Serve the Need for the Messiah

Posted: December 24, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Christmas, Exhausted, Fear, Interrupted, Jesus, Messiah, Rejection, Sermons, Service | Leave a comment

Christmas has always been a time of service. People seem to help out at the Food Bank more at Christmas time or putting on meals for others. By the way, thank you to all who helped out with the B.L.E.S.S. dinner last Saturday. There are community events that require more hospitality, let alone the hospitality at home with all the extra cooking and baking. Serving increases at Christmas too as we think of others and take our hard-earned money to buy gifts for them. Christmas has always been a time of service. This is what we discover as we read Luke 2:8-14. Please turn in or on your Bibles to Luke 2:8-14. If you don’t have a Bible, please raise your hands and we will give one to you to keep and read. It is the best gift we could give you at Christmas or any time of the year – the Word of God. As you open to Luke 2:8-14, I want to remind you that this is part four of our B.L.E.S.S. advent series. We started with the “B” in B.L.E.S.S., which stands for Begin with prayer. The rest of B.L.E.S.S. stands for Begin with prayer, Listen for the need, Eat with one another, Serve the need and Share the story. So after praying for people and talking to God about them, listening to their needs, and eating with them, we need to serve their needs. As Pastor Kyle reminded us last week, Christ came in humility and with hospitality. It would be almost a waste to not act on what we have prayed for people, listened for their needs, and had fellowship with them. Let’s read Luke 2:8-14 to learn how to serve the needs of others. Read Luke 2:8-14!

I want to begin by acknowledging that there are always obstacles to serving others’ needs. This is evident in the decrease in volunteerism in our society. Lori and I found it interesting when talking to a school guidance counselor recently who told us that there is some research out there that shows here in Ontario that the requirement of 40 community service hours to graduate from high school has actually undermined service in society. The concept of community service hours was to make students more well-rounded and not just think of their education as academics, but also as application in the rest of the lives. To quote the words of the late Queen Elizabeth II to the Commonwealth, “I declare before all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service …”  However, it has had the opposite effect. Students are taught if they do their duty for 40 hours, then we do not need to help beyond those 40 hours. This is not the heart of Jesus’ example of service. We who call ourselves Christ-followers should not be just duty-bound, but love-motivated. Why do we serve? Because Christ served us! We will return to this motivation later.

For now, let’s acknowledge that there will still be some obstacles to serving the needs of others. This is why we need to Serve others’ needs when… 1) we are rejected (v. 8).  Look at verse 8, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field.” “Shepherds were sometimes portrayed in Judaism as drifters and dishonest troublemakers.”[1] They “were the outcasts of Israel.”[2] This was ironic because Israel’s patriarchs were all shepherds – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their greatest leaders were shepherds – Moses and David. Some of their prophets like Amos were shepherds. What a reminder that what was once foundational and respected can be perceived as unwanted and disdained. And maybe this is because the some of the shepherds lost sight of their calling and were dishonest? Dishonesty always destroys trust.  Maybe some of the shepherds had lost sight of their calling and became selfish?

There are some scholars who believe that the shepherds of Bethlehem were watching the flocks that would serve as sacrifices in the Temple at Jerusalem. We don’t know for sure. If so, sometimes we despise things that remind us of our sin. Maybe the shepherds were also despised because of their care for a reminder of the people’s sins? My friends, sometimes when you are serving, you will feel rejected. Maybe you have been praying and caring for people hoping to share the story of Jesus with them and they do not want anything to do with Jesus. Those are really important moments because they will help reveal what our true motivation is for serving. Are we motivated to serve others needs for the praise of God or the praise of people? The praise of people will never last. Serve others needs when you are rejected.

Serve others’ needs when we are rejected, but also when we are 2) exhausted (v. 8). Notice when the shepherds were working in verse 8, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Watching is not easy! Ask anybody who has watched young children. You turn your head and they are into something they shouldn’t be. It is the same with sheep.  Added to this, the shepherds were working the night shift! Anybody ever worked the night shift? It’s hard! Our bodies are used to certain food and sleep rhythms and they get all thrown off when we work through the night. The thing about shepherding is that it was and still is a 24/7 job. Sometimes shepherds would spell one another off, but other times they just lived with the sheep to protect the sheep from dangers – predators, bad food sources, wandering off to unstable terrain that would cause injuries. My friends, there are times when we face the obstacle of serving others’ needs when we are tired and working – doing other jobs. It is at those times that we need to cry out to God to help us, especially when we have no relief in sight. We can’t get the rest we need. I am sure that some of you feel like you are in that season right now. You have so many demands on you and it feels overwhelming. A verse that has helped me so much when I have felt that way is 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and goodness.” God’s power will give us all the we need to do for life and godliness. Notice, it doesn’t say all that we want to do. Some of things we want to do may not be godly. There are some things that we have taken upon ourselves that God hasn’t called us to do. There is no power from God for such activities. But when you go through a season when you are serving needs because God put you in the middle of those needs, He will also enable you to serve those needs. Cry out to Jesus the Messiah! He understands – He was often at the hub of all sorts of human needs. God gave Him the ability to serve all those God wanted Him to. I believe He will do the same for us. Serve the needs when you are exhausted. 

Serve others’ needs when you are rejected, tired and working, but also serve others’ needs when you are 3) interrupted (v. 9, 13). Look at verse 9, “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…” I’m sure the shepherds were trying to stay awake. Remember, there was no coffee or Red Bull in those days to caffeinate and stay awake for the night shift. The shepherds were probably hoping for a quiet night. And then the choir showed up. I love when the choir shows up. And this choir described in verse 13 was no ordinary choir. This was the heavenly choir of angels singing the first version of the Messiah before Frederick Handel ever wrote his ode to Jesus. But it starts with a single angel and the glory of the Lord. The glory of God has a weight to it. It falls heavy on us. The angels were not prepared for this. It surprised them. Verse 13 conveys the suddenness of the scene, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God.” My friends, even though you may have been praying and listening for the needs of others and possibly even eaten and had fellowship with others, sometimes the needs will still surprise you. They will come in an unexpected message. The angel brought an “unexpected message” even though the promise of the Messiah was given 2500 years earlier to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-2 and then to Judah in Genesis 49:10 and then to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. It wasn’t like the promise of the Messiah was a new concept to the Jewish shepherds. As stated earlier, their jobs may have been to provide temporary relief from sin until the Messiah came to deal with sin permanently. And yet, when the angel came in God’s glory, it caught them off guard. Maybe you have been doing your job and praying for others to bless. Now that concrete need becomes apparent. Blessed interruptions often reveal whether we are true servants and will stop what we are doing in order to serve the immediate need. Serve others needs when they are blessed interruptions. 

So far we have learned to serve others’ needs when you are rejected, tired, working, and they are revealed unexpectedly. There is also a fourth obstacle to overcome when serving others’ needs. Serve others needs when you are: 4) afraid (v. 9-10) Look at end of verse to the shepherds’ response to the angel and then the subsequent response of the angel 9-10, “… and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not.’” The shepherds were afraid. Of course, they were! Angels always cause us to be afraid. They cause us to immediately recognize our finitude. We are so limited. Service does that too. Often when you are working and serving, especially at a new place or on a new project, we feel afraid. We recognize that we are in over our heads. The fear can be paralyzing. You don’t know where to begin. Sometimes you are afraid of failure so why bother? I’m afraid that some of you are afraid of failure. For the shepherds watching their flocks by night, they had a sense of their weakness. They were already watching their flocks in what we would call a desert. Don’t think lush green Irish pastures. Outside Bethlehem was desert. Timothy Laniak has studied Middle Eastern shepherding and teaches, “Deserts bring people quickly to the end of their self-sufficiency and independence.”[3] So does facing an angel. Today if you facing something overwhelming, you are in the best spot because only God came come to your rescue. Only God as the Jehovah Jireh can provide. And not just provide. Look what the angel goes on to say in verse 10, “For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.” “The ‘great joy’ is the antidote for the ‘great fear.’”[4] One of the benefits of serving the needs of others in the same vein as Jesus who was the greatest servant of all is you will discover joy. “The shepherds discovered this joy as they were told that Israel’s salvation had arrived and would ultimately go to all nations.”[5] Maybe you are sitting on the sidelines because you have let fear dictate your direction? You see what you can’t do and not have faith what God can do. God is only asking you to be faithful with what you have. Think about Jesus. Jesus became weak so that we may become strong. He did this by saving us and this brings joy and it brings me to our motivation we discussed earlier.

Serve others’ needs when you are rejected, exhausted, afraid and interrupted … all the while pointing to Jesus as Saviour, Christ and Lord (v. 11). We see this in one of the more famous verses in Luke in verse 11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” This verse is pregnant with meaning. Jesus being born in the city of David links Him directly to the promised eternal throne of David. Then “These three great titles reveal the greatness of Mary’s son.”[6] Jesus was and still is the Saviour – not just a first responder as important as they are, who rescues us from physical dangers. Instead, a saviour from societal conformity, from self-focus and from Satan. This is the world, the flesh and the devil that my friend Jon Thompson calls “the unholy trinity.” Jesus was and still is the Christ – the Anointed One, the Messiah, the King! The long expected one for His people Israel. And Jesus was and still is the Lord. He is God who rules the universe.

So what do the shepherds do? They take a temporary leave of absence from watching their flocks by night. They were to go into the town of Bethlehem and find baby Jesus. Maybe that describes your mission today as you have ceased from work? You are to find Jesus. In Jesus, you will find both God and humanity. Verse 12 describes the angels’ instructions, “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” “Shepherds would appreciate the paradox and incongruity between the security of strips of cloth and the lowly circumstances of lying in a manger. Seeing a baby in such a setting was very unusual – a fitting sign that God was at work.”[7] God was at a work. This is why the angelic choir were singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” God was serving the world’s needs and our personal need for peace. This peace is available to all whom God is pleased. Who is He pleased with? Those who trust Him and in Him. 

Unlike Zechariah whom we met a couple of weeks ago when studying Luke 1:5-25 at the beginning of our Advent series, the shepherds trusted God’s message through the angels. And this resulted in them going and finding baby Jesus and serving everybody’s greatest need – sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone they could find. But more about that tonight.

My friends, as we conclude, what is the need God has put before that you can serve? God can help you overcome rejection, fatigue, unpreparedness and fear to serve these needs. Serving is part of what Christmas is all about. Jesus Himself came to seek and to serve so that our sins would be ransomed. What a Savior! What a Christ! What a Lord!

[1] Mark L. Strauss, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 1703.

[2] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition – Volume 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989), 176.

[3] Timothy S. Laniak, While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks (Charlotte; Shepherd Leader Publications, 2013), 24.

[4] R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (Columbus: The Wartburg Press, 1951), 129.

[5] Strauss, 1704.

[6] Wayne Grudem and Thomas Schreiner, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 1948.

[7] Straus, 1704.