So good to see you. Welcome to everyone watching online. I happened to find some old manuscripts. This may be the only church you hear this in, but I actually know what was said 6,000 years ago. Do you know what Adam said 6,000 years ago? He said, it's Christmas Eve. I can always count on you, always, always. All right. We're so glad that you're here. We're going to take a look at the Christmas story. It was interesting. I was talking to one of my sons today and he goes, everybody knows the Christmas story. And I'm like, I'm not sure in today's culture. And then I heard another story about a group of eighth graders who go to church. And when they went through the Christmas story, the kids didn't know the story at all. They really didn't know any of it. And that's an indictment really on all of us. Well, maybe them not listening too. I mean, I was a kid once, but I think the problem is not the story. The problem is sometimes we lose the wonder that we should have in this story. So in a sentence, here's what we were gonna talk about tonight. One night changed all history and all of eternity. And that was the night that God became a man, and that's what we're here celebrating 2,000 years later. And I wanna tell you this, because some of you I know are here doubting, and some of you are skeptics, and that's okay, I love it. I'll buy you coffee anytime, and I'd be happy to talk with you and discuss it. This is what we do here. But what scares me is so many people that are gonna miss out on heaven simply because they listen to somebody else. And I, listen, I watch, listen, read articles all the time, And inevitably, when somebody gets pushed to the wall, they'll say, we cannot believe you believe that old book because it's full of mistakes. And then the next guy will be some joker like me who says, okay, what are the mistakes? And that'll be the end of the conversation. because there aren't any, that's the real issue. And Luke is one of the amazing stories. Luke was a medical doctor. He wrote what we call the gospel of Luke, the story of Jesus. It's got Luke's name on it, but it's because he wrote it. And he also wrote the book of Acts, which is the story of the beginning of the church. And Luke is a medical doctor. So you get more details from Luke about places, people, the crucifixion. Luke goes into far more detail than anybody else. Well, that makes sense because he was a doctor. But here's what just recently came out. Archeologists verified Luke's references in those two books, 32 cities, 54 countries, and nine islands. A lot of those just found recently. Now, I was gonna leave this out, because it's really sarcastic, but then I said no. And today, his accuracy is questioned by people who use GPS to commute 20 minutes to work. And that's really the honest truth. But we have spent the last... 100 years uncovering all this stuff and found out that Luke has been right all along. Now, most of us already knew that, but if you're questioning, can I trust the Bible, I hope you will at least give God the opportunity to speak to your heart. And that's what the whole story of Christmas is about. So if you'll stand, I'm gonna try to give a little wonder back to this passage in Luke 2. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for who? all the people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, I don't know, heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests. 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. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. You can be seated. So it was just another night, folks. And this is important when we get to the end of this, because in nine minutes and 58 seconds, I'll have you at the end, and we're gonna talk about what Jesus says about his second coming, and what he says is that it's just gonna be another day. I don't know whether it'll be Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, morning, night, I don't know. But it's just gonna be another day. And that's what's happening here. It's just another night. It's just another night for the shepherds. Now let me tell you about these cats. They've been out there. The promise, Gordon, I've gone through this scarlet thread, taking you through Genesis and through Micah and Isaiah and Zechariah, and we've looked at all of these prophecies that go back, some of them 6,000 years, some of them 800 years, all of them in great detail about what would happen when this Messiah comes. But there was no word to the shepherds. There was not like somebody said, hey dude, next Thursday. Next Thursday's when it's gonna happen. Now, it was in the spring, it wasn't in December, and we know that because of the birth of lambs and different things, but it doesn't really matter. We're here to celebrate who Jesus is and the story that's behind it. But when you hear that story in Micah 5 too, that he would be born in Bethlehem, we know all of those things to be true, but why the shepherds? And I've never got an answer I liked, but I think I found it. Okay, let's talk about these guys. They've known this story for 4,000 years, that a Messiah was coming. They've known for 700 years that he was gonna be born in Bethlehem, and they're out in the field. Here's what Bethlehem looks like today. And this is, again, up on the mountain. They would have been down here in the valley with the sheep, because that's where the grass is. And they've been out there for 700 years, 800 years, their descendants going all the way back, and all they've ever known is sheep. That's what they do, sheep. And they know that the sheep they're raising, they're looking for that spotless lamb that's gonna be used in the sacrifice in the temple. They know all of this, but there's something about shepherds, couple things. Number one, shepherds smell, well, like sheep. There's no showers. They're all nomadic. By the way, the last number I saw was there's something like 84 million nomadic people still living in the world, meaning they don't have homes. They wander. And I can tell you, I've seen them all over the Middle East, but it doesn't matter whether it's sheep or goats or lambs or yak, whatever they might be raising, they move on so they don't destroy the grass. They just keep moving. And so these shepherds, the reason I think God went to them is because of this unique situation. Let me point this out. Nobody else showed up in Bethlehem. At least we're not told that. Two years later, when the wise men show up, which I think they heard it from the shepherds, but two years later, when the wise men do show up, Joseph and Mary are in a rented place. They're not in the manger. They're in a rented house. Where's everybody else? Where are the priest and the high priest and the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Nobody, it looks like nobody cared about this baby until the wise men show up and say, hey, where is this King of the Jews? Then Herod loses his mind, kills all the babies, two years old and younger, all of that. Okay, so what are you trying to tell me about the shepherds? All right, you ready? They were gossips. They did not have Facebook, but they had the ancient form. My grandmother had it. My grandmother would sit by the window and she would watch and she knew what was happening and all that. You know what time John got home last night? No, grandma, and I don't care what time John got home last night. And if she didn't know, one of the neighbors called to tell her to make sure she knew. Anybody grow up like that? All right, that's before the technology we have today. She always knew stuff that she had no business knowing or sharing, but God knew that these shepherds would spread the word. Where are the priests? They're not there. They're not talking about it. Nobody's talking about this baby except the shepherds. Because shepherds, see, they're wandering. And so they're headed into a place and there's four or five shepherds together and they bring their flocks and they all get together. Maybe they have dinner together or they have breakfast together. And then they're gonna go their own way because they gotta find fresh grass and fresh water. But guess what they do when they're together? They're gossiping. They're just telling what happened last night. They're telling what happened, hey, did you hear what happened in Bedlam? Did you hear what happened in Texas? That's what they did. And that's how I think the magi actually heard the gospel, was because the shepherds were the only ones that went out and told that amazing story. In Ezekiel 34, and I'm throwing you into the deep, into the pool here, but it's a very long chapter, and it is a vicious chapter against people like me. God goes on a tirade against the spiritual leaders, whether they be priests or whatever you'd say. because they weren't teaching his word, they weren't being honest with the people, they were cheating people, you name it, God's on a tirade, and God already knew what he was gonna do, but when you get at the end of chapter 34, he says, you know what, forget it, I'll just do it myself. Jesus said in John 10, I am the good shepherd. Good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I mean, we go back to David in Psalm 23, That imagery is everywhere. But the reason God chose these men is because he knew they'd talk. Isn't that awesome? And then it was also just another night for the angels. Now, granted, not for the shepherd's vision of the angels, but whatever's going on there in that field is pretty majestic, okay? It says the heavenly host, that would be the army of God, and the angelic force, they're all there together. What do they see? I don't know. What they see is very large, very bright, and very loud. enough to convince them to go to Bethlehem. Now, what happened that night was no different than what goes on all the time. Revelation talks about angels. What do they do day and night since the day they were created? They worship God. In fact, they have a phrase, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, who is, and is to come. And just for that moment, the curtain was pulled back for what goes on all the time. It was just another night in heaven, but God pulled the curtain back so the shepherds could see and the shepherds could hear. And they said, whatever happened, they said, we gotta go check this out. Now in Numbers 24, It says, this is Moses, now pay attention. This is 1400 BC, okay? This is 1400 years before Jesus. He said, I see him, but not right now. And I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob and a king will rise out of Israel. Moses wrote that 1400 years before Jesus was born. And what's the key part of that story? It's the star. Daniel told that story over and over and over again to the wise men of Babylon. When they show up two years later, what are they called? The magi. That would be short for magician. Remember all the stuff Daniel was up against when he was there, all the witchcraft and all of that. See, it was just another night for the shepherds. Just another night for the angels. And it was just another night for humanity. See, what happened there is what's gonna change everything. But what's sad is that a lot of us, and I can't speak to the rest of the town right now, but I get to speak to you guys, what a tragedy if our children and grandchildren grow up and they don't even know this story. They don't even know, all they know about Christmas is a tree and presents and money and whatever else we do. Listen, at the very least, let's start tomorrow with reading Luke 2 or Matthew 2 and praying together or showing a video, show something so that Jesus and the story is brought into focus about what this is really all about. Otherwise, you end up with Christians fighting over whether we have a Christmas tree in Portland or a Christmas tree in London, I could care less, but I do care that Jesus is taught in your homes and in my home. That's what we're supposed to focus on, right? Isaiah 9 says, this is who Jesus is. This is, again, 800 years before Jesus. For unto us a child is born, a son is given, the government will be on his shoulders, his name will be called Mighty, Counselor, Wonderful, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And then we get to that passage I told you we'd get to, and I'm three seconds ahead of schedule. In 1 Thessalonians 4 talks about the second coming of Jesus, just another day. Just another day. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command. Sounds a lot like what happened that night to the shepherds. with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord, say it. Forever. Forever, forever. I wanna finish with this story. 2019, I don't know, it's early June. and I'm in Los Angeles, and you're like, how does he know all this? Just stick with me. Right off the Santa Monica Freeway, I'm in a Mexican restaurant. Why would he know all of this? Because he can't remember his children's name. That's a good point. I'm sitting there because the Blues hockey team from St. Louis is about to win the Stanley Cup. Now, if you're not a hockey fan, you're not a Blues fan, sorry, but perhaps you can at least get the idea. We've waited 50 years. We've been so close and never won. And here we are about to win the Stanley Cup. And I'm in a Mexican restaurant. Nobody speaks English. They never heard the word hockey before. They did give me the TV clicker so I could put it on the hockey game. And then with a room full of people who most of them didn't even speak my language, I'm standing on a chair and I am shouting and screaming all by myself. The American people were with there to plant churches. They didn't care. They didn't care either, but I cared because my team had finally won. And the way they're playing now, it may be another 50 years before we get there again. But do you realize when we step into the presence of Jesus, that's the feeling, but it will go on forever and ever and ever. So what happened 2,000 years ago? It was just another night, or was it?