The First Christmas

Good morning. Merry Christmas. Would you all stand with me? Would you join me in prayer? First of all, I want to welcome you all this morning to Calvary Chapel as we celebrate the birth of Christ. We welcome those of you online, too, that are joining us. Merry Christmas. Father, just bless our time as we worship you in song and, again, spend time studying your word, Lord.

Thank you for coming to earth, living among us, dying on that cross and reaching for the dead, Lord. We give you praise, Lord.

Those are some pretty good words, actually. Those are heavy duty. We thank you, Lord Jesus, by grace that we save through faith. Lord, we thank you that grace, that unmerited favor, that mercy is not getting what we deserve. We thank you, Lord Jesus. May we not forget what you've done for us, Lord. Live it out day to day as we trust you. We're seeing a man.

Father, just continue now to bless our service as Pastor Ryan comes up. Be glorified, Lord. We give you praise and thanks. In Jesus' name, amen.

Good morning. If you could start to locate your seats.

Grab a bulletin. We'll go over a few announcements.

Well, Merry Christmas. I'm glad that everyone's here. This morning, hopefully everybody got yourself a cookie. There was a pretty good line when the service started. I don't see it running down the hall any longer, so it must be about wrapped up. I have a feeling, and I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that after service, you should also go back and grab a cookie because there's a lot of stuff back there.

So just a handful of announcements to go over. There's only one thing happening this week, and that is the Tuesday night home fellowship. Everything else is canceled for the week. So enjoy some Christmas time. The only other announcement that I need to make is just a reminder that next week, January the 1st, we'll only have one service that morning at 1030.

So take note of that. Other than that, hey, it's Christmas week. It's a down week, right? If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced, and then for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Luke chapter 2. We'll be looking at verses 1. 1 through 20.

Hold on, my buddy's grabbing a microphone. There it is. We're waiting on people with cookies to come in anyway. It's fine. That's, hey, all right. If I could eat cookies and talk at the same time, I would, but I can't. It would be embarrassing for everyone. Actually, it would be embarrassing for me. You all would think it was funny.

So as you are turning to Luke chapter 2, if you need, by the way, we'll be in the New American Standard, even though I prefer the old King James for this story. Okay? All right. I almost had that printed out because I screw it up when I read it in the New American Standard. But we'll be reading the New American Standard, so we all sound the same. Should be a copy in your row if you need one.

As you're turning to Luke chapter 2, if you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's word,

and we'll be going through verse 20 there. Thank you. I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen in the even verses. Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 20. Now, in those days, a decree went out from, Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was the house and family of David. In order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region, there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men, with whom he is pleased. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about the child.

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondered them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it has been told them. Father, we come before you and thank you, Lord, for this story. Thank you for what this morning represents.

And Lord, thank you for becoming a man to dwell among us so that we could have hope. And so, Father, I pray that you would speak to us through this time. Give us a wonderful time as family together in your word. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. It's always an interesting thing to try to come together on Christmas morning because everybody's excited.

And I know small children are just ready for me to stop. I'm talking so that they can go back to their normal Christmas Day celebration. But if you will bear with me for just a little bit of time, I want to bring to you this Christmas story. I've always loved Christmas. I love the anticipation that goes into Christmas. I love the excitement that goes into Christmas.

It's a wonderful time of the year. And I remember being one of the little people coming to church on Christmas morning. I don't remember this a whole lot of times, though, growing up. I do remember it happening a couple of times. But I remember being one of those little people. And I remember being one of the little people with the excitement that exists on Christmas morning.

And so it's always good to take time to remember exactly why we're here, exactly what we're doing. And so we want to take a look at this very first Christmas. And that's the title of the message this morning is The First Christmas. Because this, honestly, is the reason, kind of like what we talked about last night. There's three things I would like to point out to us about the Christmas story.

I want to talk about Bethlehem. I want to talk about the Bible. I want to talk about the Bible. I want to talk about the birth. And then I want to talk about the shepherds. The story starts off like we've all heard. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus. And again, I prefer the old King James on this because it's what I have memorized, that all the world should be taxed.

If you don't know who Caesar Augustus was, let me give you a short little history lesson. Many of you have heard of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was the one who really spread Roman culture, who really brought Rome to its greatest place. But Julius Caesar, of course, had his life brought to a very quick end through a conspiracy that the famous play has been written about.

Julius Caesar had a nephew that he actually adopted as his own son. That nephew's name was Octavian. Octavian, after the death of Julius Caesar, along with two other guys named Lepidus and Mark Anthony, ruled Rome together. It was called the Triumvirate. And they did an amazing job. But as often happens, one leader eventually emerges. And there began to be a power struggle amongst the three.

Lepidus was kicked out almost immediately. So the power struggle came down to two guys, Mark Anthony and Octavian. Eventually, Octavian was able to defeat Mark Anthony in a naval battle actually that took place down near Egypt against Cleopatra, against Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. As he did so, he assured ultimate control over the Roman Empire. As a matter of fact, he brought about what historians call the Pax Romana,

the Roman peace. Octavian felt like he needed a title that suited him. And so the title that he claimed for himself was the title Caesar Augustus, or the August One. That term Caesar Augustus actually has with it an idea of a deity. As a matter of fact, many Roman historians refer to him as a god. One particular Roman historian said, we can find hope in the death of Augustus because we know that as a god,

he will live again. That was the way he viewed himself. That was the way the Roman people viewed him. So it's interesting that this Caesar Augustus, a self-proclaimed king, if you will, a self-proclaimed god, decided that he would put forth a census. Because ultimately, though he viewed himself as god, there was actually a god. Who was very much orchestrating every move that he made.

Caesar Augustus put out this decree that all the world should come forward for a census. He did this for two reasons. Number one, because he wanted to know what kind of military might he could draw. Number two, he needed to know who all he could tax. He was trying to build Rome back better. And as he was doing so, he thought taxes were the right way to do it.

And so he calls everyone to be taxed. But you see, Caesar Augustus knew people. And as he knew people, he knew that you can soften the blow of tax, if you include something that they also enjoy. Let's have them return to their hometowns, because they'll have to do something that they don't want to do, register to be taxed, along with something that they will enjoy, spending time with their families.

So he tried to soften the blow of what he was doing by including something that they would enjoy. And so he proclaimed this census of the entire world. What he didn't know is that there were two people living in a town called Nazareth. Those two people were the ones who were taxed. Those two people were the ones who were taxed. Those two people were the ones who were taxed.

Those two people were the ones who were taxed. Those two people's names were Mary and Joseph. Mary had been spoken to by God and told, you are going to have a son. And you're going to call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. And Mary said, there's a real problem here. I have never known a man. I'm still a virgin. How is this going to take place?

And the angel tells her, don't worry about it. It's going to be a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. And of course, Joseph kind of freaked out about that a little bit, because after all, who wouldn't? But an angel appeared to him as well and said, don't worry about it. The story she's telling you is true. This will truly be a work of the Holy Spirit. You will bring forth a son.

And he will be called Emmanuel, God with us. Well, what Caesar Augustus did know is that these two individuals lived in this town called Nazareth, and they had a special calling on their life. But with this special calling that they had on their life, scripture was very clear. In Micah chapter five, verse two, we're told that Jesus, the Savior, the Messiah, was to be born in Bethlehem.

And so you have what I call the Bethlehem problem. How do you get Mary and Joseph, an incredibly poor couple, to take a trip down to Nazareth that they could never afford, nor would they have the time to do, nor would you do in a time when you were pregnant, as pregnant as Mary was at that point in time. How do you get them from Nazareth to Bethlehem? God says, it's okay.

I have a plan. I will orchestrate a king who thinks that he's God, and I will work a plan through him that he doesn't even know is happening. As a matter of fact, I'll make him think it's his idea. So Caesar Augustus puts forth a decree that all the world should go back to their hometowns and be registered. And what was the hometown of Mary and Joseph? Where were they from?

Where was their lineage from? Bethlehem. Bethlehem's such a cool town because Bethlehem is known as the city of David because that's where David the king was from. Now, if you don't know very much about Bible prophecy, then let me tell you that Jesus was supposed to be born of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why we're talking about the line of David because David had been made a promise.

A king will always come through you. There will always be one of your descendants sitting on the throne. And so Jesus would be of the house and the lineage of David. And so they had to go back to this city of David. But do you know what else is kind of cool about the city of Bethlehem? That's what the name Bethlehem means. The name Bethlehem means house, Beth, of bread, him.

And what does Jesus refer to himself as? The very bread. The very bread of life. And so they returned to the city of Bethlehem as it was prophesied in Micah chapter five, verse two. We're told in verse four that Joseph went up from Galilee from the city of Nazareth to Judea, the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and the lineage of David

in order to register along with Mary, who he was engaged to, and she was with child. Now comes the birth. It says in verse six, while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and she wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the end. I have questions about this.

First of all, there's no description given of the birth. Feels like Luke, with the detail that he goes into, should tell us a little bit about the birth of Jesus. I first of all wanna know how long she was in Bethlehem before she gave birth, right? Was she there like three months? Was she there like three days? I lean towards like two or three days. You know why I lean towards two or three days?

Because they had to make a very long trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They would have made that trip in one of two ways. Either one, she would have ridden on a donkey, or two, she would have walked, or three, both. Now, I've had two kids. I haven't had two kids. My wife has had two kids, but I've been a part of the situation. And I remember what we did right before

each of those two kids was born so that we could hopefully get her to go into labor. And you know what we did? We walked. A lot. And both times it worked. Now, I don't think that she was in Bethlehem very long before she had the baby, first of all, because I think that that trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem sort of sped things up, if you will. It sort of did exactly what we would do in today's culture

to say, hey, it's time for you to have the baby. Let's go for a walk. Go riding on a donkey, right? That seems like a terrible idea. You ladies that have had babies seem like fun to you? I wouldn't think so. I've never actually been. I'm pregnant, but I've been next to someone who is. Feels like a bad idea, right? Second reason why I don't think that they'd been in Bethlehem very long

is because there was nowhere for them to stay. And if they'd been there for very long, Joseph being a good husband, and I do believe Joseph was a very good husband, he would have found someplace for her to stay. But they're in Bethlehem for this short amount of time. And while they're in Bethlehem, it says that the days were completed for her to give birth.

I always want to know what this looked like, what this situation, was like, right? They're on their way and Mary's going, man, something's just not right, Joseph. I feel like this baby's coming. He's like, well, you better wait. There's no good spot for us to give birth down here. There is no good. A donkey is the wrong place to give birth to a baby. And then they get to Bethlehem and she's going,

Joseph, we got to find some places. Like Mary, I tried to call ahead, okay? All the rooms were booked. Everyone was completely booked up. I got nowhere for us to stay. I told you to call earlier. It doesn't matter. I didn't call earlier. Here we are now. And he's going, there's no place for us to stay. And she goes, well, we better find a place to park then

because this baby's coming, whether we're ready or not. Now, for the most part, we all hold to the tradition that Jesus was born in a stable. And I do believe that tradition, but oftentimes our view of the stable looks very different than probably what it actually looked like. We usually have this picture of a barn, right? But not just any barn, like the barn that Chip and Joe would build, right?

Like it's just, it's just perfect looking, barn that's totally swept clean, which is this sweet little, like those kinds of boards manger, right? And it's just, it's straight out of a pottery barn magazine. That is not what it looked like. The stable was probably some sort of a cave and it was in some sort of a common area where there were actually probably other people around.

There were barnyard animals there, but the potential is there that other people saw this whole situation take place. Can you imagine how humiliating this was for Mary? To have to give birth, not only in such a place that was potentially in public, but such a dirty place. Remember the first thing that happened when you go to the hospital when you're about to have a baby is they put you in the most sterile room possible.

They hook you up to all these things. Well, not me. They just made sure I wasn't gonna pass out. They hooked the mom up to all these things to make sure that everything is right, to make sure that everything is perfect. And they make sure it's a completely sterilized and clean, perfect environment. This was anything, but and there was Mary. Now, I also don't know how you picture

the birth of Jesus going, but I don't think it was one of those things where she didn't hurt. I actually think there was great pain in her childbirth. You know why I think that there was great pain in her childbirth? Do you remember the curse? Do you remember when Adam and Eve sinned? When Adam and Eve sinned and God was handing out the punishments, he looked at Eve and he said,

there will be great pain in childbirth. See, I think that Mary experienced the fullness of the curse because the very one that would bear the curse is who she was bearing in birth that night. I think there was great pain involved. I think Joseph was stressed to his max. I think everything about the situation was so not what they had planned. It was so humbling.

They were in such a broken and impoverished place that this was the absolute worst conditions that the Savior could be born into. And yet, while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to a son. And do you take note of what she wrapped him in? It says that she wrapped him in cloths. It's always funny to read the New Living Translation in this

because it says she wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth because that's actually what that word to swaddle means. It literally means strips of cloth, almost like a mummification, like those kind of cloths. The only other time that we see that same kind of word for cloth used, does anybody know? It's in his burial. Interestingly enough, the same kind of cloths that they would have used

in his burial were the cloths that they would have used in his birth. And isn't it kind of interesting that they were probably in some sort of a hewn out cave and the manger that she put him in was not built out of wood. After all, this is ancient Israel. Trees aren't plentiful in the desert. The manger would have been hewn out of stone. Isn't it kind of interesting

that Jesus in his birth was wrapped in the cloths of a grave and laid in a tomb. Laid in a cave on a slab stone. It's kind of interesting, isn't it? He came into the world the same way that he went out of the world. It says, there was no room for them in the end. Well, now comes the story of the shepherds. It says in the same region, there were some shepherds,

shepherds staying out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. Now, these shepherds are also interesting characters. And again, I'm not sure how you've ever pictured shepherds in the past. But shepherds at this particular day and age were not exactly what you would call the upper end of society. As a matter of fact, they were the lowest class of society.

They were first of all considered ceremonially unclean because they were constantly around all of the animals and all of the things that went along with animals. I think you know what I mean here. They were considered ceremonially unclean. They were ceremonially unclean oftentimes because of the way that they lived their lives. But do you know that they were oftentimes considered

to be some of the most dishonest people in society? Do you know that shepherds were not allowed to testify in a court of law because they were so lowly viewed? Because they were so dishonest in the things that they did? But isn't it also interesting that the occupation of David was a shepherd? And isn't it also interesting that Jesus referred to himself as the good?

Shepherd? And so to these shepherds, the lowest class of society, which by the way Jesus and King David identified themselves with, this lowest class of society is who he decided to give his message to first. And it says that these shepherds were out in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. There's another interesting thing about Bethlehem. And the other interesting thing about Bethlehem

is its proximity to Jerusalem. It was decently close to Jerusalem and Bethlehem was a place of worship. And it was a place of worship. And it was a place of worship. And it was a place of worship. And it was a place of worship. And Bethlehem was the town in which the sacrificial lambs were raised. The lambs that would have been used in the Passover sacrifices,

that's where they were raised. And so as those lambs were raised outside of Bethlehem, these shepherds very well could have been the shepherds who were watching over the flocks that were actually the Passover lambs. Isn't that kind of fascinating? Why does he come to the shepherds first? Well, a multitude of reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that they were the common man.

And not the least of which is the fact that they were the most sinful among men. Not to mention the fact that they were watching over the Passover lambs. The shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks by night. And suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Now every time an angel of the Lord shows up so far, everybody has the exact same reaction. You know what their reaction is?

Right? They're greatly afraid. I don't even think they screamed. I think, right? Just sort of that fearful moment like, oh my gosh, right? Because first of all, no one expects, if you're in the middle of a field, for some glowing being to come showing up in the sky. Usually that means you've been doing something you shouldn't out in the field, right? So they're totally afraid of this angel.

And what's the first thing that the angel says to them? The angel of the Lord says to them, do not be afraid because I bring you good news of great joy. That word good news can also be translated, I bring you the gospel. So they bring you the gospel that brings great joy. And it's going to be to all people because unto you is born this day in the city of David,

a savior who is Christ the Lord. And while they were shepherds, while they weren't overly good human beings, they all had been taught about the coming of a savior. They all had been taught about the Messiah and they were all looking for the consolation and the hope of Israel that would eventually set them free. They were all looking for a savior. And he says,

unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. And this is going to be the sign to you. You're going to find the baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth and lying in a manger to which they would have gone. That's an odd place to lay a baby, which is why it's a sign, right? How are you going to figure out which one he's in? Do you notice he didn't give him an address?

He's like, listen, you go down to King David Lane, right? And it's over there on your left-hand side. The address is 777 King David Lane. Well, that'd be amazing though, wouldn't it? What a perfect address for Jesus. But he didn't say any of that. He just said, you're going to find him lying in a manger wrapped snugly in strips of cloth. You know what there were probably a lot of

in a place that raises sheep? Mangers. He says, but that's what you're going to look for. And then all of a sudden, if they weren't freaked out enough with one angel, an entire multitude of the heavenly hosts. Okay, next question that I have. Kids, I want you to think about this, okay? How do you think the angel showed up that first time? Okay, here's how I think it happened, okay?

Okay. This, 479, going to get you some Starbucks, right? I think that the angel started going all over the place, right? Like one was there and it's like, oh, oh, oh. Or it could have been like this. It could have just gone, right? And all of them just kind of show up out of nowhere, right? You ever thought about how that would have worked, kids? That's kind of a crazy thought, is it not?

And so one angel's there and all of a sudden a multitude of them show up. Now, I didn't look up the word multitude in the Greek, but I've looked it up before. And you know what it means? It means a multitude. Right? Like there's no actual quantifiable value given to it. It's just a whole bunch of them. I think, and again, this is just me. I think it absolutely filled every part of the sky

to where all they could see is angels as far as the eye could see. And what did those angels do? Those angels began singing. Next question. Did the angels have good voices? Right? Everybody's like, oh, he's got the voice of an angel. What? That angel is mine. Right? What if it sounds like me singing? Has anyone ever thought about that? Kids, you ever thought about that?

You've never heard me sing. One of these days you'll have to hear me sing and you're gonna be like, gosh, I hope that's not what the angels sound like. But listen, everybody has their view of what's good. It's like what's gonna be beautiful in heaven, right? Maybe I'm gonna be beautiful in heaven, right? And you're all going, gosh, I hope not. That would be terrible.

Anyway, so they all get up and they sing. And what do they sing? Glory to God. Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased. This entire chorus just erupts in the heavens. And as quickly as they show up, they disappear. It says, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, again, was it just, and the sheep were going.

When the angels had gone away to them, into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, let us go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord had made known to us. And then it says, so they came in a hurry. Next question, kids, I have this question for you. What'd they do with the sheep, right? Maybe, like, were the sheep so in awe of what they saw

that they were like, they're not going anywhere because they're totally stressed out about what they just saw happen. They're like, listen, I don't care about the sheep anymore. Let's go find sheep. Because they came in a hurry. I think that they came running, right? Kind of like you felt this morning when you got up to run to the Christmas tree. You were like, hey, there it is.

Let's go running. And they came immediately. They came in a hurry. I want you to notice what it says. So they came in a hurry and they found their way to Mary and Joseph and the baby as he lay in the manger. That word found is kind of an interesting word because that word found means found after a long search. Remember what I said? What did I say? What did I say?

What did I say? What did I say? What did I say? What did I say? What did I say? What did I say? What did I say? There was probably more than one manger. There was probably more than one stable. Have your parents, kids ever made you go on a scavenger hunt for your presents? Parents, it's a great idea for next year. It's going to make Christmas morning last a whole lot longer, right?

You just get them one present. By the time they get to that one present after the scavenger hunt, they're going to be like, yay! It's going to save you a lot of money and the kids are going to love it. They found him after a long search. I'll talk about why that's important in just a moment. Can you imagine the moment that they finally show up and they're like, a manger, a baby.

This is what they were talking about. It says, and they found the baby, verse 16, as he lay in the manger. And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. Mary treasured all these things in her heart. The shepherds went back glorifying and praising God

for all that they had heard and seen just as had been told them. You see, the shepherds didn't just take the news and apply it to their own lives. They took the news and told everybody else about it. Mary just kind of sat and pondered these things in her heart because, whoa, can you imagine being Mary at this point in time, right? And all of a sudden a group of stinky shepherds show up

because where have they been living? Out in the fields. They didn't have Old Spice at that point in time. They didn't have Axe at that point in time, which may actually be better for all of us if we didn't have that. They didn't have those things at that point in time. And so they just show up. But of course, where's Mary? In a barn, right? I mean, you can only expect so much at that point in time.

And they all show up and Mary's going, what on earth is going on? What do I even do with this? And she pondered all these things in her heart. Meanwhile, the shepherds went and told everybody what they had seen. I have another question to kind of end that part of it. Who else showed up after that? We're not told about anybody, but who else showed up after that if they're

like, hey, check it out. There's a barn over here, third barn on the left. That one has the Messiah. That one has the very son of God in it. Look for a manger, snug strips of cloth. It's going to be great. You're going to love it. Well, this Christmas story I always find to be pretty fascinating, but from this Christmas story, and I'll wrap up with this, there are four gospel lessons

I want us to learn. The first gospel lesson that I want us to learn is this. We can rest in a sovereign God. We can rest in a sovereign God. Caesar Augustus thought he was the one in charge. He thought he was the one who was making all the calls. He thought he was the one who was his own God, but what he didn't realize was is that he was a puppet in the hands of the creator of the heavens and the earth.

He was a puppet in the hands of God. And if Caesar Augustus, an actually smart guy, thought he was that, and yet God was in control, how much can we know now that there is a sovereign God who is ultimately in control of all things that we can, rest in, in our lives? The second gospel lesson is this. The gospel begins with being broken and humble. The gospel begins with being broken

and humble. I want you to think about that position that we talked about Mary and Joseph being in, that position that they were in when they brought the very gospel itself, the very good news itself, into the world. They were in the most broken, humble position that any two human beings, any three human beings at that point in time could ever be in. And brothers and sisters, the same is true for us. The gospel

begins with us being broken and humble. As a matter of fact, I would tell you that you cannot come to Jesus until you are first broken and humble. But that doesn't stop the day that you get saved. It continues for the rest of your life. Because the gospel will always do its work in our lives, but it will always require that we be broken and humble. Pride is the only

thing that keeps us from the good news of Jesus Christ. Number three, God uses the foolish. Of all the people to be spreading a story about Jesus, I would have chosen someone much more reputable than the shepherds. Right? I would have chosen someone who could actually testify in a court of law. I would choose somebody much more educated than the shepherds because I guarantee

they use very poor Greek grammar as they were sharing with the world the good news of the fact that Jesus had come. I would choose someone who didn't stink all the time. I would choose someone who was not ceremonially unclean. I would choose somebody much better to be the one who spread the news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But in that same way, if I'm choosing pastors, I don't

choose me. Because God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God loves to choose the people. The people that don't make sense to anyone else. To be the people who carry his message into the world. Most people think to themselves, I'm not articulate enough to deliver the message of the gospel. Neither were the shepherds. I'm not smart enough to bring the message of the gospel.

Neither were the shepherds. I can't answer all the questions about prophecy. Neither could the shepherds. And yet God used them to be the first ones to declare the truth of the Messiah to the world. God loves to use the foolish to confound the wise. And then the fourth gospel lesson that I want you to pay attention to is this. And we'll close out the Christmas story with this.

Keep searching for Jesus. Keep searching for Jesus. The shepherds found him after a long search. Can you imagine they show up to the first manger and say, well, he's not here. Oh well, we tried. And then they leave, right? What a bummer. Not for the world, because God's message is still going to go out. But what a bummer for them. They don't get to be a part of that.

I wonder if we're going to see these shepherds in heaven. Right? I wonder if they kept pursuing Jesus. If maybe about 30 years down the road they hear some guy talking and somebody's like, that's the Messiah. And they're like, no way. That's the kid we saw in the manger. I don't see the strips of cloth, but everything else looks the same. I'm pretty sure that's him. That's the guy.

Keep searching for Jesus. There are some people in the world, and maybe some people sitting in this room who've never actually come to Jesus. You're Lord and Savior. And you've kind of given up on the search. You've given up on the search for hope. You've given up on the search for peace. You've given up on the search for meaning. You've given up on the search

for truth. I'm here to tell you, the reason why you've given up on the search is because you've given up on Jesus. I would tell you to start to search for Jesus. Don't take my word for it. Seek it out for yourself. Because I promise if you search for Jesus, you will find him. Because that's a promise in Scripture. But I also know that there's a good number of us in here that have been saved

for a very long time. But that doesn't mean just because you're born again, just because you found him once, doesn't mean you should stop searching for him. As I was studying for this last night, there was a line that went through my head. It's a line from a book by A.W. Tozer called Pursuit of God. It goes like this. To have found God and still be searching for him is the

soul's paradox. Of love. And there's a wonderful song by kind of a cheesy man, but I really like the song. It's by the Newsboys. And it goes like this. I will continue chasing you the way that you have chased me. Friends, don't stop searching for Jesus because there are new ways he wants to reveal himself to you. There are new things he wants you to find. Continue

to search for him. Amen? Let's all stand.

I just want to take note of the time. It's at this point in time, 1116. Told you I'd have you out of here in under an hour. Feel good about that. Gave you some Jesus. Now you can go have some Christmas. It's going to be great. Hey, listen, Merry Christmas. This has been such a phenomenal year here at Calvary Chapel, and I'll talk about this a little bit more next

week, but it's just been such a phenomenal year to see lives changed, to see people come to know Jesus, to see people go deeper in their walks with him. And my prayer is that as we get ready to head into a new one, we don't stop there, but we just keep seeking Jesus. Father, we come to you and thank you for the time that we've had in your word this morning. Lord, I thank you for this day, for the Christmas season, for the Christmas message. I thank you for Jesus.

Lord, I thank you for these kids who have hung in there so well while they've had to sit and listen to me talk. And I pray that you would bless their lives extra special for it. And Lord, may this be a time of family. Lord, may this be a time of healing.

May this be a time, if necessary, of restoration. Not only in the lives of individuals, but in the lives of families. Lord, may this message of the gospel, may this message of Christmas be something that penetrates the depth of our being, restoring once again the purpose that we have in our lives to know you, to have found God and still be searching for him. Lord, we thank you and we praise you for who you are.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed.

Thank you for this time together this morning. And as we leave here, Lord, may we just continue as Pastor Ryan said, search for you. Look to you, the author and finisher of our faith. The one who is up at the right hand of the Father. Father, not fodder, Father, making intercession for us. Lord, we thank you for that. We give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Have a great week. Merry Christmas.