The Cast Of Christmas: Shepherds - Hope & Joy

Maybe you're afraid about your job, your career. You're afraid about a relationship, even if you're not married, that doesn't seem to be working out. You're afraid about some circumstance in your life that you just don't know how it's going to turn out. Well, I think the angel's message is for you too. Whatever the circumstance might be, do not be afraid. [00:40:03] (28 seconds)  #FearNotToday

You don't have to be afraid. It doesn't mean you won't be afraid sometimes. It means you don't have to be. You've got reason not to be afraid because we have good news that will bring great joy to all people. God hasn't forgotten you. He hasn't forgotten his promises. In fact, he's come to be with you in the midst of your struggle. That's what Christmas is all about. God himself was coming here to rescue us in person. Isn't that amazing? That God had this plan for us all along. [00:43:11] (37 seconds)  #EmmanuelIsHere

So that leads to the second thing today I want us to really grasp for this Christmas and that is that joy and peace are found in Christ. That's where you find real joy and true peace. It's found in Jesus. Now why is that important? It's because we keep trying to find it in so many other ways. We just think if I can get maybe the right relationship to work out, then I can have joy and peace. Or if I can just get my bank account where it needs to be, then I can have joy and peace. [00:46:20] (32 seconds)  #JoyInChristAlone

You know what he's about to do? They're about to see him get arrested. They're about to see him be beaten. They're about to see him being nailed to a cross. And he says, but you can still have peace, even with all of that going on. How? It's found in the person and the presence of Jesus. That's where you find peace. He is the source of that peace that enables you to experience joy no matter what circumstances you're going through. [00:51:09] (31 seconds)  #PeaceInHisPresence

It's not like a scale where if you do enough good things, it's going to outweigh the bad and you get into heaven and everything's good. By the way, how would you know exactly where that mark is, by the way? Right? You have to list how many bad things you have done, but guess what? You add more to it today, you'll add some more to it tomorrow probably. So then you add up all your good things, you've got to always be measuring, always be measuring. Can you ever have a secure joy and peace that way? Never. It's a terrible way to live. [01:00:25] (31 seconds)  #GraceNotWorks

In the flesh, you can't take care of this. Neither can I. I cannot, in the flesh, take care of my own sins and make it okay with God so that I can have the favor of God in my life. I don't have a way to do it. Neither do you. That makes us dependent on the work of God and His Spirit to remove that. That's what Christmas is all about. God planned before the foundation of the earth that Jesus would be the Lamb that would be slain for the forgiveness of our sins. [01:01:57] (35 seconds)  #LambForOurSins

This is God loving us enough to say, I won't leave you in your sin. I won't allow that sin to destroy you. I will not allow sin to have the victory here. I will not allow sin to take away your joy and your peace. I'm not going to let you live like that without having the opportunity to choose to accept the gift that I want to give you, which is I can forgive you of your sin by having someone else pay it for you. Someone else can pay the price for you and the only one who could is the one who had no sin of his own and that's Jesus. [01:02:32] (39 seconds)  #JesusPaidItAll

That's this baby that was born and placed in that manger that first Christmas. He grew up and lived without sin though he was tempted in every way like we are. He was without sin and so he could take our place and make that payment on our behalf so that we could be forgiven so that we can enjoy life eternal with joy and peace that is abiding that can't be taken from us. [01:03:11] (30 seconds)  #SinlessSavior