Reformed Baptist Church in O'Fallon, Missouri
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Savior Christ and Lord

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

Opening

Morning, how are you? Doing well. Got your shopping done? If you got your shopping done, say amen. You got your gifts all wrapped, say amen. No, not bad. My kiddos over there laughing, shaking his head—not going well at the [audio unclear] house at the moment. All right, open your Bibles if you would to the Gospel of Luke. [audio unclear]

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 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, goodwill toward men!”

(Luke 2:9–14)

Let’s pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We pray that You would illuminate us through the Holy Spirit. We thank You for His presence here today in our midst as well as in the hearts of those of us that have received Your Son Jesus. Bless the Word to our souls, we ask, in Jesus’ name, but for His glory. Amen.

So I want to focus on verse 11. The angel says he has good news, or glad tidings, and he says these are the glad tidings, verse 11: “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Notice these three terms. There are three terms, titles, names here applied to Jesus, and they are first Savior, secondly Christ, and then third Lord. So those are my three points. Pretty simple, right? Savior, Christ, Lord. Can you say that with me? Savior, Christ, Lord. Now you won’t forget the outline of my sermon.

Savior: His Mission

The good news is about a person. His personal name is Jesus, but He’s also called the Savior. This describes His mission, His mission in the world, why He came. Jesus came, as the angel said in Matthew, Jesus came to save His people from their—we can do better than that. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. Hallelujah. Thank you. That’s not in the text, but I like it. It’s good. So I had a young man tell me a few years ago, “I’m leaving the church.” I said, “Why?” He says, “Because you talk about sin.” Sorry, it’s in the Bible. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. Talking about sin again, there you go. Jesus came to save us from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and also from the very presence of sin.

Jesus saves us from our past sin. When we come to Jesus, every one of our sins is forgiven, every one. This means that we are justified in the sight of God. We are made right with Him through Jesus Christ. This is good news, amen? And this deals with the problem of guilt or the problem of condemnation before God, that which keeps us away from ultimately being in heaven with Him. Jesus solves that problem, but He also solves the problem of sin in the present. Not only does He save us from our past sin, He saves us from our present sin. Now when we think of the gospel, we focus pretty much on the past part, on the guilt part, on the forgiveness part. And we forget that the good news of salvation, the glad tidings or the good tidings that the angel declared here, is that Jesus is a Savior. And that means He saves us from the very power of sin. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah chorus over there. We’ll call it the hallelujah corner in the back. From the power of sin, He grants His people His Holy Spirit. By the power of the Spirit, the Spirit works in us the righteousness of the law, as it says in Romans 8:4. So we are set free from the law of sin and death. Wait, that’s hallelujah. If I want amen, I’ll say amen. Okay, let’s practice. Ready? Amen? All right, very good. All right, you guys are awake.

Jesus saves from the penalty of sin, He saves from the power of sin, and Jesus saves ultimately from the very presence of sin when we get to heaven. When we arrive in heaven, we’re told that Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes because there will be no source or cause of suffering when we are in heaven, because sin will be removed. You know the thing that’s bringing you pain in your life? It isn’t your spouse, it isn’t your kids, it isn’t your boss, it isn’t your situation. The real root of sorrow in the world is sin. And when sin is removed, then sorrow is removed. And so the salvation that Jesus provides is a salvation from the penalty of sin, from the very power of sin, and from the very presence of sin.

But He also saves us from the devil. The Word of God tells us that all of us are by nature children of wrath, that we are under the influence of the spirit of the air we know as the devil or Satan. Yet it says that when we come to Jesus Christ we are transferred or conveyed from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. We go from darkness to light. In Colossians 2 we’re told that when Jesus hung on the cross, not only did He take our sins upon Him, but through His death and ultimately His burial and resurrection, He disarmed principalities and powers. That is, He destroyed the power of the devil through His death and resurrection. So that means that not only does sin have no power over you, the devil has no power over God’s children whatsoever. Now I’ve seen Christians in terrible bondage to the devil. Well, how can that happen if he has no authority? It happens because authority is granted to him that he doesn’t rightfully have. The devil has no authority over the believer unless you give it to him. And in Ephesians 4, when it talks about don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, on your anger, he says, “Give no place to the devil,” right after he talks about anger. That word place is the word that’s used for like a beachhead. Like if an enemy were attacking, it was like on D-Day when we attacked Normandy. We had to get a foothold on the beach. We had to get on the beach to attack the enemy. Don’t give him a place on the beach. Don’t open the door, because once you let him on the beach, well then he can defeat you. But he has no authority to get on the beach. And the Word of God says that we are to resist the devil and he will flee. Submit to God and resist the devil and he will flee. Not he might flee, or he’ll think about it. He will flee. Because he must flee. Because in the name of Jesus we have authority over the devil. The name of Jesus, the Savior.

But Jesus also saves us not only from sin, not only from the devil, but He saves us then from death also. The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. But Jesus saves us first from our spiritual death, separation from God, if you will. And He does this through the new birth. When we were born again we were given new life. We received eternal life. And our souls, our spirit if you will, are then united to Christ. And they are made alive, or they are quickened together with Him, as the way Paul describes it. Paul says when Jesus was resurrected we were quickened together with Him. The resurrection power that brought Jesus back from the grave is the same power that quickens your soul. And when you’re born again, your soul is resurrected from the dead. I got both. Whatever you want to say, praise the Lord, preach it, right? So Jesus delivers us from spiritual death, but He also saves us from physical death. Now in this life we may die; unless the Lord returns in our lifetime, we will physically die. But we have the promise of the resurrection. We know that our mortal bodies will be buried, but they will be raised immortal. And so we will live forever with the Lord, not only spiritually, but we will live with the Lord forever, but in a body, in our human body, which has been renewed and has been glorified. Jesus saves His people to the uttermost. Amen. Fully, completely, comprehensively, totally, Jesus saves His people. And that’s why the angel said, I have good news. Good news.

Christ: His Office

But notice that Jesus is not only called a Savior in this text, He is called Christ. Verse 11 again, let’s look at it. “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Now, we use the word Christ all the time. We talk about Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, right? This word Christ is derived from the Greek word chrio, which simply means to anoint. And it was particularly used to anoint by way of instituting someone to a dignity or to a function or to a privilege. The oil in the ceremony of anointing in the Old Testament was fragrant and it was costly. And this oil symbolized either important functions that the person was going to do or the valuable qualifications that were symbolically bestowed upon the person through the oil. Now, ultimately, we know that the oil represents the Holy Spirit, right? The anointing of God’s Spirit. And we’re told in John 3 that Jesus had the Spirit without measure, without measure. See, the anointing will apply to three classes of persons in the Scripture: to prophets, to priests, and to kings. Prophets, priests, and kings. So when we say that Jesus is the Christ, we’re saying Jesus is the Anointed One. We’re really saying that Jesus is a prophet, a priest, and a king. That’s what we’re saying.

First of all, Jesus was a prophet. In Scripture, he is a person who has familiar and intimate conversation with God. A prophet is someone who knows the mind of God. And then, knowing and discerning the mind of God, they then turn from God to the people and they declare to the people the will and the mind of God. That was the main function of a prophet. It wasn’t to foretell the future, although they often did, because when they spoke the will of God, they said, if you obey, good things will happen, right? And if you don’t obey, bad things will happen. So they addressed the future, but it’s often in the context of a present obedience, a present message from the mind of God to the mind of His people, given through the prophet who was able to discern the mind and will of God. And we know in Scripture that Jesus was the prophet who was prophesied who would be like unto Moses, the lawgiver and the new leader of God’s people. We’re told in the Gospel of John that Jesus was in the bosom of the Father and that Jesus has declared, in my version, or revealed the Father—the word is where we get the word exegete—expounded the Father to us. Jesus knows the Father intimately and thus He is supremely qualified to tell us what the Father is like. Not because He is the Father, but because He knows the Father.

And look at Matthew—we’re going to come back to look at Matthew 11. We just look at a couple other Scriptures. In Matthew 11, where Jesus invites people to come to Him, but before He invites them to come, He says this, in verse 27, Matthew 11:27: “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” So the Son is the one that is the revealer or the declarer of the person of the Father. Because He was in the bosom of the Father, knows the Father, He is able to declare the mind, heart, and will of the Father to His people. He is the prophet of God in that sense. That’s His prophetic office: to teach God’s people the mind of God.

But He’s also a priest. The function of the priest was different. The function of the priest was primarily—whereas the prophet was often focused on the people, the priest primarily focused on God. And his role was to propitiate God, that is, to provide offerings and sacrifices to God to appease His holy wrath and also to intercede for the people. So when you read the Old Testament there’s an entire sacrificial system that is set up, which of course as Christians we don’t need to observe. However there’s much to learn from it as we study it, because what we learn in the New Testament is that Jesus is not only a priest, Jesus is our High Priest, our High Priest. And in the Old Testament economy, it was only the high priest who could go into the Holy of Holies only one day a year, on the Day of Atonement. And he would there sprinkle the blood on the ark of the covenant, and this would appease the wrath of God for one more year. So he had access to God, but he went into the presence of God for the benefit of God’s people to make an offering for sin. Well, what does the Bible tell us? Not only that Jesus is our High Priest, but that Jesus is the offering. He’s both the priest and the sacrifice.

Look at Hebrews chapter 2. In Hebrews 2 we learn—this is the main book that teaches about the priesthood of Jesus. In Hebrews chapter 2 it says, verse 17, therefore—talking about that Jesus took upon Himself our human nature, that’s the context—He says, “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Chapter 5 verse 1: “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Look at chapter 7 of Hebrews. We’ll start in verse 23.

Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

(Hebrews 7:23–28)

So in His role as the priest, Jesus propitiates our sins through His death. He ascended into heaven in the presence of God and offered there Himself, meaning His own blood. And of course, the Old Testament economy with the high priest going into the Holy of Holies, this was symbolic of the future work of Christ that was to take place. The work which from our perspective is now the past work, the finished work, finished work. And He ever lives to make intercession for us. That is to say Jesus continues now, daily, now to intercede for His church and for His people. And so when we sin now we’re told that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, because His blood continues to avail. If we sin and had to get saved again, you know what that means? Jesus would have to die again. It means the blood of Jesus did not cover that sin, so He must die again. But no, His blood avails for all sins for all time. He made a sacrifice once for all when He presented Himself to the Father. So in His intercession for His people, as we confess our sins, He continually offers not a different sacrifice but the same sacrifice. He continues to lay before the Father His own blood and it covers His people. Amen?

But thirdly, Jesus is a king. And the king’s role in the Old Testament was to shepherd God’s people and to protect God’s people from their enemies by leading them into battle. You know, we all know that story about David when he messed up, right? Like people know a few stories in the Bible they know. You know, they know about Jonah in the whale because they think that’s hilarious, and Noah and the ark, and they’ll know about David messing up. Well David, it makes the point of saying in the text that it was the season when kings go to battle. Well David was the king, but he wasn’t going to battle, was he? That was really the root problem of his downfall, is that he had neglected his calling to shepherd God’s people and to lead them into battle. He should have been out in front battling God’s enemies, but he was back home falling into sin. So the king’s role was to be a shepherd and a guardian of God’s people. And of course, Jesus is the good shepherd. Amen.

In John chapter 10, if you’d like to turn there with me, Jesus tells us what a good shepherd is like. He says in verse 10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.” In other words, the hireling’s doing what hirelings do. They don’t really care. They’re just doing it to make some money. Just a job. They’re not true shepherds at heart. He says, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

When Jesus went to the cross, Jesus was doing battle for His people. That’s what was happening. He was fighting the principalities and the powers. He was fighting sin. He was fighting death. And as He went to the cross, He was going as a prophet, as a priest or an offering, but as a king also, leading His people into battle. Which is why it says in Colossians that on the cross He disarmed principalities and powers. On the cross Jesus defeated the enemies of God’s people. Pretty awesome, isn’t it? And we’re told in 1 Peter that through the work of Jesus we are returned or brought back to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, and that’s Jesus. So Jesus is the good shepherd. When you read Psalm 23, one of the most famous psalms in the Scripture, it’s really talking about Jesus, the Lord Jesus. First, yes, it applied to Yahweh in the Old Testament as the shepherd of Israel, but it applies now to Jesus as the shepherd of God’s people, both Jew and Gentile. So Jesus is the shepherd of God’s people and He does battle for them.

Revelation 19 tells us about the final battle, and let’s read it together. In Revelation chapter 19 we see the glorified Jesus waging war for His people. In Revelation 19 verse 11 it says:

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

(Revelation 19:11–16)

Do you know who that army is? The angels and God’s redeemed people. The redeemed people that are already in heaven are going to return with Him and do battle. Man, wouldn’t you like to be part of that army? Yes! King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus is not only the King of the world, Jesus is our King. And Jesus does battle for His people, and we are assured a final victory against all the powers of darkness because of King Jesus. King Jesus. You can clap for Jesus. Whoo!

Lord: His Person

My concluding point. Remember we said Jesus was a Savior. He was called the Christ, or Christ is also called the Lord. Here He’s called the Lord of lords. The term Lord refers primarily to His person. Savior talks about His mission. Christ talks about His office, and the Lord refers to His person. The surety of our salvation rests in the person of Christ, who is not only the King, which He is, because we are told in Scripture that Jesus Christ is even now presently seated on the right hand of the Father, even now. And that even now the world is being governed by the hand of Jesus Christ. And He’s governing the world now through His providence for the benefit of His people and the glory of His Father. Those are the two main things that God is doing, Jesus is doing in the world. So you know in the chaos of the world so often you cannot see the hand of Christ. But the Word of God assures us that He governs for the good of His people, His sheep, and for the glory of His Father. We’re told that for those who love God, all things work together for good, right? But this is not like karma. This isn’t an impersonal law of the universe, well, if things just happen to work for good, because as some versions say, God works all things together for good. In other words, the universe is a personal universe and God is governing it through His Son Jesus Christ who’s now at His right hand on His throne. Jesus Christ is—His person as the Lord is the guarantee of the success of His mission and the fulfillment of His offices as Christ.

Not only is Jesus the Son of God, He’s God the Son. That is to say Jesus is the second person of the blessed Trinity. Jesus was, is, and will be perfect man but also perfect God. Look at John chapter 1, the Gospel of John, which was written specifically to teach God’s people the deity of Jesus Christ. That He was, although He was a man, He was not a mere man. It’s not good enough to even say Jesus was a perfect man. Although the Bible tells us He was harmless, right? And He was undefiled. He was without sin. But He’s more than a perfect man. He is also perfect God. John chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word,” or the Logos, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Notice here that this Word, or Logos, we know from verse 14 who it is, right? Verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Logos here, he’s talking about Jesus, the man, Jesus of Nazareth. Before He became Jesus of Nazareth, He was the Word, dwelling with the Father for all eternity. But he says, notice this, not only was, in verse 1, not only was He with God, He was God. So what we have here is the distinction of persons, but the unity of nature, their nature. One nature, one divine nature between Father and Son, but two distinct persons. Yes, I understand, you can’t understand it. Because nobody can. We’re talking about a being beyond our comprehension, ultimately. But we believe what’s revealed.

So we’re told here that the Word was with the Father. This word “with,” this preposition can mean, the Word was toward the Father. The Word was facing the Father. I love that idea, right? Of the Son facing the Father, the Father and Son facing one another in relationship, in community, in fellowship. But He was also a distinct person from the Father. Jesus Christ is not simply a manifestation of the Father. It’s not as if there’s one God with three different masks. This is known as modalism. But actually there’s one God in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s Trinitarianism. There’s much confusion on that, of course—could give whole sermons on that. The point rather is this, that the good news is that the person born in Bethlehem was the Savior, He was the Christ, and He was the Lord. And here I believe the term Lord means not just the King, but rather the Lord, God. Because as we’re also told in Matthew, that He would be called Immanuel, which means what? God with us. God with us. Jesus is perfect man and perfect God, therefore His work as Savior is perfect. Therefore His work as Messiah or Christ is perfect. Therefore His work as King is perfect. And that’s why the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Because they understood who this majestic person was that was being born there in Mary’s womb.

The Shepherds’ Response: Believe and Share

Go back to Luke and we’ll conclude in Luke chapter 2 and verse 15. Let’s see the response of the shepherds. It says, and so it was in verse 15, Luke 2:15: “So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another”—let’s go get a drink—“Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” Now it’s striking here they don’t say, let’s see if this thing has come to pass, do they? The angels told them something that was unbelievable, and what did they do? They believed it. Because it says, let’s go see this thing that has come to pass. The angel said there will be a Babe born, He will be the Savior, the Christ, the Lord, and they believed it. That’s the appropriate response to the good news: faith. Faith.

If you are a skeptic and you were demanding evidence, you will never have enough evidence. You know why? Because the problem is not intellectual, it’s moral. The problem is the disposition of the heart. It is the unwillingness to believe. Any argument that is given, any evidence that is given, will not confirm someone if they are determined not to believe. Because belief is not simply an intellectual matter, it is a matter of the will. And when it comes to faith, there’s only one way to know if Jesus Christ is truly the Savior, the Christ, the Lord. There’s only one way to know, and that is to believe. Pascal, the famous French philosopher, said that—it’s called Pascal’s Wager. Basically, what have you got to lose by believing in Christ? Because if you’re wrong, let’s say you, quote, believe in Jesus, and then at the end of life you find out, well, it wasn’t true, what have you really lost? But if you don’t believe, and what Scripture says is true, what you’ve lost is your soul, and you’ve lost it forever. There are truths that you cannot see until you enter the wardrobe. [audio unclear] You must go into the wardrobe by faith and you will come out in Narnia. It’s true. I know you can’t believe there’s such a magical kingdom, but if you will go in the wardrobe through faith you will come out in Narnia. And there’s no other way.

Now I’m not anti-intellectual. Go in my office and trust me, read some of the books in there, they’ll blow your mind. You’ll come out and your brain will be melting out of your ears. It’s true. Christianity, true Christianity is not anti-intellectual. But there is a limit—and every great mind in the West, whether it’s Augustine or Aquinas or any of the great Christian theologians and philosophers, they’ve all said this—there is a limit to what reason can do. It is not that revelation is unreasonable, it is above reason, not against reason. And when you believe, God gives you eyes to see things you never saw before. That’s why Jesus said, you must be born again to see the kingdom of God. It’s right in front of you, but you can’t see it because you don’t have the right equipment. You don’t have the right eyes. You know, I went and got an eye exam the other day. It’s like, dude, I’m going blind, you know? I’m driving, I shouldn’t be driving with these glasses. [audio unclear] But I can’t see much else. Well, that’s how it is when you’re not in the kingdom. Life is a blur. You don’t see things—and I don’t mean to tell you you’ll be much more intelligent. But I’m not talking about simple intellectual things. I’m talking about spiritual realities and spiritual truths. And I remember when I got born again, because I was an adult and I was very much in the dark, and when I was born again I was very much in the light, and it was a new pair of glasses. And it’s amazing the things I could see that I could not see before. But it wasn’t because I’d read a hundred books, it’s because I was given a new heart. And that new heart came when I was willing to believe, willing to believe. Jesus said if you want to know the truth of His doctrine, what He said, you must will, be willing to believe. You must be willing to do. And that’s the root problem. The root problem isn’t that there isn’t evidence. The root problem is really the implication of faith. And many people don’t want certain things in their lives to change. Maybe there’s a relationship they don’t want to give up, or a habit they don’t want to give up, or maybe a status they think they’ll lose, or who knows, you know, people get weird thoughts, they go, well, if I trust Jesus, He’ll send me to the deepest, darkest place in Africa, and I don’t want to do that. God gives you a will to do what He wills for you. He gives you a will to do what He wills for you. He works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Everything God requires of us as believers, He grants to us first through grace. Did you hear what I just said? Everything He requires of us, He grants to us first through grace. He calls us to nothing that we are not able to bear. He calls us to nothing that we are not able to do, because He gives us the grace to do His will. He is not a hard taskmaster. He’s a loving shepherd.

So the shepherds believed, that’s the first lesson, and that is the fundamental lesson when you hear the proclamation of the good news: to believe. So they went and saw, not to confirm, well, I’m not sure about this thing, let’s go see if this is really true. That wasn’t the attitude. It’s let’s go see joyfully what has come to pass, a profession of faith. And that’s what our attitude needs to be. If you don’t know Jesus, well, come and see. And there’s only one way to see, and that’s to believe, to trust Him, to ask Him. Maybe you’re not at the part where you say, Jesus, save me, be my Savior, and I believe in You, but you could be at the place to say, I’m willing to be willing. I’m willing to believe, help my unbelief, and if that’s sincere, then you’re on the right path. You’re heading toward the wardrobe, but you haven’t walked through yet. At least you’re going in the right direction.

But also, after they went and they saw, it says in verse 16, “And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.” So what they did is they heard the glad tidings, they believed the tidings, and because they believed, the tidings were confirmed, if you will, by sight. Their faith was confirmed. They saw. And then what did they do? Then they went to the bar. No. Then they made known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. Believe and then share. What a simple message, right? Believe and share, that’s what the shepherds did. Guess what? The shepherds did not take a course in evangelism. The shepherds did not take a course in apologetics. The shepherds had no formal training of any kind. The shepherds didn’t even know the word Apollos or evangelism or Christianity. What they knew was Jesus. What they knew is they had an encounter, which was real. And that’s why so often it’s the new Christian that’s the most effective evangelist, because the reality of that encounter with Jesus is so fresh with them. But then we mature as Christians, and we grow in our head, but we don’t grow in our application. We lose our zeal. And so we don’t share. We just take Jesus for granted. The shepherds set a shining example for us of faith and of obedience. Faith and witness—they go together. The more you truly believe, the more you want to share. You can’t really not share.

And you know, I know many Christians that are deeply concerned about our society and our culture and what’s happening. And I know that, but I’m just going to say this one more time while I got a few more sermons left in the pulpit here. The solution is sitting in America’s churches. Because the solution is the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. And what we need in our culture is a revival. We don’t need a different president and a different Senate and a different Supreme Court, we need a revival. Amen. And it is the gospel that revives. It’s the gospel that saves, the gospel that transforms, because the gospel is about Jesus. And when the gospel is preached and believed, people meet Jesus, the Savior, the Christ, and the Lord. And when they meet Him, they are changed. And when people are changed, then families get changed, then societies get changed. And we have the gospel. And yet for twenty years at least, the church in America has not grown, it’s flatlined. And it’s because the church has ceased to believe its own gospel. The church has ceased to believe in the power of its own Christ. And if the church would be faithful in the proclamation—I mean every church and every Christian, if we’d be faithful in the proclamation of the gospel, faithful, faithful, faithful—we would see revival. It’s true. We have the solution because we know Christ. We know Him. And we have His gospel. So let us be like the shepherds. Let us believe, but then let us make known what has been revealed to us. Amen?

Let’s stand and pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have made known to many of us the Savior, the Christ, the Lord, Jesus. We know, Lord, that this faith is a gift. We thank You that You have revealed Him to us. And I pray, Lord, first for any here that may not know Your Son Jesus, I pray that You might open their eyes. Draw them into the wardrobe, draw them into the kingdom. I pray, Lord, also for Your people, that we would be like the shepherds, that we would believe and speak, that we would be a people who are really like the angels and then like the shepherds who declare the glad tidings. Glory to God in the highest. Glory to God in the highest, because He has given us a Savior, a Christ who is the Lord. May His gospel be on our lips this Christmas season and really every day. I pray this in Jesus’ name and for His glory, and all God’s people said, amen.