Who first announced the message of wonder?
Luke 2:10-11
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Luke 2:13-14
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Heavenly Host – a great number of angelic beings forming a celestial army under God’s command.
Psalm 103:19-21
The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
Why was the message of wonder so timely?
- This message broke the 400 years of silence called the intertestamental period.
Old Testament – Intertestamental Period – New Testament
Times of silence can cause
- Uncertainty
- Fear and doubt
- Hopelessness and despair.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
- This message of wonder is the greatest announcement ever told.
What exactly is the message of wonder?
Luke 2:11
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Wonder – a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. Being amazed, flabbergasted, or at a loss for words.
Luke 2:17-18 (KJV)
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
- The message of wonder is that you are not alone, there is hope!
Matthew 1:23
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
What do we do with the message of wonder?
- The angels shared the Good News.
Luke 2:11
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
- The shepherds shared the Good News.
Luke 2:17
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
- We should share the Good News too.
Romans 10:14
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Questions:
- What did you hear from the Holy Spirit?
- What will you do because of it?
- How can we pray for you?