Tyler Lynde: I'm excited about bringing this message to you this morning.
Tyler Lynde: I love Christmas, I love Easter, I love anything that is connected to God, obviously, and also to family, and so this is one of those times of years.
Tyler Lynde: So if you want to, you can turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 2.
Tyler Lynde: We're gonna be reading the Linus.
Tyler Lynde: I'm sorry.
Tyler Lynde: I felt I thought I thought about playing the Linus thing from uh from Snoopy, you know, the where he gives the story of Christmas, but I will read it and give a little bit more reverence to the word this morning.
Tyler Lynde: But anyway, we're gonna be looking at Luke chapter two.
Tyler Lynde: We've seen so far in this series um called Expecting, it's all about the importance of praise and worship in the life of a believer, especially when it comes to our corporate meetings.
Tyler Lynde: And what we just experienced together is amazing.
Tyler Lynde: And I hope that we continue to grow in our desire to be expressive, to be um, to be thoughtful, to be focused, to be worshiping together as one as we gather together on Sundays.
Tyler Lynde: The more that we do that, the more that we're going to experience the presence of God.
Tyler Lynde: And we've been looking at some of the biblical songs that are related to the Christmas story and talking about worship from the from that uh those perspectives.
Tyler Lynde: So we've seen so far that true worshipers can expect to hear God like Zechariah did.
Tyler Lynde: That was great, wasn't it?
Tyler Lynde: And also we we've talked about knowing God like Simeon did and feeling God like Mary, the mother of Jesus, did.
Tyler Lynde: I think she could honestly say that she had the most unique experience when it came to feeling God as she carried Jesus in her womb.
Tyler Lynde: And today we're going to look at a group of people who came from a lowly background and their journey to see Jesus as he truly is.
Tyler Lynde: Who do you think those people might be?
Tyler Lynde: Good guess.
Tyler Lynde: Excellent.
Tyler Lynde: Uh, my hope for all of us is that our eyes will be freshly opened to these truths and that we will see the wonder of our Savior once again.
Tyler Lynde: Are you ready for that?
Tyler Lynde: Are you open to that happening this morning?
Tyler Lynde: So the title of today's message is Expecting to See God.
Tyler Lynde: Expecting to see God.
Tyler Lynde: Remember, we talked about the fact that worship is a revelation of who God is.
Tyler Lynde: It's where God shows Himself to us.
Tyler Lynde: And as we get to know Him more, there's a response that is fitting for such a God.
Tyler Lynde: And then also what comes out of that relationship, it is relationship, an ongoing relationship with God is the result of worship.
Tyler Lynde: So let's again read from Luke chapter two, verses eight through twenty.
Tyler Lynde: And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.
Tyler Lynde: 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.
Tyler Lynde: And the angels said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Tyler Lynde: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
Tyler Lynde: And this will be a sign for you.
Tyler Lynde: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
Tyler Lynde: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
Tyler Lynde: When 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.
Tyler Lynde: And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
Tyler Lynde: And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
Tyler Lynde: And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
Tyler Lynde: But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart, and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
Tyler Lynde: Let's pray over the service today.
Tyler Lynde: Father, we thank you and praise you for your word.
Tyler Lynde: Your word is matchless, your word is perfect, and your word is written for the people that it was written to 2,000 years ago, and yet it applies perfectly to our day and time as well.
Tyler Lynde: And so, Father, we ask that you would open our eyes today.
Tyler Lynde: Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord, that we might see you as you truly are.
Tyler Lynde: We thank you for doing that in Jesus' name.
Tyler Lynde: Amen.
Tyler Lynde: So when I was a young pastor in North Carolina, there was a family that came to our church, and the gentleman played the keyboards, and so he was part of our worship team, which was very small, very small room.
Tyler Lynde: Think about a room about half the size of the community room that was our church, and we met in a bank building.
Tyler Lynde: And so the front area was not a stage, it was just flat on the ground, and we had, you know, just the a few people that think it was a keyboard player and a singer, may have had one more instrument, a guitar, or something like that.
Tyler Lynde: And the family that this gentleman, the piano player, his he had a daughter, he and his wife had a daughter who was on the autism spectrum.
Tyler Lynde: And this was many, many years ago, and so that was kind of something that wasn't as common or that we that you would hear about as much as you would hear about it today.
Tyler Lynde: And so, because she was on the spectrum, she was not, uh she didn't necessarily know all the kind of social cues.
Tyler Lynde: And so sometimes during the service, while praise and worship was going on, her dad was playing the keyboard and she wanted to get near her dad.
Tyler Lynde: And so she would find herself down uh down front and uh stepping on microphone cables and you know, at times tickling the ivory in the wrong key.
Tyler Lynde: Uh and uh to be honest with you, there were quite a few people who were who were pretty pretty over it, kind of annoyed by this little girl, uh, not because of her, but because of the the behavior, if that makes sense, right?
Tyler Lynde: Um, and uh so this that's why the rest of what I'm gonna tell you was such a surprise.
Tyler Lynde: There was one service where her name was Jessica.
Tyler Lynde: Jessica became very quiet and very still, and she actually turned away from her dad and faced sort of the wall of the church.
Tyler Lynde: And she lifted up her eyes up towards the ceiling, and she began to say, Jesus, Jesus, I see you, Jesus, I love you, Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: And here this is a ten-year-old girl having this experience where the room grew silent.
Tyler Lynde: No longer were eyes turned to her with disdain, and no longer were the hearts that were there filled with any form of judgment or critique.
Tyler Lynde: Now we were all being challenged by our Savior who was choosing to reveal himself to this precious child.
Tyler Lynde: God wants us to see him, he wants us to see him as he truly is.
Tyler Lynde: And I learned on that day that we can't judge a book by its cover, and we can't say that one person is more worthy than another.
Tyler Lynde: God chooses to show himself in whatever way he chooses to do so.
Tyler Lynde: And she the veil between heaven and earth became very thin that day.
Tyler Lynde: And all of us were crying, and all of us, or most of us, found our our way to the ground with our knees bent as we experienced with her what it must feel like to see Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: And we all know the story.
Tyler Lynde: Joseph and Mary have made their way to Bethlehem, and there were so many people that were there that there was no room in the end, and so they were put into a stable that was meant for animals, and we know that Mary gave birth to Jesus, and she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger that was meant for animals.
Tyler Lynde: And as that story, that part of the story is coming to a conclusion, we move to the second part, which we're going to talk about this morning.
Tyler Lynde: It's interesting to me that the first knowledge about the birth of Jesus wasn't given to the religious leaders of Jerusalem.
Tyler Lynde: Wouldn't you think that if you wanted to make a big splash, if you wanted to make something really apparent, if you wanted to broadcast something to uh to many, many people, that you would choose people who have some form of authority or some form of influence in the culture around.
Tyler Lynde: Uh, but God, in his wisdom, didn't choose to do that.
Tyler Lynde: He didn't choose to uh speak to those who were in Jerusalem, but he spoke instead to a group of shepherds on the hills outside of Bethlehem.
Tyler Lynde: Now you have to understand that shepherds were looked down upon in this culture.
Tyler Lynde: They were looked down upon and they were considered to be the outcasts of Israel by some.
Tyler Lynde: Why was that?
Tyler Lynde: Because there were weeks at a time where they would not be able to get to uh synagogues or to uh you know to the temple in order to uh to do the things that would cause them to be ceremonially clean, and so they were considered to be ceremonially unclean, and so they were looked down upon by many people within the culture.
Tyler Lynde: But how many of you know there's another side to this, and that is that God loves shepherds?
Tyler Lynde: All you have to do is remind yourself of the patriarchs of the Jewish nation.
Tyler Lynde: Moses was a shepherd, and God revealed himself to him in a burning bush.
Tyler Lynde: And what did he ask him to do?
Tyler Lynde: To go and set the people of Israel free from Egyptian bondage.
Tyler Lynde: Excuse me.
Tyler Lynde: We know that David also was a shepherd, and God anointed him and called him to be the king over Israel, right?
Tyler Lynde: And so we have all of these examples, and David himself wrote a beautiful song that many of us can quote, and it starts out, The Lord is my I shall not want.
Tyler Lynde: So David himself referred to our Savior as a shepherd.
Tyler Lynde: And Jesus in John, and we we read about this in John, Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and they know me, and they will listen to my voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.
Tyler Lynde: So Jesus himself is a good shepherd, right?
Tyler Lynde: Amen.
Tyler Lynde: So let's talk about these shepherds.
Tyler Lynde: Are you ready?
Tyler Lynde: Number one, the shepherds were busy living their everyday lives.
Tyler Lynde: This was not, there was nothing extraordinary.
Tyler Lynde: They weren't like, it doesn't say that they were necessarily praying or that they were having a spiritual moment.
Tyler Lynde: It says that they were taking care of the sheep at night.
Tyler Lynde: So to picture this in your mind, try to get that image in your head.
Tyler Lynde: It's nighttime, they're taking care of their sheep.
Tyler Lynde: We know that Mark from uh his, thank you, from his talking about shepherds.
Tyler Lynde: We know that they sing over them.
Tyler Lynde: We know that there's a lot of you know different uh, you know, vocal things that they'll say to the sheep to calm them.
Tyler Lynde: I'm sure there was some of that that was going on.
Tyler Lynde: Some of the shepherds may have been resting, leaning against olive trees or something like that.
Tyler Lynde: Just try to paint that picture in your head if you can.
Tyler Lynde: Some historians even point to the fact that these shepherds may have been the very shepherds who were caring for the flocks that would provide sacrifices in the temple.
Tyler Lynde: That would be interesting, wouldn't it?
Tyler Lynde: We don't know for sure, but there there is some historosity to that idea that it's possible that these shepherds were taking care of the sheep that were meant for sacrifice in the temple.
Tyler Lynde: It is in this simple setting that they first were given the opportunity to experience God, these shepherds.
Tyler Lynde: You see, we encounter God in our families, in our jobs, in our schools, at church.
Tyler Lynde: This is where worship begins.
Tyler Lynde: It doesn't necessarily begin, like I said, with some kind of uh, you know, big thing that's happening.
Tyler Lynde: Sometimes it happens in very small ways, but it begins in everyday life.
Tyler Lynde: Everyday life.
Tyler Lynde: Our relationship with Jesus and the way that we experience him should come out of a normative portion of our lives.
Tyler Lynde: So not only were the shepherds living their everyday lives, but the shepherds saw the light.
Tyler Lynde: Now picture this with me.
Tyler Lynde: There are no, there's no electricity.
Tyler Lynde: There are no jets in the sky, there are no satellites, there are no screens that they're lighting their faces with, right?
Tyler Lynde: There's none of that.
Tyler Lynde: They had oil lamps, possibly, and and and a fire.
Tyler Lynde: But beyond that, the skies besides stars and moon were completely dark, right?
Tyler Lynde: Can you picture that with me?
Tyler Lynde: I'm hoping that you're able to, those of you who are visual people, can can allow yourselves to sort of enter this scene as we talk about this.
Tyler Lynde: And all of a sudden, an angel of the Lord appears, and the glory of the Lord, which is the essence of God's character and nature, the glory of the Lord lights up the night, making it appear like it's day.
Tyler Lynde: Can you picture this?
Tyler Lynde: What do you think their eyes looked like?
Tyler Lynde: Biggest saucers, and probably some of this going on, right?
Tyler Lynde: Who knows what that experience must have been like?
Tyler Lynde: They had no clue.
Tyler Lynde: They had never experienced anything like this in their entire lives.
Tyler Lynde: There were no UFOs, there was nothing that was lighting up the sky.
Tyler Lynde: It was just them and the heavens, and all of a sudden, heaven began to reveal itself in the earth.
Tyler Lynde: In a very real sense, this was a living example of what was happening in the spiritual realm as well.
Tyler Lynde: The earth was covered with darkness at this time, spiritual darkness.
Tyler Lynde: It had been 400 years since God had spoken through a prophet, a major prophet, to the nation of Israel.
Tyler Lynde: And so all of a sudden, we have this angel appearing, the glory of the Lord coming with him, lights up the night sky, and this is an example or a something that symbolizes what God is doing in the spiritual realm as well.
Tyler Lynde: We can read about the prophet Isaiah, who had his own experience with seeing God.
Tyler Lynde: You remember that story?
Tyler Lynde: Where he saw God, and what did he do?
Tyler Lynde: He ran and jumped up in his lap and cuddled with him and gave him some cookies.
Tyler Lynde: What love, Yosana?
Tyler Lynde: I mean, I mean, God?
Tyler Lynde: No.
Tyler Lynde: No, he didn't do that.
Tyler Lynde: He fell on his face.
Tyler Lynde: He said, I am unclean.
Tyler Lynde: I'm a man undone.
Tyler Lynde: And God touched the coal to his lips and made him made him whole.
Tyler Lynde: And then he commissioned him to speak words that are so powerful.
Tyler Lynde: And even what we're reading about today, Isaiah was allowed to prophesy about.
Tyler Lynde: And in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 2, it says this the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Tyler Lynde: Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you have seen the great light of Jesus Christ?
Tyler Lynde: And the darkness of your life has disappeared.
Tyler Lynde: That is our story.
Tyler Lynde: That is our testimony.
Tyler Lynde: So God begins to reveal his glory, and the shepherds feel the weight of it.
Tyler Lynde: There was a holy fear that came over them.
Tyler Lynde: There's a holy fear, and again, we talked about this last week.
Tyler Lynde: The fear of the Lord needs to return to the church of Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: It is something that is essential.
Tyler Lynde: It is the beginning of wisdom and the beginning of knowledge.
Tyler Lynde: The fear of the Lord is essential.
Tyler Lynde: The presence of the Lord should be awe-inspiring and humbling.
Tyler Lynde: His majesty should evoke a healthy fear.
Tyler Lynde: A healthy fear, not a fear of destruction or a fear of punishment, but a fear that is a reverence and respect for the holiness of God.
Tyler Lynde: He is truly other.
Tyler Lynde: He is other, and yet he chooses to love us.
Tyler Lynde: The shepherds also saw the plan.
Tyler Lynde: They saw the light, and they saw the plan, and it says, And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Tyler Lynde: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
Tyler Lynde: And this will be a sign for you.
Tyler Lynde: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
Tyler Lynde: The angel quickly quenches their fear by telling them that there's a plan that's been talked about before, and it is coming to pass before their very eyes.
Tyler Lynde: This plan is about the good news for them and for all people.
Tyler Lynde: The good news of God for all people.
Tyler Lynde: So let's talk about that plan.
Tyler Lynde: The plan is good news of great joy.
Tyler Lynde: Great joy.
Tyler Lynde: The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is literally good news.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you know where to find bad news?
Tyler Lynde: Where are some places you can find bad news?
Tyler Lynde: Television, Facebook, Instagram, you know, all uh TikTok, all these places you can find bad news, but where are you gonna find truly good news?
Tyler Lynde: In the Word of God.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus Himself, the gospel of Jesus, is good news for everyone who hears it and believes it.
Tyler Lynde: We must believe it.
Tyler Lynde: Joy is produced by those who hear the good news of Jesus Christ and believe it.
Tyler Lynde: And this joy is unspeakable and full of glory.
Tyler Lynde: Again, my hope for you this week and every week is that you experience an outpouring of the joy of the Lord like you've never experienced before.
Tyler Lynde: I feel like we need it.
Tyler Lynde: The second part of this plan is the plan is found only in the person of Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you have found that you can talk about God with almost everybody and be fine?
Tyler Lynde: But if you mention the name of Jesus, something changes.
Tyler Lynde: Why is that?
Tyler Lynde: Because Jesus is the only way to the Father, and Satan will do anything he can to distract people from the truth.
Tyler Lynde: It's interesting how the angel strategically uses three different names for Jesus in this passage.
Tyler Lynde: And if you take them all together, it really gives us a full picture of the person and ministry of Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: So let's look at these quickly.
Tyler Lynde: First of all, he said Jesus is Savior.
Tyler Lynde: He is our Savior.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you are glad for that part?
Tyler Lynde: Come on.
Tyler Lynde: He is Jesus, the name Jesus literally means Savior.
Tyler Lynde: That's what it means.
Tyler Lynde: He came to save us from our sins and the just punishment that we deserve because of the sins that we have committed.
Tyler Lynde: Do you guys realize that because of the sins that we have committed in our lives, we deserve the wrath of God, which causes us to be separated from Him forever in a place called hell.
Tyler Lynde: That is the truth, and that's what we deserve.
Tyler Lynde: And yet, God, in his mercy, instituted and initiated this plan that gave us a chance to not have to live out that destiny.
Tyler Lynde: That's good news, friends.
Tyler Lynde: What a wonderful plan.
Tyler Lynde: So Jesus is Savior.
Tyler Lynde: He would do this, Jesus would do this by becoming sin for us and taking our punishment on the cross.
Tyler Lynde: 2 Corinthians 5.21 says it for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Tyler Lynde: This is the plan, and this is the good news of Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: We are able to be made right with God.
Tyler Lynde: We can have right standing with God, and we can be called children of God.
Tyler Lynde: What a powerful truth and what a powerful reality.
Tyler Lynde: So Jesus is Savior.
Tyler Lynde: Second of all, in this, the angel says that Jesus is Christ.
Tyler Lynde: Now, how many of you know Christ is not Jesus' last name?
Tyler Lynde: Like Lind is my last name.
Tyler Lynde: Christ is not Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: Maybe you didn't know that, and that's okay.
Tyler Lynde: I want you to know today that the name Christ means anointed one or Messiah.
Tyler Lynde: Christ means anointed one.
Tyler Lynde: It means that Jesus was authorized and deputized by all of heaven's authority to carry out the plan of the Father here in this earth.
Tyler Lynde: He was authorized, he was anointed, he was appointed, he was deputized, he was sent.
Tyler Lynde: All of those words that you could use to describe Jesus, he came bearing with him all authority in heaven and on earth to fulfill the task that he was at.
Tyler Lynde: So not only is his name nice, like Savior, but also he has the authority and the ability to do it, to save us from our sins.
Tyler Lynde: Luke 4.18, Jesus comes on the scene, and how does he describe himself in his first church service?
Tyler Lynde: And he did so well at this church service, they didn't applaud at the end, they tried to stone him to death.
Tyler Lynde: I'm praying and begging, and my wife is praying also that that is not the outcome of this message this morning.
Tyler Lynde: But if it is, he'll protect me like you protected Jesus, right?
Tyler Lynde: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus is speaking, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
Tyler Lynde: He has anointed me, anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
Tyler Lynde: He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
Tyler Lynde: How many of you can say this morning that you have experienced some of that?
Tyler Lynde: Some of that freedom, some of that healing, some of that restoration.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus was anointed and sent from heaven to do that.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus is the Christ.
Tyler Lynde: And finally, it says that Jesus is Lord.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus is Lord.
Tyler Lynde: He is God manifest in the flesh.
Tyler Lynde: And he is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Tyler Lynde: He is sovereign above all things.
Tyler Lynde: And just like the song that we sang this morning, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Tyler Lynde: And why will they do that?
Tyler Lynde: To the glory of God the Father.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus Christ is Lord.
Tyler Lynde: He's our friend.
Tyler Lynde: Absolutely.
Tyler Lynde: He's our guide and comforter through the Holy Spirit.
Tyler Lynde: Absolutely.
Tyler Lynde: But he's also sovereign and he's in charge.
Tyler Lynde: And let's not get that out of order.
Tyler Lynde: Amen?
Tyler Lynde: This is all part of the great plan that God was revealing to the shepherds.
Tyler Lynde: So the shepherds saw a great plan, but they also saw an open heaven.
Tyler Lynde: An open heaven, it says, and suddenly, how many of you know whenever you see the word suddenly in the Bible, something good is about ready to happen?
Tyler Lynde: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased.
Tyler Lynde: Picture this again.
Tyler Lynde: We have this one angel in the glory of the Lord and the light that was shining around him.
Tyler Lynde: And now all of the heavens are filled with angels singing this angelic song.
Tyler Lynde: Imagine.
Tyler Lynde: And these are just poor little shepherd boys taking care of some sheep, experiencing heaven coming to work.
Tyler Lynde: Amen.
Tyler Lynde: That's right.
Tyler Lynde: So again, suddenly it couldn't be it couldn't be held in any longer.
Tyler Lynde: A multitude, thousands of heavenly hosts appeared.
Tyler Lynde: It wasn't a choir of five or six or ten or twenty.
Tyler Lynde: There were thousands of angels.
Tyler Lynde: That root word there for multitudes means thousands.
Tyler Lynde: Many, many, many angels filled that night, become day sky.
Tyler Lynde: The supernatural realm is just as real, or dare I say, even more real, than the natural world that we see around us.
Tyler Lynde: Because the spiritual world is eternal.
Tyler Lynde: Right?
Tyler Lynde: It's forever.
Tyler Lynde: Now we tend to concentrate when we think about the spiritual world, we tend to concentrate on the dark side of it.
Tyler Lynde: Evil, Satan, demonic activity, what's going on in the world in that way.
Tyler Lynde: But I want to remind you that when Satan fell from heaven, he took one-third of the angels with him.
Tyler Lynde: I'm not a great mathematician, but if you do the math, what's left?
Tyler Lynde: Two-thirds of the angels remain, and Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Tyler Lynde: And by the way, if you didn't know this, I'm gonna spoiler alert.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus defeated Satan at the cross of Calvary.
Tyler Lynde: And he no longer has power or authority over us.
Tyler Lynde: He is a defeated foe.
Tyler Lynde: Right?
Tyler Lynde: But we know he's a defeated foe, and one day he will be locked up forever and ever.
Tyler Lynde: So when we think about the spiritual world, we are to be aware.
Tyler Lynde: We shouldn't be unaware of Satan's devices.
Tyler Lynde: The Bible teaches us that.
Tyler Lynde: But let's not forget, God is sovereign and his forces are larger than Satan's by a lot.
Tyler Lynde: So let's look at the angel's song for a minute.
Tyler Lynde: The angel's song shows the proper heart posture of worship.
Tyler Lynde: So beautiful the way that this all unfolds.
Tyler Lynde: It says, Glory to God in the highest.
Tyler Lynde: That's the first part of this.
Tyler Lynde: Glory to God in the highest.
Tyler Lynde: Now I know this as the eggshell song.
Tyler Lynde: You know what I'm talking about?
Tyler Lynde: In eggshell sees deo.
Tyler Lynde: Right?
Tyler Lynde: Miss Heather, is that the way you pronounce it?
Tyler Lynde: Here's our choir teacher.
Tyler Lynde: She's affirming.
Tyler Lynde: Sorry, I worked one joke into it, guys.
Tyler Lynde: I know we've been real serious.
Tyler Lynde: But that is the title that's been given to this song, Gloria in Excelsius Deo.
Tyler Lynde: So here's the thing we need to know about this.
Tyler Lynde: Worship is not about me.
Tyler Lynde: I'm so sorry that the worship culture, especially in America, has become largely about me.
Tyler Lynde: All my stuff and all of that.
Tyler Lynde: It's not wrong to sing about what God's done for us, but when it becomes like a consumer list, like a shopping guide for God, it bothers me.
Tyler Lynde: Does it bother you?
Tyler Lynde: Kind of gets to me a little bit.
Tyler Lynde: Worship is not about me.
Tyler Lynde: We are to bring glory and honor to God.
Tyler Lynde: As the West Minister Catechism says, the chief end of man should be to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
Tyler Lynde: Worship, the posture of worship is not about me.
Tyler Lynde: It's about glorifying him.
Tyler Lynde: It's about exalting him, it's about lifting him up and praising him and adoring him.
Tyler Lynde: That is literally our highest calling and what every aspect of our life should be centrally focused on to bring glory to God.
Tyler Lynde: Listen to this.
Tyler Lynde: Every time we worship God, we join in with the heavenly choir.
Tyler Lynde: Every time we open our mouths to praise and worship God, we're joining in with the heavenly choir.
Tyler Lynde: And if you want some more of their music, you can find their their their uh what's the word for playlist?
Tyler Lynde: Thank you, in the book of Revelation.
Tyler Lynde: So let's look at Revelation chapter 5, verse 9, and look at one of their top hits.
Tyler Lynde: Is this on the top of your playlist?
Tyler Lynde: And they sang a new song saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priest to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.
Tyler Lynde: Then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
Tyler Lynde: And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them, saying, To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.
Tyler Lynde: Right?
Tyler Lynde: Our interest should be his, and his interest is ours.
Tyler Lynde: He desires good things for us.
Tyler Lynde: God's heart has always been to have a great relationship with his children.
Tyler Lynde: He doesn't want to have broken relationships.
Tyler Lynde: He doesn't want to have uh, you know, cold shoulders and non-communicative uh, you know, stories about his kids.
Tyler Lynde: He wants to have a great relationship with his family.
Tyler Lynde: The problem is, it's a three-letter word.
Tyler Lynde: What is it?
Tyler Lynde: Sin.
Tyler Lynde: Sin has caused there to be enmity between God and man.
Tyler Lynde: And a holy God must punish sin in order to remain holy.
Tyler Lynde: The sacrificial system in the Old Testament was put in place to cover over the sins of the people.
Tyler Lynde: It could not remove the sins, but it could cover over.
Tyler Lynde: So there could be some semblance of right relationship with God, even through the old covenant in the Old Testament.
Tyler Lynde: But now, through Jesus Christ, there will be, there was, there, there would be, a once and for all sacrifice that would open the door for us to be able to repent of our sins and to put our faith, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ so that we might be saved and restored to right relationship with God.
Tyler Lynde: This is the story of Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving.
Tyler Lynde: We should be thankful for this, in other words.
Tyler Lynde: You see, the Messiah came to be both the good shepherd and the Lamb of God, sacrificed for the sins of the world.
Tyler Lynde: The story of Christmas does not end in a manger.
Tyler Lynde: The story of Christmas ends on a cross.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus' life and ministry would fulfill the song of the angels as he would live himself to bring glory to God in the highest.
Tyler Lynde: That was his utmost aim, to glorify his heavenly father, to do anything that his father asked of him.
Tyler Lynde: And also that there would be peace on earth toward those with whom he is pleased.
Tyler Lynde: And who are those with whom he is pleased?
Tyler Lynde: He is well pleased with those, again, who have repented of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Tyler Lynde: Romans 5, verse 1 says, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: We have peace with God because of the, and then we also can experience the peace of God, which is the tangible presence of peace in our lives.
Tyler Lynde: But that we can't have the peace of God until we experience peace with God.
Tyler Lynde: Amen.
Tyler Lynde: Now, how many of you know we can't earn this peace and we don't deserve it?
Tyler Lynde: And like the song says, He gives it anyway, freely.
Tyler Lynde: And finally, the shepherds saw God.
Tyler Lynde: The shepherds saw God.
Tyler Lynde: That's enough.
Tyler Lynde: I've seen enough, I've heard enough.
Tyler Lynde: This is all of God that I need.
Tyler Lynde: But how many of you know the shepherds were not content to remain in an experience with God?
Tyler Lynde: They wanted God Himself.
Tyler Lynde: Let's not settle for an experience when we can have Him for ourselves.
Tyler Lynde: I'll take a relationship over an experience every day of the week.
Tyler Lynde: But I'd like the experience as well.
Tyler Lynde: We can have both, right?
Tyler Lynde: When 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.
Tyler Lynde: And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
Tyler Lynde: They must see Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: Imagine what it must have been like to enter that stable.
Tyler Lynde: Go over to the manger that had been spoken of to them by the angel to look down.
Tyler Lynde: Jesus must have been cooing, right?
Tyler Lynde: Or cuddly, you know, just very sweet.
Tyler Lynde: I don't know, whatever image you want to get.
Tyler Lynde: But they stare into the eyes of their savior, Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: I can't even imagine what that must have been like.
Tyler Lynde: What an honor and privilege.
Tyler Lynde: And because they experienced this, they were so transformed by seeing God that they couldn't stop talking about it.
Tyler Lynde: It says, and when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child, and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
Tyler Lynde: This is the passion of a new convert, somebody who has experienced God for themselves and is now wanting to pursue him even further and to pursue him to the point where they're sharing the message that they've received with everyone else around them.
Tyler Lynde: And that was only the job of the shepherds, right?
Tyler Lynde: No.
Tyler Lynde: That's the job of the sheep.
Tyler Lynde: Just like us.
Tyler Lynde: We get the chance.
Tyler Lynde: Like a new convert, like somebody who's passionate about salvation because they've just experienced being ripped away from the kingdom of darkness and being brought into the kingdom of light.
Tyler Lynde: Let us return to our first love and share that love with those around us at this Christmas season and always.
Tyler Lynde: Can we do that?
Tyler Lynde: You see, I have a question.
Tyler Lynde: Is it enough to see Jesus for ourselves?
Tyler Lynde: Or do we long for others to see him?
Tyler Lynde: Let's not let Thursday be just about the giving of gifts and the eating of pork and chicken and beef, whatever it is.
Tyler Lynde: Let's speak the name of Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: Let's speak the name of Jesus in our homes, around the table, in our neighborhoods.
Tyler Lynde: And it finishes by saying that they couldn't uh they they couldn't stop praising God for all he had done.
Tyler Lynde: It says, and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
Tyler Lynde: They were so impacted by seeing God that their whole lives were transformed.
Tyler Lynde: And they couldn't and wouldn't remain silent.
Tyler Lynde: They were gossiping the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they also continued to sing the songs of heaven as they lifted up their voices to praise and honor the King.
Tyler Lynde: Here's the reality for us today.
Tyler Lynde: When we are struggling with worship, the reality is that our view of our Savior has become skewed, shaded, or hindered in some way.
Tyler Lynde: An encouragement to all of us.
Tyler Lynde: Lift up your eyes.
Tyler Lynde: Lift up your heads.
Tyler Lynde: And let's look upon Jesus again.
Tyler Lynde: The Bible says that when Christ returns, those are the ones he's going to be looking for.
Tyler Lynde: Those who have their eyes peeled and ready, looking for him.
Tyler Lynde: This verse that I'm going to finish with was also sung this morning.
Tyler Lynde: It's almost like God had a plan.
Tyler Lynde: Isaiah 9, 6.
Tyler Lynde: Maybe this was the song of the shepherds.
Tyler Lynde: Maybe they recalled their lives as young people and children going to the synagogue or to the temple and hearing the book of Isaiah read.
Tyler Lynde: For unto us a child is born.
Tyler Lynde: To us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called.
Tyler Lynde: Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Tyler Lynde: Amen.
Tyler Lynde: Would you stand with me and let's close this morning?
Tyler Lynde: Thank you, Lord.
Tyler Lynde: My prayer for us is that a holy desperation comes over us, including myself.
Tyler Lynde: For more of God, for more of Jesus.
Tyler Lynde: I want to hear him.
Tyler Lynde: I want to know him.
Tyler Lynde: I want to feel him.
Tyler Lynde: And I want to see him.
Tyler Lynde: Because when I experience God in those ways, this life becomes so much better.
Tyler Lynde: And I became become so much less concerned about my own self and so much more concerned about him and his kingdom and the spreading of that kingdom.
Tyler Lynde: Let's pray.
Tyler Lynde: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for the powerful words that you've spoken to us and through us this morning.
Tyler Lynde: And Lord, I ask in Jesus' name that those who are here that have never experienced the peace of God or peace with God because they are not yet born again.
Tyler Lynde: I pray in the name of Jesus that you would cause them to see you.
Tyler Lynde: Open the eyes of their hearts.
Tyler Lynde: Lord, help them to see you for the first time as you truly are.
Tyler Lynde: Not a religious symbol or a you know something that they think about at Christmas and Easter.
Tyler Lynde: But Lord, we ask that you would help them to see you as Savior and Christ and Lord.
Tyler Lynde: And Father, I ask that as they see you, that they would cry out to you from their hearts and that they would ask you to forgive them of their sins and that they would put their faith, hope, and trust in you.
Tyler Lynde: And if that's you this morning, I just encourage you in this very moment, you don't have to wait.
Tyler Lynde: You don't have to wait till Christmas.
Tyler Lynde: You're here this morning for a reason.
Tyler Lynde: God brought you here.
Tyler Lynde: Call out to him right now in your own voice, in your own words, just some sentiment that, like I just prayed, just acknowledge to him your need for him.
Tyler Lynde: And I promise you, he will meet you right where you're at.
Tyler Lynde: We're gonna have people down here in just a minute that would love to pray with you, and we'd have a Bible that we'd want to give you and encourage you in your in your walk with the Lord.
Tyler Lynde: Father, I pray also for the rest of us who, for whatever reason, we've stopped looking up and we're looking around, and we're looking down, we're looking at our circumstances, we're looking at what's going on in this world, and Father, we need to see you again.
Tyler Lynde: Lord, we cry out to you, we ask that you'd cause the scales to fall from our eyes.
Tyler Lynde: And like Paul, that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit and that we would see you, Lord, like we did when we first fell in love with you.
Tyler Lynde: Father, restore unto us the joy of our salvation.
Tyler Lynde: Let this Christmas season be one of remembrance, where we look back on what you have done in our lives and help us, Father, to change our perspective just like you did with the shepherds.
Tyler Lynde: Lord, we know that you can do that with us.
Tyler Lynde: We ask you for these things.
Tyler Lynde: We ask that you would affect our families, our friends, our enemies, whoever it is, Lord.
Tyler Lynde: We ask that this would be a season of just an outpouring of your spirit where many men and women and children would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Tyler Lynde: We thank you for it, Father, in Jesus' name.
Tyler Lynde: Amen.