Do Not Be Afraid
Luke 2:8-12
December 15, 2024
We’re in the last week of our advent series in which an angel of God tells people “do not be afraid.”
We all have our fears, some are rational and some are irrational. One fear I have is a fear of heights. I don’t like to be over 10 feet high, unless I’m in a plane or roller coaster.
One of the sports I did in high school was swimming. In the summer we’d swim outdoors at an olympic sized pool. One of them was in Park Ridge, Illinois; which is 4 miles from O’Hare airport. And directly in line with one of the runways. From the ground, planes looked like they were just a few feet over your head.
The pool also had a separate diving area, which had an olympic 10 meter platform diving board, that’s 33' high. If you went to the top of that, you felt like you could jump and grab the planes wheels. But I couldn’t go up there! Fear of height. Even thinking about jumping up on that platform makes my stomach turn.
I still don’t like heights, but I have gotten to 20' now. Thanks to firefighter wisdom, So, I’m making progress.
There are a lot of things to be afraid of in the world . . .
There's the direction of our country fears. Financial and relational fears. Fear about our kids and loved ones. Worries about health issues.
Anyone else afraid of heights? How about spiders and snakes?
Anybody afraid of pickles? It’s actually a thing. It's called dillpickophobia. Actually, it’s tubariphobia
I want to talk about one fear that a lot of people have. It’s one we really don’t talk about or like to admit to others. It's a fear we don't acknowledge until we're at a funeral or there's a scary health issue or we have a close call.
It's the fear of wondering where do I stand with God.
If something were to happen to me, where would I spend eternity? Would I spend eternity with God in heaven or would I be separated from God in hell? Or is this life all there is and I would just cease to exist?
This can be really, really scary because we know we've done wrong. We’ve sinned. We know all the bad things that we've done. And you may not feel close to God and that leads to having fear about our eternity.
Too many people say, “IF.” If I get in! That should not be our approach. It’s either a YES or NO. Not an IF.
We’re going to look at Luke 2, it’s the story of the shepherds receiving the good news of Jesus’ birth. Starting in verse 8, Luke tells us - - - -
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
I love the way Luke wrote this. Because the literal Greek says this about the shepherds - - - -
kai ephob-ethe-san phobon megan
?a? ?f?ß???sa? f?ß?? µ??a?
and they feared [with] fear great
That’s how it’s written. They feared with fear which was great.
Another way to say this would be — — they were filled with intense and overwhelming fear.
They were terrified. They had fear on top of fear. That’s what these shepherds were facing. I’ve never had an angel speak to me, but I can imagine the intense fear I might have as well. That’s our starting point.
The angel has not yet spoken, and these shepherds are freaking out. The angel now says - - - -
10 “FEAR NOT, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
The angel is bringing good news of great joy which is for all the people. So, don't be afraid. Fear not. I am going to bring you the best news you’ve ever heard. And it’s for all of the people!!
The good news is this - - - -
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
A Savior is born. If we're being saved, then what are we being saved from? We’ll get to that in a bit. And why did God send His angels to shepherds?
It’s interesting because if I'm God and I'm bringing this good news to the world and I'm sending angels with this birth announcement, I'm going to send them to someone who’s important.
I'm going to send the angel to the priests or to the scribes or to the Pharisees. But the angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds, which is really, really weird if you know how people thought of shepherds.
They were considered on the lowest rung of society. People didn’t care for shepherds. You may ask, "Why? They played with sheep and sheep are cute and adorable and they say 'baa!'"
Well, they were hanging out with not so smart sheep, they were dirty and smelly, and they were uneducated.
Yet, shepherds weren’t always despised. It was a worthy profession years before that. David was a shepherd and Jesus likens Himself as the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of John.
I want to show you why the shepherds would've likely been shocked by the angelic appearance.
And as we look at them, we're going to see some of the same reasons we might feel distance from God.
The first thing is they felt unworthy. I wonder how many of us have ever thought about our standing before God and felt unworthy of His love and goodness?
The shepherds felt unworthy. And it was because of the nature of their job.
Shepherds were considered ceremonially “unclean” by the Jewish culture because they didn’t wash according to Jewish law and they were made unclean when killing predator animals to protect the flock.
For the shepherds, this particular night was no different from any other. They were ‘keeping watch over their flocks,’ scaring off predators like wolves or robbers.
Most likely some of the sheep they were watching were going to be used as sacrifices in the Temple. So, they were essential.
The message was very, very clear. You’re too dirty for God. Have you ever felt that way?
Have you ever wondered about your standing before God because of what you’ve done? Your sin stands before you!
I don’t care what it was . . . you feel shame when you approach God or even the thought of approaching Him.
You stole something, you hurt someone, you betrayed someone, you did something to yourself.
Maybe someone said something to you which has lasted a lifetime. You were told you were bad, really, really bad. Nobody could love you, not even God. And you grew up believing that.
It may be some private sin, some secret addiction, something you continue to do - - - that you know you shouldn't do.
It could be something you did years ago and you feel incredibly guilty about it and no one knows about it, but you know, and God knows, and it weighs on you.
The shepherds felt unworthy. And you may feel that way as well.
Another reason they might've felt distant from God is they felt inadequate. They were programmed to believe they weren't good enough. They were necessary, but not really wanted.
They were uneducated. They weren't allowed to go to school. They were considered untrustworthy. They were not allowed to testify in court.
If a shepherd saw a crime, the shepherd couldn’t testify. People wouldn't buy property from them. So they felt incredibly inadequate.
They were on the bottom rung of the social structure. They were considered equal to tax collectors, dung sweepers, and prostitutes.
Some of you might feel a little bit the same way. You compare yourself to others. You look at social media, and everyone else seems to have it together. And your life is in the pits.
You feel less than. People are better educated, make more money, have more friends, have better health or even more hair.
You're asking God, “Why? I feel so completely unworthy.” It could be a sense of spiritual unworthiness. You have the feeling that somehow God has forgotten about you. You’re on your own to fight your battles.
You struggle to pray or read the Bible, and you have that sense that you’re a disappointment to God.
The shepherds also felt unloved. Everywhere they went, people would avoid them. They weren't welcome in the temple and they weren't welcome in the marketplace. No father wanted his daughter to marry a shepherd.
And some of you might feel this way. Unworthy, inadequate, and unloved.
And at Christmas time, everyone’s supposed to be happy. But you’re feeling alone.
Maybe you’re having relational issues. It’s a spouse or kids or parents. Or all of the above!!
You’re struggling to hold the family together and your overwhelmed. You can’t do it all on your own.
Financial struggles are compounded at this time of year.
Whatever it may be, you’re in a crowd and you’re feeling alone.
And you wonder how could God even love me? How could He accept me?
And an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds, the lowest of the low, and said, "I've got really good news for you." And to every one of you, to the one who’s hurting the most, on behalf of God, I bring you good news.
There is a Savior who has been born and when you know Him and accept His love and goodness, you will never be the same. You’ll be part of the family of God.
You will be loved, have amazing worth and you will be given spiritual gifts.
If you wonder every now and then, where do I stand with God? I want to give you some incredible, indescribably good news of a God who loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son, so you could be right with God.
Paul gives us great news in Romans 3. He tells us - - - -
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
This can be confusing, but listen to what Paul wants us to understand. It’s so important to who we’re called to be.
No matter how hard you try, you can never be good enough to live up to God's standards. Why do we have the law? The law shows us how sinful we are. That may seem discouraging.
Paul’s telling us if you try to follow the law as your means of being saved, you’re going to fail. Why? You’re a sinner and you can’t master the law.
Okay, great. Thanks, Pastor, I’m a sinner! Merry Christmas, too!
Now comes one of the great words in the Bible. It’s the word BUT. It’s the big but. I know, that sounds weird, but work with me.
Paul continues, by saying this - - - -
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law —
22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. - Romans 3
So, the great I am, our heavenly Father, the creator and sustainer of the universe has shown sinful and broken us . . .
. . . . us, the ones who say words we shouldn't say, think thoughts we shouldn't think, treat people in a way we would never want to be treated - - -
- - - God shows us a way "to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law."
We’re made right with God. By doing what? By being good enough, by being faithful enough, by never doing the wrong things?
No, by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for everyone who believes, no matter who you are.
You cannot earn God's acceptance by following the law. No matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, if you're better than the person sitting next to you, you're still not good enough.
The Jews had 613 laws. Try not breaking one of them!
We have it easier. Jesus simplified it to 2 commandments.
Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and body. AND love your neighbor as yourself. - Mark 12
How are we doing on that? Are you always successful on those two? Because that’s what it boils down to.
No matter how hard you try, no matter how righteous you are or think you are, no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands.
We always fall short. That sounds discouraging. But in reality that’s great news!!
You see, the purpose of the law is to show us our need for a Savior. The law shows us we're not good enough and we need someone who was and is good enough.
If you don't see yourself as a sinner, you won't see your need for a Savior. If you don't see yourself as someone who's fallen short of God's standards, you won't believe you need God's help.
We don’t need to follow a bunch of rules, we need Jesus. We’re made right with God, not by our own good works, not by trying harder, we're made right with God by faith in Christ alone.
This is the good news of Christmas. This is the best news ever. This is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. No matter what you've done.
He sent good news of great joy FOR ALL THE PEOPLE!
If you feel unworthy, you're made right with God by putting your faith in Christ, not by making yourself worthy, but by receiving what He did.
If you feel unlovable, there is no proof greater that God loves you, that He became one us to die for you.
Jesus was born without sin and Jesus never, ever sinned.
And the shepherds would've understood this better than anyone because they knew that once a year they would take the best sheep, the one’s without spot or blemish, and people would pay money for those sheep, to take to the temple, to sacrifice an innocent, clean animal, to pay the penalty for their sins.
That’s the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.
But, it was temporary. You had to do it over and over and over again.
Jesus was crucified so we could be forgiven. Once for all. And God sent an angel to appear to the lowest of the low, the unpolished, unremarkable, uneducated shepherds to declare the greatest news in the history of the world that a Savior has been born for them and for us.
God is a relational God. He wants you to enter into a relationship with Him, so that you could receive His love.
Why did God announce it to the shepherds?
So that the world would believe that no one is too far from God's reach and no one is too low for God's love. And no sin you've committed is too great for God's grace
Jesus didn't come for the righteous, He came for the sinners. He came for those who think they’re unworthy, feel unloved. And felt like God was too far away.
The most amazing news you could experience this Christmas is to trust and believe that this gift is for everyone who says YES to Jesus. Say YES and there’s no more “Ifs.”
It’s the great words of Jesus from John 3 - - - -
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. - John 3:16-17
Jesus came because of love, not to condemn you, but that you might experience His salvation and experience the power of His love and grace.
So, fear not, do not be afraid. The angel declares I have brought good news that will bring great joy to all people.
A Savior has been born to you. His name is Christ, Jesus the Christ, and He is our Lord.
Say YES to Jesus, declare your faith in Him and know that nobody can take that away from you.
We all have our bad days, we have our fears. But the Spirit of God tells us FEAR NOT, for I am with you!
I will not fail you, I will not forsake you!
I will strengthen and encourage you, because I am always with you. It is yours today, tomorrow, forever!!
