1 00:00:01,735 --> 00:00:03,053 This is a reading from Luke 2 00:00:03,053 --> 00:00:06,056 2:1-14. 3 00:00:06,656 --> 00:00:08,091 In those days, a decree 4 00:00:08,091 --> 00:00:11,394 went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 5 00:00:11,845 --> 00:00:15,799 This was the first registration when Carinus was governor of Syria, 6 00:00:16,199 --> 00:00:19,202 and all went to be registered, each to his own town. 7 00:00:19,552 --> 00:00:22,939 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth 8 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,242 to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, 9 00:00:26,543 --> 00:00:30,413 because he was of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, 10 00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:32,732 his betrothed, who was with child. 11 00:00:32,732 --> 00:00:35,869 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, 12 00:00:35,869 --> 00:00:39,839 and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling 13 00:00:39,839 --> 00:00:44,127 clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in. 14 00:00:44,461 --> 00:00:45,745 And in the same region 15 00:00:45,745 --> 00:00:49,799 there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 16 00:00:50,216 --> 00:00:52,318 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them. 17 00:00:52,318 --> 00:00:55,555 And the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled 18 00:00:55,555 --> 00:00:56,973 with great fear. 19 00:00:56,973 --> 00:01:00,260 And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, 20 00:01:00,260 --> 00:01:04,097 I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 21 00:01:04,497 --> 00:01:05,932 For unto you is born 22 00:01:05,932 --> 00:01:09,753 this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 23 00:01:09,769 --> 00:01:11,938 And this will be a sign for you. 24 00:01:11,938 --> 00:01:16,226 You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. 25 00:01:16,559 --> 00:01:21,114 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising 26 00:01:21,114 --> 00:01:24,417 God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, 27 00:01:24,417 --> 00:01:27,887 and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. 28 00:01:30,590 --> 00:01:33,593 Hey everybody, good morning and welcome to Christ Community Chapel. 29 00:01:33,626 --> 00:01:36,629 My name is Joe. I'm one of the pastors here. 30 00:01:36,746 --> 00:01:38,481 Thanks for coming. 31 00:01:38,481 --> 00:01:38,731 All right. 32 00:01:38,731 --> 00:01:42,118 This is our third week of our Advent series. 33 00:01:42,118 --> 00:01:46,439 Christmas is right around the corner, and our theme for Advent 34 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:49,442 this year is simply joy. Joy. 35 00:01:49,943 --> 00:01:53,480 And the title of this message is the Joy of Sharing 36 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,483 Jesus, the Joy of Sharing Jesus. 37 00:01:56,816 --> 00:01:59,419 And we get to look at the story of the shepherds 38 00:01:59,419 --> 00:02:02,305 and I have I love the story of the shepherds. 39 00:02:02,305 --> 00:02:05,725 I have for a long time, I think ever since I was a little kid and, 40 00:02:06,392 --> 00:02:08,928 watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special, Linus 41 00:02:08,928 --> 00:02:11,881 quoted, that passage. 42 00:02:11,881 --> 00:02:15,201 So the reason that I like the shepherds so much 43 00:02:15,201 --> 00:02:18,538 now, though, is that I realize they're so unnecessary. 44 00:02:19,856 --> 00:02:22,859 They're not a critical part of the story. 45 00:02:23,092 --> 00:02:25,862 Like, Mary, super important. 46 00:02:25,862 --> 00:02:26,696 Right? 47 00:02:26,696 --> 00:02:27,263 Joseph. 48 00:02:27,263 --> 00:02:30,650 Not as much, but still really important role. 49 00:02:31,317 --> 00:02:33,002 The wise men. 50 00:02:33,002 --> 00:02:35,455 They bring gifts. That's good. 51 00:02:35,455 --> 00:02:35,822 They're like, 52 00:02:35,822 --> 00:02:40,076 the only ones that realize that Jesus should have some sort of baby shower. 53 00:02:40,827 --> 00:02:43,980 And they bring high end gifts gold, frankincense and myrrh. 54 00:02:44,631 --> 00:02:47,634 But Joseph and Mary don't realize at this point 55 00:02:48,201 --> 00:02:51,504 is that they're going to have to flee to Egypt and live there 56 00:02:51,504 --> 00:02:55,592 for a couple of years, and the gold probably came in handy. 57 00:02:55,592 --> 00:03:00,146 It probably financed their trip, so God was way ahead of them. 58 00:03:00,146 --> 00:03:03,499 But God was not just way ahead of Mary and Joseph. 59 00:03:03,499 --> 00:03:06,502 God is always way ahead of you and and me. 60 00:03:07,020 --> 00:03:09,389 And usually the only time that we realize 61 00:03:09,389 --> 00:03:13,593 what God has done in our lives when we take the time to look back. 62 00:03:13,826 --> 00:03:16,763 Probably a good discipline to do that every once while. 63 00:03:16,763 --> 00:03:20,133 Take a look back so you can recognize what you didn't 64 00:03:20,133 --> 00:03:23,937 recognize when God was doing it, because now you do. 65 00:03:25,021 --> 00:03:28,141 But the shepherds, the shepherds are extra. 66 00:03:28,942 --> 00:03:31,911 And you know, we're so used to the shepherds being a part of the story 67 00:03:31,911 --> 00:03:36,566 that it kind of makes sense to us, but it really shouldn't the 68 00:03:36,833 --> 00:03:40,670 like a modern day equivalent of shepherds would be like truck drivers. 69 00:03:41,537 --> 00:03:44,958 Like if the story started out and they were in the same region, 70 00:03:44,958 --> 00:03:48,111 truck drivers at a rest stop, keeping watch over the rigs 71 00:03:48,111 --> 00:03:51,531 at night, right in the glory of the Lord shown around them. 72 00:03:51,531 --> 00:03:54,567 And they were terribly frightened of going, why? 73 00:03:54,567 --> 00:03:57,287 Why truck drivers? Why shepherds? 74 00:03:57,287 --> 00:03:59,339 We don't know any of their names. 75 00:03:59,339 --> 00:04:02,242 We don't know how many shepherds there were. 76 00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:02,492 Right? 77 00:04:02,492 --> 00:04:07,547 None of them circle back into the story like they would in a good novel. 78 00:04:08,147 --> 00:04:12,318 Like, it'd be very cool if one of the shepherds became a disciple. 79 00:04:13,169 --> 00:04:16,823 Or even if one of the shepherds was at the feeding of the 5000 80 00:04:16,823 --> 00:04:20,493 and stood up and said, I knew you when you were a baby, right? 81 00:04:21,527 --> 00:04:23,129 Nothing 82 00:04:23,129 --> 00:04:23,997 right. 83 00:04:23,997 --> 00:04:24,948 That this. 84 00:04:24,948 --> 00:04:28,251 We end this reading at verse 14, 85 00:04:29,035 --> 00:04:32,872 where the angels cry out, Glory to God in the highest, 86 00:04:33,539 --> 00:04:37,493 and on earth peace among those whom with whom he is pleased. 87 00:04:38,161 --> 00:04:42,081 And then the shepherds take off to try to find Jesus. 88 00:04:42,081 --> 00:04:44,067 And they go to a stable. 89 00:04:44,067 --> 00:04:47,070 And we don't know how many stables there were in Bethlehem, 90 00:04:47,453 --> 00:04:50,273 but they finally find Jesus. 91 00:04:50,273 --> 00:04:53,359 And then we pick up the story about the shepherds. 92 00:04:54,027 --> 00:04:56,396 In verse 16 it says, and they went with haste, 93 00:04:56,396 --> 00:05:00,233 and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 94 00:05:00,233 --> 00:05:01,701 And when they saw it, 95 00:05:01,701 --> 00:05:05,221 they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 96 00:05:06,139 --> 00:05:09,692 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 97 00:05:10,793 --> 00:05:12,412 The shepherds. 98 00:05:12,412 --> 00:05:12,829 Right. 99 00:05:12,829 --> 00:05:15,832 That's their their cameo ends right there. 100 00:05:17,150 --> 00:05:19,669 The shepherds were the first ones 101 00:05:19,669 --> 00:05:22,889 to know that Jesus had come. 102 00:05:24,707 --> 00:05:30,063 Shepherds by blue collar men, illiterate, 103 00:05:30,563 --> 00:05:34,817 who spent most of their time, most of their lives outdoors with sheep 104 00:05:35,568 --> 00:05:38,688 when burned faces, calloused hands, hard 105 00:05:38,688 --> 00:05:41,691 living shepherds 106 00:05:41,874 --> 00:05:45,862 come bouncing out of a barn with a wild story 107 00:05:45,862 --> 00:05:50,717 about angels and a baby being born in a manger and a Savior coming in. 108 00:05:50,717 --> 00:05:53,486 The God of God's 109 00:05:53,486 --> 00:05:54,170 visiting. 110 00:05:54,170 --> 00:05:57,173 Finally shepherds 111 00:05:57,657 --> 00:06:02,812 the very first ones with the joy of sharing Jesus. 112 00:06:03,863 --> 00:06:06,082 I love the story of the shepherds. 113 00:06:06,082 --> 00:06:09,085 If you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and turn to Luke chapter two. 114 00:06:09,719 --> 00:06:12,688 If you're going to use one of our Bibles, it's on page 805. 115 00:06:12,688 --> 00:06:14,574 But you could just wait. 116 00:06:14,574 --> 00:06:16,642 And, the verses come up on the screen. 117 00:06:17,777 --> 00:06:20,029 Here are my three points. 118 00:06:20,029 --> 00:06:22,999 This is why it's a joy to share. 119 00:06:22,999 --> 00:06:24,417 Jesus. All right. 120 00:06:24,417 --> 00:06:27,737 The first is that it's a joy to share Jesus because 121 00:06:27,737 --> 00:06:30,740 it's news, not advice. 122 00:06:30,923 --> 00:06:33,025 It's news not advice. 123 00:06:33,025 --> 00:06:36,028 Number two, it's good and not bad. 124 00:06:36,479 --> 00:06:39,482 And number three, if it's for them, it's for you. 125 00:06:40,199 --> 00:06:41,601 If it's for you, it's for them. 126 00:06:41,601 --> 00:06:45,805 That's my long way of saying it's for everyone, right? 127 00:06:46,823 --> 00:06:48,991 It's news, not advice. 128 00:06:48,991 --> 00:06:50,610 It's good, not bad. 129 00:06:50,610 --> 00:06:51,961 And it's for everyone. 130 00:06:51,961 --> 00:06:54,947 First, it's news, not advice. 131 00:06:55,681 --> 00:06:58,351 Sweat. It says in verse eight. 132 00:06:58,351 --> 00:07:01,337 In the same region, there was shepherds out in the field 133 00:07:01,471 --> 00:07:04,457 keeping watch over their flock by night. 134 00:07:04,757 --> 00:07:08,161 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them in the glory of the Lord shone 135 00:07:08,161 --> 00:07:11,447 around them, and they were filled with great fear. 136 00:07:12,298 --> 00:07:14,100 And the angel said to them, fear not, 137 00:07:15,051 --> 00:07:16,519 for behold, I bring you good 138 00:07:16,519 --> 00:07:20,239 news of great joy that will be for all the people. 139 00:07:21,441 --> 00:07:24,444 There's a big difference between news and advice. 140 00:07:25,077 --> 00:07:27,497 News is something that has happened. 141 00:07:27,497 --> 00:07:30,333 Advice is something someone gives you 142 00:07:30,333 --> 00:07:33,319 that you should or ought do. 143 00:07:34,053 --> 00:07:35,972 There's a difference between 144 00:07:35,972 --> 00:07:40,343 how it feels to give advice, how it feels to receive advice. 145 00:07:40,943 --> 00:07:44,130 I spent six years teaching Bible and being the chaplain 146 00:07:44,630 --> 00:07:47,633 at Cog Valley Christian Academy, 147 00:07:47,633 --> 00:07:51,020 and while I was there, I learned a lot about communicating. 148 00:07:51,020 --> 00:07:55,107 If I am any good at speaking at all, it's because of those six years, 149 00:07:55,708 --> 00:07:58,978 because teenagers are so brutal 150 00:07:59,428 --> 00:08:02,632 and honest and immediate with their feedback. 151 00:08:03,349 --> 00:08:07,069 Like as adults, you guys are much nicer. 152 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,673 Like, I could give you a bad sermon and you wouldn't say anything. 153 00:08:10,673 --> 00:08:11,724 You'd still be nice. 154 00:08:11,724 --> 00:08:15,928 You would wait until you got in your cars to say what you really thought 155 00:08:16,412 --> 00:08:17,964 about the message. 156 00:08:17,964 --> 00:08:20,066 But teenagers, they don't. They don't wait. 157 00:08:20,066 --> 00:08:21,651 They don't know to wait. Right. 158 00:08:21,651 --> 00:08:25,438 So if you're boring and you're talking to teenagers, they'll just go. 159 00:08:25,671 --> 00:08:26,422 They'll just do this, 160 00:08:28,140 --> 00:08:28,441 or they'll 161 00:08:28,441 --> 00:08:31,427 put their head down on their desk or anything. 162 00:08:31,577 --> 00:08:34,580 You try to give advice to a teenager that don't want. 163 00:08:34,580 --> 00:08:39,302 They will show you and your face and their face what adults feel on the inside. 164 00:08:40,403 --> 00:08:41,420 And let's face it, you know, 165 00:08:41,420 --> 00:08:45,024 most advice you try to give teenagers is something they don't want. 166 00:08:45,391 --> 00:08:48,077 But when you're giving advice to a teenager, you'll see their eyes 167 00:08:48,077 --> 00:08:51,080 just kind of go blank, go dead like shark eyes. 168 00:08:52,231 --> 00:08:54,600 And then, you know, whatever you're saying is going into the back 169 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,587 of their skull and bouncing right back at you. 170 00:08:57,770 --> 00:09:00,022 And the reason for that 171 00:09:00,022 --> 00:09:03,025 is, whether you realize it or not. 172 00:09:03,292 --> 00:09:05,027 Advice is direction less. 173 00:09:05,027 --> 00:09:06,178 Why it feels different. 174 00:09:06,178 --> 00:09:09,181 Receiving advice and giving advice. 175 00:09:09,298 --> 00:09:11,701 When I say it's directional, what I mean is this. 176 00:09:11,701 --> 00:09:15,087 That when you're giving advice, whether you realize it or not, 177 00:09:15,738 --> 00:09:17,373 you're above a person. 178 00:09:17,373 --> 00:09:22,011 You're saying this is something you should do, you ought to do 179 00:09:23,162 --> 00:09:23,930 right? 180 00:09:23,930 --> 00:09:27,450 And one of the most interesting things about this passage 181 00:09:27,833 --> 00:09:31,671 is that the angels come and they don't give advice. 182 00:09:32,305 --> 00:09:35,308 It says they they give notes, right? 183 00:09:35,691 --> 00:09:36,709 Completely different. 184 00:09:36,709 --> 00:09:40,429 And what struck me is they could have given advice, right? 185 00:09:40,429 --> 00:09:43,883 They they could have come and given advice to those shepherds 186 00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:47,370 in virtually any area of their lives that could have given good 187 00:09:47,370 --> 00:09:51,107 spiritual advice to them, and it would have made their lives better. 188 00:09:51,107 --> 00:09:53,609 They could have said, listen, you guys. 189 00:09:53,609 --> 00:09:55,945 God sent us to tell you, you should pray more. 190 00:09:55,945 --> 00:09:57,363 You're out here with sheep. 191 00:09:57,363 --> 00:09:58,981 You got nothing to do. 192 00:09:58,981 --> 00:10:01,317 Just go ahead and strengthen your relationship with God. 193 00:10:01,317 --> 00:10:03,235 They could have given relational advice. 194 00:10:03,235 --> 00:10:06,122 They could have said, listen, you guys spend a lot of time away from home. 195 00:10:06,122 --> 00:10:08,357 When you're at home, be present. 196 00:10:08,357 --> 00:10:10,192 Quit looking at your phones, right? 197 00:10:10,192 --> 00:10:12,228 Just be there. 198 00:10:12,228 --> 00:10:14,330 They could have given physical advice. 199 00:10:14,330 --> 00:10:17,233 It could have said, listen, you guys got to lay off the carbs you're getting here. 200 00:10:17,233 --> 00:10:18,901 You look like sheep, right? 201 00:10:20,987 --> 00:10:23,606 But they don't. 202 00:10:23,606 --> 00:10:24,256 They. 203 00:10:24,256 --> 00:10:27,259 They give news, right? 204 00:10:27,410 --> 00:10:30,413 And that feels completely different 205 00:10:30,663 --> 00:10:33,532 when you give news 206 00:10:33,532 --> 00:10:34,317 that. 207 00:10:34,317 --> 00:10:36,919 Listen, this is what I want you to know 208 00:10:36,919 --> 00:10:42,174 is that virtually every religion in the world has a lot of advice. 209 00:10:43,309 --> 00:10:44,276 Right? And advice. 210 00:10:44,276 --> 00:10:47,480 Is this the way to make your life better? 211 00:10:47,697 --> 00:10:54,387 But only Christianity has, at its very core, news 212 00:10:55,788 --> 00:10:58,974 that a Savior has come for you. 213 00:11:00,292 --> 00:11:03,262 If you are trying to share Jesus with a friend 214 00:11:03,262 --> 00:11:06,265 or a neighbor or a classmate or a family member, 215 00:11:07,133 --> 00:11:11,487 and you start to feel yourself shift to advice 216 00:11:11,987 --> 00:11:14,690 and you can see it in their eyes and you're trying to tell them, 217 00:11:14,690 --> 00:11:16,525 this is really what God wants for you. 218 00:11:16,525 --> 00:11:18,828 This is how God wants you to live. Stop, 219 00:11:20,129 --> 00:11:20,996 stop. 220 00:11:20,996 --> 00:11:23,999 Before Christianity gives any advice, 221 00:11:24,617 --> 00:11:27,269 it gives news. 222 00:11:27,269 --> 00:11:28,621 It gives news. 223 00:11:28,621 --> 00:11:32,425 You know that there's a story in John chapter one where there's a 224 00:11:33,709 --> 00:11:37,196 a guy named Philip who comes into contact with Jesus, 225 00:11:37,196 --> 00:11:40,199 and he runs to get a friend, his friend Nathaniel. 226 00:11:40,499 --> 00:11:44,570 And he says to Nathaniel, I found the Messiah 227 00:11:45,721 --> 00:11:47,323 and Nathaniel. 228 00:11:47,323 --> 00:11:50,059 And Philip says, It's Jesus of Nazareth. 229 00:11:50,059 --> 00:11:54,113 And Nathaniel says, can any good thing come from Nazareth? 230 00:11:55,247 --> 00:11:59,185 And Philip fought the urge, I'm sure to say, why are you so critical 231 00:11:59,185 --> 00:12:00,152 all the time? 232 00:12:00,152 --> 00:12:03,539 You're never going to find the Messiah if you act like that. 233 00:12:03,539 --> 00:12:05,274 That's not what he said. 234 00:12:05,274 --> 00:12:07,560 All he did was say, come and see. 235 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:09,562 Come and see. 236 00:12:09,562 --> 00:12:13,315 If you want joy in sharing Jesus, make sure you're making him news 237 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:15,151 and not advice. 238 00:12:15,151 --> 00:12:17,186 That's the first thing. 239 00:12:17,186 --> 00:12:20,189 The second thing is that it's good, not bad. 240 00:12:20,389 --> 00:12:22,308 It's good, not bad. 241 00:12:22,308 --> 00:12:24,960 I don't know how you picture it with shepherds 242 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,947 out in the field, I think, you know, it's dark. 243 00:12:28,380 --> 00:12:31,851 They're laying down or just standing there watching the sheep 244 00:12:31,851 --> 00:12:35,521 and the sheep are lazily grazing or they're laying, laying down. 245 00:12:35,671 --> 00:12:39,992 All sudden the sky splits and there are angels riding. 246 00:12:40,259 --> 00:12:43,262 And it says that they were terribly frightened. 247 00:12:44,430 --> 00:12:47,550 The King James Version says they were sore afraid. 248 00:12:48,317 --> 00:12:51,537 Now, I think there's probably a lot of things that made them afraid, but 249 00:12:52,104 --> 00:12:55,825 at least one of them was the brightness of the light, 250 00:12:56,642 --> 00:13:00,596 because it says, the glory of the Lord shone around them. 251 00:13:01,347 --> 00:13:04,667 And there's something about light that can be scary, 252 00:13:04,667 --> 00:13:07,970 because light shows things as they really are. 253 00:13:09,472 --> 00:13:10,673 If if I meet 254 00:13:10,673 --> 00:13:14,510 you for the first time, if, let's say we're out in the atrium 255 00:13:14,510 --> 00:13:17,880 and somebody brings you over, they say, hey, this is Pastor Joe and I. 256 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:19,915 And I say, oh, hey, nice to meet you. 257 00:13:19,915 --> 00:13:22,668 Why don't you come into the light so I can take a good look at you? 258 00:13:22,668 --> 00:13:25,437 You'd be like, okay, that's weird. 259 00:13:25,437 --> 00:13:28,440 It would also make you feel uncomfortable 260 00:13:28,941 --> 00:13:32,995 because there's something about light where you see things as they are. 261 00:13:34,346 --> 00:13:37,166 When I was in college, I got into the habit 262 00:13:37,166 --> 00:13:40,436 of taking a shower every night before I went to bed. 263 00:13:41,153 --> 00:13:44,507 Every single night I would take a shower and then I go to bed. 264 00:13:44,507 --> 00:13:48,477 And in my college mind, I felt like since I was clean 265 00:13:48,661 --> 00:13:51,780 when I went to bed, there'd be no reason to wash my sheets 266 00:13:52,882 --> 00:13:55,885 ever. 267 00:13:56,669 --> 00:13:59,672 So in the spring of that year, 268 00:14:00,589 --> 00:14:04,643 it was a beautiful spring day and the sun was shining in the window. 269 00:14:04,660 --> 00:14:07,730 My bedspread was pulled back and I looked at my sheet 270 00:14:08,247 --> 00:14:11,250 and I could see the outline of my body. 271 00:14:11,700 --> 00:14:14,687 I looked it looked like the Shroud of Turin right there, right? 272 00:14:16,405 --> 00:14:18,958 Light shows things 273 00:14:18,958 --> 00:14:22,077 as they really are in this passage. 274 00:14:22,978 --> 00:14:26,732 The angels show up and there is blinding light, 275 00:14:26,732 --> 00:14:29,935 and the shepherds are in this blinding light, 276 00:14:30,452 --> 00:14:33,172 completely exposed. 277 00:14:33,172 --> 00:14:35,608 And the angel says 278 00:14:35,608 --> 00:14:37,826 it's good news. 279 00:14:37,826 --> 00:14:40,112 I bring you good news. 280 00:14:40,112 --> 00:14:41,964 You know, there's a, 281 00:14:41,964 --> 00:14:44,600 an old story about a man 282 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,603 who decided to play a practical joke in a village, 283 00:14:48,137 --> 00:14:51,206 and he ran through the village shouting, flee! 284 00:14:51,557 --> 00:14:53,008 All is known. 285 00:14:53,008 --> 00:14:55,794 Flee all is known. 286 00:14:55,794 --> 00:14:58,731 And everybody in the town took off 287 00:14:58,731 --> 00:15:01,700 because everybody had something to hide. 288 00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:03,836 Right when the angels show up 289 00:15:03,836 --> 00:15:07,940 and they say, this is good news in a way, what they're saying is 290 00:15:07,940 --> 00:15:10,943 this all is known, 291 00:15:11,393 --> 00:15:13,979 but it's okay because now all can be forgiven. 292 00:15:15,030 --> 00:15:17,967 All is known, 293 00:15:17,967 --> 00:15:20,970 but it's okay because a child has been born. 294 00:15:21,086 --> 00:15:24,089 Run to him, run to him. 295 00:15:24,773 --> 00:15:28,460 In John chapter four, Jesus is by a well 296 00:15:28,460 --> 00:15:32,965 and he begins to talk with a woman that's simply called the Samaritan woman. 297 00:15:34,083 --> 00:15:36,819 And during that conversation, he ends up telling her, 298 00:15:36,819 --> 00:15:40,673 you've had five husbands and the man you're living with is not your husband. 299 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,742 It's like Jesus says, here, come into the light. 300 00:15:43,742 --> 00:15:46,161 Let me take a good look at you. 301 00:15:46,161 --> 00:15:49,164 And he tells her what she is really like. 302 00:15:50,032 --> 00:15:53,969 By the end of that story, she goes back to her town 303 00:15:54,620 --> 00:15:57,840 and she is telling everyone about Jesus. 304 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,175 What was she saying? 305 00:16:00,175 --> 00:16:02,978 What she was saying is, listen, 306 00:16:02,978 --> 00:16:05,698 this is there's a guy out there 307 00:16:05,698 --> 00:16:08,701 who told me what I was really like, 308 00:16:08,701 --> 00:16:12,321 who told me who I really was, and he loved me anyway. 309 00:16:13,522 --> 00:16:16,525 It's what I've longed for my whole life. 310 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:20,462 Do you want to come see him? 311 00:16:20,462 --> 00:16:22,848 And everybody in the town 312 00:16:22,848 --> 00:16:25,851 ran out to see her. 313 00:16:26,969 --> 00:16:30,839 That's what this passage with the shepherds 314 00:16:32,274 --> 00:16:33,659 is about. 315 00:16:33,659 --> 00:16:35,844 I mean, the first is that it's. 316 00:16:35,844 --> 00:16:37,646 It's news, not advice. 317 00:16:37,646 --> 00:16:41,300 The shepherds were in no position to give anyone advice, 318 00:16:41,300 --> 00:16:44,303 but they had great news for them. 319 00:16:44,336 --> 00:16:47,523 The second it is, it's good and not bad. 320 00:16:48,807 --> 00:16:52,561 And the third is if it's for you, is for them, and if it's for them, 321 00:16:52,561 --> 00:16:54,113 it's for you. 322 00:16:54,113 --> 00:16:55,798 Which is my way of saying it's for everyone. 323 00:16:55,798 --> 00:16:59,251 But it's not just my way, it's what the Bible says, 324 00:16:59,752 --> 00:17:02,755 because the shepherds were at the lowest rung. 325 00:17:03,272 --> 00:17:08,060 Like if it was if the angels went to anybody else to give them the news of Jesus, 326 00:17:09,028 --> 00:17:11,747 somebody would feel there'd be a segment of society 327 00:17:11,747 --> 00:17:15,401 that would feel left out, but not the shepherds. 328 00:17:15,417 --> 00:17:19,521 Like when I say that, what I mean is Jerusalem was six miles away. 329 00:17:19,521 --> 00:17:22,741 Jerusalem was the religious capital of the nation. 330 00:17:23,358 --> 00:17:24,243 You go to Jerusalem, 331 00:17:24,243 --> 00:17:27,262 you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a really religious person. 332 00:17:28,097 --> 00:17:31,617 There were Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes and priests. 333 00:17:31,617 --> 00:17:32,718 They're all over the place. 334 00:17:32,718 --> 00:17:35,721 But that's not who the angels went to. 335 00:17:37,106 --> 00:17:40,309 The angels went to shepherds, the lowest rung. 336 00:17:40,309 --> 00:17:43,078 And the shepherds were the ones with this wild story. 337 00:17:43,078 --> 00:17:46,498 And they're telling everybody, you can't believe what happened. 338 00:17:47,099 --> 00:17:48,684 We're out in the field. 339 00:17:48,684 --> 00:17:50,552 Angels showed up. 340 00:17:50,552 --> 00:17:52,471 They told us there was a baby in a manger. 341 00:17:52,471 --> 00:17:55,340 Told us the Savior had come. God of God's eyes. 342 00:17:55,340 --> 00:17:56,642 And we saw him. 343 00:17:58,227 --> 00:18:01,230 And I'm sure they ran into people who said, 344 00:18:01,380 --> 00:18:02,181 we get this straight. 345 00:18:02,181 --> 00:18:05,184 So angels showed up to you guys, 346 00:18:05,451 --> 00:18:08,454 and I think the shepherds probably went, yeah, in a crazy 347 00:18:08,971 --> 00:18:11,540 us of all people. 348 00:18:11,540 --> 00:18:14,543 He showed up to us, but he said it's good news for everyone, 349 00:18:14,576 --> 00:18:15,894 and that must be in us too. 350 00:18:15,894 --> 00:18:18,297 And it means you 351 00:18:18,297 --> 00:18:21,300 means he's come for everyone. 352 00:18:22,351 --> 00:18:24,653 Listen, I love good news. 353 00:18:24,653 --> 00:18:27,773 I will I will spread good news if you give me good news 354 00:18:28,023 --> 00:18:31,009 and you don't want me to tell somebody, you better make that clear. 355 00:18:31,677 --> 00:18:34,680 And I think that's true of all of us. 356 00:18:35,180 --> 00:18:39,351 A problem that we have with with good news is, a lot of times, 357 00:18:39,718 --> 00:18:43,038 what's good news for somebody is not good news for everybody. 358 00:18:43,922 --> 00:18:46,225 Like Ohio State beats Michigan. 359 00:18:46,225 --> 00:18:48,827 Don't mean to kick Michigan while they're down. 360 00:18:48,827 --> 00:18:49,761 It is what it is. 361 00:18:51,780 --> 00:18:53,282 But Ohio State beats Michigan. 362 00:18:53,282 --> 00:18:54,750 Good news for Ohio State fans. 363 00:18:54,750 --> 00:18:58,220 Bad news for Michigan fans Indiana beats Ohio State. 364 00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:00,272 Good news for Indiana fans. 365 00:19:00,272 --> 00:19:03,258 Bad news for Ohio State fans. 366 00:19:03,408 --> 00:19:05,310 But here 367 00:19:05,310 --> 00:19:08,480 the angel says it's good news for everyone. 368 00:19:09,448 --> 00:19:12,451 And the angel tells shepherds 369 00:19:12,718 --> 00:19:16,288 who are at the lowest rung of the social ladder. 370 00:19:17,339 --> 00:19:20,242 I think it's like if you've worked for a company 371 00:19:20,242 --> 00:19:23,245 and you're at the lowest rung of the company 372 00:19:23,662 --> 00:19:28,100 and you happen to run into the CEO, and the CEO said to you, hey, listen, 373 00:19:29,067 --> 00:19:32,271 I haven't told anybody else this, but we had an amazing year. 374 00:19:33,388 --> 00:19:38,160 And so everybody in our company, every single person is going to receive 375 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,630 a Christmas bonus equal to their annual salary. 376 00:19:42,297 --> 00:19:44,583 And I'm telling you first, you can tell whoever you want, 377 00:19:46,101 --> 00:19:48,203 what would you do? 378 00:19:48,203 --> 00:19:50,155 Would you go to everybody? 379 00:19:50,155 --> 00:19:51,423 You go to your friends. 380 00:19:51,423 --> 00:19:53,792 You go you you tell people you didn't. 381 00:19:53,792 --> 00:19:56,311 You'd go, hey, what's your name? Curtis. You work here? 382 00:19:56,311 --> 00:19:59,214 I got good news for you, right? 383 00:19:59,214 --> 00:20:02,451 They may not believe you, but all you have is good news. 384 00:20:03,802 --> 00:20:06,805 So that's what happens here. 385 00:20:06,872 --> 00:20:09,841 That's what Christmas is about, joy. 386 00:20:09,841 --> 00:20:12,828 That's what this whole series has been about. 387 00:20:12,895 --> 00:20:16,164 There is joy in sharing Jesus. 388 00:20:16,431 --> 00:20:19,434 It's not that hard. 389 00:20:19,701 --> 00:20:21,870 If you realize 390 00:20:21,870 --> 00:20:24,740 that it's news and not advice 391 00:20:24,740 --> 00:20:27,659 that is good and not bad. 392 00:20:27,659 --> 00:20:31,013 And if it's for you, it means it's for them. 393 00:20:31,013 --> 00:20:32,514 It's for them, it's for you. 394 00:20:32,514 --> 00:20:35,484 It's for everyone. You know 395 00:20:35,484 --> 00:20:37,519 and everyone you meet 396 00:20:37,519 --> 00:20:40,522 and everyone you're sitting beside right now. 397 00:20:40,856 --> 00:20:42,474 Joy to the world. 398 00:20:43,558 --> 00:20:46,561 The hymn says the King has come. 399 00:20:47,129 --> 00:20:49,248 Let earth receive her King. 400 00:20:49,248 --> 00:20:52,351 Let's let's have joy this Christmas 401 00:20:53,402 --> 00:20:56,388 and let's go into 2026 402 00:20:56,488 --> 00:21:00,025 sharing with everyone the good news of Jesus. 403 00:21:00,559 --> 00:21:02,811 Did you pray with me? 404 00:21:02,811 --> 00:21:05,881 Father in heaven, we come to you and I am so grateful. 405 00:21:05,881 --> 00:21:09,001 I'm grateful that the shepherds were included in this story, 406 00:21:10,285 --> 00:21:12,621 that even though they weren't necessary 407 00:21:12,621 --> 00:21:15,891 to tell the story, at least it didn't seem that at first. 408 00:21:16,792 --> 00:21:20,062 It is so good that you pulled them in. 409 00:21:21,513 --> 00:21:25,434 And Lord, I pray for all of us that you would give us the joy 410 00:21:25,434 --> 00:21:30,872 of sharing the news of Jesus, that we would keep it news and not advice 411 00:21:30,956 --> 00:21:35,727 that we would tell people it's good and not bad, that for the first time 412 00:21:36,628 --> 00:21:40,399 there is a God who knows them, but who still loves them and is. 413 00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:42,467 And they know that because of Jesus. 414 00:21:43,852 --> 00:21:44,369 And I pray 415 00:21:44,369 --> 00:21:47,372 that, you will bring more and more people 416 00:21:48,256 --> 00:21:51,543 and reconcile them to you through your son Jesus. 417 00:21:52,227 --> 00:21:54,479 We pray this in his name. Amen.