First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
Tune in each week as Pastor Taylor Geurin leads us into a study of God's Word.
First Baptist Church of El Dorado - Sermons
A Humble Arrival: The First Evangelists and Their Timeless Invitation | Luke 2:8-21
What if the most extraordinary announcement in history was made not to the powerful and elite but to those in the fields, tending their flocks? Join us as we journey to the quiet hills of Bethlehem, where shepherds—humble and often overlooked—receive the angelic message of Jesus's birth. This episode uncovers the profound significance of this moment, highlighting the gospel's power to transcend social status and offer hope and joy to every corner of humanity. We reflect on the shepherds' experience, an echo of Mary's song about God exalting the humble, and how this divine encounter parallels Moses's own moment with God's glory.
Discover the life-changing impact of worship and proclamation as seen through the eyes of these first witnesses to the Savior's birth. Their heartfelt response of glorifying and praising God sets an inspiring example for us as modern evangelists. Together, we'll explore the enduring message of the gospel, celebrating the hope it continues to bring and inviting listeners to embrace a life of faith and community. Whether seeking a deeper connection with Jesus or a spiritual home, this episode offers a heartfelt invitation to respond to the good news and share its transformative power with the world.
1st Baptist, baptist El Dorado. Will you join me now in listening to our sermon from this week Church family? Open with me to Luke, chapter 2. Luke, chapter 2 will start in verse 8 this morning. We've got a great service this morning, maybe a few things in a different order than usual, including me up here now and me up here in a few minutes. So after I finish this first brief one, you know, don't move the reservation up I'll be back.
Speaker 1:Luke, chapter 2, beginning in verse 8. Last week we saw, in God's sovereignty, mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, and this is an arrival that we had been waiting for as the people of God. And Mary gives birth to her firstborn son and lays him literally in a feeding trough, in this manger, in what's likely a stable where animals would reside, and this is where the Savior of the world is born into. And now we arrive in verse 8, where we see an arrival proclaimed by heaven, and it begins like this and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. So immediately we move from the birthplace of Jesus to the same region. And who's there? The shepherds.
Speaker 1:Now, there's nothing wrong with being a shepherd. That's not a, that's not a bad profession, that's not a in any way sinful. They're not outcasts, it's. It's just a very humble profession. If you were a shepherd, you were used to some very late nights, some early mornings. If a wolf came around to get at your sheep, you had to be ready to defend the flock. So it could be a dangerous profession. You had to be the one to help find your sheep, the still water and the good pasture to graze in. It was a difficult job with very long hours, but it was a very humble profession.
Speaker 1:And, as we're about to see, it's these shepherds who are the first to go and meet Jesus. Now, in Luke 1.52, mary is singing this song of praise after Gabriel tells her that she will give birth to this promised Messiah. She says something interesting in this praise. She says the Lord brought down the mighty and exalted the humble Well outside of the life of Jesus himself. He's the ultimate example. But where do we see this better than right here himself? He's the ultimate example. But where do we see this better than right here? Where, when the first individuals arriving to meet Jesus? It's not Caesar, thankfully. It's not Herod, it's not Quirinius, it's not the Pharisees, the scribes, the high priest. Who is it? It's the shepherds, the humble shepherds in the field Verse nine and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear. You ask, this seems like a great moment. Why are they so afraid? Well, you'd probably be afraid too If it was a normal night like any other. And suddenly an angel arrives and it says the glory of the Lord shone around them. Now, this is a really big, big deal. The glory of the Lord is shining around them.
Speaker 1:In Exodus 33, 18, there's this moment when Moses asks God, god, will you show me your glory? And God, in response, basically, like a Jack Nicholson line, says you can't handle my glory. You can't handle it. If you just get in the cleft of this rock, I'll pass by you and you can see my back as I pass by you, but that's really all you can handle. You can't look upon my face. And so Moses just gets a glimpse, and it is overwhelming to him, just the glimpse of God's glory.
Speaker 1:And in this field, on what otherwise was a normal night, the angel appears, the glory of the Lord shines all around them and there's an announcement to be made, verse 10,. The angel said to them fear not. So don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. This is an announcement of good news. I'm thankful that in the Christian faith we lean on good news. What is our message? It's good news, not good advice. Nothing wrong with good advice, not good suggestions. Nothing wrong with that either.
Speaker 1:But in the Christian faith, above anything else, we have good news and we have good news that enters into what's really often a bad news world. We look around us and we see bad news everywhere. We see it across the globe. We see it in our own community at times. We see it in our own mirror. At times, as we look in the mirror of our lives, we can live in a real bad news world. And yet these angels come and say there's good news and there's good news of great joy.
Speaker 1:I like that illustration about joy that dog waiting at the front door. If you've been to my house, you know I have a dog that will wait on the front door for you as well, and even when you come in, she will continue to show great joy as you sit in our living room. But there is this good news of great joy that will be for who? For all people, notice, for all people. The shepherds are an example of this. This is good news of great joy not just for the high priest, not just for the religious elite, not just for the lifted up noble ones, but even the lowly shepherds in the field. This is good news for you and I, even in our humble estate, in what is truly a bad news world. And the bad news hits close to home as we realize that even in our own sin we are hopeless and need a Savior.
Speaker 1:But into that moment, good news is announced. Good news, that word, good news, it's the word evangelion, quite literally. That's what the gospel is. The gospel, evangelion, it's just this it's good news. So when you share the gospel, when you evangelize, evangelion, evangelize, it's good news. So when you share the gospel, when you evangelize, evangelion, evangelize, what are you doing? You're sharing the good news. And what is the good news? For?
Speaker 1:Unto you is born this day verse 11 in the city of david, a savior who is christ, the lord. You want to talk about a elevated title for Jesus. There's only one place in all the New Testament, where the words Savior, christ and Lord are put all in the same sentence, and it's right. Here, in this verse, the angels are announcing a high and lifted up one who is the Savior, the one you've been waiting for, but is also the Christ. Sometimes we think that Christ is just. Is that just Jesus' last name, jesus Christ. But really the Christ is a title, the Messiah, the coming one. So he's the Savior, he's the Messiah and he's Lord, he is overall.
Speaker 1:Verse 12, and this will be a sign for you you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Now that seems odd, doesn't it? The Savior, who's Christ, the Lord, and then where are you going to find him? You're going to find a baby. You're going to find this baby in a feeding trough. This is exactly what we talked about last week the sovereignty of God, the mighty nature of this coming king, but also the simplicity of it. Your exalted savior you will find in a manger. Verse 13,. Suddenly, there was, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. So, in the moment for the shepherds, one angel in the glory of God was probably more than they could even imagine or bear. But now the full heavenly host, the curtain is pulled back on heaven.
Speaker 1:Because of a movie that's come out lately, there's been kind of a refresher on the original Wizard of Oz film. I'm sure you've seen it. You know the Wizard of Oz film. I'm sure you've seen it. You know the Wizard of Oz. And there's this moment when Dorothy and the crew come to the wizard and there's this kind of grand reveal. So we think it's the reveal of the wizard and it's this kind of almost scary picture of just how big and mighty the wizard really is. And then Toto, quite literally, just you know, waltzes over and pulls back the curtain on the wizard and suddenly we are completely underwhelmed with who the wizard really is. We thought it was this grand picture, but really it's just kind of this guy in the corner just pulling the levers.
Speaker 1:When the curtain gets pulled back on the heavenly realms, we are never underwhelmed on the heavenly realms, we are never underwhelmed. We are never left thinking is that all there is to it? When the curtain gets pulled back in the heavenly places look in the book of Revelation. When this happens often, the curtains get pulled back. What we see is the majesty of God, and we see these created beings, these angels, that do nothing but give glory to God. That's their goal, that's all they want, and they all come and they say glory to God in the highest and on earth. Look at this word peace, peace among those with whom he is pleased. And so church family for us. Just as it was then 2,000 years ago, so too it is for us today. There is good news In a world that is still a bad news world, it seems. There is still good news that the angels were right, that Christ has come, that Christ has been born.
Speaker 1:And the reality is this church family, you and I, we really only have one message to tell. You know, I really only have one sermon to preach. I almost feel bad. Six months ago I completely tricked the search team. You know they thought, if I was here for 30 years, that's something around 1,500 sermons, 1,500 different sermons. I tricked them. There's only one message, there's only one sermon at the end of the day, and it's the good news that Christ has come, news that Christ has come that, from every corner of scripture, we are looking for and waiting for or reflecting back on or seeing with our own eyes the glory of God that Christ Jesus has come for us. We only have one message. As you venture into a broken and lost world, you only have one message to tell it's the good news of Jesus that Christ has come for us, for you, for me, for those who walk in darkness, that this little baby was born in a manger in Bethlehem and yet he is the Lord of eternity by the cross, by the resurrection. We have one sermon, we have one message. It is the good news that the angels announced 2,000 years ago and that you and I proclaim every day. There is good news this morning for each one of us and as we continue to look to do.
Speaker 1:What is the response to such a proclamation from heaven? How will the shepherds respond to this? A night that was supposed to be a normal night? The angels come. The glory of the Lord surrounds them. They give this grand announcement. And what do the shepherds do now? Verse 15, when the angels went away. And so the angels have gone away, so truly, the ball is in their court. However, they respond is on them. The angels went away from them into heaven. The shepherds said to one another let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.
Speaker 1:I'm fascinated by the faith of the shepherds, the trust of the shepherds in the word of God through these angels, because notice what they say, let's go see the thing that has happened. What they say, let's go see the thing that has happened. Now they don't look up or look to one another and say let's go verify what might be. This seems like a kind of a far-fetched announcement. Maybe we're seeing things. It's late at night. Let's just let's at least travel to Bethlehem and see if there could possibly be any truth to this. No, no, no. They say it has been announced, it has been proclaimed, it is let's go see this thing that has happened. Verse 16,. They went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. It was exactly as the angels had said it would be. And when they saw it verse 17, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
Speaker 1:Think about this for a second. Just a few moments ago, we had the angels making this heavenly announcement. They were these heavenly evangelists, literally proclaiming the Evangelion, the good news, the gospel, from heaven to earth. But now we have the first evangelists on earth. And who is it? Again, it's not the high priest, it's not the scribes, it's not the religious elite, it's not the people we would think it might be who are the first evangelists, the first ones to share the gospel. It's the shepherds, the first ones to share the news that Christ Jesus has come, the good news that has broken into a bad news world. It's the shepherds and they share this news. And many people hear it and wondered at what the shepherds were telling them. And I think about these shepherds, and how long had they known Jesus when they started evangelizing? What 10 minutes. They had just met the little baby. They were up to just keeping sheep. And they go and they see exactly what the angel said. They meet this little baby boy who is Christ the King, and they start sharing the good news.
Speaker 1:I think about evangelism and, at the end of the day, it's this Evangelism, sharing the gospel. Really, it's this. It is just telling people about the one we love, telling people about the thing in our lives that should make us the most excited and sometimes we get nervous about evangelism. We say I don't know if I can do it. We say you know what if I'm not prepared? What if someone asks me a question I'm not ready for? We know all the questions and the arguments that go through our head about evangelism. But what I really think about is this, in no other area of life about sharing the things I love. Am I really all that nervous If I talk to you this morning about James and Olivia and I just share stories about them or things they're doing or ways our little one-year-old Olivia is growing and you know leaps she's taking along the way in her growth.
Speaker 1:I'm not nervous about that. I just like sharing with you what I love. If I tell you stories about Katie, I'm not nervous. I just want you to hear about her. If I tell you stories about the football game my team won or the basketball game they won, or you know, I got this hobby or this thing, I'm not nervous. I just it's something I love and I want to tell you about it. How much more the greatest news that has ever been given? The fact that I was hopeless and lost in sin. Not only that, I was dead in sin and Christ Jesus came for me, came for you, came to this earth, died for me, rose from the grave. I'm forgiven in him. I have new life in him. How much more should I be ready and willing to simply share what I love, simply share the news that has so impacted me?
Speaker 1:And this night, the shepherds. They didn't have it all figured out yet, they didn't have every piece of theology together. What did they have? They had seen Jesus and they wanted to tell someone about it, and so these shepherds are the first evangelists. And so we continue. Verse 19,. Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart and look at this. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.
Speaker 1:So what is the second response from these shepherds? It's simply this it's worship. It's worship. They had seen Jesus, they had experienced Jesus, and it led them to worship. We should be a worshiping people. We who know Jesus Christ and have experienced that good news should be a worshiping people, and I believe we are Certainly on mornings like this, we are very much a worshiping people. Praise God for that. But you also know that our worship is a lifestyle of worship, more than just what happens in this room, but a lifestyle of worship. We should be a worshiping people because we are a people who have good news and we have someone worth worshiping.
Speaker 1:And so I wonder this morning if these shepherds can teach us a lesson I'm sure they can about their response, which was simply this worship and proclamation. I've seen Jesus, so I'm going to glorify God and I'm going to tell other people about him. Wouldn't that be a good response for us who know Jesus? What is my goal in life as one who has seen Jesus, tasted and seen the goodness of God? Worship and proclamation. There is no one greater than the Lord. He sent his son for me. His spirit empowers me. I worship you as king above all kings and proclamation, and I want to tell you about him, and I want to tell you about how you can know him. That's our job church, family. Just like these shepherds years ago, you and I can be worshipers. You and I can be evangelists Because, at the end of the day, this good news that was announced 2,000 years ago is the good news that is just as good this morning.
Speaker 1:The hope that came 2,000 years ago is the same hope that can encourage our hearts even this morning. Whatever we walk through, the same life that Christ Jesus brought to us two thousand years ago is the same life that will carry and sustain us even now. So we are a people of good news. We are a people of worship and proclamation. We are a people who have seen Jesus and it has changed everything.
Speaker 1:If you're here this morning and, for the first time, you want to see Jesus and let it change everything for you, I'll be down front. I'd love to talk to you about that. If you may want to come down and talk with me and let me pray for you about anything and everything, I'll be here. You may want to come join this church family and make this church home your church home. We would love that.
Speaker 1:Whatever you need, however, you need to respond. I ask this morning that you would do it. Let's worship together after I pray and you respond as you need to. And let's remember this we are a people who have received the good news of Jesus and it has changed everything. Let me pray, lord Jesus, we do. Thank you for the good news. We thank you for the gospel, lord. Let us be those people that worship, that proclaim, that share the news that Christ has come, that Christ has died, that Christ has risen, that Christ has come again and that we can have life and forgiveness and hope in no other name but Jesus. Lord, if there is one who needs to respond in any way this morning, lord, give them the courage to do it. We ask in Christ's name, amen, would you stand now as we continue in worship?