prophetess, Anna who was also very old.
She had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was eighty four.
She had not left the temple but worshiped the Lord there night and day, fasting and praying.
Coming up at the very moment and seeing the baby Jesus, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
You can read that in Luke 2:36-38.
Here is the point of the story:
They were old people whom nobody cares about but both expectant for the coming Messiah.
They were unknown before the society but precious to God because they believed that God's promises will come true for a Deliverer.
They did not lose hope that God will someday intervene in the history of the nations.
They did not give up until the Lord answered their prayers and their dreams realized.
That is what we need to learn fro their lives.
What is the main message inside the Christmas story that we might miss?
That God invites the nobodies not the popular or famous.
These nobody's have a heart and expectation for God.
And when God invites you to the table, you must respond with obedience.
The powerful people, the influential and rich people might not make it to the celebration.
They’re welcome, but they might be too busy building their own kingdoms.
Meanwhile, God’s kingdom is being filled up with the people no one notices but they are available for God to use them.
There are four things that we need to remember when you want God to use you but things are hard around you:
I took this from the Daystar Television Network post which I reposted in my FB time line and many of you have seen this already.
1. Always remember that your CHARACTER should always be stronger than your CIRCUMSTANCES.
Circumstances can come and gone, but your character will be with you forever.
It is your character that you will bring in heaven not your money.
Therefore, it is your character that you need to invest most of your time while on earth.
Daily, you must keep on building strong and enduring character fashioned after the image of Christ.
Never let go of your enthusiasm and your passion for God.
Regardless of how tough the circumstances might be, you must learn to endure because the finished product is more precious than gold which is your godly character.
2 Peter 1:5-7 " 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love."
2. Always remember that your STRUGGLES always lead to STRENGTH.
We all go through struggles and difficulties in life.
No one is immune to struggles, except those who are dead.
But you are still alive and so, consider those difficulties and daily struggles as your friends.
Every struggle that we go through therefore should produce inner strength in us that helps us to endure and make us a better person not a bitter person.
When you are bitter, all the negative and worse character traits will also develop.
But when you want to be better, all the godly characters are being produced.
And so, look at struggles as God's opportunities to develop and refine us.
2 Cor. 12:9-10 (NIV) "9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
3. Always remember that GOD'S TIMING is always PERFECT.
He comes to us at exactly the right time we need Him most.
Don't be impatient, God is not too late, nor he is too early.
His timing is always perfect.
Sometimes, we thought that His answer has been delayed but His timing is always different from us.
And so, let us trust Him even if things have been delayed from our own perspective because He is always on time.
Galatians 6:9 (NIV) " 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
4. Always remember that GOD will never leave your SIDE.
Many times, people can abandon us if we do not achieve their expectations.
And so, when we felt abandoned, we lose hope and we get discouraged easily.
But God has promised that He will never abandon us.
He is always at our side as long as e obey Him.
Again, we must trust Him completely.
Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) "5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Let me end with this Christmas story of a Missionary in Russia.
A CHRISTMAS STORY FROM RUSSIA
In 1994, two Christian missionaries answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics in a large orphanage.
About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were staying in the orphanage needing care.
It was nearing Christmas and they decided to tell them the story of Christmas.
It would be the first time that these children will hear the story of the birth of Christ.
They told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in that little town of Bethlehem.
Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened to that Christmas story for the very first time.
Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.
When the story was finished, they gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger.
Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins that they had brought with them since no colored paper was available in the city.
Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia were used for the baby’s blanket.
A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt which the missionaries had also brought with them.
It was all going smoothly until one of the missionaries sat down at a table to help a 6 year old boy named Misha.
He had just finished making his manger.
When the missionary looked at the little boy’s manger, she was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.
Could you imagine? Two babies in the manger.
Quickly, she called for the translator to ask Misha why there were two babies in the manger.
Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, Misha began to repeat the story very seriously.
For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad-lib.
He made up his own ending.
He said, "And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay.
I told him I have no mama and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay."
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him.
But I told him I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did.
"But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift.
I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, 'If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift.'
And Jesus told me, 'If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.'
"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him--for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks.
Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.
The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.
And that is what the story of Christmas is all about.
He will never leave you or abandon you for as long as you live.
END...
