Christmas time is full of decisions

•      What do you buy for your wife?
•      What Color?
•      What Size?
•      What Style?
•      What do you buy for the Kids/Grandkids?
•      When do you start?
•      How much do you spend?

     Eternity is no different

The Choice is yours

Luke 2:8–20 AV

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸ And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Three things to notice about this Christmas Announcement

1.    The Message
2.    The Messenger
3.    The Decision

1. The Message

Luke 2:10–14 AV

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Three things about the Message:

1. The Message is all inclusive (Vs 10)

•      No matter:
•      your history
•      your heritage

Who will have all men to be saved

1 Timothy 2:3–6 AV

³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

⁴ Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

⁶ Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Salvation is available to all men

Titus 2:11 AV

¹¹ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

2. The Message is Powerful to save (Vs 11)

Romans 1:16 AV

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

We all have a Problem : We are all sinners

Romans 3:23 AV

²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We were all exiled from God

Ephesians 2:11–12 AV

¹¹ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

¹² That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

We are separated from God

2 Peter 3:9 AV

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

     God said that he would come to us

•      Isaiah 7:14
  •      Immanuel = God with us
•      Isaiah 9:6-7
•      Micah 5:2
  •      So we could be in his presence

In the old testament, only one person (high priest) was allowed to approach the presence of God and then only once per year.

This was not something to take lightly

•     When they were in God’s presence, They were afraid that they would die, so they tied a rope around their waist and sewed bells in the hem of their garment. That way if they stopped moving for too long (known by the absence of the ringing from the bells), then they could pull the priest out by utilizing the rope.

3. The Message is a Peaceful Message

(Vs 13-14)

•     The shepherds were afraid enough over one Angel appearing to them

Luke 2:9 AV

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Luke 2:13 AV

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Suddenly… that would be enough to scare anyone

not only did they all appear, but it was sudden

They came with a peaceful message

Luke 2:14 AV

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

  The message starts by recognizing HIS

•      Greatness
•      Power

     The message ends with

•      Peace on Earth
•      Good will Toward Men

Not peace with each other

•     Peace with God

Romans 5:1 AV

¹ Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

God wants to have peace with you

•     That peace was purchased for a price

1 Peter 3:18 AV

¹⁸ For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

2. The Messenger

When was the last time that you shared the Message?

•      To Family
•      To co-workers
•      To Acquaintances

What if the Angel treated the message

•     with the same urgency as most Christians do?

The Hitchhiker

Roger Simms, hitchhiking his way home, would never forget the date—May 7. His heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all. Flashing the hitchhiking sigh to the oncoming car, he lost hope when he saw it was a black, sleek, new Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The passenger door opened. He ran toward the car, tossed his suitcase in the back, and thanked the handsome, well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat. “Going home for keeps?” “Sure am,” Roger responded. “Well, you’re in luck if you’re going to Chicago.” “Not quite that far. Do you live in Chicago?” “I have a business there. My name is Hanover.”

After talking about many things, Roger, a Christian, felt a compulsion to witness to this fiftyish, apparently successful businessman about Christ. But he kept putting it off, till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It was now or never. So, Roger cleared his throat, “Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important.” He then proceeded to explain the way of salvation, ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger’s astonishment the Cadillac pulled over to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from the car. But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ, then thanked Roger. “This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.”

Five years went by, Roger married, had a two-year-old boy, and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a business trip to Chicago, he found the small, white business card Hanover had given him five years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover, but he could see Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on, he was ushered into a lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She extended her hand. “You knew my husband?” Roger told how her husband had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. “Can you tell me when that was?” “It was May 7, five years ago, the day I was discharged from the army.” “Anything special about that day?” Roger hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so far, he might as well take the plunge. “Mrs. Hanover, I explained the gospel. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day.” Explosive sobs shook her body. Getting a grip on herself, she sobbed, “I had prayed for my husband’s salvation for years. I believed God would save him.” “And,” said Roger, “Where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?” “He’s dead,” she wept, struggling with words. “He was in a car crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see—I thought God had not kept His promise.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she added, “I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His word!”

Why Christians Sin, J. Kirk Johnston, Discovery House, 1992, pp. 39-41

3. The Decision

We cannot force people to accept the Message

The Choice is Yours

Jesus came to offer you forgiveness

but the Choice is Yours

Isaiah 55:7 AV

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

The Choice is Yours!