Luke 2:8-20
What Are You Getting God This Christmas?
Our passage this morning is in Luke 2:8-20. It is that season of giving and getting gifts. Every year we make those lists of who we’re going to give gifts to. And every year we come to that person who has everything, and, we don’t know what to get them. I have no idea how to help you there. We rack our brains trying to find that perfect gift for those in our lives, but, today I want to ask you, “What are you getting God for Christmas?” We celebrate the Gift that He has given us, but, what are you giving to God this Christmas?
The previous verses are familiar to us at this time of year. Luke tells us in chapter 1 about the ministry of the angel Gabriel (visit to Zacharias and Elizabeth, and Joseph and Mary). After Mary has the news of Elizabeth confirmed she bursts forth into a glorious song, and, Zacharias does the same thing when John is finally born. Then, coming into chapter 2 we see that a census is issued by Caesar Augustus, which causes Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem. While they are there, Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps Him in cloths and puts him in a manger. (This whole picture of Jesus’ birth says, “No Room”. There is no room in the inn or anywhere else in Bethlehem for Jesus. Nobody will open up or make room for Him.)
But it is in the story that focuses on the nearby shepherds that I want us to be today. And, in this passage that Luke gives to us, I want you to see 5 “GIFTS” that each one of us should be giving God this year.
A Humble Heart (v8)
The first gift is a Humble Heart. Verse 8 says, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
There is nothing special about these guys, yet God chooses to come to them. They weren’t having a religious experience. They were doing their regular, boring, humble shepherd routine that they do every day and every night.
Shepherding was not a profession you raised your kids to go into. There was no money in it. Shepherds weren’t admired. You were always in danger of attacks from wild beasts and robbers. Most often you had no home and no possessions. You endured every cold night and every scorching day. There was nothing special about a shepherd, there was nothing spectacular about these shepherds. It was just another day in the life a couple Bethlehem shepherds.
And on the night that His Divine Son is born into the world, the night that His Word became flesh, God goes and tells these lowly shepherds. He didn’t go to the rich and the famous. God didn’t go to the PhD’s. God didn’t go to the presidents and kings. When the most important person in the history of the world is born God goes and tells the least important people.
But that’s exactly how God operates in accomplishing His plans. God works with and through humble people, but, He works against the proud. First Corinthians 1 says that God chooses the lowly and the insignificant things of this world.
Now this is important if we realize some history here. This passage is taking place in the town of Bethlehem. God said through the prophet Micah, over 700 years before Christ, that Christ would come from Bethlehem. He said in chapter 5 verse 2: “But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” Bethlehem was no big deal. There were bigger, better, wealthier, more reputable, more famous cities than Bethlehem. But, God chose this lowly, insignificant town to be the town that the Savior would be born in.
But, also remember that Bethlehem is the town of David (v4, 11). The Christ was promised to be one of David’s descendants, and, come from his town, Bethlehem. Now, Christ has been born true to both of these promises. But, on the night of Christ’s birth into the world, the fact that God would choose to reveal this marvelous event to some nobody shepherds nearby, is not a style that is foreign to God. God did something just like it centuries earlier in this same town Bethlehem, with another humble, nobody shepherd. His name was David. He had everything going against him. He was from the nowhere town of Bethlehem. He was the youngest of 8 sons. He was a shepherd.
In 1 Samuel 16 the prophet Samuel is sent by God to Bethlehem to a man named Jesse. God tells Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons is going to be the next king over Israel and Samuel was going there to anoint whoever it was. Samuel gets there and each of the boys are supposed to pass by Samuel, and, when the man God chooses passes by God will let Samuel know and he will anoint him.
The first son passes by and Samuel is totally impressed. He’s like, Wow! This is the guy! This must be him! I can see him as my next king! And God says, “No, he is not the one.” (Have you ever thought you knew God’s will and been wrong?) And this is when we read one of the most profound words from God in all the Bible, “ by the way, Sam, man looks at the outward appearance, but, the LORD looks at the heart.”
So, Samuel quiets down, and the other 6 sons pass by and nothing. Samuel asks Jesse, “Is this it? Are these your only sons?” Jesse says, “Well, I do have one more son, but, you know, he is the youngest, and he is tending the sheep out in the field.” Translation: He is a nobody.
Go get him! And Samuel says nobody is sitting down until this boy arrives. When David comes on the scene, verse 12 describes what he looked like: “he was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.”
Translation: he was cute. Samuel’s like, he looks like he should be in a boy band, not the next king. He’s too “cute”, he’s too “ruddy” to be king. He should be one of the Bethlehem Boys, you know that local boy band that writes and sings psalms. But, God immediately tells Samuel “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”
The greatest king in Israel’s history and the king whose descendant would be the Christ was a humble nobody before God made him somebody. He was the youngest of 8 sons, a shepherd, and from in a nowhere town called Bethlehem when God came to him there and changed his life forever.
In Luke 2 we have again some nobody shepherds in a nowhere town called Bethlehem when God comes to them and changes their lives forever. They get the privilege of being the first ones other than Joseph and Mary to see God in the flesh.
Two principles here: First, you must realize that you are important to God whether or not you are to the world. You’re important to God by the simple fact that He created you and He finds you important. You’re not important to Him because you’re a success in business, you’re a success in relationships, because you’re healthy or because you look good or because you never make any “mistakes”.
Psalm 139: He created your inmost being. He knit you together in your mothers womb. He has made you with wonder and fear. Your frame is not hidden from Him. Before you were made He saw you. All of your days have been ordained by Him before you ever came to be.
Second application, God works with the humble, but, works against the proud. Pride makes a man important in his own eyes. Someone said that “pride is the only disease that makes everyone else sick, except the one who has it.” Benjamin Franklin said, “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
A proud man sees no reason for why he needs to come to God because he sees himself as important and self-sufficient. Saul was the first king over Israel, and he was rejected by God because of his pride. God said, “You were once small in your own eyes.” In other words, there was a time when you didn’t make much of who you were. You didn’t think that highly of yourself. But, that virtuous humility that I once cherished in you is gone and now I have rejected you because of your pride.
And I will stand here and tell you that if you have not come to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, it is for no other reason than your pride. Your pride, your over-estimation of yourself, being big in your own eyes – that is the heart and soul of why you reject God and His Christ.
So give God the gift of a humble heart this Christmas.
Awe (v9)
The second thing to give God is AWE. Verse 9 says, “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”
Do not miss that it is the glory of the Lord that caused them to be terrified. No longer in the presence of everything “normal” they have just found themselves in the presence of the glory of the Lord. There is no other response then to be terrified. God is an awesome God. Exodus 15:11 says, “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders” Job said “Dominion and awe belong to God” Solomon commands us in Ecclesiastes to “stand in awe of God.” Christians: Our God is glorious and awesome! The more we are in His presence the more we will be in awe of Him. Give God the Gift of awe.
A Listening Ear (v10-12)
So far we have the Gift of a Humble Heart and the Gift of Awe. Thirdly, we are to give the Gift of a Listening Ear. Verses 10-12, “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’”
The angel says he’s got good news and There are 4 points to notice about this Good News. Four points for us to Hear.
Point #1: God’s good news is COMFORTING. The angel says in verse 10, “Do not be afraid”. We see this reassurance from God and His angels so many times in the Scriptures. He told Moses not to be afraid. He told Gideon and Isaiah not to be afraid. He told John the Apostle in Revelation, not to be afraid. It’s the glorious presence of God that terrifies us, BUT, it is His good news – His gracious words – that comfort us. “Do not be afraid”. In 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” In the Good News of Jesus Christ there is God’s perfect love for us and His perfect love drives out fear.
Point#2: God’s Good News brings JOY. Verse 10, “I bring you good news of great joy.” Joy is in Jesus Christ, not in things of this world. Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you.” This joy is the joy that He has in Himself. It’s His joy that He has that He shares. Do you look to Christ for your joy? Or, are you so entangled in the wants and the things of this world that you don’t find Jesus a joy to you?
Heaven finds Jesus a joy; the angel and the heavenly host in verses 13 and 14 found Jesus a joyful thing. Mary burst joyfully into praises of God over the good news of Jesus. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist praised God with joy over the good news. Simeon, the prophet in the next passage praises God with joy when he gets the good news. After him, Anna the prophetess praises God when the good news of Jesus reaches her. Over and over and over and over when people receive the good news of Jesus Christ they respond with joy.
Do you have this joy? Does this joy seem foreign to you? The first question I would ask then is whether you have accepted Christ as your Savior. You can’t have His joy without having Him. If you have done this, then maybe you’re so wrapped up in the things of this world that you are missing the joy available to you in your Savior. The good news brings joy.
Point #3: God’s Good News is for Everyone. Verse 10 says, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL people.” God’s salvation is for all people. That means you. It doesn’t mean someone else. It means you. Notice in verse 11 the angel says, “a Savior has been born TO YOU”. This good news is for you, Jesus Christ came for you. The question is, have you come to Him?
Point #4: The Good News is a Savior has come, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Jesus Christ did not come into the world to start a holiday. Christmas is about sin. The reason Jesus Christ was born into the world was because the world is lost in its sin. He came to save us sinners from our sins. “A Savior has been born to you” A SAVIOR! Our need is salvation and God’s gift to us is a Savior who will bring it. He is the One that will save us from our sins.
Give God the gift of a Listening Ear. Hear the message that brings comfort, joy, and salvation. It is for everyone.
The Right Response (v15-16)
Fourthly, Give God the gift of a Right Response. Verses 15 and 16 say, “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go into Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
What if the shepherds stayed in the field? What if that awesome scene closes and it’s all quiet again and they all just sit there around their campfire? “Boy, we didn’t see that coming, did we? What a great message too, wasn’t it? That angel sure can preach. Imagine that, the Christ born right here in Bethlehem – pass the beans please.” What would you think of them? Fools! The Fools of all Fools! It’s no different than for someone to hear the glorious message today and NOT respond. The Right Response when you hear of Christ is to go to Him. Give God the gift of a Right Response and go to Christ. Have you done that?
Fame (v17-19)
So, our list of gifts we’re giving God this year includes: A Humble Heart, Awe, A Listening Ear and a Right Response. Finally, we want to give God Fame. Verses 17-20, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
Give God the gift of fame. Fame means to have a widespread reputation – a favorable reputation. It means to be known all around and to be admired by all around. When these shepherds arrived and saw Jesus they spread God’s fame by spreading the word about Him. Then when they left they still couldn’t stop making God famous, they were glorifying and praising God all the way back to where they had come from. We saw this in verses 13 and 14 too when the whole host of angels appeared and they spread the fame of God’s glory saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”
Someone has said that “Many people claim to know Christ, but the proof is whether they have a true desire to see God glorified.” God is glorious, and you can’t know God without knowing He is glorious, and you can’t know His glory without wanting others to know His glory too. His glory is so glorious we want Him to be famous.
It makes me cringe every time I hear someone who says they’re a Christan say, “My faith is private. It’s between me and God.” What faith and what God are you talking about? - because faith in the Bible is public, and the God of the Bible is and will be known. The Bible says it is God’s plan that all will know Him. “Every eye will see Him. Every tongue will confess Him to be Lord. Every knee will bow before Him.” The God of our faith is to be told of everywhere. Isaiah 12:4, 5 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.” Is God not worth telling about? Absolutely He is worth telling about! What we have is worth being told everywhere to all people. Society wants to make telling the good news of Jesus Christ a crime, but the real crime is not telling it! Let us give God the gift of fame and spread the word about Him.
What Are You Getting God This Christmas?
Our passage this morning is in Luke 2:8-20. It is that season of giving and getting gifts. Every year we make those lists of who we’re going to give gifts to. And every year we come to that person who has everything, and, we don’t know what to get them. I have no idea how to help you there. We rack our brains trying to find that perfect gift for those in our lives, but, today I want to ask you, “What are you getting God for Christmas?” We celebrate the Gift that He has given us, but, what are you giving to God this Christmas?
The previous verses are familiar to us at this time of year. Luke tells us in chapter 1 about the ministry of the angel Gabriel (visit to Zacharias and Elizabeth, and Joseph and Mary). After Mary has the news of Elizabeth confirmed she bursts forth into a glorious song, and, Zacharias does the same thing when John is finally born. Then, coming into chapter 2 we see that a census is issued by Caesar Augustus, which causes Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem. While they are there, Mary gives birth to Jesus, wraps Him in cloths and puts him in a manger. (This whole picture of Jesus’ birth says, “No Room”. There is no room in the inn or anywhere else in Bethlehem for Jesus. Nobody will open up or make room for Him.)
But it is in the story that focuses on the nearby shepherds that I want us to be today. And, in this passage that Luke gives to us, I want you to see 5 “GIFTS” that each one of us should be giving God this year.
A Humble Heart (v8)
The first gift is a Humble Heart. Verse 8 says, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
There is nothing special about these guys, yet God chooses to come to them. They weren’t having a religious experience. They were doing their regular, boring, humble shepherd routine that they do every day and every night.
Shepherding was not a profession you raised your kids to go into. There was no money in it. Shepherds weren’t admired. You were always in danger of attacks from wild beasts and robbers. Most often you had no home and no possessions. You endured every cold night and every scorching day. There was nothing special about a shepherd, there was nothing spectacular about these shepherds. It was just another day in the life a couple Bethlehem shepherds.
And on the night that His Divine Son is born into the world, the night that His Word became flesh, God goes and tells these lowly shepherds. He didn’t go to the rich and the famous. God didn’t go to the PhD’s. God didn’t go to the presidents and kings. When the most important person in the history of the world is born God goes and tells the least important people.
But that’s exactly how God operates in accomplishing His plans. God works with and through humble people, but, He works against the proud. First Corinthians 1 says that God chooses the lowly and the insignificant things of this world.
Now this is important if we realize some history here. This passage is taking place in the town of Bethlehem. God said through the prophet Micah, over 700 years before Christ, that Christ would come from Bethlehem. He said in chapter 5 verse 2: “But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” Bethlehem was no big deal. There were bigger, better, wealthier, more reputable, more famous cities than Bethlehem. But, God chose this lowly, insignificant town to be the town that the Savior would be born in.
But, also remember that Bethlehem is the town of David (v4, 11). The Christ was promised to be one of David’s descendants, and, come from his town, Bethlehem. Now, Christ has been born true to both of these promises. But, on the night of Christ’s birth into the world, the fact that God would choose to reveal this marvelous event to some nobody shepherds nearby, is not a style that is foreign to God. God did something just like it centuries earlier in this same town Bethlehem, with another humble, nobody shepherd. His name was David. He had everything going against him. He was from the nowhere town of Bethlehem. He was the youngest of 8 sons. He was a shepherd.
In 1 Samuel 16 the prophet Samuel is sent by God to Bethlehem to a man named Jesse. God tells Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons is going to be the next king over Israel and Samuel was going there to anoint whoever it was. Samuel gets there and each of the boys are supposed to pass by Samuel, and, when the man God chooses passes by God will let Samuel know and he will anoint him.
The first son passes by and Samuel is totally impressed. He’s like, Wow! This is the guy! This must be him! I can see him as my next king! And God says, “No, he is not the one.” (Have you ever thought you knew God’s will and been wrong?) And this is when we read one of the most profound words from God in all the Bible, “ by the way, Sam, man looks at the outward appearance, but, the LORD looks at the heart.”
So, Samuel quiets down, and the other 6 sons pass by and nothing. Samuel asks Jesse, “Is this it? Are these your only sons?” Jesse says, “Well, I do have one more son, but, you know, he is the youngest, and he is tending the sheep out in the field.” Translation: He is a nobody.
Go get him! And Samuel says nobody is sitting down until this boy arrives. When David comes on the scene, verse 12 describes what he looked like: “he was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.”
Translation: he was cute. Samuel’s like, he looks like he should be in a boy band, not the next king. He’s too “cute”, he’s too “ruddy” to be king. He should be one of the Bethlehem Boys, you know that local boy band that writes and sings psalms. But, God immediately tells Samuel “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”
The greatest king in Israel’s history and the king whose descendant would be the Christ was a humble nobody before God made him somebody. He was the youngest of 8 sons, a shepherd, and from in a nowhere town called Bethlehem when God came to him there and changed his life forever.
In Luke 2 we have again some nobody shepherds in a nowhere town called Bethlehem when God comes to them and changes their lives forever. They get the privilege of being the first ones other than Joseph and Mary to see God in the flesh.
Two principles here: First, you must realize that you are important to God whether or not you are to the world. You’re important to God by the simple fact that He created you and He finds you important. You’re not important to Him because you’re a success in business, you’re a success in relationships, because you’re healthy or because you look good or because you never make any “mistakes”.
Psalm 139: He created your inmost being. He knit you together in your mothers womb. He has made you with wonder and fear. Your frame is not hidden from Him. Before you were made He saw you. All of your days have been ordained by Him before you ever came to be.
Second application, God works with the humble, but, works against the proud. Pride makes a man important in his own eyes. Someone said that “pride is the only disease that makes everyone else sick, except the one who has it.” Benjamin Franklin said, “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”
A proud man sees no reason for why he needs to come to God because he sees himself as important and self-sufficient. Saul was the first king over Israel, and he was rejected by God because of his pride. God said, “You were once small in your own eyes.” In other words, there was a time when you didn’t make much of who you were. You didn’t think that highly of yourself. But, that virtuous humility that I once cherished in you is gone and now I have rejected you because of your pride.
And I will stand here and tell you that if you have not come to God’s Son, Jesus Christ, it is for no other reason than your pride. Your pride, your over-estimation of yourself, being big in your own eyes – that is the heart and soul of why you reject God and His Christ.
So give God the gift of a humble heart this Christmas.
Awe (v9)
The second thing to give God is AWE. Verse 9 says, “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”
Do not miss that it is the glory of the Lord that caused them to be terrified. No longer in the presence of everything “normal” they have just found themselves in the presence of the glory of the Lord. There is no other response then to be terrified. God is an awesome God. Exodus 15:11 says, “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders” Job said “Dominion and awe belong to God” Solomon commands us in Ecclesiastes to “stand in awe of God.” Christians: Our God is glorious and awesome! The more we are in His presence the more we will be in awe of Him. Give God the Gift of awe.
A Listening Ear (v10-12)
So far we have the Gift of a Humble Heart and the Gift of Awe. Thirdly, we are to give the Gift of a Listening Ear. Verses 10-12, “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’”
The angel says he’s got good news and There are 4 points to notice about this Good News. Four points for us to Hear.
Point #1: God’s good news is COMFORTING. The angel says in verse 10, “Do not be afraid”. We see this reassurance from God and His angels so many times in the Scriptures. He told Moses not to be afraid. He told Gideon and Isaiah not to be afraid. He told John the Apostle in Revelation, not to be afraid. It’s the glorious presence of God that terrifies us, BUT, it is His good news – His gracious words – that comfort us. “Do not be afraid”. In 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” In the Good News of Jesus Christ there is God’s perfect love for us and His perfect love drives out fear.
Point#2: God’s Good News brings JOY. Verse 10, “I bring you good news of great joy.” Joy is in Jesus Christ, not in things of this world. Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you.” This joy is the joy that He has in Himself. It’s His joy that He has that He shares. Do you look to Christ for your joy? Or, are you so entangled in the wants and the things of this world that you don’t find Jesus a joy to you?
Heaven finds Jesus a joy; the angel and the heavenly host in verses 13 and 14 found Jesus a joyful thing. Mary burst joyfully into praises of God over the good news of Jesus. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist praised God with joy over the good news. Simeon, the prophet in the next passage praises God with joy when he gets the good news. After him, Anna the prophetess praises God when the good news of Jesus reaches her. Over and over and over and over when people receive the good news of Jesus Christ they respond with joy.
Do you have this joy? Does this joy seem foreign to you? The first question I would ask then is whether you have accepted Christ as your Savior. You can’t have His joy without having Him. If you have done this, then maybe you’re so wrapped up in the things of this world that you are missing the joy available to you in your Savior. The good news brings joy.
Point #3: God’s Good News is for Everyone. Verse 10 says, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL people.” God’s salvation is for all people. That means you. It doesn’t mean someone else. It means you. Notice in verse 11 the angel says, “a Savior has been born TO YOU”. This good news is for you, Jesus Christ came for you. The question is, have you come to Him?
Point #4: The Good News is a Savior has come, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Jesus Christ did not come into the world to start a holiday. Christmas is about sin. The reason Jesus Christ was born into the world was because the world is lost in its sin. He came to save us sinners from our sins. “A Savior has been born to you” A SAVIOR! Our need is salvation and God’s gift to us is a Savior who will bring it. He is the One that will save us from our sins.
Give God the gift of a Listening Ear. Hear the message that brings comfort, joy, and salvation. It is for everyone.
The Right Response (v15-16)
Fourthly, Give God the gift of a Right Response. Verses 15 and 16 say, “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go into Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
What if the shepherds stayed in the field? What if that awesome scene closes and it’s all quiet again and they all just sit there around their campfire? “Boy, we didn’t see that coming, did we? What a great message too, wasn’t it? That angel sure can preach. Imagine that, the Christ born right here in Bethlehem – pass the beans please.” What would you think of them? Fools! The Fools of all Fools! It’s no different than for someone to hear the glorious message today and NOT respond. The Right Response when you hear of Christ is to go to Him. Give God the gift of a Right Response and go to Christ. Have you done that?
Fame (v17-19)
So, our list of gifts we’re giving God this year includes: A Humble Heart, Awe, A Listening Ear and a Right Response. Finally, we want to give God Fame. Verses 17-20, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
Give God the gift of fame. Fame means to have a widespread reputation – a favorable reputation. It means to be known all around and to be admired by all around. When these shepherds arrived and saw Jesus they spread God’s fame by spreading the word about Him. Then when they left they still couldn’t stop making God famous, they were glorifying and praising God all the way back to where they had come from. We saw this in verses 13 and 14 too when the whole host of angels appeared and they spread the fame of God’s glory saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”
Someone has said that “Many people claim to know Christ, but the proof is whether they have a true desire to see God glorified.” God is glorious, and you can’t know God without knowing He is glorious, and you can’t know His glory without wanting others to know His glory too. His glory is so glorious we want Him to be famous.
It makes me cringe every time I hear someone who says they’re a Christan say, “My faith is private. It’s between me and God.” What faith and what God are you talking about? - because faith in the Bible is public, and the God of the Bible is and will be known. The Bible says it is God’s plan that all will know Him. “Every eye will see Him. Every tongue will confess Him to be Lord. Every knee will bow before Him.” The God of our faith is to be told of everywhere. Isaiah 12:4, 5 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.” Is God not worth telling about? Absolutely He is worth telling about! What we have is worth being told everywhere to all people. Society wants to make telling the good news of Jesus Christ a crime, but the real crime is not telling it! Let us give God the gift of fame and spread the word about Him.
Comments
Post a Comment