Joy
Notes
Transcript
Confrontation
Confrontation
These shepherds were confronted with the glory of the Lord and it filled them with fear.
Glory of the Lord — The beauty, magnificence, splendor, honor, greatness of the Lord.
These men were in the presence of beings so closely related to God that they shone the Lord’s greatness all around them…and it left them terrified.
Terrified — This is the kind of fear that puts you on your face. It puts you into a state of shock in which you freeze, paralyzed.
This is what happens when a person is confronted with the power and character of God. It happened to Peter when Jesus performed a miracle Luke 5:8-11
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!”
For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had taken,
and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people.”
Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.
Peter was confronted with the reality of who he was compared to Jesus and it left him afraid! He was in the presence of God! He knew he didn’t belong in the presence of such holiness and power. He was a fallen, fallible human being.
When we see God for the first time with our eyes, we will want to fall on our face before Him. I believe this simply for the fact it seems to be what everyone in scripture does when faced with holiness even if it is the holiness of an angel.
Revelation 19:10 Daniel 8:17
So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
Then I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers and sisters who hold firmly to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, because the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
If such a reaction is garnered from an encounter with an angel we cannot begin to imagine what it might be like to be in the presence of holy God! Even for someone who is saved, as was the case with John in Revelation, an encounter with an angel is an awe inspiring moment. How much infinitely more so when it is God!
These shepherds were likely unspiritual men. This seemed to be the case at the time of the birth of Christ. Their profession was one of great disrespect. The nature of their work kept them in a perpetual state of ceremonial uncleanness. They could not regularly participate in worship because of such.
No longer was someone like David a shepherd…these jobs now fell to the likes of men just one step removed from criminal behavior.
What an added horror to come into the presence of God or even His holy angels as a lost man. Someone still bearing the consequences of their sin; hopeless, without peace and in the presence of God’s glory!
The First Noel
The First Noel
Noel — Noël is the French word for Christmas and is from the Latin natalis, meaning "birthday." The first announcement of the birth of the Christ was made by these angels to the lowly shepherds.
“I bring good news.” — We define the gospel with those words don’t we? The angels are evangelizing the shepherds; telling them the good news of Jesus.
This good news would bring two things to the world: end fear and bring joy.
End fear — End the fear of the curse of sin and death. No longer would we be left to bear the weight of sin. Jesus was coming to take away our sin and give us eternal life.
Joy — General dictionary definition — A feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Pleasure and happiness that can never be taken away.
One day recently, a lady was crossing a certain London station, when an old man stopped her, and said: "Excuse me, ma'am, but I want to thank you for something." "Thank me!" exclaimed the lady. "Yes'm. I used to be ticket collector at, and whenever you used to go by you allays give me a cheerful smile and a 'good mornin',' and you don't know what a difference it made to me. Wet or fine, it was allays the same, and I thinks to meself, `Wonder where she gets her smile from; one cannot be allays happy, yet she seems to,' and I know'd that there smile must come from inside somehow. Then one mornin' you comes by and you had a little Bible in yer hand, and I says to meself, `P'r'aps that's where she got her smile from.' So as I went home that night I bought a Bible, and I've been readin' it, and I've found Christ, and now I can smile too, and I want to thank yer."
Our joy is a pleasure and happiness which come from the knowledge of Christ and a relationship with Him…a joy that can never be taken away.
Wha these angels were saying was this — “I bring you good tidings of great joy” — Literally, “I evangelize to you a great joy.”
This is what we have in Jesus, “great joy.” And this is what we have the privilege to do for the rest of our life on earth, “Evangelize others.”
Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born and in Him is a the end of all our fears and the coming of an eternal joy.
The “great joy” is to be for all people. Jesus came to save every race, nation and people. God came to these lowly shepherds with the best news the world have ever received and it was for just that, the world.
Video of the Uyghur People
Uyghur people — “Today over one million Uyghurs are being detained and placed in internment camps facing imprisonment, torture and brainwashing, children in orphanages are given new identities, and women are forced to marry Chinese men against their will. Uyghur leaders say the aim of these re-education centers is to wipe out Uyghur culture and say detainees are being forced "to renounce their religion, renounce their culture, renounce their identity, force them to speak Mandarin" and pledge allegiance to the Communist Party.”
Prayer Card
Prayer Requests for the Uyghur People:
Scripture in the Uyghur language.
That the millions of Uyghurs who have been detained and placed in internment camps would be treated as ones made in God's image.
That Chinese believers would lead the way and demonstrate the compassion of Christ towards the Uyghurs.
That Uyghur believers would be strengthened in the Lord as they suffer
That God would use this very suffering to lead them to the Kingdom.
These are just one people who need to hear the Noel…the good news of Christ’s birth. But there are people all around us who need to hear as well.
Conclusion
Conclusion
"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual song, compiled by John Wesley Work, Jr., dating back to at least 1865, that has been sung and recorded by many . It is considered a Christmas carol because its lyrics celebrate the Nativity of Jesus.
Let us start where we live and then pray for opportunity to take Jesus to the whole, entire world.
Over the hills and everywhere let us go and tell…tell that Jesus Christ is born…He lived, died for our sins and rose from the dead for our hope of eternal life.
Let’s commit to four things this morning:
Pray for courage to go and tell
Pray for spiritual awakening in our country
Tell one person about Jesus this week
Pray for the Uyghurs to know Jesus
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