Peace Of Salvation

Speaker 1: 0:09

My name is Pastor Dwight. Thank you for celebrating Christ's birth with us at Westtown Church. We hope that you have a very merry Christmas that is full of the love and the joy of Jesus Christ. As a congregation this Advent season we've been looking at songs for the Savior, meaning that when the original hearers received news that Jesus Christ was about to be born or was born, they responded with such praise that they burst out in song and this evening desired to take a look at one of those songs. It was actually the song given by the heavenly hosts and the angels to the shepherds in the field, announcing the birth of Jesus, so that we might be able to see and understand and embrace for ourselves the significance of Christ's birth. And it is rather remarkable that so many years later that we are still celebrating the birth of Christ and people are still embracing the significance of it. We are about to read from Luke, chapter 2, where the people had been ordered that they had to return to the hometowns of their ancestors so that they might be able to register for a tax. And so we begin reading in Luke, chapter 2, verse 4.

Speaker 1: 1:31

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Dugia to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling claws and laid him in a manger because there was no room for him. In the end, and in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock. By night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them fear not, for, behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, for unto you this day is born in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you. You will find him, a baby, wrapped in swaddling claws and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was, with of the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. When the angels went away from them and to heaven. The shepherd said to one another let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart, and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.

Speaker 1: 3:33

The humble birth of the Christ child answers some of life's most pressing and significant questions. That is why the birth of Jesus Christ is so pivotally important, because in the birth of Christ we answer three primary questions what is God like, how can we know God and what difference can God make in my daily life? It is remarkable that in the birth of Jesus Christ those significant questions are answered clearly and wonderfully for us, and the first thing that we see is that Christ's birth reveals that God is a personal God. You may have heard, perhaps, that God is just some type of impersonal force, or years ago people said that God was like a clockmaker and he created the world and he wound it up and he set it off to its side on its own and he has nothing to do with it. God is unaware of us, he is unaware of our condition, nor does he really care. That is the mindset of many when they think about God. But the birth of Jesus Christ puts to rest those objections about God and they reveal to us that God is a personal God, and we see that because God is one who reveals himself to us. God is one who makes himself known and can be known. That is the good news of the birth of Jesus. And verse 15, we read that the shepherd's response was to go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us, and that is just in keeping with God's character.

Speaker 1: 5:33

From the time that he created the world, in Adam and Eve, throughout all of the Old Testament, with all of the messengers that he sent, god has been revealing himself that we might know him. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this long ago, at many times and in many ways, god spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He, that is, jesus, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the power of his word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Now, when thinking about God, some people experience with him resembles the very unfavorable comparison that a Scottish Highlander gave to the new local pastor in the church when he compared him to God and he said this six days a week he's invisible, and on the seventh day of the week he's incomprehensible. And many people, just because they think that God is so big, they think that he is incomprehensible.

Speaker 1: 7:02

Now, while we may be unable to comprehend the infinite God exhaustively, we can know Him deeply and personally precisely because he has made Himself known to us. And he has made Himself known to us primarily through His Son, jesus Christ, the second person of the eternal Trinity, who took on Himself human nature so that he might come and reveal the Father to us, in our nature. The writer of Hebrews says that he is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature In the baby born in Bethlehem. He is fully God, fully man, to make known to us who God is, and it is a glorious revelation that we have received. God makes Himself known to us in many ways so that we can understand Him. He created us in His image so that we might be able to know Him and righteousness and holiness and truth. He created the whole world that reflects His glory. When he made us, he gave us a conscience. He wrote His law upon our hearts so that we might know the difference between right and wrong and we might seek Him. And all of this is leading to the height of God's revelation to us and Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus tells us that God is knowable and he eagerly makes Himself known so that we might have a relationship with Him. That points to another aspect of God being personal, and that is that God is with us when the glory of the heavenly hosts shown forth.

Speaker 1: 8:52

The word glory in Scripture includes the idea that God is manifesting His presence among His people, and so God was there to announce that he is with His people, in fulfillment of a prophecy that was spoken 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah that the coming Messiah would be born of a virgin and given the name Emmanuel, which means God with us. The Lord is a personal God and by His birth, jesus answers the question what is God like? By showing us that God is personal, that he is among us, that he is one who reveals Himself to us, that we might know Him. But answering that question what is God like? Raises another very important question, and that is this how might I know this personal God? And that takes us to the next significance of the birth of Christ, and that is Christ's birth reveals that God is peace giving. God is personal and he is also peace giving.

Speaker 1: 10:09

Now, I just mentioned that the shining of the glory of the Lord revealed God's presence among His people. But that glory also signified the greatness, the majesty, the splendor and the brilliance and the holiness and the perfection of God. And that is why the shepherds, when they are in the presence of merely the angels who, coming from God's presence, is reflecting that glory, respond with fear. And so the angels, as we read in verse nine, the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were filled with great fear. Now, that is a natural response of finite beings coming into the presence of a majestic God, that they would fear Him, that they would realize that he is great and that he is perfect. And they are not and as a result, they are undone. But note that the heavenly messengers do not bring a message of gloom and despair, but they bring a message of great hope and invitation. And so in verse 10 we read the angels said to them fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For that is because the reason that they don't have to fear is because unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ, the Lord and the heavenly host prays God, and they declare glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. So you see the progression of thought here. The angels tell the shepherds that they don't need to fear because a Savior has been born to them in Bethlehem and he comes to bring peace. This is the God who has made himself known to us. But the passage says that the Lord brings peace to those with whom he is pleased. With whom is God pleased?

Speaker 1: 12:31

Well, let's take a look at these shepherds, these characters in the story here, you see, their occupation made them unclean to participate in the worship of God's people According to the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. Because of the animals that they were around, they could not participate in the worship, so they were seen somewhat as outcasts. But shepherds also had the reputation of being thieves. They were light fingered, they would steal. In fact, they were so disreputable that they were not permitted to give testimony in a court of law. So how could God promise peace to those with whom he is pleased and promise that peace to the shepherds? Clearly those guys didn't deserve it, right? Well, it's because of the Savior that is born.

Speaker 1: 13:23

These unclean, sinful people like the shepherds are told not to fear because their Savior has been born, who is Christ, the Lord. In fact, mary was to give him the name Jesus, which means he will save his people from their sin. And so this holy and perfect baby would continue to be holy and perfect throughout his life, remaining completely sinless, so that he would fulfill the requirements of God's law for us. And then he would go to the cross and pay the penalty for our sin. So that if we believe in the righteous life of Jesus, his glorious work on the cross on our behalf, as that we might be forgiven.

Speaker 1: 14:08

Scripture promises that we will be at peace with God and we will know him. That is the glorious answer to how this holy and righteous God can be known. Through his son Jesus, we will receive his peace, and so is this good news then just some kind of ticket to heaven that we receive this insurance policy, if you will, and then, when we need it, we'll cash it in, and then we're pretty much left to ourselves for the rest of this life. No, god is with us. He brings us to peace with him, that we might enjoy his peace daily within our lives, the sense of well-being and contentment and the presence of God. But more than that, the birth of Christ shows us. It answers the question what difference does God make in our daily life? In this? Christ's birth reveals that God is life changing.

Speaker 1: 15:14

Read in verse 20, excuse me, verse 19, how Mary is treasuring these things up, pondering them in her heart, and the shepherds return, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen. Isn't it remarkable? These thieves, these social outcasts, these people prohibited from giving testimony in a court of law, are changed. They're no longer telling lies. They're declaring the glory and the praise of God to all who will hear them. We witness an immediate change in the lives of shepherds and, through Jesus Christ, he continues to change lives each and every day. Not that he makes his people perfect, this side of glory, but he makes them realize their sin and own it and seek forgiveness for when they do sin.

Speaker 1: 16:14

My wife, connie, and I had been married for 16 months before we had our first argument, and it happened over the very significant event of decorating a Christmas tree. You see, we didn't have a tree our first Christmas together. We waited until they went on sale after Christmas and then we bought the Christmas tree. So we were looking forward to decorating the Christmas tree together, and on that day two different worlds collided. There was a great difference on how to decorate the tree the right way, and by right way I mean my way, you see, because I grew up in a family where my father took control of decorating the Christmas tree and they were perfect works of art.

Speaker 1: 17:01

When he and my mother were first married, he would buy a live tree and if there was a bad spot in the middle of the tree, dad would cut it out and he would take a coffee can. He would put the two pieces of the tree together in a can, screw the can into the tree. If there was a bad spot somewhere in the tree, dad wouldn't just turn it to the wall, he took a brace and he bore a hole into the side of the tree and then he stuck a limb in it so that it would look perfect. And then the ornaments would be perfectly placed by size, shape and color on the tree. And then the lead icicles would come out and one by one, they would be perfectly placed upon the tree. My parents were married for 58 years and when my dad died 16 years ago he still had those original icicles from their first Christmas because he took them off the tree each year and perfectly put them back on the cardboard insert. He was the kind of guy that when he took the lights off the tree he would wind them back into their original packaging and put them in their original sleeve and neatly tuck them in a box for next Christmas.

Speaker 1: 18:06

That was the Christmas that I was accustomed to. I did not put an ornament on a Christmas tree until I went to college. Now, connie came from a normal family Her dad would bring home the Christmas tree would be a family event. They would all have an opportunity to participate and putting the ornaments on the tree, and it may not have been a perfect work of art, but they still liked each other by the time it was done.

Speaker 1: 18:34

Well, so we get our first Christmas tree and we have these two very different worlds coming together decorating a tree, and I'm giving my wife helpful hints as we're decorating the tree about the proper way to decorate the tree, and she's listening to me, and when she turns her back I move her ornaments to where they should be and miraculously we make it through the tree decorating and we're getting ready to put the icicles on the tree. And so I turn to put a box of empty or unwritten the ornament box away, to see my bride with a fistful of icicles take a big step back from the tree and hurl them on the tree. The mushroom cloud could be seen for miles around our eighth floor apartment. I yelled at Connie, what are you doing? And I continued my tantrum for quite some time.

Speaker 1: 19:29

And Connie is standing there with these big doe eyes and her jaw on the floor looking at me, wondering what on earth has come over me and then she does something that is just absolutely amazing. It was complete sorcery. She turned around and walked away, and this is where our worlds collided again, because in my family growing up, you stayed in there and you scrapped it out until it was all spent. You may not have resolved it, but everybody got their word in. Connie grew up in a family where if you ignored it, it went away, and so I am calling Connie to come back. Come back, come on, we gotta solve this. And Connie says I'm not gonna talk to you right now because I'm probably gonna say something I'm gonna regret later and I'm gonna go pray so that I can understand, so that I can know how to properly respond to you. She was following Proverbs 15 that says the heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. That was me, but don't miss the connection here. It's the heart of the righteous that ponders how to answer, and so when the wicked pours forth evil speech, it is coming from their heart.

Speaker 1: 20:49

And so many people today are trying to improve and change their lives from the outside in and you may make some marginal improvement. You can adopt new techniques of communicating. For instance, you can take anger management classes. I mean, you can do all kinds of things, but if you don't change the heart, you will not ultimately change the mind, the attitudes or the conduct. And that's where Jesus Christ comes into play. That's where the spirit of God excels. If we sow the things of the word of God by reading the Bible, by praying, we will reap the fruit of the spirit. And even a hotheaded big mouth can change. Oh sure, I still spout off every now and again, but the Lord in His mercy, those events are becoming less frequent and less severe.

Speaker 1: 21:42

You ask her. I mean she can vouch for that. So this is the good news of the gospel Jesus Christ answers life's pressing questions for us. He tells us who God is, he tells us how we might know Him and he tells us how we might change and experience His power each and every day. May you receive the answer to these questions in Christ, this Christmas and always. May he be your Savior, may he be your power and may you delight in His presence. Let us pray.