THE SAVIOR IS BORN
V:8. " And there were shepherds living out in the
fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night."
A. One of the most exciting nights in history, is the night
Jesus was born.
1. One of the most
significant nights in History is the night Jesus was born.
2. One of the most
significant events in history is the birth of Jesus.
3. The most
important person to be born is Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
B. The Lord chose shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus
Christ.
1. I can only
surmise that the Lord chose shepherds because Jesus is our shepherd.
2. Shepherds are
attentive to their sheep as Jesus is attentive to us, His sheep.
3. The shepherd
keep watch over their sheep as Jesus keep watch over us.
4. Shepherd were
on the low end of the economic scale, as Jesus made Himself low
for us.
5. Jesus became
low to humble Himself before the Father and man.
6. The Father
announced the birth of Jesus to working folk. The Father has little
regard for lazy folk.
7. The Father
chose the night time to reveal the birth of His Son, when it was quite
and the
shepherds were on guard for the safety of their flock.
8. The Lord never
sleeps nor slumbers and is always on guard for His people.
V:9. " An angel
of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were terrified."
A. The presence of
the Lord makes an impact on us so that we can't mistake Him for
someone else.
1. Sometimes God
places us in places, situations, and occupations to reveal His
glory to us.
a. The
Shepherds were engulfed in the middle of a great light.
b. The impact
of God's glory was probably greatest to
the shepherd in the middle
of night.
2. The messenger of
the Lord showed up clearly and was recognized as super natural.
3. The shepherd
were frighten but did not run.
a. God has not
given us the spirit of fear, but power,
love and sound mind.
b. When we are
obedient to God, we have nothing to fear.
B. God's glory is
around believers.
1. We should be a
light to a darken world.
2. We should never
be silent about the Lord.
3. Others ought to
see the attributes of God in us.
4. Where ever we
go we can make a difference in the lives of others.
A. God does not intend for the faithful to be afraid in His
presence.
1. The Word of God
should bring joy to our lives.
2. The Word is
filled with the good news about Jesus.
B. God does not give us His Word just for us.
1. His Word is
given so we can share it with others.
2. We are the
Lord's messengers of good news.
3. All good news
comes from the Lord.
V:11. " Today in the town of David
A. The Word of God provides hope for our lives.
1. Bethlehem King David
a. The birth
place of our Lord and Savior was prophesied in Micah 5:2 around
700 BC
2. The birth of
Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy of His coming.
3. The Lord
promised David that his kingdom would have no end.
B. The promise of a
Messiah was made hundreds of years before His
coming.
1. Jesus step
down out of heaven and became man for all believers.
2. The purpose of
the coming of Jesus was to be Christ.
V:12. " This will be a sign to you: You will find a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
A. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's birth was so special
that He was born in an unusual place.
1. His birth was
during the time when the city was crowded and there were no rooms
in the local ends.
2. The Lord brought
all of his relatives from the line of king David in to the same
city at the same
time.
3. While His
relatives were in the city, Jesus was born in a stall and placed in a
feeding tray that animals
ate from.
a. The Father
magnified His Son's low estate by having Him born outside the city
in a cave
among animals.
b. He was born
among His relatives but they did not know Him.
c. He was born
separate from His relatives.
B. God made known the
location of His Son's low estate to those who were of the same low estate.
1. No special
clothes were provided for the most special baby of all time.
2. Jesus was born
low so we could be reborn in a high estate.
V:13 "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
A. God made His
angels praise His Son.
1. This is an
example to all believers of how to worship the Lord in concert .
2. Believers are
commanded to assemble together.
Hebrews 10:25
B. All glory and
honor belong to God.
1. We honor
people because of their position and who they are or what they have
accomplished.
2. God deserves
the highest honor because no one has done, is doing and will do
more for us.
3. God deserves
the highest honor because He is God.
4. God deserves
the highest honor because He sent His son to die for our sins.
C. Only God can
promise peace.
1. Only God can
promise eternal life.
D. God selected us to have favor with the birth
of His Son.
1. He chose us
for salvation.
2. God chose us
for the kingdom of heaven.
V:15. " When the
angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
"Let's go to Bethlehem
A. We should act on
the message we receive from God.
1. The shepherds moved
on the Word of God.
2. They left
their flock in search of Jesus.
3. They did not
wait till morning, they went immediately.
B. The Shepherds
believed the Word of God
1. In order to
trust God, we must believe what He says.
2. The shepherd
went searching for Jesus.
3. Once we have
heard the Word, we should seek the truth for ourselves.
4. We cannot live
on the belief of another, we have to believe for ourselves
5. Others may
talk about Jesus, but we have to know him for ourselves.
V:16. " So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby, who was lying in the manger."
A. They that seek the
Lord will find Him.
1. You have to search
the truth for yourself.
2. The Shepherds
found the Word of the Lord to be true.
B. The shepherds saw not
only the baby (king) but God's guardians
for the king.
Isa 7:14
1. God reveals to
us what we need to know when the time is right.
2. God chooses
certain people to be enlighten so that they can enlighten others.
C. We should always
be in search of Jesus.
1. We should be in
search of His love.
2. We should be in search of His mercy.
3. We should be in
search of His blessing.
4. We should be in search of His grace.
5. We should be in search of His protection.
6. We should be in search of Jesus just to
praise Him
V:17. " When
they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them
about this child."
A. All believers have the responsibility to
spread the Word about Jesus Christ.
Mat 28:19
1. Jesus was born
to die so we could have a rebirth.
2. It is our
responsibility to tell others what Jesus has done for us.
3. Our testimony
is important to those in the dark.
a. Someone may already have planted the Word.
b. We may be
the one who waters what has been planted.
4. Our testimony
may be a word of encouragement to someone in a troubling
situation.
B. The shepherds
encounter with Jesus was life changing.
1. They were just
shepherds but they became shepherds with the best good news.
2. In the middle
of the night, the of glory of God showed around them.
3. They experience
an angelic visit from the Lord.
4. They were the
first to hear of the birth of Jesus Christ.
5. They were first
to hear an angelic choir praise Jesus.
6. They were first
to see the new born Jesus outside of Mary and Joseph.
7. After the
angels, they were first to proclaim the birth of Jesus to the world.
8. Any encounter
with Jesus is life changing.
V:18. And all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them."
A. God amazing grace
is manifested in our lives in different ways.
1. The shepherds
were blessed to hear about Jesus and proclaim His name.
2. We were
blessed not only to hear about Jesus, but also to be drawn into
presence by
God the Father.
B. It is God's
Amazing Grace that Jesus came down form heaven to bring us
joy.
1. It is God's
Amazing Grace that Jesus came to make peace between us and the
Father.
2. It is God's
Amazing Grace that Jesus chose us to be part of the body of Christ.
3. It is God's
Amazing Grace that Jesus came to save us from our sins.
V:19. " But Mary
treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."
A. Sometimes we need
to take time to meditate on the Word of God.
1. Mary may have
meditated on why she was chosen to bare the Son of God.
2. Mary may have
meditated on why God sent angels to proclaim the birth
of His Son.
3. Mary may have
meditated on why God told shepherd she didn't know about
about Jesus.
4. Mary may have
meditated on why God allowed His Son to be born in
poor
conditions.
B. It is a good
idea to meditate on why God chose us over others to be with
His son.
1. It is a good
idea to meditate on the love of God.
2. It is a good
idea to meditate on the Word of God
3. It is good for
us to meditate on the goodness of God.
4. It is good to meditate
on Jesus.
V:20. " The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen,
which were just as they had been told.
A. It is the job and the duty of every believer to
praise God for our relationship
with Jesus
Christ.
1. We should
praise God for His Word that He has made known to us.
2. We need to
praise God for being God.
B. The Shepherds
after their visit with Jesus, went back to their job of
tending sheep.
1. We need to
take time to give God praise.
2. We need to
praise God in the assemble of the saints.
3. We need to
praise God while on our jobs.
4. We need an
attitude of continual praise.
MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS TO PRAISE GOD
Rev. M. Mitchell,
Asst Pastor of GMBC
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