The Christmas story has become so familiar to us that sometimes we tend to forget the shocking way it unfolded. Imagine, for instance, what it was like for the unsuspecting shepherds to hear from a messenger of God. Well, today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll takes us to that hillside setting where an angel appeared and broke the news.
This one who is coming, this little baby, would transform the world forever. Chuck titled today's message when an angel spoke to shepherds. And just before he begins, we step into the worship center to sing a few favorites. O say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
of the United States of America and the United States of America and the United States of America. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, You're listening to a special Christmas edition of Insight for Living. And now the devotional message from Chuck Swindoll titled When an Angel Spoke to Shepherds. You were never alone. Well, I know some of you are saying, but you don't understand. I lost her this year. Or I no longer have him whom I leaned on and needed. I am alone. Actually, you're not.
You really are not. Not any one of us is ever alone. The psalmist wrote in 91 verse 11, He will give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. You're the last three words, all your ways. That's tonight when you lie down, thinking you're alone. You're not. They're watching over you.
Good morning when you arise, Monday morning, another day, another week. Not alone. They're always there. I know you can't see them.
But they're there. Mary thought she was alone. And before she could blink, there stood Gabriel telling her that great revelation that her womb would be the vehicle God would use to bring his son. She would bear the Christ child. She realized, not only am I not alone, soon I will have one within me. Joseph thought he was alone. He had heard Mary's story and strongly doubted it. I mean, it was hard enough to believe she was pregnant, but to believe that it was God who made her pregnant, really. So alone, at least he thought, he went to his place and fell into bed, dropped to sleep, and before he knew it, standing beside him, remember?
Angolos Kourios. There he was. We don't know what he looked like.
We don't know what he sounded like. But Joseph realized he wasn't alone. And what Mary had said was true. Not only should you believe her, said the angel, you should marry her.
And he did. That cluster of shepherds in the field near Bethlehem, they were, well, they thought alone out there under the open skies, that cold night, clear and crisp. Suddenly, they realized they weren't alone. Angolos Kourios, surrounded by the Daksa Kourios, angel of God, glory of God. And the message they received, my, my. Every once in a while, you just suddenly come to a realization that you don't go through life alone. God has a better plan.
He has sent his angels. Now, a difficulty is that they are not like us. We have a hard time with that. We don't really know what they look like. Some appear with wings. Some have no wings. Some have a glow around them and above them. Some have no glow. Some look just like the person sitting next to you. They can cover a vast amount of space in an incredibly fast amount of time.
They can pass through solid surfaces, whether it be a thick wall or a locked door. And there they are. You see, they're not made like us, different whole molecular makeup. I remember the first time it began to really dawn on me. I was an adult sitting in a class of theology at Dallas Seminary, a student with all the other guys around me, and we were listening to the lecture in what was called Angelology by a professor who did not exaggerate. In fact, one of my classmates called him Orthodox on steroids.
I mean straight. He did not stretch the truth, but suddenly he pushed his textbook back and he said, I want all of you to hear a story, and I hope you'll never forget it, and I haven't. He had a missionary friend who was home on furlough, and he was going from church to church to raise the level of his funds.
They were getting low, and also to spend some time with friends from former years, from one church to another. His schedule was tight, didn't have long, and so he finished one church on a Saturday night late, realized he had to be at the next church early Sunday morning for the service, which meant probably driving most of the night, if not all the night, but what matters complicated was pouring down rain. He got into his car and shook his head and said, Lord, just ask you to keep me awake.
I've got to get there safely. He rounded the bend outside the city limits of that city, and he saw a man standing inside the road hitching a ride. Now he was raised like you were and like I was.
He doesn't ever pick up hitchhikers, except he did. He thought, well, maybe you'll help keep me awake if nothing else. The guy hopped in, and before long they struck up a terrific conversation. It was a fantastic conversation.
The guy knew most of the people he knew. Somehow he knew all about his ministry, and they had that in common, and they had a delightful time, and before long it was close to dawn when they got near the destination. The stranger said, well, here's where I get out. He said, well, wait, before you leave, there's a cafe over here.
Let's stop for a cup of coffee together. So they walked in and spent a few extra minutes there, so enjoyable. When it ended, he went his way, and our missionary friend got in his car.
He realized after he'd driven away he hadn't even gotten the man's name or address. He wanted to keep up with him. So he quickly turned around and went back to the little cafe, and he said to the cook standing behind the counter, he said, did you notice which way the other man went when we left? He said, what other man? I wondered why you ordered two cups of coffee when you came in alone. In fact, I wondered who you were talking to at the table.
You seemed a little weird to me, frankly. The missionary crawled back in his car and cranked it up and suddenly realized the night before in the pouring rain when the stranger had gotten in, he wasn't even wet. That gives us the willies, doesn't it?
You know why? Because we don't really understand angels. They don't get wet when it rains. They don't get tired at the end of the day.
They don't forget that you've been their charge. They don't sleep or slumber. They're not born, nor do they die. We have the same number now that we've had since God created them, and they're in the multiple millions. Step into the imaginary time tunnel with me.
Let's leave the familiar 21st century and go back to the dawning of the first. We're walking along the rolling, sloping hills of southern Judea. You can drive there today on highways, and when you do, you see little brown tents every once in a while. And those who live in the tents are not called shepherds. They're known as Bedouins, or better, as the Israelis refer to them often, Bedouins. I said to a friend of mine who lived there, born there.
He's a guide, and so he would certainly know. I said, you ever meet one of those out there that live in the tents? He goes, a Bedouin? Meet a Bedouin?
No! That little answer lets you know the rank in the world that Bedouins have. There's a cluster of them squatting together around a fire out in the field.
We don't know what field. We don't know how far it was from the little town of Bethlehem, but there they were sharing stories, smoking their hookahs, whatever they were doing. And all of a sudden, the sky is lit with a million laser-like lights, and there stands a creature they've never seen before. I don't know what he looked like, allow me a little preacher's imagination. Let's say he was 12, 15 feet tall.
Let's say his wingspan went out 25 feet, if he had wings. And his voice was like a dozen Niagara's as he said, Greetings! But first he said, I love this, don't be afraid.
Can you imagine you're out in the field and a 12-foot giant shows up in the sky and says, don't worry. All is well. Well, they were scared. They didn't know what to think until he began, unto you is born this day.
Wait a minute before we rush ahead. When you read it as Luke wrote it, who mean for you is plural. So let's do it right, unto y'all. And there's a group of them, so it's all y'all. That's the first time you've ever heard that passage rendered, all y'all. Under all y'all is born to you this day in the city of David, the Savior is Christ the Lord.
You know why I love it? Because they're Bedouins. They don't have any name ever etched in scripture. They're nobodies.
Except in God's eyes, no one is a nobody. To all y'all is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, Christ the Lord. You'll find the baby just behind the kataluma. We know it as an inn, but it was a little more like a bed and breakfast. Stable behind there where the animals were kept. When you go there, you'll notice in a feeding trough, Emmanuel.
That's fabulous. The angel didn't appear to some royalty in Rome, some godly dressed priest in Jerusalem, not even some rabbi in prayer in a synagogue appeared to them, Bedouins, folks like us, just like us. To us is born in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Tears are falling, hearts are breaking, how we need to hear from God. You've been promised, we've been waiting. Welcome, holy child, welcome, holy child.
Oh, that good old time ranger, how I wish he could have known. One more awaited, holy stranger, make yourself at home. Please make yourself at home. Bring your peace into our violence, we are the bristles we hear. With our breaking blood and silence, welcome to our world. Welcome to our world. And when they're sent to be lost, when they're not prepared for fall, they're driving tiny vultures, but they'll stay lost unto us is born.
So will the ranger, if they shall mount you, breathe our air and walk their song. Father, Savior, make us holy, perfect Son of God. Welcome to our world.
Welcome to our world. Our thanks to the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, and soloist McKenna Butler for providing this magnificent performance of the Christmas favorite, Welcome to Our World. You're listening to a special edition of Insight for Living. Chuck Swindoll titled today's message, When an Angel Spoke to Shepherds.
And to learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. Well, just before we hear a closing comment from Chuck, I'll remind you he recently sat down for a special interview. In this 30-minute conversation, you'll hear Chuck describe his passion for reaching the lost, which was inspired by the Great Commission of Jesus. More importantly, he'll help you understand how to integrate this command from Jesus into your daily life as well. You'll find easy instructions on how to view Chuck's conversation when you go to insight.org slash conversation. Well, Chuck, you presented a brand-new study through the entire book of Matthew that was called The King of Kings.
That's right, Dave. As a radio family, we spent 11 months walking through every single chapter in the Gospel according to Matthew. It was an emotion-filled journey alongside Jesus. And now I'm devoting the better part of December to applying what we felt during the grand crescendo that swelled in the last chapter. Remember the parting words from Jesus?
Of course you do. He said, therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I've given you. And be sure of this. I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. That's Matthew 28, 17 through 20.
Now wait, wait. Don't dismiss this command of Jesus as though he was singling out the professional Christian, whatever that means. His command was directed to you and to me, people that love the Lord Jesus Christ. So let me ask, how is God moving you right at this moment to live out the Great Commission of Jesus with your family, with your friends, and even with your neighbors? And what is your part in making disciples in all the countries of the world? As we come to the conclusion of another ministry year, this is the perfect time for you to invest in things eternal. You play a significant role in making disciples. Your contribution to Insight for Living Ministries will be used by God to reach brokenhearted, discouraged people who are burdened down by guilt and confusion and shame. In fact, I can't think of a better way to exercise our God-given assignment to give generously so these dear people might hear about God's grace and then run into his forgiving embrace. Come on, let's do this together. Let's get involved in this wonderful opportunity to make disciples together. Remember, we don't have to do it alone. Jesus said, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. So it's you and me and our Lord Jesus Christ teaming up together.
How exciting is that? Alright, thanks Chuck. Please jot down this contact information and respond to Chuck Swindoll today. There are several different methods for getting in touch. First, you can use the convenient Insight for Living mobile app or give directly online at insight.org slash donate. To speak with one of our friendly ministry reps, call us. If you're listening in the United States, dial 1-800-772-8888. Again, that's 1-800-772-8888. Or go to insight.org slash donate. Join us when Chuck Swindoll continues to describe the surprising moment when an angel spoke to shepherds Friday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, When an Angel Spoke to Shepherds, was copyrighted in 2020 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
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