Title: Let's Be Humble / Luke 2:8-20
Let us be humble / Luke 2:8-20
September 11, 2001 was a nightmare that America will never forget. Because it's a day when America's pride is indisputably shattered. This is because the sight of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which stood tall as if boasting of American capital, collapsed and collapsed, was shown on television around the world. This incident was not just about the collapse of the twin towers of the Trade Center, it was also about how weak the US Department of Defense was. And it is because the appearance of the Pentagon building, which serves as the heart of the US Department of Defense, collapsed due to terrorism, completely destroyed America's pride. Also, as a result of the great incident, the lives of 3,021 innocent people were turned to ashes, and the bereaved families are still in a state of mourning and suffering from the shock.
Why did this tragedy happen? Although it has not come to light so far, we have obtained good information that can prevent such a tragedy in advance, but we have not been able to prevent a major tragedy such as the 9/11 incident because we have ignored such important news too lightly.
In the United States, a month before 9/11, there was already a sense of a terrorist attack on the American mainland. This is because, in August 2001, at the US embassy in Paris, the terrorist organization led by Osama bin Ladin of Afghanistan had ordered the bombing of the US embassy in Paris by US CIA agents. However, despite obtaining such important information, the United States has irresponsibly ignored various suspicious signs. And the 9/11 incident happened just one month after obtaining such information. And that event completely changed the course of the world. Therefore, the world is becoming more and more difficult to live in.
It must have been good news for the United States that the United States got the news that there would be a terrorist attack a month before 9/11. No, it must have been good news not only for the United States, but also for other countries around the world. If we had heard the news at that time and prepared to stop terrorism immediately, the economy of the United States or the world would not have changed so much now. But even though the United States has heard the good news that it can prevent such terrorism, everyone on the planet is still suffering because they took the news so lightly.
You may be wondering why I am having a Christmas Eve service and talking about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in such a profuse way by stating the economy of the United States and the economy of the world. The reason for this lengthy explanation is that, even when the news that Jesus has come into this world is announced, there are people passing by who listen to them in a hurry. If we ignore this good news, we will receive unavoidable wrath at the final judgment, but if we take this news seriously, it is such good news that all mankind can live.
For those who hear the good news that Jesus has come to this world, recognize it quickly, and respond to it, it is an opportunity to enjoy joy and blessings. But, like the attitude of the United States during the 9/11 incident, those who pass by with such trifling thoughts will forever be left with regret and pain. Because the news that Jesus has come into this world is the news of great joy that will reach all the people.
Dear saints, We are gathered here today to give thanks and praise to God who sent Jesus Christ as our Savior for us, who have no choice but to die in our sins forever. Because Jesus came, we are set free from our sins.
Saints! We have news that we may hear and neglect, and we have news that we should take seriously. People react very seriously to money issues or news they find fun. He is very interested in the story of eating, or an actor caught in a scandal. However, they do not give much importance to spiritual matters and do not take them seriously.
That attitude was true not only now but also in Noah's day. Even when Grandpa Noah gave the good news that God's judgment was coming, they took it as a joke and ignored it. And they only focused on what they wanted. They married, got married, and focused on their own work. God gave them 120 years, but they were still focused on what they wanted. They were still ignoring the good news that they could live if they returned to God. In the end, because they ignored the good news that God sent, they could not escape the flood of God's judgment and all died.
Dear saints, In order to receive the good news that God has sent, we must become people who can listen to God's word. Who can listen to God's Word? He is humble in heart. The humble are attentive to the word of God. But the proud people ignore the word of God, saying that it is not worth listening to.
Looking at today's words, we can see that the good news of God was first delivered to the shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields.
?쏡o not be afraid, I bring you tidings of great joy that will come to all the people.??The first people to hear the news that the Son of God had come to this earth as a savior were the shepherds. In fact, at that time, shepherds were people who lived with disrespect in society. They were at the bottom of a life where they could no longer go down. So they had no choice but to be humble. Those who feel they lack the most can be humble. But anyone who still thinks I am something special becomes proud.
That's why God said to us, "He who thinks he is standing must be careful lest he fall." He also said, ?쏧f anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know what he ought to know.??People who still think that I can do something, or think that I am still better than others, do not listen to the other person. Also, such a person will not be able to listen to the Word of God. A person who feels that he or she is inferior to the other person closes his mouth and listens to the other person and tries to learn. And listen to what the other person is saying.
In this way, those who realize that they are sinners who need salvation and cannot live without God's help will listen to God's Word. And it becomes an attitude to learn how to be saved and how to live in this world by faith. Such a person will pay attention to the word and listen.
Look at the shepherds. An angel of heaven appeared before them. And he delivered the news that the Messiah had been born on this earth. At this time, the shepherds listened to the message of the angels. And they put everything aside and ran to meet Jesus. Therefore, they not only enjoy the blessing of meeting the Messiah first in this world, but also have the opportunity to worship and praise Jesus.
Even now, the same good news that the angels brought to the shepherds is being preached to people. However, people treat this good news with scorn. They have no interest in this good news. Rather, they reject it in an annoying way.
I worked hard on the phone to evangelize to someone. On Monday, he has a lot of time, so he even gives a business card to call. So I called it because it was a good opportunity to preach Jesus, and I called because I had to do laundry every time I called because I had no time. I called the next week and they said that I didn't have time to go shopping. Every time you call, you make a fuss about it, avoiding opportunities to hear the good news. Why? Because they are not interested in the good news. They are only interested in what they want to do. I am only interested in what is happening in this world. Then, later on, if you lose your chance, you may never hear the good news.
Dear saints, I hope you will learn the humility of shepherds this Christmas. There are many things we need to learn, but the most important is low humility. Because God's grace comes from high to low. If our hearts are too high because of our pride, God's grace will not come down. I hope this Christmas will be an opportunity to imitate Jesus, who is God, who abandoned his high heavenly throne and came to this lowly and lowly earth in the form of a lowly human being wearing the same flesh as us. So whenever I hear the precious message from God, I hope that it will come down and accumulate in my heart. In that case, you can enjoy the grace that God gives you and live. In that case, you can live each day victoriously. I sincerely wish you a Christmas full of such grace.