Reclaiming The Joy Of Christmas

We all want peace, and we all want joy.

In 1914, during World War I, it was the outset of the war,

on the Western Front somewhere in France,

the Allies, France, Great Britain, United States,

were in trench warfare with the central powers,

the German Empire, the Austrian Empire,

and they were engaged in a terrible, terrible war.

Military technology had advanced.

The machine gun was being employed for the first time

in this kind of conflict.

It eventually developed into poison, gas, and use,

and medical technology had not caught up,

and so it would have been awful.

In between the trenches was this no man's land.

Christmas time, 1914, a truce is called.

And so the soldiers on each side were able to bury their dead.

They were able to perform prisoner swaps.

They even began to mingle together in no man's land,

share rations together.

And on the Christmas of 1914,

the evening closed out with both sides singing Christmas carols together.

It's a picture of peace, isn't it?

In the midst of hostility and threat,

we all long for something like that.

Peace is not just the absence of hostility and threat.

It is the fullness of affection,

fullness of love and unity.

This kind of hostility and threat,

it always results in fear and hiding.

Whereas affection and love give rise to joy and unity.

The thing about the Christmas truce of 1914 is that

it was gone in a day.

The next day they were back to killing each other.

Fleeting peace, shallow joy.

The war raged on for years to come.

What we know,

what we're born into,

is a fleeting peace

and a shallow joy.

I can imagine some of you

who've come into this building this morning

and the thought of peace and joy

is appealing to you

so long as God's not involved.

Give me the joy,

give me the peace,

you keep God.

Well, this morning,

I'm going to be bold and say,

if you're wanting a peace

and a joy without God,

you're asking for a fleeting peace

and a shallow joy

because God alone

provides an everlasting peace

and a fullness of joy.

And the reason why you may not want God

is actually because

you're running from God.

You're hiding from Him.

There's things about God

you may be disappointed with

or fear.

I've got good news of great joy

for you today.

I can imagine some of you

in this room

when you hear the word joy

and the word Christmastime,

you go cynical.

You think something like this,

joy, Christmastime,

whatever.

Because for you,

the Christmastime

is not a time of joyfulness,

it's a time of misery

because you're just reminded

of your loneliness.

You're just reminded

of the unresolved conflicts

with those people

who are supposed to be

nearest to you.

You experience absence of people.

And so a time where everyone

gets together,

you're kind of like,

let's just get through it.

Time of enjoyment

turns into a time of endurance

for you.

I've got great news

of a great joy

of an everlasting peace

for you.

And then there's those of you

in this room,

you're like,

oh man,

my joy is in my children

opening up some awesome gifts

I've got for them.

And that joy is riding high

within about three gifts

and then your kid says,

I didn't want this one.

What happens to your joy then?

It's gone.

Maybe your joy is in the

end of the year bonus check

and what to do with it

like Clark Griswold did.

But what happens if your

end of the year bonus

comes as a can of popcorn

instead of a deposit of cash?

And your boss is given

the big bonus.

Where's your joy then?

Or maybe your joy is

at the thought of the gathering

of extended friends

and family

and everyone is together

and then it happens.

That unresolved

old tension

flares up

and everybody leaves

real quick.

We all want

everlasting peace

and fullness of joy.

and we're all looking

to stuff

that seemingly

can never deliver on it.

This morning

I've got good news

of great joy

of an everlasting peace.

Peace

leads to joy

and everlasting peace

leads to a fullness

of joy

and the everlasting peace

and fullness

of joy

that we all

long for

can only be found

in one person

the Prince of Peace

Jesus Christ.

And so this morning

I want to help you

reclaim the joy

of Christmas

by looking

at the Prince of Peace.

And so if you'd open up

your Bibles

to Luke chapter 2

Luke 2 · chapter mention

we're going to

work our way

through verse 8

all the way

through chapter

verse 20

but we're going

to focus mainly

on verses 8

through 14

and we're going

to make our way

through the text

and here's what

I'm going to help you see.

There are some

fearful shepherds

there

and they have a fear

that we can

all identify with

and then

an evangelizing

angel shows up

and he is

proclaiming

good news

of great joy

for all people

and then

this multitude

of the angelic hosts

show up

and they start

praising

and glorifying God

and they announce

peace on earth

to all those

with whom

God is pleased.

And then

those fearful

shepherds

make a beeline

to Bethlehem

where their fear

is radically

transformed

to joy

and in verse 20

they go back

to the outskirts

praising God.

Does anybody

want to know

why

fearful shepherds

turn into

worshipping shepherds?

They encountered

the prince

of peace.

So let's look

at these fearful

shepherds

in verse 8

a little background

verses 1 through 7

we learn that

this baby

has been born

to Mary and Joseph

and they lie him

in a manger

and on that same day

Luke brings us

to the outskirts

of Bethlehem

in the region

the hill country

surrounding it

where there is

a bunch of shepherds.

Look at verse 8

and in the same region

of the city

of Bethlehem

there were shepherds

out in the field

keeping watch

over their flock

by night.

Now what you got

to understand

about these shepherds

is these were

everyday guys

and you got to

ask the question

what do you think

they were talking

about?

I'm thinking

they're talking

about politics

Roman occupation

maybe they're talking

about economics

how much are these

sheep going to get

on the market?

How do the sheep

help?

Maybe they're talking

about family stuff

I'm not sure

what to do

with my daughter

maybe maybe

they're going

a little deeper

and one of the

shepherds is saying

something like this

how did I end up here?

Is this going to be

what I'm doing

for the rest of my life?

I feel stuck.

Here's something

you need to know

about shepherds.

In Israel

at this time

shepherds

were considered

lowlifes.

In a

ancient Jewish document

there was this

understanding that

shepherds were under

a perpetual ban.

They were thought

of as disgusting.

The only people

in Israel

at the time

lower than the

shepherds

were lepers.

It gives you

a sense of scale

and where they're at

in terms of the

low life

to high life

spectrum.

Here's what I want

you to notice

in verse 8.

These shepherds

these lowlifes

of that time

they were

on the

outskirts

of Bethlehem

in the same region

they were out

in the field.

So you got

lowlifes

who were on the

outskirts

and did you notice

they're in darkness?

They're watching

over their flock

by night.

Lowlifes

on the outskirts

living in darkness

they're lost.

lost.

You might not

be a lowlife

but apart from

Jesus

you have no life

and if you're

apart from

Jesus

you're definitely

not on the

inside

you're on the

outside

and if you

don't know

Jesus

you may think

you're living

in the light

but reality is

you too

are living

in darkness.

There's a reason

why

in verse 9

an angel

shows up

to these lowlifes

living on the

outskirts

in darkness.

God

has come

to declare

to them

good news

and if you

realize that

you are a lowlife

on the outskirts

in darkness

it's good news

for you too.

So in verse 9

out of nowhere

an angel

of the Lord

appears to them.

It would have

been sudden

it would have

been unanticipated

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.

The glory

of the Lord

shone around.

What is this glory?

Well it would have

been really bright

and in the darkness

it would have

been really

really bright.

It would have

been an all

encompassing

glory.

Here's the way

to think about it.

You know how

the mist rolls

in off the lake

from time to time

and not only

do you see it

you feel it.

This glory

would have been

a penetrating

glory

glory.

Because

this is not

the glory

of the angel

this is the glory

of the Lord.

Do you see that?

The glory

of the Lord

shone around them.

This is the

Shekinah glory

of God.

It's his holiness

gone public

and if you

experienced it

it would

affect you

down to

the core.

So these

lowlifes

on the

outskirts

in darkness

are suddenly

immersed in

the brightness

of the Shekinah

glory of God

and there

before him

is standing

an angel

of the Lord.

And if you

know Luke

at all

Luke chapter

one

there's this

angel of the

Lord that

keeps on

showing up

and it's

Gabriel

and my

suspicion

is it's

Gabriel again.

So let's

just bear with

me and just

think it's

Gabriel.

Gabriel

appears to

them

and the

reaction

of

these

shepherds

is something

you've got

to see.

And they

were filled

with great

fear.

I want to

take an aside

here and help

you to understand

something.

For us to

reclaim the

fullness of

joy that

comes with

Christmas

we've got

to reclaim

the tragedy

of the fall.

Out of the

tragedy of the

fall is

born a

great joy.

Why were

these shepherds

filled with

great fear?

Was it the

suddenness of

the appearing

of the

angel?

This past

week I'm

at a

basketball

game for

my son

I walk

out of

the men's

room

my little

daughter Mary

surprises me

boo and

I'm like

blah!

I was

afraid but

just for a

little bit

it wasn't a

great fear

it was a

little fear.

So I don't

think that

these shepherds

their great

fear was they

got surprised

nor do I

think it's

just because

it was an

angel.

The angel

of the Lord

showed up to

Zachariah and

Mary and

though they

were troubled

and maybe a

little afraid

they didn't

have this

great fear.

Why this

great fear?

I think it

has to do

with the

Shekinah

glory.

This palpable

holiness that

was surrounding

them.

You see

what happens

is that

when God's

glory shows

up this

holiness

penetrates

and exposes

a person's

utter

sinfulness.

We see

it in

Isaiah

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

The prophet

Isaiah has

this vision

of God

in the

temple.

The seraphim

sang holy

holy is the

Lord God

almighty.

The whole

earth is

full of

his glory.

His glory

is his

holiness

gone public.

And what

does Isaiah

do?

Woe is

me for

I am

a man

of unclean

lips.

He's ready

to die.

He feels

exposed

because he's

in the

presence of

the glory

of God.

Exodus

19.

God is

speaking on

Mount Sinai

to Moses

and all of

his people.

They hear

his voice.

And you

know the

people think

we're gonna

die because

we hear his

voice.

And they

start saying

Moses in

verses 18 and

19.

Moses stop

him from

speaking to

us.

You speak

to us.

We can't

handle it

anymore.

They were

exposed by

God's

manifest

holiness.

In

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

Adam and

Eve they

blow it.

They disobey

God.

They eat of

the fruit.

And then in

verse 8 God

comes looking

for him in

the garden.

It's what he

did every day

it seems.

He would

come and

spend the

afternoon with

Adam and

Eve and walk

with him in

the cool of

the day.

And so

after the

fall something

horrific tragic

happens.

Do you

remember God

comes calling

for Adam?

Remember where

Adam was?

He was

hiding from

God.

God's presence

he's hiding

from it.

He saw God

as some kind

of threat and

so he hides

from it and

he's covered

himself up with

fig leaves because

he's ashamed of

himself.

And not only

is he ashamed

of himself

when God

asks him what

happened he

starts blaming

his wife.

She made me

do it.

And then when

God says to

Eve what

happened she's

like I blame

the serpent.

He made me

do it.

So you have

blame.

And then the

curse comes down

and now all

creation is

cursed.

We're to toil

and what we

read from Romans

is all creation

has been subjected

to futility.

It's groaning

being under

the weight

of sin.

That's what

we're born

into.

And what we

see here is

God's holiness

as a threat.

Let me just

press this home

a little bit

more.

Now imagine

we've got this

screen behind

me right?

Let's just say

we played a

video of all

your thoughts

for the last

week on this

video screen

for everybody

to see.

Would you come

back next

week?

No.

Why not?

Because you'd

be ashamed.

Just like I

would be ashamed

if I had all

my thoughts

put up on

screen.

Not only would

I be ashamed

you'd lock

me out.

When we

become aware

of our

sinfulness

we want to

hide.

And what we

see happening

with these

shepherds

this fear

is

at the

Shekinah

glory of

God.

It's they

want to

hide.

They're being

exposed.

And there's

nowhere to

hide.

They're out in

the open.

There's nowhere

to go.

Adam and Eve

played hide and

seek in the

garden.

It's like we

play hide and

seek with God

today.

If you play

hide and seek

with a three

year old it's a

really interesting

game.

You count to

ten the

three year old

goes hides.

You go looking

for the three

year old.

It's not

tough.

You're like oh

red lightning

McQueen sneakers

underneath the

floor length

curtain of the

window.

There's a

bulge there.

I wonder who

that is.

You know

where this

child is

hiding.

This child

thinks that

they're hiding

from you.

We tend to

think that

we're able to

hide from

God.

Adam and

Eve weren't

able to

hide from

God.

Isaiah wasn't

able to

hide from

God.

These shepherds

weren't able to

hide from

God.

There is no

hiding from

God.

When you

come into

the presence

of God

you will

feel exposed.

There will

be great fear

in you.

You will

start to

fear your

death.

death.

These

shepherds

are thinking

the worst.

I don't

know what

was going

on in

their minds

but I

can only

imagine

they're

thinking

okay is

this one

of the

angels

that

kind of

dropped

the bomb

on Sodom

and Gomorrah?

Is this

the angel

of death

that swept

through Egypt?

I'm guessing

these shepherds

at this point

have this pit

in their

stomach

thinking

this is

bad news

this is

bad news

we can

all identify

with that

right?

You think

about your

life

you think

about what

you've done

the shame

but this

angel

didn't come

with bad

news.

Let's look

at verse

10.

This angel

shows up

and the

first thing

he says

to them

is

fear not

don't fear

don't be

afraid

I'm not

here to

destroy you

I'm here

to evangelize

you

we read

I bring you

fear not

for behold

I bring

you good

news

of great

joy

that will

be for

all

people

good

news

not bad

news

good

news

these

shepherds

are exposed

they're

afraid

and this

angel is

saying

I bring

you

good

news

great

joy

that word

bring good

news

is a

verb

that you

can literally

translate

gospelize

to announce

good news

to

to make

known

the good

news

of a

particular

event

back in

1945

at the

closing out

of World

War II

you would

have these

newspaper

headings

that said

VJ day

exclamation

point

victory over

Japan

day

or VE

day

exclamation

point

victory

over

Europe

day

you have

you have

headlines

that say

Japan

surrenders

war

ends

victory

exclamation

point

peace

exclamation

point

the paper

headlines

were declaring

good news

they were

publishing

good news

for all

to read

and rejoice

in

and so

this angel

comes to

these

low

lives

on the

outskirts

in darkness

who's had

their fears

exposed

and he's

like I

bring you

good news

of a

particular

event

that particular

event

happened

earlier that

day

but what I

want you to

see right

now is

that this

good news

would bring

great joy

for all

people

whatever this

good news

is

it turns

great fear

into

great

joy

you see

the verse

the great

fear in

verse 9

and if you

look down

to verse

20

those same

shepherds

are rejoicing

and glorifying

God as they

go back

to the

outskirts

there's

great

joy

this

great

news

of great

joy

is for

all

people

it's not

just for

the low

lives

on the

outskirts

who are

living in

darkness

it's for

the high

lives

who are

on the

inside

but still

living in

darkness

and for

everybody

in between

whether you're

a low

life

or whether

you're a

high

life

or you're

in between

life

you have

no life

apart from

Jesus

darkness

one of

the things

about

living in

darkness

and why

this is

good news

for all

peoples

is it's

all

peoples

apart

from

God

are

hiding

from

God

they're

trying to

deal

with

their

threats

they're

trying to

deal

with

fear

this

good

news

that

generates

great

joy

is for

all

those

who are

hiding

and willing

to admit

it

so whether

you're a

man

or you're

a woman

or you're

confused

if you're

a man

or a

woman

this

is great

news

good news

of great

joy

for you

you just

need to

admit

you're

hiding

it doesn't

matter

if you got

more money

than you know

what to do

with or

you've got

so little

money

you don't

know what

bill to

pay

it doesn't

matter

this is

good news

of great

joy

for all

people

you just

need to

admit

that you

need

peace

it doesn't

matter the

color of

your skin

it doesn't

matter the

address on

your place

the issue

is we

all

want

peace

and we're

all

hiding

from the

prince of

peace

are you

willing to

admit

that you're

hiding from

the holiness

of god

this good

news of

great joy

for all

people

is for

you

what the

angel

announcing

here is

a plan

god's plan

for the

fullness of

time

for all

people

everywhere

the good

news

is for

every

tribe

tongue

and

nation

again

this

angel

Gabriel

isn't

bringing

bad

news

of

hostility

and

threat

he's

bringing

good

news

that

makes

the

nations

glad

so the

question

is

what

is

this

good

news

that

makes

the

nations

glad

look at

verse 11

for unto

you is

born

this day

in the

city of

David

a savior

the good

news of

great joy

for all

people

that this

angel of

the lord

is declaring

to these

sin exposed

shepherds

it's not a

government

program

it's not

educational

degrees

he's not

making job

offers

he's not

proclaiming a

scientific

discovery

he's

proclaiming the

birth announcement

of a

person

the good

news

of great

joy

for all

people

is a

person

for unto

you is

born

this day

in the

city of

David

a savior

when you

hear those

words in

verse 11

for unto

you is

born

this day

does that

ring a

bit of

a bell

does that

sound

familiar

to you

if you

go back

to Isaiah

9 6

you read

Isaiah

prophesying

of one

who is

to be

born

for unto

us a

child is

born

Gabriel

is doing

a little

bit of

a riff

on the

words of

Isaiah

9 6

it's a

prophetic

fulfillment

riff

he's saying

the baby's

been born

this

baby boy

born

to us

is

David's

son

baby boy

is

David's

son

baby boy

is

David's

son

baby boy

is

the

offspring

of

Abraham

and

whom

all

the

nations

will

be

blessed

as

far

as

the

curse

is

found

the

nations

will

be

glad

in

this

baby

boy

this

baby

boy

who

is

born

to

us

is

David's

greater

son

this

baby

boy

according

to

Isaiah

the

government

will be

upon his

shoulders

and his

name

will be

wonderful

counselor

mighty

God

everlasting

father

prince

of

peace

of the

increase

of his

government

and

of

peace

there

will

be

no

end

the

good

news

that

this

angel

was

announcing

that

would

bring

great

joy

to

the

nations

is

the

birth

of

the

peacemaker

you

will

bring

great

priests

to

all

who

humble

themselves

and are

willing

to admit

they

need

it

a

peace

with

God

no

more

hiding

a

peace

with

yourself

no

more

shame

no

more

self

hatred

peace

with

others

the

blame

game

gets

done

and

eventually

peace

with

creation

a

time

coming

when

there's

no

more

toil

a

peacemaker

can

go

by

another

title

savior

unto

you

this

day

is

born

in

the

city

of

David

a

savior

a

savior

rescues

from

threat

and

fear

and so

this

angel

is

announcing

the

birth

of

the

great

savior

who

is

the

peacemaker

and

not

only

is

this

savior

the

great

peacemaker

he's

the

christ

do you

see

that

who

is

christ

the

lord

christ

is a

title

it's

a

reference

of

the

long

awaited

king

from

david's

line

who

would

establish

a

forever

kingdom

with a

never

ending

peace

and so

what we

read is

that

savior

is

the

great

peacemaker

and

he's

the

christ

the

great

king

and

he's

not

only

the

great

peacemaker

and

the

great

king

he

is

the

lord

and

what

luke

and

this

angel

are

helping

us

to

see

is

he's

god

the

lord

the

great

god

this

baby

this

birth

announcement

which

is

good

news

for

all

nations

born

this

day

in

the

city

of

david

is

the

great

peacemaker

the

great

king

the

great

god

who's

taken

on

flesh

emmanuel

and

it

happened

this

day

says

the

angel

it

took

place

he

was

born

he

really

was

born

he

really

lived

and

in

verse

12

the

angel

tells

these

shepherds

hey

let me

give you

a sign

you can

just

make a

beeline

to

bethlehem

right

now

and

what

you

will

find

you

will

find

a

baby

wrapped

in

swaddling

clothes

which

would

not

have

been

unusual

lying

in

a

manger

now

that's

unusual

especially

given

who

this

baby

is

the

great

peacemaker

the

great

king

the

great

god

is

lying

in

a

manger

it's

a

feeding

trough

what does

that tell

you about

our

god

he

became

nobody

he

came

to

the

outskirts

he

came

into

the

darkness

to

save

those

who

were

low

lives

on

the

outskirts

living

in

darkness

so that

we

could

have

life

so that

we

could

be

brought

in

so that

we

could

be

lit

up

what a

god

before

the

shepherds

can make

a beeline

to the

city of

Bethlehem

something else

happens

in verse

13