A
brief sermon written in outline form, in an aural style.
I. IT IS DEPICTED BY A PATH THAT IS DOWNWARD 8-10
Divine Self-revelation to human creatures is always
downward. God's revelation of Himself to His creatures
is always a condescending act. He stoops down; He lowers
Himself to our level so that we might know Him. Without
this sovereign initiative, we would never know anything
about Him.
A. THERE IS A SUDDEN DISRUPTION 8, 9
In the shepherds' life.
Its Importance... Shepherds were despised. Unable to
keep the details of the ceremonial law, e.g., could
not observe all the meticulous hand-washings and rules
and regulations. Sheep very demanding on their lives.
They often could not keep promises, etc. Hence, unreliable...
not allowed to give evidence in court.
The Irony... . shepherd means one is
responsible for the care and guidance of a Christian
congregation - 'pastor, minister.' Cf. Eph 4:11 where
pastor denotes/means shepherd one who instructs in
the Word of God, guides, and helps a congregation.
Also, 1 Pe 5:2 Pastors are to shepherd the flock of
God willingly, faithfully.
David, a type of Christ, called by God,
a shepherd, not a warrior, cf. 1 Sam 16:11; 17:34,
to save his people from physical enemies.
Christ, the anti-typical Shepherd, elect and
chosen by God, to save His people from spiritual and
ultimately, physical enemies.
Heb 13:20.. Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep
1 Pe 2:25.. Here He is called the Shepherd and Overseer
of our souls.
5:4.. the Chief Shepherd Who gives us the crown of
glory that does not fade away.
Rev 7:17.. for the Lamb who is in the midst of the
throne will shepherd His people and lead them to living
fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every
tear from their eyes."
Summary: The routine of the shepherds
is disrupted by a nocturnal invasion. BAM!!! In the
language of Emeril Lagasse, the TV power-house cook.
Not a mere interruption but a profound invasion, an
external imposition... a Sudden Disruption.
Transition: Also,
B. THERE IS A SERIOUS DILEMMA 9
They were greatly afraid.
The glory of the Lord shone around them, that is,
surrounded them. The bright, blazing light of the
divine glory. They knew it was something awesome.
It demanded their attention. They had to cease from
their mundane functions and attend to this revelation.
To make matters worse, a voice came from it... it began
to speak but these were words of comfort.
Amplification: This divine glory is akin to
that of God's presence in the old covenant, Ex 16:7,
10; 24:17; 40:34; Ps 63:3; Isa 60:1; etc..
Application: Fear is the typical, biblical
reaction to divine manifestation. Today, no fear...
T-shirts several years ago. Like an arrogant, national
slogan emblazoned on trucks, stickers. Human arrogance
and carnal bravado. In churches today, no fear of
God! He is a buddy, a chummy person. We've pushed
the immanence of God too far; destroyed His holy transcendence.
We've created a tame hyper-immanent god by nullifying
the ineffable transcendence of the archetypal Other,
the God of the Bible. Need to maintain proper tension
between God's transcendence and His immanence. Scripture
tells us of the right fear, the only fear we are to
have—fear of God. We like to quote from Acts 2:42-47
to glean practices of the early church, and so correctly
so, but we neglect v. 43 Then fear came upon every
soul, and many wonders and signs were done through
the apostles.
