God Meets the Overlooked: Shepherds' Unexpected Invitation

You see, God was preparing Samuel that he was going to choose an unlikely choice. David, a shepherd boy, small in stature, but mighty in heart. And the overlooked, the overlooked in the field, David became the anointed king. And that's a little bit what's happening here in Luke 2, because God is showing that his kingdom isn't about the most obvious, the smartest, the most charismatic choice. He's announcing his kingdom in a surprising way through unlikely people in places the world will tend to ignore. [00:42:44] (35 seconds)  #godChoosesTheUnexpected

Now, who are the poor? Well, there's the poor among us, the physically poor, right? Those who maybe don't know where they're going to get their next meal or they're dependent upon others, whether it's because of their own circumstances or their own doing or someone else's. But they're dependent upon others. And Jesus was saying that he is hope for those poor people because he is declaring the year of the Lord's favor. And then he would teach and empower his church, us, to go and take care of the poor. And he gives us that commandment then and now. [00:46:39] (33 seconds)  #careForThePoor

``But he's also the answer for the spiritual poor. You see, Jesus is the good news for the poor in spirit or those who will recognize their need. Ever tried to help somebody who won't recognize that they have a need? Maybe it's your spouse who keeps taking wrong turn after wrong turn, but they won't stop and ask for help. Or maybe it's the person walking into Costco and they say, I'm only getting one thing, so I refuse to take a cart. Yet they find themselves walking out with a couch and a case of water. Because when someone isn't willing to recognize that they have a problem, they will never see their need. [00:47:13] (39 seconds)  #poorInSpirit

Well, you're in the foothills at that point. You're passing Denver and it's beautiful and you're enjoying it. But then there's this moment. There's this moment where all of a sudden the horizon opens and it's this awe-inspiring, breathtaking moment where you see mountain upon mountain upon mountain. It's the kind of pull over, take a picture, soak it in kind of moment. And that's what's happening to our shepherd boys here. Because they've already had this incredible encounter with an angel. But then heaven pulls back its curtain and shows its nearness. Where heaven's inviting these humble shepherds overlooked by the world to join with them in song, to declare the glory of God. [00:52:34] (49 seconds)  #heavenUnveiled

The good news that nobody would have ever expected would be for them. But God reveals his glory to the unexpected. And he also does it in unexpected ways. And heaven is inviting us, 2,000 years later, to join in that same song. To receive the gifts of an encounter with the glory of God. To receive the gifts of being reconciled to God for all eternity. That's why Jesus came. [00:53:24] (34 seconds)  #gloryToTheUnexpected

But it doesn't matter what other people think about the message that you share. Here's what matters. It matters that you are obedient to share the message. The shepherds could have thought of a thousand reasons of why they couldn't go. I'm too busy. I can't leave the sheep. I'm too tired. I'll do it tomorrow. They didn't. They knew that this message was all too important, that they had to go and share. [00:59:08] (23 seconds)  #obeyAndShare

You see, Clayton, he understood that the message was too important not to share, and he didn't know if he had another day to live. He shared with urgency all who would listen the good news about Jesus being our Savior. And friends, this is the same kind of urgency. If you've encountered Jesus, if you know Jesus, if you have seen his transforming power in your life, you cannot hold it in. You need to go and to share it and to bear witness of who Jesus is. And remember, we aren't responsible for what people choose to do with it. What we are responsible is being obedient to go out and to share that message. [01:00:34] (47 seconds)  #shareWithUrgency

And for some of you today, you may not have ever said yes to Jesus before. You've heard all the messages. But maybe this morning is the morning for you to say yes to Jesus. To say, I want to experience the transforming power that you can have in my life. Because let me tell you, his power is amazing. When you surrender your life to him, your circumstances may not change. But like the shepherds, they had this joy, a joy in their heart. They went back to their ordinary life. But I can guarantee you, they were changed. Because they had an encounter. [01:03:32] (42 seconds)  #sayYesToJesus