Naylor Community
Christian Church
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 2:1-20
Luke
2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken
of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place
while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own
town to register.
4
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to
Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of
David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to
him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him
in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available
for them.
8
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over
their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory
of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said
to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for
all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he
is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising
God and saying,
14
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his
favor rests.”
15
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the
Lord has told us about.”
16
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in
the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had
been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what
the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and
pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had
been told.
-- this weekend, Kim and I watched an
apocalyptic movie on Netflix called “Leave the World Behind” -- the premise of
the movie was simple -- this family lived in downtown New York City -- both
parents were in jobs that were extremely stressful and time demanding -- they
were exhausted and worn out from living the rat race, as so many of us find
ourselves these days
-- when the husband wakes up on this
particular morning, he finds his wife packing her suitcase -- fearing the
worst, he asks what she is doing -- and rather than answering as we all
expected -- that she was leaving him -- she announced that they were all
leaving
-- she went on to explain that as
she watched the sun rise that morning and looked down at the streets to see all
the people going through their normal rushed routines -- everyone frantic and
trying to get where they were going as soon as possible -- as she watched the
traffic grow and lines form up and horns begin to honk, she realized it was all
too much -- they needed a break -- they needed to get away -- they needed to
leave the world behind them, at least for a moment
-- I don’t know if you’ve ever
thought about the Christmas story from that perspective, but in a very real
sense, this is exactly what Christmas is all about -- it’s about leaving the
world behind -- it’s about trading the world for eternal life with God -- it’s
about turning your back on the old and choosing a new way -- a new path -- a
new direction
-- this is such a common theme for
all of us here on the cusp of a new year -- we all like to begin new -- we all
like to make a line in the sand -- a resolution -- a change -- that we’re going
to implement in the new year
-- for some of us, that may mean
getting back into a shape other than round -- as I quipped on social media this
week, my resolution for 2023 was to lose 20 pounds -- and here at the end of
the year, I can announce I only have 35 more to go -- definitely not the
direction I intended to head
-- other people make similar resolutions
to change and to leave the old behind this time of the year -- some people
resolve to save more money -- to spend more time with family and friends -- to
take those vacation days and actually go somewhere rather than wasting them or
letting them expire at the end of the year
-- others take a more spiritual
route -- they resolve to read through the Bible in a year -- to begin
journaling and recording their spiritual thoughts and experiences with God
daily -- others resolve to get back into church and get active in serving God
-- regardless of what form it takes,
at this time of the year -- every year -- we all make the same resolution -- to
leave the old behind -- to choose a new direction and a new path -- and to make
things better for ourselves in this new year
-- and that is certainly a call to
us that we hear from God’s word -- a call that is repeated in the gospels -- a
call that is echoed in the epistles -- but we first hear that call to us to
leave the world behind right here in the familiar Christmas story from Luke
-- so, let’s look back here together
and see what we can learn about leaving the world behind from this story of the
birth of Christ
II. Leaving It All
-- verse 1
Luke
2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken
of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place
while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own
town to register.
4
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to
Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of
David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to
him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him
in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available
for them.
-- the story of God’s interaction
with His people is always one of movement
-- there’s a lot of people in this
world that have a warped view of God -- if they believe in God, they view Him
as an impersonal and uninvolved Creator -- they liken His involvement in the
world today to that of a watchmaker
-- they believe that God made this
world like a watchmaker creates a watch -- that God put all the parts together
-- He formed everything with His own two hands, as we read in Genesis -- He
breathed the breath of life into His creation -- and then, like a watchmaker
with his final product, God wound the world up, set it into motion, and stepped
back to see what would happen
-- people who have this view of God
believe that He has not been involved in the affairs of mice or men since the
Creation -- that He just got everything going and is just impassively watching
it all play out, with no interaction or involvement at all
-- we call this understanding of God
“deism” -- the view that God is impersonal and does not intervene in the
affairs of this world -- it was a common view centuries ago -- a lot of our
founding fathers were deists and that informed their understanding of how the
people should be governed -- it has received some modern acceptance, once
again, and you’re liable to run across a lot of people who hold to this view
today in various parts of the country -- less common here in the Bible Belt --
but you can find deists holding to these views across the country today
-- the thing is, though, that this
view does not hold up to a reading of man’s experience with God as given to us
in His Scriptures
-- the Bible clearly portrays God as
a personal and involved deity -- and, as I just said, the story of God’s interaction
with His people is always one of movement -- of direction
-- think back to the story of Adam
and Eve in the Garden of Eden -- when God formed Adam and then Eve, He didn’t just
create them and disappear -- no, instead He formed them and gave them direction
-- He told them to go and be fruitful -- to increase in number -- to fill the
earth and subdue -- and to take care of His garden as His stewards on earth
-- this same command to go and do is
repeated throughout Scripture -- when Abram was living in the land of Ur, God
called out to him and told him to leave the land of his fathers and go to the
land that He would show him
-- when famine threatened the
existence of the Israelites, God spoke to them and commanded them to go into
Egypt -- and later, after they had suffered in captivity, God again called the
Israelites to move -- to go up from Egypt, across the Red Sea, and to the
Promised Land
-- even when they failed to obey Him
and enter the land, God continued to lead them and direct them through their
wandering in the wilderness for the next forty years -- moving them from place
to place as a cloud before them during the day and as a pillar of fire at night
-- throughout the history of the
Israelite people, we see the same thing -- God moving them in the direction He
wanted them to go -- God leading them and commanding them to leave the world
behind and to follow Him and His commandments for eternal life
-- and we see the same thing here in
this story of the birth of Christ from Luke 2
-- first, we see God directing the
movement of Joseph and Mary to get them to the place prophesied for the birth
of Christ -- Luke tells us that “in those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world” and that everyone was
to go to their own town to register
-- this wasn’t something that Caesar
Augustus came up with on his own -- this thought -- this desire -- to number
his people and to do so by having them go to their ancestral homes was
something that God spoke into Caesar Augustus’ heart
-- when the time was right for the
Messiah to be born, God orchestrated a movement across the entire Roman world
-- all to get Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem, so that the child
could be born there as prophesied in the Scriptures
-- and it came to pass just as God
had directed and the prophets had proclaimed
-- but that was not the only call to
move -- the only call to leave the world behind -- in this passage
-- look back at verse 8
Luke
2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch
over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel
said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great
joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to
you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find
a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising
God and saying,
14
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his
favor rests.”
-- we’re all familiar with this
picture, right? -- the shepherds living in the fields outside of Jerusalem,
keeping watch over their flocks at night at Christmas -- these are probably
shepherds who are employed by the temple -- who took care of the sacrificial
flocks of lambs that would be offered up before God every Sabbath and on the
Day of Atonement as directed by God in the Law of Moses
-- although they were the least of
the least -- those people in Jewish society that were looked down on as unclean
and unkempt -- they were still an essential part of the Jewish religious
tradition -- they were an essential cog in the wheel of the temple worship
practices -- they were part of the institution of religion -- without them, the
sacrifices could not occur
-- their presence insured the
continuation of the Jewish religion and the religious practices of their day
-- but on this day, something
unusual happened -- something outside the ordinary religious experiences --
something not prescribed in the religious traditions in the Law of Moses -- for
as they were keeping their sheep that night, an angel of the Lord appeared to
them, announcing the birth of the Messiah -- Christ, the Lord -- and proclaiming
that the Christ had been born as a baby, wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger
-- other angels appeared, glorifying
and praising God for the birth of the Messiah -- and the shepherds stood there
dumbstruck as they watched the heavenly chorus above them
-- but now what? -- having seen and
experienced an unprecedented supernatural event, what were the shepherds to do?
-- verse 15
Luke
2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to
one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about.”
16
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in
the manger.
-- now stop there -- don’t move on
-- just dwell on these verses and think about what is occurring at this moment
with the shepherds -- for in this moment a decision is being made -- a
direction is being chosen -- a change is realized
-- listen again to what Luke tells
us is going on and see what is happening
-- “when the angel had left them and
gone into heaven” the shepherds had to make a decision -- what would they do?
-- how would they respond?
-- they could just settle down again
with their flock -- they could put another log on the fire and stand together,
gazing into the flames, and speaking to one another of what they saw and what
they heard -- they could go on with the same old-same old -- just watch over
the sheep that night and then go into town the next day and tell the priests
what had happened, knowing that the priests would discount their story and not
believe anything from these lowly shepherds
-- or they could do something
different -- they could make a change -- they could leave the world behind --
their old religious world -- their old religious practices and traditions --
they could leave all that world behind and follow the call of God down a new
path that led to a stable in Bethlehem and eternal life with the Messiah
-- Luke tells us what they decided
-- verse 15
Luke
2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to
one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about.”
16
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in
the manger.
-- don’t miss what just happened in
these verses -- this was a momentous change -- this was a life-transforming
decision -- the shepherds -- who had been charged to take care of the
sacrificial lambs for the temple -- who had been charged to watch over them and
keep them safe until they were needed for the religious sacrifices -- left the
sheep in the fields and headed into Bethlehem
-- they turned their back on the
sheep of the Jewish religion -- they left their world behind and chose to
follow God in a new direction -- down a new path
-- get what this means -- this was
total separation from the old -- when they heard the angel’s message and
listened to the great host of heaven praising God, they made a decision -- they
left behind their jobs -- their calling -- their purpose -- their religion -- their
lives -- and set out to follow the Messiah, regardless of the cost
-- what the shepherds did that night
is the same thing we see the disciples doing when Jesus called out to them and
said, “Come, follow Me” -- when Jesus called, Peter and John dropped their nets
by the sea and turned their back on their careers and their lives -- leaving it
all behind to follow Him
-- Matthew did the same thing --
Jesus found him in his tax collector’s booth and said, “Come, follow Me” -- and
Matthew got up and left the money on the counter and turned his back on his job
and followed Jesus
-- this call to come and follow
Jesus is a call to leave the world behind -- to leave everything behind -- and
to follow Him where He leads
-- we often miss this movement in
the Christmas story, but this is exactly what the shepherds did here when they
heard the call to find the Messiah and to follow Him
-- and look what happened next --
verse 17
Luke
2:17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told
them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered
them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
-- having left the world behind --
having left their old jobs and old way of life behind, the shepherds embraced
the new -- when they had seen the child -- when they had witnessed the coming
of the Messiah with their own eyes -- they embarked on a new journey and a new
path and a new life with God
-- Luke says they went out and began
to spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child -- they
went out and evangelized and spread the good news to all that the Messiah had
been born -- that the Christ had come -- and that salvation awaited
III. Closing
-- so, what do we do with this story?
-- what should be our response?
-- just as the proclamation of the
angel to the shepherds that the Christ had come caused them to choose to leave
their world behind and to follow God, there is a call on all of our lives today
to do the same
-- and when you hear that call, a
choice must be made -- a resolution must be confirmed
-- you can either continue in the
old or you can embrace the new -- you can continue to live in the old world --
following your old way of life -- or you can leave the world behind and follow
Christ where He leads just as the shepherds and the disciples did
-- so, as we begin this new year
together, let me encourage you to hear the call of God -- to fully leave the world
behind so that you can follow Him into the new
-- for some of us, that might mean
coming to Christ for the first time -- turning from our old way of life and
repenting of our sins -- asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins and to come
into our lives as our Lord and Savior
-- for others, it may mean making a
decision to turn away from the things that are hindering our walk with Him -- to
turn our backs on sin or on unhealthy lifestyles that are keeping us with one
foot in the old world -- to repent -- to turn around -- and to follow Him
wholeheartedly
-- it might mean leaving our old
religious practices and traditions behind -- to stop going to church and start
being the church -- to start following Christ as He leads and as He desires --
following Him with all our hearts and souls and minds
-- regardless of what this might
look like for us, we all face a choice today -- a decision -- whether we are
going to leave the old behind and embrace the new, no matter what that change
might look like for us
-- we have to decide whether we’re going to
leave the world behind and choose to follow Christ into eternity or whether we’re
going to just continue on in our same old-same old lives
-- so, as we enter this new year,
let us follow the example of the shepherds on that first Christmas day -- let
us turn our back on the old world -- let us leave the old behind and follow
Christ where He leads -- and may this new year be a new year filled with
life-transforming experiences with Him
-- let us pray
