Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I bring before you this morning a few words in the beginning
of our reading. Luke chapter two and verse one,
the first words there, and it came to pass. And it came to pass. 4,000 years. before this time. In the Garden
of Eden, the first promise was given. It was given in a word
that was spoken by the Lord actually to Satan. And Adam and Eve, having
fallen and sin entered into the world, heard these words. And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. The first promise,
the seed of the woman, the first promise of a saviour. Then we
have the promise of the seed of Abraham, 2,090 years approximately before this
time, the coming of our Lord. It was said concerning Abraham,
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him. And
because of that, the Lord revealed what he was going to do. to Sodom
and Gomorrah. Then we have with the promised
seed of Isaac some years later. God said, and this is actually
the promise was made concerning Isaac. God said, Sarah, thy wife
shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name
Isaac. and I will establish my covenant
with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him."
Again, another promise of the coming Christ, the Messiah, the
Saviour. Then we have in the dying blessings
of dear Jacob, the prophecy that he should descend from the tribe
of Judah. In Genesis 49 verse 10, the scepter
shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people
be. A prophecy made some 1800 years
before our Lord came. Then when the children of Israel
were going through the wilderness and just before they come to
the promised land, 1400 years approximately before Christ,
Balaam was called to curse the children of Israel. But instead
of cursing them, God caused him to bless them. And one of the
things that he said in Numbers 24 verse 17, I shall see him,
but not now, I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come
a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and
shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children
of Sheth. These prophecies were made concerning
the coming of our Lord. Then we have 700 and 40 years
before our Lord came in the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah 7 and verse
14. And then in Isaiah 9 and verse
7. of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David
and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever, the zeal of the
Lord of hosts will perform this. The place of his birth. 736 years before our Lord came, in
the 5th chapter of Micah and verse 2. But thou Bethlehem,
Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is, to be
ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting. These prophecies were then followed
up by promises and types and shadows and further
prophecies. All of these things pointing
to this time when we read in our text, and it came to pass. May we really realise what a
wonderful thing it is, what a marvel it is, that over 4,000 years from those
first promises, that all these things are now coming to pass. In Hebrews 11 we read of the
great long cloud of witnesses that believed that Christ would
come. They didn't see his day literally,
but they saw it by faith. Our Lord said of Abraham, Abraham
saw my day and he rejoiced at it. And so I want to Just look
briefly this morning at this word, it came to pass, what came
to pass? In the reading that we've read,
I desire to look at three things that came to pass. The first
is that Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem and Jesus was born
there. The second thing is the tidings
of the birth that were told to the shepherds by an angel accompanied
by a heavenly host. And the third is that the shepherds,
they found the Lord. Firstly then, we have Joseph
and Mary and they are coming to Bethlehem. Why is it that
they are coming to Bethlehem? We are told here that Mary is
great with child and yet she has to make this 70 mile journey
and over rough ground you might say, on a donkey, or some other form of transport
that certainly would not have been easy to travel all that way, heavy with
child. Why? Because of a decree, a decree
from Caesar Augustus, a decree from the secular powers, and
they were being obedient to it. because they were of the house
and lineage of David. They lived at Nazareth, 70 miles
away. They had to go to fulfill this
taxing or this censure because that is where they hailed from. I believe this may be a real
encouragement to us At this time in our nation, we are having
many things, many decrees, many laws that are being made that
profoundly affect our lives. Where they do not directly contradict
the word of God, may we be encouraged by this account to obey those
that are in authority over us, knowing that of this account,
that God was working out his purposes, God was fulfilling
these prophecies and promises, and so that it came to pass,
and this was a vital link in it, that that prophecy concerning
where There's one thing to have promises. There's another thing to observe
and to watch how they come to pass. Very seldom does the Lord
actually give us the particulars. God said to Abraham that his
seed should be in a strange land, and that he would bring them
in the fourth generation out again. But he didn't tell Abraham
how it was going to be that his seed should go down into Egypt. He didn't even tell Jacob that. And Jacob for 20 years believed
that his son Joseph was dead. The actual unfolding of it and
of providence in our lives often is very mysterious. We do not
understand it, we do not know what the Lord is doing, but may
we be like Joseph and Mary and to follow and obey, watching
the Lord to unfold his purposes through such means as this. Be encouraged, at this time the
Lord is still in control, The Lord is still bringing to pass
his counsel and purpose for the good of his church, the good
of his people. And it came to pass. The second thing that came to
pass was the tidings of the birth that were told to the shepherds
by the angel. Must have been a very fearful
sight, a very wonderful thing. Firstly, there is just the angel
telling these things and then suddenly there is a heavenly
host accompanying the angel and that they are then singing and
praising. in the heavens. The first thing is the very fact. In verse 11, for unto you is
born this day in this city of David a saviour which is Christ
the Lord. Beautiful verse, stating so clearly. Here is the birth of the saviour. This is what has happened. May
we view this verse and we view it in the wonder of our text,
it came to pass. The Lord is come. That is what
many, many of the carols and the hymns of this season state.
It has come to pass, the Lord has come. But what were the tidings
and what are the tidings to us? Verse 10, I bring you good tidings. Good tidings, the good message
of salvation through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Have we viewed these as good
tidings? Feeling these sinners needing
a Saviour, needing a Redeemer, those that embraced the promises,
saw them afar off? Then it was said they were tidings
of great joy. Have we known something of the
great joy of believing and seeing the Lord by precious faith? When we think of the words that
are used here to describe the coming of our Lord, are they
echoed in our heart? This is something that is spoken
of as a great thing, and indeed, to be expected for 4,000 years,
is a great thing. They were tidings which shall
be to all people, not just to the Jews, but to Gentiles as
well. To all people, children, older
people, the elderly, to all people, the message is to them. None
may say, these tidings do not belong to me, I have no interest
in them. The word is to be proclaimed
and set forth in every nation, kindred and tongue. He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches
and what the message here is to mankind. We have again a message that
it is a message of good will to men. For behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. And verse 14, glory to God in
the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Our Lord, when he began his ministry,
he said the Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to
save them. And whosoever believeth should
not perish, but should have eternal life. It is a message of peace. It doesn't say peace on earth,
but it says on earth peace. We know in the world we shall
have tribulation, but those of us who know the Lord and have
been blessed by the Lord, we know the truth of the Lord's
words in me. Ye shall have peace. In the world
ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome
the world. And to have the peace of God
that passeth understanding to dwell in our hearts, to have
that blessing to be with us, is a most wonderful and precious
thing. And We may ask ourselves, these
things that are told to the shepherds about the Lord, do they echo
something of what we have known and handled and felt and seen
in the Saviour ourselves? Or has all that we've read and
known of our Lord left us unimpressed and cold and not affected our
life, our worship, our hope for heaven, It has not addressed
the need of our soul and our sinnership, our need of a saviour. Another thing that came to pass
when the angels spoke to the shepherds, they gave them a sign. Verse 12, this shall be a sign
unto you you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes
lying in a manger." They gave them this sign and in the words
of our text, and it came to pass. In this case, they did not have
to wait long at all. They had the sign and With that
sign then, they went. So on to look with our third
point, the shepherds found the Lord. They came and they saw and they
believed. It was just as it was told them. Now there's three things to notice
here. The first is that they went and
they were told where to look. Where this applies to us, there's
not a stable, there's not a place on earth now where we to go and
look for the saviour. But there is a place. and that
is the Holy Word of God. That is where we are to look
for, our Lord says, search the scriptures, for in them you think
you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me. All that have believed, savingly
believed, have been brought to view and see the Saviour, through
the Holy Scriptures, the inspired Word of God being blessed by
the Holy Ghost to them. Now the shepherds were told where
to look and they went. Dear friends, we have been told
where to look. Do we go? Do we look for the
Saviour there? Do we find it is a marvellous,
a wonderful thing to be told where we to find the Saviour?
But do we leave the Word of God unopened, unread, unsearched? Search the Scriptures, says our
Lord. What a lesson the shepherds are
to us. They searched, they went, they
found Him. They were obedient to revealed
truth. That is the second point to notice
here. They were obedient to the revealed
truth. May we be obedient to what has
been revealed to us in the holy scriptures of truth. In this
passage here, there are things being revealed, things being
shown, and through the scriptures, the Lord reveals himself. And
the third thing is, when the shepherds found the Lord, they
were filled with glory and with praise for what they had heard
and seen. Really, the things that the angel
said and then the response with the shepherds says that if we
have truly seen the Lord, it will have that effect with us.
If we've truly seen the pearl of great price, If we truly seen
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, if we have seen Him like
those who had their eyes open to see Him while He was here
below and saw the Godhead shining through the man, then there will
be that praise and adoration and glory. And more than that,
they didn't keep it to themselves, did they? Who know they? said that they, after they had
seen it, verse 17, 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. May those of us who know the
Lord make abroad this saying and tell it and set forth the
wonders that we have seen in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
the altogether lovely, the true Saviour, Redeemer, our elder
brother born for adversity, the firstborn among many brethren. May we see Him as our Father's
Son and as our forerunner into heaven, who has prayed, Father,
I will that they whom Thou hast given me be with me where I am.
that they may behold my glory. Wherever the tidings and the
revelation of Christ has truly come, it has had a profound effect. The one that found the pearl
of great price, he sold everything that he might buy that. The one
that found in the parable the treasure in the field, he went
and sold everything that he might buy that field and have that
treasure. and those that see the glory
of the Lord, they choose him rather than this poor dying world. Set your affection on things
above where Christ sitteth upon the right hand of the throne
of God on high. We're to see that which is eternal,
that which is in heaven, and we're to tell the sinners round
what a dear saviour we have found. It may be, those of you that
hear this message this morning, or those that have heard it before,
will be like dear Mary, the mother of our Lord. In verse 19, she
kept these things, pondered them in her heart. It was going to
be another 30 years before our Lord started his ministry, and
then it was to be clearly seen and known And then, not until
he was crucified, slain, and risen again was the very clear
light and the knowledge of all that was done. And it may be
that some of you will go home or remain in your homes and ponder
these things in your hearts. Well, you won't be the first
one. Dear Mary did that. But don't forget them. Ponder
them in your heart. Pray over them. and ask the Lord
to make the Lord Jesus Christ precious to you. Well, may the
Lord add his blessing and that there be things in your life
and in mine that come to pass, that fulfil the scriptures, that
show us to truly be those that the Lord came to save and for
whom the Lord is precious. Amen.