 Luke chapter 2 we're going to be looking at verses 7 through 14 and closing with a couple of thoughts found in verses 17 through 19 as we simply remember the Christmas story. I was talking to my grandson and my granddaughter Josiah and Sophie yesterday and Sophie was real excited because she's six years old. I guess it's six you can be excited about all kinds of things and she was real excited because her mama was going to let them open their presents early and I'm telling you that little girl was very excited about doing that and and so Josiah and I and Sophie were having a visit a grandpa time if you will and and I turned to my little girl my my baby girl and I said to her you're real excited about opening up your presents aren't you and she says oh yes Papa I'm really excited I said as you should be it's a lot of fun to do that baby doll I said let me ask you a question about your presents and she said yes what I said which one of them will last forever which one and Josiah is 10 years old and so he's seated there and and you know he says none of them do I said Sophia how many of them last forever and which one of them that you open is going to be the one that will be the very best for all time and she doesn't understand she's six years old but I said let me ask a question in a different way I said because I want you to be happy about your presents and all of that but I'd like you to also think of something else I'd like you to think about what matters and so Josiah what matters in this world what really matters I'll say it differently I said and I looked at him because he's a little stinker he can he can tease with me he teases with me all the time I said now I'm being serious and he goes I go what would you prefer a new ps4 because he's building electronics or your papa which one would you want the most and you better answer right because I do have the power to kill you he starts to laugh and he says oh the ps4 pop up of course that would be the best thing to have I said really is that really what you think he says of course not he says the most important thing to me will always be you you and I said Sophie I said that's the whole thing I want you to learn at an early age that things do not matter but people do things do not matter because things get old they get used up they're thrown away but people and relationships they last and the most important thing that you need to have is not a new toy but you need to value the things that matter the Lord Jesus Christ your family these are the things that matter because I promise you if you were wandering in a desert and you were about to die of thirst and you happened upon a pirate's chest will say somehow it got in the desert a chest of gold and you opened it up hoping that you'd find water and all you found was gold you would throw the gold away and say what use is this to me this will not give me life and the problem that we have today I think that is really being exacerbated by our materialism and our secularism is we are trying to find eternal value in things that perish and so the Christmas story that we look at is not simply a story it is not a myth it is not a fable it is a fact and the whole point of the story is that God has seen us in our great need and has met that great need through a person Jesus Christ Luke chapter 2 beginning at verse 6 reading to verse 14 I'll begin at verse 6 so it was well they were there the days were completed for her to be delivered and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night and behold an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were greatly afraid then the angel said to them do not be afraid for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people for there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord and this will be the sign to you you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace goodwill toward men in verse 17 when they had seen him they made widely known the same which was told them concerning this child and all those who heard it marvel at those things which were told them by the shepherds but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart Mary and Joseph as the passage here before us would state had we read it from verse 1 have traveled from the north northern town of Nazareth a small village really that didn't have a population of very many some estimate that during the time of the birth of Christ the city of Nazareth may have had as few as 60 people no more than 200 in that small community so Mary and Joseph had left this small community in place up to the north and they had traveled south just a little past the city of Jerusalem to a city called Bethlehem and while they were there as the scripture says they tried to secure a room in a home or a or what we would call an inn or a hotel but there was no room for them and so even as we begin to look at what's taking place here we need to think in terms of what's going on in and in Mary's moment of giving birth there she is and she's without any assistance there's no other woman with her to help her none mentioned at least in the passage and certainly she had no midwife but there she is as she's bringing forth as it says in verse 7 her firstborn son and she's wrapping him notice with me in swaddling cloths which is interesting because we'll look at this again in a moment but in verse 7 it speaks of swaddling cloths and then again in verse 12 it says this will be the sign to you you'll find a baby wrapped in swaddling class lying in a manger so she's wrapping the Lord Jesus Christ as is normal in what we're called swaddling class and she's laying him in this manger with her own hands I was reading concerning swaddling class just to get an idea of what this would mean and one of the writers mentioned when a child was born it was wrapped in swaddling clothes after being washed gently with water having a small portion of salt in it the salt symbolize the qualities of truth and honesty and was used so that the child would grow up speaking words that were salted the swaddling clothes were narrow strips of fine linen cloth about 2 to 4 inches wide and up to 15 to 20 feet in length which was wrapped around the baby's body the child was wrapped from head to foot with only part of his face left uncovered so he could breathe the baby's body and limbs were thus held very straight indicating that he would grow up to be free from crookedness and waywardness and would walk straight and tall before the people the swaddling cloths were left on the baby for only a short time while the parents took time to pray and make their commitment to God concerning the upbringing of the child now interestingly these same strips of cloth were used to wrap the limbs of babies but also used for wrapping the bodies of the dead and so from the very beginning Jesus's birth is prefiguring his death and that's why he would be referred to as the one who was born as a savior in this passage now in the midst of her pain and undoubtedly in the midst of any embarrassment that she would have there would be joy we need to remember that Joseph and she had had no physical intimacy whatsoever and there's Joseph undoubtedly attending the birth of this child but Mary has never been seen in that fashion before there has to be some embarrassment but in the midst of that there's joy it's like what Jesus said in John 16 21 a woman when she's in labor has sorrow because her hour has come but as soon as she has given birth to the child she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a man has been born into the world and those of us who are parents can say absolutely we understand that because my wife giving birth to four children I can tell you that that there's never been so much suffering as as I suffered when she gave birth no watching her watching her and saying thank you Jesus I was not born a woman I'll never forget that I remember the fourth child Anna when Anna was born was being born in the middle of her birth pains Marie would look at me with a very firm stern face she even gritted her teeth and she said it several times she said this is the last one this is the last one and I'm just kind of like yeah whatever you say baby it's fine with me this is the last one okay all right man guacamole was coming out of her mouth her head was spinning it was really amazing it really was this is the last one but the minute that baby was born the minute that baby was placed in her arms and she looked at him all four of them there was this entire change of demeanor this entire change of mentality because a child had been born and she got to hold that baby that was hers and that's what Jesus speaks about so there's time of pain no doubt and there was time more than likely of embarrassment but the moment that baby was born there was joy and notice what it says in verse 7 she brought forth her firstborn son now in Luke in chapter 1 when Mary was speaking to the angel the angel said to her it's found in verses 30 through 33 do not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God and behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth the son and she'll call his name Jesus he will be great and will be called the son of the highest and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end so she brought forth her firstborn and notice how it says in verse 7 she laid him in a manger the manger was where the animals would feed and just for a moment if you've ever been around a feeding trough you can know how disgustingly dirty that really would be it was filthy all around this manger area would be dung and so the fact that he was placed in a manger surrounded by dung is intended to not just be a historic reference but to remind us that Jesus Christ had humility someone wrote he was placed in a manger that people who act like beasts might partake of the bread of life in 2nd chrithians chapter 8 verse 9 Paul said it like this he said you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich now it says in verse 7 there was no room for them in the inn when you do your studies you'll discover that there are two words that are translated by the single word in one word speaks of what would be called a hostel or a hotel but the other speaks of an enclosure this enclosure is a place where the travelers would drive the cattle for the night and this particular inn had water supplied but there was no host there was no food there were no ordinary comforts it wasn't a hotel with the stable outside actually what it was was a stable and so the point that is being made here by Lucas there wasn't even room for Mary in the stable Mary gave birth to Jesus outside of the stable more than likely in the cool of the evening we know that Bethlehem was crowded because of the census we know that Mary was in an unoccupied corner of a courtyard where it was dirty it was smelly it was occupied by horses and mules and camels not to mention the unwanted intrusion of strangers but as this is taking place notice verse 8 there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields and they were keeping watch over their flock by night and so as this is taking place heaven responds there are ordinary temple shepherds they're given a what would be called a heavenly birth announcement it's possible that these were shepherds who were keeping the sheep that would be used as offerings that then would help us to see the picture of Jesus Christ because Jesus is Jesus is the sin offering to God even as this says in John 1 29 where it says the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world so from his beginning we see humility we also see that he is an offering now these shepherds interestingly enough would would really represent mankind because they were a despised class because they were not able to keep the the the fullness of the law they normally weren't even schooled in the law of Moses and and many people looked at these shepherds rather as being ignorant now they're performing their ordinary task of watching over sheep they would keep an eye on them in three-hour shifts it protected them against the predators and against thieves and it was to these shepherds that the heavenly birth announcement was given they were ordinary working-class people but they received great news just the way that we are ordinary working-class people majority of us and yet God has broken through in our jobs into our lives and has given to us the great news of the Lord Jesus Christ and notice in verse 9 it says an angel of the Lord stood before them the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were greatly afraid this is how the Lord normally works in the ordinary events of our lives the extraordinary can occur because I've discovered that God invades the ordinary we need to remember that there had been 400 years of silence the closing of the book of Malachi had occurred 400 years earlier the 39 books of the Old Testament had been sealed there had been no voice from God no prophetic word for 400 years four centuries of silence but now that silence is broken and God's giving a birth announcement through the angels and at the right time as God always works in the right time God began to work amongst men it says in Galatians 4 4 and 5 when the fullness of the time had come God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons and what do they say verse 10 do not be afraid for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people you live in a world that's lacking lacking joy you live in a world that is under oppression and has been for years what do I sense going on right now in the lives of people as a minister of the gospel a pastor of a church two words come to mind and I sense this with a lot of you the youth I think it's in general frankly two words loneliness and anger those are two words that seem to combine to describe many of the young people that I know and I'm not talking about those in the 20s and 30s I'm talking about those who are 5 and 10 and 15 years old I'm talking in general of younger people and I see that I see that there are a lot of reasons you could insert your own but there are a lot of reasons that that is apparently true it would seem that it is true there are a lot of lonely people and there are a lot of angry people and the loneliness and the anger seems to be combining to just a sullenness and a an attitude of I need to get it for myself whatever it is out there that there is it's available I need to make sure that I get my portion of that loneliness and anger and the funny thing about that is that was true of every generation it was true of mine if you'd have asked me what are the two basic things that you feel at the age of 20 just before I got saved if I had a boiled it down I just said there are two things that I feel I'm angry and I'm lonely I'm angry because it doesn't seem like life is is dishing out to me the things that I would like it to I'm lonely I don't have a relationship with anybody that could help me to feel anything that is valuable I had this attitude of just being unloved and unwanted and that made me an angry young man and I think that there are a lot of people like that today an awful lot of people and at the root of it is because I was trying to find a purpose in life through relationships and I felt that I deserved more than I had gotten in life and after getting saved the Lord gave me something I've never forgotten he said the only thing that I've ever owed you is judgment but I have given you my grace and that changed my entire way of thinking because when it's all said and done when people say well how can bad things happen to good people that's because they're failing to realize that there's none good no not one and that there's only been one good person on the face of the earth who's ever lived and that was Jesus Christ and when we begin to wonder about how bad things can happen to good people we need to actually ask ourselves how come bad happened to that good person because not everything that I go through is simply because I'm reaping what I sow there are some things that are thrust upon me that I really didn't have any control over in the sense of asking for it but much of what I've gone through has been simply because I sowed certain seeds and I reap the harvest of my behavior and a lot of the things that I found to be hurtful to me were simply repercussions of decisions I had made and the results of those decisions to the point where I began to reaping what to begin reaping what I was sewing and in many ways because I had high expectations on on we'll say relationships I would drive away the person that I wanted to be in my life the most and then the result of that would be my anger which I would bring into a new relationship because I was expecting to be losing that one too and it wasn't until I came to realize that that I had a deeper problem than just the loneliness I was feeling and the anger as a result of that my deeper problem was the fact that that I was a lost individual and I was sinful and I was simply reaping what I was sewing in life and so when God breaks into your life there's an awareness an awakening and it takes him to do that and so in a world that was lacking in joy and a world that was under great oppression for hundreds of years the Lord says I'm bringing you good news and this is news that is good for all people it's like what it says in Isaiah 52 10 the Lord has made bear his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God and he says in verse 11 for there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord city of David is the name for the city of Bethlehem where David was born it was his city and he says for you there is born to you this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord Messiah this day signals the dawn of a new day man had been living in darkness but now that darkness is being driven away by the light and there is one who has been born he is first a savior when he says he's a savior this is the one who's confronted all the sin of the world and this is the one who rescues us there has been born the one who will conquer the one who will rule like it says in Colossians 2 15 having disarmed the powers and authorities he made public spectacle of them triumphant over them by the cross but he says also he is Christ the Lord the word Christ Christ us means the anointed one the name points out the savior the world and a prophetic royal and priestly office prophets and priests and kings would be anointed with oil when installed into their offices and Jesus is the anointed but he is also the Lord and this one who is a Lord this savior has been born for us and indeed he says those are great tidings that's good tidings and it produces great joy it's for all people and this he says in verse 12 will be the sign to you you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger a babe in swaddling cloths you will find this glorious person however strange it may appear wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a stable it is by humility that Christ comes to reign and this is the only way into his kingdom pride is the character of all the children of Adam humility the mark of the Son of God and all of his followers Christ came in the way of humility to destroy that pride which is the root of evil in the souls of men Christ wrapped in swaddling cloths prefiguring his death lying in a manger placed for animal's feed and as this is taken place before they could react the choir bursts out in praise and says glory to God in the highest and peace unto men in a moment of time we receive understanding that should change our entire lives peace on earth good will toward men occurs when God is given to glory there is no peace on earth except among those with whom God is well pleased the Bible makes it clear that men are in a state of hostility with heaven and it spills over to our relationships with one another the carnal mind the Bible says is enmity against God and the one who sins wars against his maker so when men become reconciled to God through the death of his son men can actually change and we can actually begin to love one another we can have peace with God because God is the God of peace we can have peace in our own conscience and we can have peace with our neighbors and good will will dwell amongst us and we can be known by the good works that we perform on behalf of the Lord in his glory when it says and I'll close with a couple of thoughts in verse 17 when they had seen him they made widely known the same which was told them concerning this child and all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds but Mary kept all the things that and pondered them in her heart a couple of things that we want to consider is this one Mary pondered these things she thought about what this would mean how is it that she should bear the Son of God and how is it that God would have a heavenly choir if you will announcing birth the Son of God and what is this going to mean in the future in that he was placed in a manger wrapped in swaddling claws which would be a prefigurement of the fact that one day he'd be placed on a cross and afterwards taken and wrapped once again what does this really mean and as she thought through that we see something else we see the sharing of this event because it says in verse 17 when they had seen him they made widely known the same which was told them concerning this child and in verse 20 the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen as it was told them here's a couple of things for you one if you want to be a witness what are you witnessing to what you're witnessing to is Jesus Christ who is the Savior of the world that's what we witness Jesus Christ born Jesus Christ living Jesus Christ dying Jesus being buried Jesus being resurrected Jesus ascending to heaven Jesus sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and us awaiting his return while we serve him and what do we do as we ponder on these things is we prepare our hearts to the study and meditation on the word of God so that we might share these things with other people but the Lord would have us to do is one first and foremost ponder on the things of what Jesus Christ is and who he who he is and what he has done when you have a deep relationship with the Lord concerning those things now you're able to share things concerning him that's why we spend time reading the word of God that's why we meditate on the things of God that's why we we understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is a Savior that's why we understand that we needed him to transform our lives that's why we we we think about what we've been and rejoice in what we're becoming because that gives to us a depth that we can share from personal experience and these shepherds had an amazing experience and they were able to speak concerning it we have heard an announcement we have seen the baby was there in the manger and we understand this and we'll speak concerning this because he's been born to be the Savior of the world and that's what we do see Christmas as we gather here today is simply to remember what we're all about there's no reason to gather on Christmas Day if this is not true but it is true and so we're going to be leaving here in a moment we're going to go to our homes and perhaps the families or other locations and we're going to be with them and we're going to have opportunity to be a light sometimes in a dark place we're going to have an opportunity to to if God gives us opportunity to share to speak concerning the goodness of the Lord you may be there at the table and you may be with your family and your family may not be a religious type family but they know you are and they may look at you and they may say to you you want to pray and what an opportunity it will be for you to pray and to bless the Lord for the food just make sure that you don't give a 25 minute prayer while you're doing it you know Lord save all the sinners like grandpa to my right and my mom you know she's such a drunk you know I mean you don't want to do that but you'll be given opportunities you know that it happens all the time you're going to encounter the miserable cousin or uncle who's so mad about life and doesn't get any breaks if you go to your family you will encounter some sorrow you will we always do it's in our homes isn't it it's in our families but we have the answer don't we we have the answer we have the answer they may not understand it right now but they're watching you you are living Bible you are known and you are read by all men they watch your life they hear you they watch you when you're with the children they watch you when you're there at watching the game there they watch you they notice you I'm not saying that they're that there's just you know everybody's eyes on you everywhere you go you know I don't want you to be paranoid when you walk out but but they but they are noticing you that's what got my dad saved that's how my dad was saved because when I shared with my father about the gospel and I told him he needed the Lord and I didn't want to go to heaven without him later on he spoke to me and he said you know he said when you shared with me about the Lord Jesus Christ when you shared with me that I needed Jesus and when you told me that I was going to go to hell he said I wanted to get up and hit you when you said that he said but when you said to me when you said to me daddy I love you and I don't want to go to heaven without you he said that spoke to my heart he said in David he goes Madeline your sister had given her heart to Christ and Madeline as far as my dad was concerned was a perfect daughter my sister Madeline when other kids at 16 17 years old 15 years old were going out when they were going out and partying and doing the things that they did when she was 16 years old when she had her license she could have been doing that at that age my sister Madeline would stay home on Friday night stay home on Saturday she didn't never go out my sister Madeline didn't party she didn't drink she didn't get any trouble she was a good student she was a great and as far as our family was concerned as a little teenager she was the perfect daughter she's a kind of daughter that every father would like to raise no problems at all I would come home and she would be seated between my mom and my dad with a bowl of popcorn in her hair in curlers and she'd be eating popcorn with them watching TV and that would be on Friday and Saturday and I'd be thinking man get a life go out and get drunk I mean do something so my dad says to me he goes he said when you got saved he goes I knew you needed God there's no doubt about that he goes but when your sister Madeline got saved that was different he goes because he says I knew I was better than you but I was not better than her and having that little girl in my house and her saying she needs a savior Jesus combined with the evil of your life and the changes that I saw take place in you those two things combined over those three weeks for me to say there is a God who changes lives and I'm a sinner in need of a savior that's how my dad got saved it wasn't simply me saying to him dad this is the word of God speaking to you you're a good man you're the best man I'll ever know but you'll be the best man in hell if you don't give your heart to Jesus Christ that was a little bold for me to say but it was true it was no lie in that daddy you're a good man my dad was a good man my dad would get up at the same time Monday through Friday I had a good father he'd go to work at 6 30 he'd work a full day he come home every day at 7 o'clock my dad would be home between 7 and 7 0 5 every day of my life he only came home late one time that I can remember in my whole young life on Saturday he mowed the lawn on Sunday he'd kind of hang around the house and that was my dad I never had to worry about my dad ever looking at another woman my dad never did my dad had eyes for only one woman I saw that my whole life my dad was faithful and my dad was true my dad was a hard worker and a very good man my dad was honest my dad paid his bills on time my dad would would pay his bills before he bought groceries for us because he wanted spotless credit and he taught me that same work ethic pay your bills and then take care of your families what my dad did and yeah there were times when he didn't have enough for both so what we do is we'd have a meal on a Monday that we shared on Tuesday and sometimes into Wednesday and we learned to eat things my mom used to call it like we need soup all it was was a can of tomato sauce and a couple of potatoes that were cut up in some frankfurters that she dropped into it and that was our soup and that was our dinner but that was good because my dad was working providing income when it was Christmas I can still remember my mom taking my brother and me into the front room and there's a little tree and some presents and my mom said Santa Claus didn't bring you these you want to see Santa Claus she pointed at my father that's Santa Claus and you ought to thank Santa Claus for bringing you these presents that's what my mom would do yeah that was my mom you know and so she taught us that my father was a good man my mom in my entire life I cannot remember my mom as I was growing up specifically ever saying a bad thing about my father to me my mom used to say your dad is a good man and my mom taught me my dad was a perfect man I wonder how many wives in this room could say that kind of thing that's how my mom was my mom never sat down during dinner my mom always stood up she was always by the by the kitchen sink with her plate and if my dad even looked like he wanted something more the first thing my mom would say is honey do you need something else my mom always would serve my dad before she served us and if we were hungry my mom would say that's too bad you can eat a carrot because your dad's going to get the meal that's how it was in my home my dad was a good man and that's why it took such nerve for this kid just a few weeks before it was a doper and an alcoholic I wouldn't work a job I used to climb into the back of dumpsters at gas stations to take out tires that would fit in my car and I would take them to a friend of mine I'd say I've got some low rubber on my tires here would you put these tires on my car for me and he'd put them on because he worked at a gas station I didn't work a job I wouldn't work all I did was smoke pot drink and party that's all I did until I was 20 years old and here I am this little jerk of a boy with long hair barefooted wild-eyed big old sideburns and granny glasses sit with a Bible spouting Bible to my dad my dad didn't like the Bible my dad said the only person I ever knew who read a Bible was crazy so I want no Bibles in my house but when he watched me change and he saw my sister's need my dad came to faith in Jesus Christ you are a living letter known and read by all men do not forget the power of your testimony and as you go to be with your family today remember who you are you represent the kingdom of God you have a savior his name is Jesus he transformed your life remember that that's what it's all about that's all that's what it's all about a savior has been born not a prophet not a teacher not even a king but a savior and we sinners need this savior