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I would invite you to take your 
Bibles and turn with me to the 

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Gospel of Luke. 
Gospel of Luke. 

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We're going to be looking at 
chapter 2 beginning in verse 8 

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today. 
If you're here today and have a 

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Bible and not sure exactly where
Luke chapter 2 is, the page is 

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printed for you in the bulletin 
for the red Bibles that are in 

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the chairs around you. 
Going to read chapter 2 verse 8 

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down through verse 21 as we 
continue on in our Advent 

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series. 
Looking at these 4 hymns of the 

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first Advent, the first 
Christmas today, the hymn of the

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angels and the shepherds. 
And in the same region there 

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were shepherds out in the field 
keeping watch over their flock 

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by night. 
And an Angel of the Lord 

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appeared to them, and the glory 
of the Lord shone around them, 

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and they were filled with great 
fear. 

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And the Angel said to them, Fear
not, for behold, I bring you 

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good news of great joy that will
be for all the people. 

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For unto you is born this day in
the city of David, a Savior who 

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is Christ the Lord, and this 
will be a sign for you. 

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You will find a baby wrapped in 
swaddling cloth and lying in a 

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Manger. 
And suddenly there was with the 

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Angel a multitude of the 
heavenly host, praising God, and

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saying, Glory to God in the 
highest and on earth, peace 

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among those with whom he is 
pleased. 

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When the angels went away from 
them into heaven, the shepherds 

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said to one another, Let us go 
over to Bethlehem and see this 

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thing that has happened which 
the Lord has made known to us. 

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And they went with haste, and 
found Mary and Joseph and the 

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baby lying in a Manger. 
And when they saw it, they made 

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known the saying that had been 
told them concerning this child.

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And all who heard it wondered at
what the shepherds told them. 

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But Mary treasured up all these 
things, pondering them in her 

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heart. 
And the shepherd's returned, 

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glorifying and praising God for 
all, for all that they had heard

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and seen as it had been told 
them. 

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And at the end of eight days, 
when he was circumcised, he was 

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called Jesus, the name given by 
the Angel before he was 

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conceived in the womb. 
Let's pray together. 

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Father, thank you for giving us 
this portion of your word to 

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consider today. 
We pray that you would open our 

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eyes and our hearts through the 
work of the Holy Spirit. 

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Help us to see what You want us 
to see from this part of Your 

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Word. 
But above all things, help us to

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see Jesus. 
And as we do, Father, fill us 

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with the joy and the peace that 
are ours because of the birth 

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and the life and the death and 
the resurrection of the Lord 

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Jesus Christ. 
It's in his name we pray. 

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Amen. 
Can you remember a time in your 

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life when you were greatly 
afraid, filled with fear, 

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terrified? 
One of those times for me was 

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December the 28th, 1980. 
I know the date because it was 

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my birthday, my 10th birthday. 
I had called together a group of

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my friends and family and we 
were having an overnight party 

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at our house. 
We went out all together to 

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dinner at my favorite 
restaurants and as we were 

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coming back to the house, my dad
pulled the car into the garage 

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and we piled out of the car and 
started to make our way into the

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house. 
And when we got to the door that

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goes from the garage to the 
house, it was locked. 

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That door was never locked. 
My dad took out his key and 

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unlocked the door and we began 
to go in and that's when we 

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found out we had been robbed. 
As we came in, the door going 

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out to the backyard was wide 
open. 

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The dog was cowering in the 
corner. 

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Some bundles of my mom's 
inherited sterling silver were 

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still left on the floor. 
Apparently we had pulled into 

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the garage while the robbers 
were still in the house and they

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locked the door to slow us from 
coming into the house. 

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They ran out the backyard 
through the woods to a car that 

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was waiting for them a street 
over. 

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We walked through the house and 
we saw drawers and cabinets that

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were flung open and contents 
that were out on the counter and

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on the floor. 
The police came and made a 

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report and they showed us how 
the thieves had removed the 

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deadbolt from the door to get 
into the house. 

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Based on how they got in, based 
on what they took and what they 

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left, the police were convinced 
that these were professional 

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thieves that had robbed our 
house. 

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My friends and I slept in the 
basement together and our 

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sleeping bags all huddled 
together, several of us with 

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baseball bats. 
It was a terrifying night just 

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even thinking about having 
people you don't know in your 

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house. 
Invasion of privacy. 

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Now, even though I can remember 
being that afraid that night, 

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being filled with fear 
throughout the night, my fear 

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that I had at that moment 
probably pales in comparison 

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with the fear that these 
shepherds were dealing with. 

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There are around 100 recordings 
recorded incidents in the Bible 

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of angels showing up and 
appearing to humans. 

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And there's almost a universal 
response that we read when those

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events take place. 
And that is the people that that

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experience. 
The angels are filled with fear,

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some even falling down on their 
face in fear. 

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And the fear that these 
shepherds experienced was 

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probably particularly 
significant because not only are

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they in the presence of an 
angelic being who serves the 

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holy God in heaven, but we're 
told that the glory of God 

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enveloped them. 
The glory of the perfect, holy, 

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sovereign, omnipotent, eternal 
God of the universe was shining 

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all around them. 
It's no wonder that we're told 

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that they were filled with a 
great fear. 

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But did you notice? 
Something must have happened to 

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them because 12 verses later we 
read about the shepherds going 

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home rejoicing, celebrating, 
worshipping, praising the Lord. 

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During this Advent season, we've
been looking at these 4 hymns in

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Luke chapters one and two, and 
we've talked about how hymns can

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have a significant impact on our
lives. 

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They, they can change us, they 
can form us, they can help us to

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grow in our faith. 
And we've been looking at these 

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hymns of the first Advent, the 
first Christmas, and seeing how 

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we might be changed by them, 
these ancient biblical hymns. 

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A few weeks ago we looked at 
Mary's magnificate, then we 

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looked at Zechariah's 
Benedictus. 

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Today we're looking at the 
angels, Gloria, and the song of 

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the shepherds. 
So let's take a few moments and 

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look at this passage and see the
song of the angels, the song of 

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the shepherds, and then let's 
consider how we might be able to

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sing like they do. 
So first of all, the song of the

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angels. 
You can see this described for 

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us in verses 8 through 14. 
We're told that there were some 

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shepherds out in a field and 
they were watching over their 

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flock. 
They were protecting it, keeping

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it safe from thieves, from 
animals, keeping it safe from 

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itself, the sheep doing bad 
things to themselves. 

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And then out of nowhere, we're 
told an Angel appeared and the 

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shepherds were filled with a 
great fear in the glory of God 

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enveloped them. 
And then the Angel spoke to 

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them. 
Now we'll look at what he said 

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to them in just a second. 
But notice in verse 13, we read 

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that all of a sudden a multitude
of the heavenly host showed up 

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as well. 
Now we don't know how big a 

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multitude is, but the sense is 
there are a lot of angels here 

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and they're they're described as
the heavenly host that has the 

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sense of an army of angels of 
heaven. 

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And if that wasn't startling 
enough to have this army of 

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angels appear, we read at the 
end of verse 13 and verse 14 

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that they started praising the 
Lord. 

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They started singing and 
worshipping the Lord. 

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Now before we look at what they 
sang, let's look at why they 

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were singing. 
Look at verses 10 and 11:00 and 

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12:00. 
The reason they were singing had

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to do with what the Angel told 
the shepherds in verse 10. 

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He says do not be afraid, He was
there to give them good news, 

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not bad news. 
And he says that this good news 

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that he is bringing to them 
would bring great joy, not a 

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little bit of joy, it would 
bring great joy. 

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And this good news that would 
bring great joy, it would be for

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all the people, regardless of 
nationality, financial status, 

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ethnicity, social status. 
So what was the good news of 

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great joy for the people? 
We see it in verse 11, Someone 

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had been born that day. 
Someone had been born in 

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Bethlehem, the city of David, 
and that someone was the long 

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promised and the long-awaited 
Savior, the Christ, the Lord. 

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Did you notice the Angel uses 
all three of those terms to 

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describe him. 
He is the Savior, He is the 

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Deliverer, the Rescuer, the 
Redeemer, the one who would 

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raise up the horn of salvation 
that Zechariah sang about, the 

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one who would accomplish 
forgiveness for sins that 

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Zechariah sang about. 
But he's also the Christ. 

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That's the Greek translation of 
the Hebrew word for Messiah, the

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Anointed. 1 He. 
He is the one who is set apart 

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and has been designated for the 
accomplishing of the work of 

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redemption, but he's also the 
Lord. 

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That's the Greek word for the 
Hebrew word Yahweh, the 

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sovereign covenant name that God
gave to his people for himself. 

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This, this baby that is born in 
Bethlehem, is no less than God 

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himself, the second person of 
the Trinity, God and human 

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flesh, Immanuel, God with us. 
And notice the Angel goes on to 

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give them a sign, a sign to the 
shepherds to confirm what he is 

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saying to them. 
He told them that they would 

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find a baby wrapped in clothes 
and lying in a Manger. 

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That could have been very 
possible. 

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Then when they got to Bethlehem,
there could have been lots of 

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babies that had been born 
recently, but there was only one

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that was lying in a feeding 
through. 

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Think of it that the multitude 
of the heavenly host ministered 

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to and served Jesus before his 
incarnation. 

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That we can imagine that they 
knew what was about to happen. 

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They knew the plan of 
redemption. 

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They had a sense of what was 
going to take place, how God 

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himself was going to be born 
into the world, how God himself 

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would be the promise that would 
be fulfilled. 

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The Saviour, the Christ, the 
Lord himself is going to be born

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as a human baby to begin the 
work of redemption. 

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And now it had happened that 
very night. 

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Mary had given birth to Jesus 
the Savior. 

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The work of redemption was 
beginning. 

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The multitude of the heavenly 
host sang because the gospel of 

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grace was beginning to be 
unveiled. 

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Well, what did they sing? 
We see that in verses 13 and 14.

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Suddenly there was with the 
Angel a multitude of the 

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heavenly host praising God and 
saying glory to God in the 

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highest and on earth, peace 
among those with whom he is 

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pleased. 
They they praised the Lord by 

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praising His glory, God's glory.
Glory to God in the highest, not

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glory to anyone else. 
God gets all the glory for the 

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plan of redemption, the gospel 
of grace, and it's the glory in 

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the highest to the greatest 
degree above all other glory. 

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Those who are in Christ get no 
credit for their salvation. 

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The only thing we contribute is 
our sin. 

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God gets all the glory for his 
plan of salvation and for 

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working that plan out in human 
history and for accomplishing 

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the plan through the incarnation
and the life and death and 

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resurrection of His Son and our 
Savior Christ the Lord. 

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Glory to God in the highest. 
But that's not all that they 

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sang. 
They didn't just sing about the 

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glory of God. 
They also sang about Shalom, 

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about peace and on earth peace 
among those with whom he is 

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pleased. 
Now, if you're looking at the 

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ESV translation or if you're 
looking at the NASB or the NIV, 

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then it then it says what is 
what I just read. 

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And on earth peace among those 
with whom he is pleased. 

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That's a that's an accurate 
translation of the Greek, the 

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Greek phrasing there. 
There are some other 

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translations that actually skew 
what the Greek says there. 

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Other translations might say on 
earth, peace and goodwill toward

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men. 
That's actually not what the 

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Greek says on earth, peace among
those with whom God is pleased. 

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The the point that the angels 
were making is that what God was

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doing was accomplishing peace 
for his people, for those who 

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put their faith in that baby 
that was born that night in 

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Bethlehem, in Jesus they have 
peace, not some generalized 

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World Peace for all like the pox
Romana, that that term that was 

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coined in the 1st century for 
describing the long period of 

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peace, political, social, 
economic peace that was 

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established by the Roman 
government for the people in the

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1st and 2nd centuries. 
Know what the angels are singing

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about was a different kind of 
peace, a biblical Shalom, a 

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peace with God because of Adam 
and Eve's sin in the Garden of 

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Eden. 
The peace that they had with God

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initially was broken. 
Now there was alienation between

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God and his people. 
And as Paul said, we are enemies

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to God. 
But through Jesus Christ these 

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angels are singing and reminding
the shepherds, telling the 

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shepherds and reminding us that 
for those in Christ the enemies 

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have become adopted children. 
In the place of alienation and 

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war, there is peace. 
Peace with our Creator God. 

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So why did the angels sing? 
They sang because the long 

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promised and awaited Savior had 
arrived. 

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The the plan of salvation was 
being unveiled. 

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The work of redemption had begun
in the birth of the Savior, the 

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Christ, the Lord Jesus. 
And what did they sing? 

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Glory to God in the highest and 
peace between God and his people

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00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,640
through Jesus Christ. 
Well, what about the shepherds? 

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We we read about the shepherds 
in verses 15 through 20. 

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They they sang a hymn of sorts 
as well. 

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In verses 15 through 20, we read
that when the angels left, they 

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went to Bethlehem and they found
the, the newborn Jesus, just as 

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they had been told, lying in a 
Manger. 

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And what did they do? 
Well, they shared with Joseph 

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and Mary and the others that 
were there what had happened 

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with the Angel that appeared to 
them and what had happened with 

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the multitude of the heavenly 
host. 

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And, and notice the response in 
verse 18. 

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Everybody that was there 
wondered at what they were told,

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at what had happened to the 
shepherds. 

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But there was another response. 
We see that in verse 19, a 

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deeper response. 
It was a response of Mary. 

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We're told that she treasured 
these things in her heart, that 

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she that she pondered them in 
her heart. 

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00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:35,280
Now the word there that is used 
for ponder for for ponder is 

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00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,840
sumba lusa. 
And in the Greek it has the 

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00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,200
sense of somebody, a person that
is puzzled by something that 

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00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,880
they've heard, but they keep it 
in mind. 

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They, they keep thinking about 
it in order to understand it. 

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We aren't given very much 
information in the Bible about 

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Mary's faith journey. 
But what we do know is this from

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00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:59,280
John chapter 2 and Acts chapter 
1, that eventually Mary is with 

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the disciples and others 
worshipping Jesus for who he 

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said he was. 
Then we read the Shepherd's hymn

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in verse 20. 
What did they sing? 

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00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,319
Well, we don't know. 
We're actually not told what 

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00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:17,480
they sang specifically. 
We're only told that they left 

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Mary and Jesus glorifying and 
praising God. 

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Maybe. 
Maybe they used the hymn that 

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00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:28,079
they had heard the angels sing 
glorifying God for his glory and

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the peace that got established 
between himself and his people. 

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Maybe they had heard Mary's 
Magnificat or Zechariah's 

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00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:38,960
Benedictus and use that to 
praise the Lord. 

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We don't know what they sang, 
but we do know why they sang. 

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They were glorifying and 
praising God, it says in verse 

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00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:50,240
24. 
Or because all they had heard 

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00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:54,920
and seen as it had been told 
them, they had just had quite an

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experience. 
They'd been visited by an Angel.

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00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,920
They had been they had been 
participants and seeing the the 

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00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,200
heavenly host singing about the 
glory of God and the peace of 

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between God and his people. 
They had been given the good 

288
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:15,600
news of great joy. 
They had gone and seen Jesus 

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00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:20,200
himself. 
It was all true. 

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00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,720
It was all real, the Saviour, 
the Christ, the Lord himself had

291
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,560
come into the world and as a 
result the shepherds were moved 

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00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,920
to praise and to glorify and to 
worship the Lord. 

293
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,480
So how can we be moved and 
changed and shaped to be able to

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sing like the angels and the 
shepherds? 

295
00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,200
Four things as we finish up 
today. 

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How can we sing like the angels 
and the shepherds? 

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00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,120
Well, the first thing is this. 
We must understand why the 

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shepherds were afraid. 
Verse 9 tells us that the 

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shepherds were not just afraid, 
they were filled with great 

300
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:08,360
fear. 
The Greek is phobon megon that 

301
00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,880
can be translated great fear or 
or terribly frightened or 

302
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:14,080
terrified. 
Or if you have the King James 

303
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:19,040
sore afraid, why were they so 
terrified? 

304
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,440
It's because they were in the 
presence of an Angel who lived 

305
00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,480
in the presence of God. 
And not only that, that they 

306
00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,280
were surrounded by the glory of 
the Lord themselves. 

307
00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,840
In the darkness of the night, 
they were surrounded by the 

308
00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:40,520
blinding and dazzling light of 
God's glory, the same glory that

309
00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:43,280
changed Moses's face when he 
experienced it. 

310
00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,720
And the right response of sinful
human beings in the presence of 

311
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:54,960
the glory of God is fear, great 
fear that happened to the very 

312
00:19:54,960 --> 00:20:00,400
first sinful human beings, Adam 
and Eve, in the garden. 

313
00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,480
Before they send. 
Adam and Eve enjoyed the 

314
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,640
presence and the and the 
fellowship and the glory of the 

315
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:10,520
Lord in the garden. 
But immediately after they send 

316
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,200
everything changed. 
Genesis 3 tells us this. 

317
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,200
And they heard the sound of the 
Lord God walking in the garden 

318
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,360
in the cool of the day. 
And the man and his wife hid 

319
00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,920
themselves from the presence of 
the Lord God among the trees of 

320
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,560
the garden. 
And Adam said to the Lord, I 

321
00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:34,600
heard the sound of you in the 
garden, and I was afraid because

322
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:39,640
I was naked, and I hid myself. 
Why were they afraid? 

323
00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,360
It's because they were sinners 
in the presence of the Lord, in 

324
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:46,720
the presence of the glory of 
God. 

325
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:51,240
They had just tried to be God. 
They had believed the lie of 

326
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,960
Satan, and it failed. 
And now the ones who had tried 

327
00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,680
to be God were in the presence 
of the glory of the one true 

328
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:03,240
God. 
And so they were terrified, 

329
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,360
filled with great fear. 
If we want to sing like the 

330
00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:10,800
angels and the shepherds, we 
have to understand that fear 

331
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:16,320
apart from Christ, sinners that 
we are in the presence of the 

332
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,760
holy and sovereign Creator God. 
The right response is fear. 

333
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:28,560
The glory of the Lord cannot 
abide sin and unrighteousness it

334
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,960
it will not abide it. 
And if you are here today and 

335
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,080
you are not in Christ, you 
should feel this fear. 

336
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,200
The fear of eternal judgement, 
the fear of alienation from God,

337
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:47,840
the fear of never experiencing 
the glories of heaven apart from

338
00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:49,640
a relationship with Jesus 
Christ. 

339
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,040
Being filled with great fear is 
the real reality. 

340
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,520
But if we want to sing like the 
angels and the shepherds, we not

341
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,520
only have to understand this 
fear, we often also have to 

342
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,440
understand why the shepherds 
were told not to fear. 

343
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,240
The Angel told the shepherds, 
fear not. 

344
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,680
Put away your phobon Megon. 
Why? 

345
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,520
Because Jesus is born. 
The solution to our problem of 

346
00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:21,920
sin has arrived. 
The solution to our alienation 

347
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,160
from God are being enemies with 
God. 

348
00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,720
The way that we can have peace 
with God had arrived. 

349
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:34,040
Fear not because of the gospel. 
The good news of great joy is 

350
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:39,280
that the baby Jesus grew up and 
every moment of his life was 

351
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:43,040
perfect and personal love and 
obedience to His Father in 

352
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:47,760
heaven in every way. 
He was perfectly faithful to the

353
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,400
law of God. 
And rather than just giving us 

354
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,720
an example and then us being 
doomed to try to follow it, He 

355
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:59,760
solved the problem of our sin. 
He was crucified on the cross 

356
00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,640
and he had the wrath and the 
anger and the justice of God 

357
00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:07,200
because of our sin poured out on
him to such an extent that he 

358
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:12,600
was forsaken. 
My God, my God, He cried out. 

359
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:18,000
Why have you forsaken me? 
Our sin was put on Jesus, and he

360
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,520
paid for it in full by dying on 
the cross. 

361
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,480
And then three days later he 
defeated death by coming back to

362
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:26,680
life and being resurrected from 
the grave. 

363
00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:31,120
And then he ascended to heaven 
and He serves there even now as 

364
00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,880
our advocates. 
And He's promised that He's 

365
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,600
coming back. 
He's coming back for us, and He 

366
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:41,360
is bringing a new heaven and a 
new earth where we will dwell 

367
00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:45,280
with Him together for eternity 
without sin, disease, 

368
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,640
discouragement, depression, 
broken bodies, and especially 

369
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:54,280
without death. 
That's why the Lord says fear 

370
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,520
not to those who believe and 
trust in Jesus, who have 

371
00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:01,120
embraced him as their Lord and 
Savior, who are in Christ. 

372
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,920
As our fear of judgement and 
hell and alienation and enmity 

373
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,960
is removed, we should be moved 
to sing like the angels and the 

374
00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:14,640
shepherds. 
Thirdly, if we want to sing like

375
00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:19,480
the angels and the shepherds, we
must own the joy and the peace 

376
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,600
that are ours, right? 
Can we? 

377
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,600
We can just be honest and and we
can we can admit that it is easy

378
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:31,760
to live in this world with 
heaviness and discouragement and

379
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,640
discontentment. 
It's completely understandable 

380
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,440
that that we would feel that 
way. 

381
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:42,920
But we live as fallen human 
beings in a fallen world with 

382
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:48,720
other fallen human beings and it
can feel heavy and discouraging.

383
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:54,600
We can feel disillusioned. 
We can feel discontent and 

384
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,720
unsatisfied and as if we are at 
enmity. 

385
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,960
But these hymns that we are 
looking at and our hymn today 

386
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:06,680
reminds us that there is a joy 
and a peace that is objectively 

387
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:13,000
ours in Christ Jesus. 
These, this joy and this peace 

388
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,640
are not feelings. 
They they are objective truth. 

389
00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,680
They are objective realities 
because of the person and work 

390
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:20,800
of Jesus. 
And in the moments when we have 

391
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,280
a lack of a sense of joy and 
peace in our lives, we need to 

392
00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:26,240
remind ourselves of what is 
true. 

393
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:33,640
There is good news of great joy.
There is peace for those with 

394
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,640
whom God is pleased, for those 
who are in Christ. 

395
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,280
Those are ours to own, to 
experience, albeit imperfectly, 

396
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,680
in this life. 
Now hear me say, this does not 

397
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,280
mean that we should never feel 
down, or never feel discouraged,

398
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,960
or never feel heavy, or never be
depressed. 

399
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:57,280
Of course we will, even seasons 
of feeling those things because 

400
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:02,000
we live on this side of heaven. 
But when we do find ourselves 

401
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,160
feeling that way, when we find 
ourselves in those seasons, we 

402
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,400
must go to God's Word and have 
it remind us of what is true. 

403
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:13,000
To be reminded again of the good
news, of great joy of the peace 

404
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,720
that God has with His people. 
And as we meditate on that joy 

405
00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,720
and peace that are ours and 
treasure them up and ponder 

406
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,680
them, in our hearts will be 
moved more and more to sing like

407
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:30,040
the angels and the shepherds. 
Fourthly, and finally, if we 

408
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:32,440
want to sing like the shepherd, 
like the angels and the 

409
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,760
shepherds, then like the 
shepherds, we need to see this 

410
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:40,120
thing. 
You remember how the shepherds 

411
00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:43,000
responded when the angels left 
them? 

412
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,640
We read it in verse 15. 
In the beginning of verse 16, 

413
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:48,320
they said we need to go see this
thing. 

414
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:53,160
We need to go see this thing 
that we have been told, and then

415
00:26:53,160 --> 00:27:01,360
they left in haste, with a sense
of urgency immediately to go see

416
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:04,240
Jesus. 
It reminds us of other places in

417
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,240
the Scripture where similar 
things are said. 

418
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:13,240
John chapter 12, we read about 
this part, this part of the 

419
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,280
story of Jesus's life. 
Now among those who went up to 

420
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,240
worship at the feast were some 
Greeks. 

421
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:22,280
And so these came to Philip, who
was from Bethsaida in Galilee, 

422
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,640
and asked him, Sir, we wish to 
see Jesus. 

423
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,160
Philip went and told Andrew. 
Andrew and Philip went and told 

424
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,080
Jesus, and Jesus answered, The 
hour has come for the Son of Man

425
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,640
to be glorified. 
Truly, truly, I say to you, 

426
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,600
unless a grain of wheat falls 
into the earth and dies, it 

427
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,120
remains alone. 
But if it dies, it bears much 

428
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,920
fruit. 
Whoever loves his life loses it.

429
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,680
Whoever hates his life in this 
world will keep it for eternal 

430
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,600
life. 
If anyone serves me, he must 

431
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:58,320
follow me, and where I am, there
will my servant be also. 

432
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:01,800
If anyone serves me, the Father 
will honor him. 

433
00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,840
Or we think of Luke Chapter 9 
verse 23 where Jesus says if 

434
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:11,240
anyone would come after me, let 
him deny himself and take up his

435
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:16,640
cross daily and follow me. 
The the shepherds surely didn't 

436
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,400
understand everything that was 
going on, at least to the degree

437
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,160
that we do now. 
But they got enough from what 

438
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:26,280
the angels told them and sang to
them that they knew that they 

439
00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,560
needed to go see this thing that
they were being told about. 

440
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:35,480
They needed to go see Jesus. 
And so they went with haste. 

441
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,560
And it is certainly appears when
they left, they left with some 

442
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,080
level of a desire and and need 
to follow Jesus. 

443
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,920
If we want to sing like the 
angels and the shepherds, we 

444
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,880
need to see Jesus. 
We need to go to Jesus and 

445
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,560
embrace him and take up our 
cross and follow him. 

446
00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,720
That should be a conscious 
thought everyday, an intentional

447
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,480
plan. 
Today I want to see Jesus. 

448
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:11,160
Today I want to follow Jesus, 
following him and growing in our

449
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,000
knowledge of and obedience to 
His Word, growing in our love 

450
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,160
and knowledge of the Lord 
Himself, growing in our our love

451
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,200
for our neighbors and one 
another, growing and living out 

452
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,080
the fruit of the Spirit in our 
lives. 

453
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,560
Every day when we get out of 
bed, we should make the 

454
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,320
conscious, intentional, 
deliberate decision. 

455
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:39,840
Today I will see Jesus. 
Today I will follow Jesus. 

456
00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:46,360
The more that we do that, the 
more we will be changed and able

457
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:49,840
to sing like the angels and the 
shepherds. 

458
00:29:50,400 --> 00:30:02,300
Let's pray together. 
Father, we thank you for the 

459
00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:05,940
message that these shepherds 
heard, this first announcement 

460
00:30:05,940 --> 00:30:08,580
of the arrival of the Lord Jesus
Christ. 

461
00:30:10,020 --> 00:30:13,460
We thank you for the 
announcement of good news, of 

462
00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:19,020
great joy, of peace between you 
and your people through the Lord

463
00:30:19,020 --> 00:30:21,960
Jesus Christ. 
Help us to meditate on these 

464
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,560
wonderful truths, not just in 
the season when we think about 

465
00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:30,600
Jesus's first coming as first 
Advent, but every day, Father, 

466
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:34,520
as we seek and long after Jesus 
Second Advent, when he will come

467
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,600
again and bring the new heavens 
and the new earth. 

468
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,040
As we wait, as we seek to see 
Jesus and follow him in our 

469
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:45,120
lives, fill us with the joy, the
peace, and the hope that are 

470
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:47,640
ours because of all that He 
accomplished. 

471
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,520
We ask this in His name, Amen.