Well, good evening, everybody. Merry Christmas. Please pray with me as we come to God's word together. Lord, we thank you for Jesus, and we thank you that tonight, because of him, we can have hope. We can have joy, we can worship you, and we can know you. And I ask that as we come to your word this morning, that you would fill our hearts with those feelings of joy, those feelings of hope, that you would give us awe and wonder that we get to be known as followers of Christ. You would lead us to worship, and you would be glorified among us tonight. And we ask these things in Jesus's name, amen. Well, as a church, we've been going through a series highlighting the miraculous nature of Christmas. We've looked at the miracle of God's presence, the miracle, the fact that Jesus is God. He was Emmanuel. He was God with us in the flesh. We looked at the miracle of God's power, the fact that that Jesus is the king over all kings and that he has sovereign power over everyone. That his sovereignty extends across all peoples. And then we looked at the miracle of God's purpose just a few days ago. The precious truth that the purpose for Jesus' coming was to bring salvation, to rescue us from sin, death, and the devil. Tonight, we're going to be looking at Luke 2, 1 through 21, which was just read for us, with a particular focus on the miracle of God proclaiming the good news through the angels. And we're going to be looking at three particular aspects of that. First, we're going to be looking at the reason for the proclamation. Second, we're gonna be looking at the reality of the proclamation. And then third, we're gonna be looking at the natural response to the proclamation. How do we respond to what's being told to us? And my hope tonight is to remind you of the good news that we celebrate at Christmas, to encourage you with the sovereign goodness of God and his purposes, and then to invite you to worshipfully believe and proclaim the good news. So the first thing, I can get this on, maybe, there we go. First thing we're gonna look at is the reason for the angel's proclamation. The angels are celebrating the good news of Christmas, namely the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born to bring salvation and hope to sinful, hopeless people like you and me. So if you're not already, please turn with me to Luke 2, and we're gonna read the first seven verses together. So this is what Luke writes. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. And this was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Now there's a lot held in these verses that would be worth diving into, but what I just want to simply note is that the event that leads to the proclamation of the angels is the birth of Jesus Christ. This is why they're going to be proclaiming just a few verses later. But this is not the only reason why they're going to be proclaiming to the shepherds. Their proclamation is not simply the fact that Jesus was born, but because of who Jesus is, and what his arrival means. As many of you probably know, just a few weeks ago, my wife and I welcomed the birth of our firstborn son, which was a really precious moment, really the happiest days of my life. And he's born, Emily got to hold him pretty much immediately. We spent like several minutes just doting over him. And then the time came for them to take him to get weighed and measured, make sure his temperature was good. And one of the first things I did was take a bunch of pictures of him. and then send it to all the family that couldn't be there with us at the hospital. I wanted to make sure they knew that he was born, that he was healthy. It was a joyful moment for me, and I wanted to share it with them. Now, it's not hard for me to imagine the similarities between what I experienced and what's happening in this text, but I want you to know it's not the same thing. Our son's birth was a miracle, and I wanted other people to share that joy, but God is not simply a proud father wanting to announce the birth of his son. He is our creator who's also announcing the arrival of his means of salvation. This is why it's good news. He is announcing the arrival of a savior who is Christ the Lord. This is the good news of great joy that is to be for all the people. Which does beg the question though, Jesus is a savior from what? Like why is this actually good news? And these questions are answered in the verses that come directly before our text. So we did look at this just a couple days ago, but in Zachariah's prophecy in Luke 1, he's talking about his son John and what John's gonna do to pave the way for what Jesus has come to do. So if you will, just look back with me at Luke 1, starting in verse 76. So this is what Zachariah prophesies. He says, and you, child, talking about John, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Jesus is the Lord. He is God incarnate, and he was born to bring salvation and forgiveness to sinners. He was born for people like you and I who used to live in death and darkness, This is what makes his birth worth proclaiming and it's why the angels call it good news. The angels are proclaiming the arrival of Jesus because he is God and he has come to bring life, light, and peace to those who used to live in death, darkness, and enmity with God. So the backdrop to the joy and hope of Christmas is the hopeless state that we used to be in before Christmas. Before Christ came, we had no forgiveness. Before Christ came, we lived in death and darkness. And before Christ came, we were with strife with God. But now, because he's come, we have forgiveness. Because he's come, we have light in life. And because he's come, we have peace with God. As Christians, we get to experience the hope, joy, and warmth at Christmas because we used to live in death and darkness. This is the good news that the angels are proclaiming, and then this is the good news that you and I get to live in each day. So this is the good news, but then this brings us to the actual proclaiming of the good news itself, so the actual reality of the proclamation. So let's look at this in verses 18 through 15 of our text, actually 18 through 14. It says, and in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 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. 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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And 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 we've already looked at why the angels are proclaiming and what they're proclaiming about. So what I wanna do here is just take a step back and look at the very fact that there's even angels proclaiming in the first place. The fact that the angels are testifying to the birth of Jesus is a testament to the goodness and sovereignty of God's mercy. The proclamation of the angels directly tells us that God's mercy, that God's salvation is for all people. and it indirectly shows us that he is determined to make sure that his son is known. He's determined to make sure that people know that the Savior has arrived. God is the one who makes sure that the good news of Jesus Christ and his gift of salvation goes out into the world. Kids, I want you to imagine something with me for a little bit. I'm not sure how or if your family does gifts around Christmas time, but just imagine with me, your parents got you something that you've really wanted for a really long time. They get it, they put it in a box, they wrap it up all nice, put a bow on it, but they don't put your name on the present. They just stick it under the tree. And the time comes to open it, and they don't tell you that it belongs to you. So everyone else is opening their gifts, and it's just sitting there. How would you feel? That'd be pretty sad, right? You don't actually get to enjoy the gift. Now, just a quick show of hands for everyone in the room. Who's ever had that happen to them before? Anybody? No. Why is that? The reason it doesn't happen is because when parents buy their kids gifts, they make sure they get them. Their joy doesn't come simply in buying the gift, but in actually making sure that their kids receive it and enjoy them. So in a similar way, God shows his love for us and he doesn't simply send us the gift of salvation in Jesus, but he tells us about it. He sent us his son and then now he uses miraculous means through the angels to draw attention to him and then call people to salvation. And this isn't something new. The entire Bible is God proclaiming salvation in Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, he calls out to us saying, you need saving. I'm coming to save you. I'm sending a savior to you. And then in the New Testament, he calls out to us saying, this is him. Jesus is the savior that I sent to you. Salvation has come. Believe in his name. God is the first evangelist. And if it wasn't for him, none of us would know about Jesus and none of us would believe in him. God is not content to merely provide the way of salvation and just hope that we'll stumble into it eventually. No, God provides the salvation, and then he pursues us, he calls us, and he uses miracles to give us confidence that Jesus is the Savior that was promised. So I hope you see that when you think about the angels, that's God calling out to us, and also giving us confidence that Jesus is the Savior that we need. So we have the reason for the proclamation, we have just the reality of the proclamation itself, two miracles, And now the question is, how do we actually respond to this? What does this demand of us? And I'd like to present just two responses based off this text. First, believe the proclamation, believe the message, and then second, proclaim the message. So first, believe the message of this proclamation. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior that God has promised and he has sent to rescue you from sin and death, and then seek after him. This is what we see the shepherds doing. So if you look at verses 15 through 16 of our text, this is what Luke records. 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. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. Notice that the shepherds rightly interpret that this message that they've received came directly from God himself. And then they believe that what he said was true. And in their faith, they go to them to go see it. They go look for Jesus. And friends, the angels' words were not just for the shepherds. They were for us as well. And so we, like the shepherds, must believe these words. We must believe that Jesus is the Savior that God has promised, and then we must seek after him. And no, we can't seek after him physically like the shepherds did, but we can seek after him in his word as we read the Bible. We can seek after him as we call out to him in prayer. We can look for him by committing ourselves to a local church and living in community. We follow him by obeying his commands. The call, my call to you in the call of this text, whether you believe in Jesus your whole life or you've never put your faith in him, is to hear these words as if they were spoken to you and put your faith in them. It says, behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. Believe it. Believe that Jesus came to rescue you. Put your faith in him, and you will get to experience the peace and joy that he came to bring. And this message is not only meant to be believed, but it is also meant to be proclaimed. What do people do with good news? They share it, they tell other people about it. When they're excited, they want other people to know. And again, this is what we see the shepherds doing. So in the last portion of our text, verses 16 on, this is what it says. Actually 17 on. And when they saw it, the shepherds, 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. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they heard and seen as it had been told to them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the shepherds before he was conceived in the womb. Now, there's lots of other texts we could look at in the Bible for specific direct commands to go and proclaim the good news. But I would like to just provide three reasons from this text why we proclaim. First, we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ because this is what God desires. We just looked at this just a few minutes ago. The proclamation of the angels shows us that God desires that people would know about Jesus. And so when we go out and we proclaim that good news, we're doing something that pleases God, something that's in step with his character and furthers his purposes in the world. So proclaim the good news because this is something that God desires. Second, we proclaim the good news because it's for all people. This gospel, this Savior, doesn't belong to a specific people group. There's no one that God deems unworthy to hear and respond to the message of forgiveness. And so there's nobody that we get to choose to withhold it from. So share it. Share it with everyone because the good news belongs to everyone. We must share it with them. We proclaim the good news because it's the natural overflow of our joy in the good news itself. You may have noticed in the text that the angels don't tell the shepherds to tell anybody else about what they've heard. There's no direct go and make sure everyone else knows. No, the shepherds just do it because they're excited. They're joyful in what they've heard and seen, and so they tell other people about it, and then they actually, out of the overflow of that, begin worshiping and praising God. When we truly believe how hopeless we are without Christ, and how massively precious the salvation that we have in Him is, then the natural response is joyful proclamation. Both out of a desire for other people to know it as well, but also just to give glory to God for what He has done. We want to praise Him, we want the world to know what an amazing thing He has done in Jesus Christ. So may we all pray for that type of joy in our salvation, for that type of just natural, instinctual overflow of both worship and evangelism out of our joy in Jesus Christ. So as we come to a close this evening, I hope you have been encouraged by the reason why we celebrate and worship at Christmas. You've been reminded by such the good news that we have in him. And I hope you've been struck by the intentional mercy of God and is loving you and sending the angels to proclaim the good news to the shepherds. And I hope you believe this message with your whole heart and joyfully share it with others. God has done an amazing, miraculous thing in sending Jesus Christ to us. And it's a glorious reality that we get to live in each day. So let's do that. Please pray with me. Father, we thank you for Jesus, and we thank you for your word that tells us about him, that shows us who you are, and that gives us confidence that you are who you have said you are. And I thank you that we get to gather with other people who have put their faith in you to worship you. Please give us hearts of worship. Please give us hearts of true faith. And we ask that you be glorified in us, your people. And it's in Jesus' precious name that we pray and hope these things. Amen.