Greg Laurie - Do Not Be Afraid! (12/06/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares from Luke 2 on the angels' message to the shepherds: "Do not be afraid," bringing good tidings of great joy with the birth of Jesus, the Savior. In a world full of fears—from everyday phobias to real anxieties like illness, loss, or the future—the Christmas announcement reminds us the Messiah has come, offering peace, joy, and God's presence instead of fear. The shepherds went to see for themselves, worshiped, and the invitation stands: trade your fears for Christ's peace by inviting Him into your life tonight.
Introduction: Facing Fear at Christmas
Well if you brought your Bible with you I would like you to turn in it right now to Luke chapter 2. I heard a story about an elderly couple who were out Christmas shopping. And you know how much guys like to do that, right? I read recently that the blood pressure of men goes up really high when they shop, similar to the blood pressure of a fighter pilot. Interestingly the same study revealed that the blood pressure in women does not change at all when they go shopping.
So an elderly couple went out shopping and suddenly the husband disappears. And the wife is, "where is he?" And she got a little worried. She was afraid. "Where is my husband?" She is calling his cell phone. He is not answering. Finally he answers. She says, "where are you? I am very upset. You are supposed to be with me as I shop." He says, "well remember that jewelry store we went to a number of years ago that you really like?" She said, "yeah." "Remember that necklace you really, really wanted and we couldn't afford it?" She said, "yeah." "I am at the Starbucks right next to that." So that...
Well there are things that we can be legitimately afraid of as we enter into a new year. And I want to reflect on the message that the angels gave to those shepherds watching over their flocks by night some 2,000 years ago. And the message was, "Do not be afraid."
Fear in Our Modern World
You know I read an article that pointed out that our last decade was characterized by fear. They said if one word could sum up the whole decade it was fear. Ranging from terrorism, pandemic threats, the economic crash, and all the other problems. And then they said in fact our dependence on technology and some of us can't leave our homes without connection to our phones and the Internet. According to this article the top fears that Americans have today are not just the typical things like a fear of heights or a fear of tight spaces or a fear of spiders or a fear of public speaking. Those are all on the list. But one of the top fears that Americans have today is, are you ready, the fear of service interruption. In other words it is the fear that your Internet may go down or your cell phone will not work.
You think of all the things people could legitimately be afraid of today. The list also said among the fears that people have today is dogs. People are afraid of dogs. I am not afraid of dogs. Maybe I am afraid of small dogs. And here is why. I don't think they are legitimate. Any dog that is smaller than a rat is not a dog. Okay. And to you that have those dogs I have one question for you. Christmas Eve 2011. Are you ready? Why? And now maybe I am not as afraid of dogs as I am of people that push them around in strollers. Those people really frighten me for sure.
But there is a lot of phobias and fears that people have. Time Magazine did a cover story on the phobias of Americans. And they said 50 million Americans have some kind of a fear or phobia. There is the obvious ones. Claustrophobia, fear of tight spaces, etc. But then there is fears I had never heard of before. One was oblutophobia. This is a legitimate fear. It is the fear of bathing. I hope you are not sitting next to one of these people tonight. There is dentophobia, the fear of dentists. There is alexidophobia, the fear of opinions. Cyclophobia, the fear of bicycles. And these even get weirder. Electrophobia, the fear of chickens. So you break out in a cold sweat when you drive by Chick-fil-A. Right? Eneptophobia, the fear of staying single. Automatonphobia, this is real. The fear of ventriloquist dummies. This is an actual phobia. And then there is pelletophobia, the fear of bald people. I hope you don't have that fear tonight. But my favorite of all the phobias is phobophobia, which is the fear of phobias.
The Angels' Message: "Do Not Be Afraid"
I don't know if you have come in here tonight with some kind of a fear tonight. I don't know if something is causing you anxiety and concern. Maybe so. Maybe it is a personal fear. Maybe it is the fear that harm will come to you or a member of your family because you decided to go shopping for the new Air Jordans. Did you hear about that? They released a limited edition of the Air Jordan. And riots are breaking out in department stores and shoe stores. I mean people tearing the doors off hinges. I saw the video for this. Just a little bizarre. But maybe you have other fears that are real. The fear that you will get sick. The fear that your marriage will collapse. The fear that you will lose your life savings. The fear of being alone.
Well I have good news for you tonight. The same message that the angels gave 2,000 years ago at the first Christmas in Bethlehem still resonates with us tonight. And here it is. Luke chapter 2 starting in verse 8. "There were in the same country shepherds living out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.'
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!' So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.'"
Why the Shepherds Were Afraid
Now these shepherds and all of Israel were certainly living in frightening times. They were living under the tyranny of King Herod who was renowned for his vicious cruelty where he would execute people at will. Especially anyone he perceived as a threat to his throne. Plus the Jewish people were occupied by foreign invaders. They had been beaten into submission by Rome. And they were afraid about their future. Wondering would Rome ever leave? Would they ever be able to rule themselves again? Would the Messiah ever come? And now here comes this message from the angels. "Don't be afraid." The Messiah has come.
This is a rare moment where heaven and earth are just sort of opened up together like a portal was opened up into glory. And there are all these angels with this great announcement that the answer to your prayers is here. The Messiah has come. You know, it seems like whenever angels appear they would start with the words, "Don't be afraid." And for good reason. When people saw angels they freaked out. If an angel appeared to us right now. We would be shocked. We might even be frightened. And justly so. Because they reflect God's glory. And they are supernatural beings.
And the Bible teaches that angels are all around followers of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the angels of the Lord encamp round about those that fear Him. Right now as we sit here listening to this message we are surrounded by thousands and thousands of angels doing the work of the Lord. But when an angel sort of steps out of that invisible world and makes himself visible, and footnote, angels are always male, never female. Sorry. I know those cute little ornaments on your tree. Those chick angels. They got to go. They are not biblical. Oh we will say "she is just as pretty as an angel." Angels are always masculine in the Bible. But that is really beside the point. When they would appear they would always say, "Do not be afraid." And that is exactly what they said to these shepherds. "Do not be afraid." "Fear not."
I have heard that the words "fear not" appear 365 times in the Bible. Have you come here tonight afraid, full of anxiety, full of concern? I want you to know that this message is still true for you. You could write on countless American gravestones the epitaph "hurried, worried, buried." We are an anxiety filled people running about. Ray Steadman, a great Bible commentator made this statement and I quote, "The chief mark of the Christian ought to be the absence of fear and the presence of joy." Does that describe you right now? Is fear absent and joy present? Or is fear present and joy absent? Listen. They don't make good roommates. When one moves in the other moves out.
The Gift Exchange of Christmas
So here is what God is saying to you tonight. Don't be afraid—instead have joy. We are told over in the book of Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Don't worry about anything but pray about everything. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus."
What an event this was. God had come to this earth as a baby in the little town of Bethlehem. The Creator of the universe. The Savior of the world. The Messiah of Israel is finally here. And you know what? As far as most people were concerned it was no big deal. It wasn't a big deal to Rome. They were oblivious to this event that would shake world history. After all they were the rulers of the world. What did another birth in an occupied territory mean to them? Just another person to tax. And besides Caesar Augustus had given himself the title the Savior of the world.
Jerusalem didn't seem to care much either. You know those people that lived in Jerusalem were a little elitist. And they were sort of like people that live in big cities. And they think well if it doesn't happen in the city it doesn't matter. I mean like people in L.A. or New York. What would they care about? Something happening in suburbia somewhere or some little town no one has ever heard of. Well that doesn't matter. But this really mattered. It was a big event. And they had their king too. There in Jerusalem Herod who was given the title King of the Jews. But now the true Savior and the real King of the Jews is about to emerge.
But ironically they didn't even seem to care much in Bethlehem. The city was teeming with visitors. All descendants of King David as that was his boyhood home. That's why all the inns were full. Mary was not the only pregnant woman in Bethlehem that night. She was just another poor peasant girl. Just another statistic. But they and all of mankind would soon discover that history would swing on the hinge of the door of a stable in Bethlehem.
What was big news on earth was not big news in heaven. What was big news on earth at this point? Rome rules the world. Heaven doesn't care about that. Rome is a footnote in biblical history. As great of an empire as Rome was when she is referred to in Scripture. It is usually just as a backdrop setting up the bigger story. Yeah the things that are a big deal on earth are not a big deal in heaven. But often things that are a big deal in heaven are not always a big deal on earth. I mean in earthly standards the birth of Jesus was nothing. As far as heaven was concerned the angels were coming out to applaud it and speak of it.
I will tell you another big event that happens in heaven that we don't celebrate enough on earth. That is when someone believes in Jesus Christ. You know a non-believer will hear that someone came to faith in Christ and they will say, "Oh yeah. Okay another person got religion. Who cares?" Sometimes even Christians will hear that someone believed in them and they will say, "Well that is nice and I just hope this invitation ends soon because I want to go to lunch." You know. If it is on a Sunday morning. But the Bible says that when a person repents of their sin there is joy in the presence of the angels. It is a heavenly headline when someone believes in Christ. I hope we will see some heavenly headlines before this service is over with tonight that some of you will believe in Jesus.
The Shepherds: The First to Hear
Now check out who the angels come to. They come to shepherds. Now we have sort of romanticized the shepherds. And I don't think we really understand the place they had in the culture of the day. They were not looked upon with respect. In fact you might be surprised to know that the only one lower on the social ladder than a shepherd was a leper. And that is a person that had an incurable disease and was considered unclean. And I am not really sure why this was. But the shepherds were thought of as illegitimate. They were despised and mistrusted. It was thought that if you were a shepherd you were crafty and dishonest. That no one could believe you and what you said. And thus the testimony of a shepherd was not allowed in a court of law. It was assumed that they would simply lie.
So I hate to use this analogy because I am sure to offend someone. But to sort of bring it into modern culture it would be as though the angels appeared to used car dealers watching over their cars at night. Or if they appeared to telemarketers calling up people and interrupting their dinner at night. Or let me put it another way. If the angels appeared to a bunch of outlaw bikers. Or if the angels appeared to a bunch of street people. The idea is this was not the cream of the crop. But God took the lowest of the low and said, "You are the ones I am going to give this message to before anybody else."
Verse 10. "I bring good tidings of great joy which is to all people." Christmas is for everyone. Because Christ is for everyone. It is interesting to contrast the shepherds and the wise men who came a bit later. The shepherds were the lowest of the low. The wise men, well they were probably the highest of the high. The shepherds were poor. The wise men were incredibly wealthy. The shepherds were uneducated. Not even able to read. The wise men were highly educated. Renowned for their wisdom. But they both came to Jesus and both of them had the same reaction. They worshiped.
And I don't know where you are in this world. You may be important or considered unimportant. You may be famous or you may be unknown. You may be wealthy. You may be poor. You may be the janitor. You may be the CEO. It doesn't matter who you are. Here is what I do know. Everybody needs Jesus. And Jesus made Himself known to all of these people. They couldn't have been more different culturally. The shepherds and the wise men. But they all came to believe.
A Personal Invitation Tonight
Now it gets personal. Verse 10. The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy." The first Christmas happened for you. You could insert your name here. "I bring Greg good tidings of great joy." Put your name in. It is there for you.
The shepherds could have said, "Nice. Great. Good to hear." They didn't have to go. They didn't have to go see for themselves in Bethlehem if it was true or not. Verse 15 says, "They said, 'Let us now go.'" You see they could have said, "Well, we don't want to go because we are not dressed appropriately. I mean look at us in our rags. We smell of the field. Certainly when we enter in they will turn us away. We are not going to go." And they could have said no. But they went. And the wise men did the same. When the star came to them and began to direct them to where the child was they could have said, "Well, that is a long journey. This will take a long time. We don't want to make that journey. It is too hard." But they all went.
And the same is true of us. We need to go and hear this message for ourselves and know the Lord in a personal way. And when those wise men showed up they brought gifts and offered them to the child Jesus. That is what it is all about. It is about buying gifts for one another at Christmas. Sometimes maybe we make it a little bit too much about ourselves. You know it is kind of hard when you are shopping for people and everything is on sale. And you say, "Oh wow. I kind of want that. And I know I will buy it and give it to someone to give back to me again." That is one way to do it. Or you might just buy it for yourself and you come home with a bunch of bags full of things and someone says, "Wow. Who are those for?" "Well it is actually for me. There is a lot of great things on sale." No. It is not about you. It is about others. Right?
We had Christmas with our granddaughters earlier this week on Tuesday night. And they opened their presents. And we decided it is a lot easier to do it earlier. And so they enjoyed all the presents we gave. But someone gave to me a birthday card because my birthday is earlier in December. And they knew of my love for cats. I don't know if you can see this card. But there is a cat on the cover. And when you pull the little tab on the cat it does this. You hear that? So the cat is singing happy birthday, right? So Lucy, who is only two, got this card. And she became obsessed with it. She didn't care about any of her other presents. All she did was walk around the house playing this card over and over again. Over and over again. So it was not fine. So it came to dinner and we were getting ready to pray. And all the little girls wanted to pray. And Lucy started to eat her food. And we said, "Lucy, we are going to pray now. Don't eat. Wait until we are done praying because it is Jesus' birthday." And she said, "It is not Jesus' birthday." We said, "No, Lucy, it is." She said, "No, it is my birthday." We said, "Honey, your birthday is in November." "It is my birthday. The cat told me." Yeah, this cat told her it was her birthday. True story.
In the same way we can make it all about us and forget who it really is all about. The Lord Jesus Christ. But I want you to think about this as we talk about the giving of gifts. This is like a gift exchange. You know it is always awkward when someone gives you a gift and you don't have a gift for them. Isn't it? We went out to dinner with some friends last night and they gave us a gift and we didn't have anything. "Oh, you know." You feel bad about that. So think of this as a gift exchange. You bring your gifts to Him this Christmas. He brings His gifts to you.
Here is what you bring. You bring your fear, anxiety, and worry and He will give you His peace. You bring your sorrow and He will give you His joy. You bring your wrong. He will give you His right. You bring your hell. He will give you His heaven. That is a pretty good gift exchange. Don't you think? That is what God wants to do for you.
You might say, "Well, Greg, I am still afraid. There are things that concern me in life. Are you saying to me that if I become a Christian that I will never have any troubles? That I will never get sick? Or nothing bad will ever happen to me? Are you saying if I become a Christian I will never lose my Internet connection?" No. I am not saying that. You may face all of those things and more. Here is what I am saying to you. Sometimes God will save you from your problems. And sometimes God will save you in your problems. But when you are a Christian you know you are never alone. That is the message of the birth of Jesus. "You will call His name Emmanuel because God is with us." And God wants to be with you. But more to the point God wants to come in you. He wants to take residence in your heart tonight.
Invitation: Open the Door to Christ
I don't know how you got here this evening. I don't know what prompted you to come. I doubt that a star appeared and led you to harvest. Maybe OnStar got you here but probably not A-Star. I don't know that angels appeared and pointed the way. But I know this. You are here because you were supposed to be here to hear this message. Friend, whatever your name is, I bring you glad tidings of great joy. "Do not be afraid." Jesus said, "Fear not little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom."
The same Jesus that was born in that manger and lived a perfect life and died on that cross and rose again from the dead is now standing at the door of your life and He is knocking and He is saying, "If you will hear my voice and open the door I will come in." Here is what I am asking you. Will you ask the living Jesus to come into your life and be your Savior and Lord? Will you trade your fear for His peace? Will you trade your sorrow for His joy? Will you trade your hell for His heaven? Do you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven? Do you want to be free from your fears tonight? You can in a relationship with Christ.
In a moment we are going to pray and I am going to give you an opportunity to put your faith in Jesus. And if you do this tonight you are going to make a heavenly headline. If you believe in Jesus tonight heaven is going to break out in applause. Just like Jesus said that there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that comes to repentance. It is not about big numbers for heaven. It is about individuals. "There is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord."
God cares about you. You are not just another face in the crowd. You are not just another statistic to Him. You are an individual that He loves. Someone He treasures. You are someone that He knows all about. The very hairs of your head are numbered. In my case that is not a big thing. But some of you are such fine heads of hair. And a few of you are wearing very impressive hair pieces. Even the hairs of those are numbered. And sir I really, no I am kidding. There is not any one. I just made that up. Now someone will write me, "how did you know I was wearing a hair piece?" Hey if the rug fits wear it. No I am sorry. Boy talk about getting off my message here. Sorry about that. You don't know how many jokes I reject when I preach. You think I joke a lot? I veto. For every joke I use I veto 10. Okay. So this is the mental torment I go through. 10 jokes are on the line. I am saying, no, no, no, no. Okay I will let you through. But sometimes I get a little sidetracked so I apologize.
But this is about Christ coming into your life right now. And I hope that you will open the door of your heart and ask for His forgiveness. And if you will do that this will be the most blessed Christmas you have ever had.
Let us bow our heads to our prayer. Father thank You for Your Word to us. Thank You for Your love for us in sending Jesus to be born in that manger. And Lord Jesus thank You for coming. You voluntarily came to this earth and laid aside the privileges of deity. But You were always God. And yet You went to that cross and died in our place. And now You stand at the door of our lives and You knock. And if people will hear Your voice and open the door You will come in. Help them to come to You now. Help them to believe in You now we pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. If you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. If you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want to trade your fear for His peace and your hell for His heaven. Would you just lift your hand up wherever you are and I would like to pray for you. If you want Christ to come into your life tonight. Lift your hand up if you would. God bless you. Wherever you are sitting God bless you. God bless you. Here in the front row. Up in the balcony. I can't see you outside. But raise your hand up. I can't see you guys at Harvest Orange County. But raise your hand as well if you want to make this commitment to follow Jesus wherever you are.
Let me pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else? Lift your hand now. God bless. Maybe there are some of you that have fallen away from the Lord. You know you have just been so busy and you have kind of pushed God out of your life. But tonight you have realized I need to come home again. I need to return to the Lord. I need to turn from this sin I have been living in and get right with God. If you need to make a recommitment to Christ tonight would you lift your hand up wherever you are. Let me pray for you as well. God bless you guys. God bless. Just lift your hand up if you would please.
Now I am going to ask that all of you who have lifted your hand to just stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand to your feet if you would please. Stand up. That is right. Just stand up. You are not the only one. Others are standing. You heard me right. Stand up. And I am going to have you pray in your seat. At your seat. Just stand up. Outside you stand up at Harvest Orange County. Stand up. And I am going to lead you in this prayer as you make this commitment or recommitment to Christ. Anybody else? Stand now. Even if you did not lift your hand but you want to make this commitment to Jesus. You want Him to come in. Stand to your feet and we are going to pray. God bless you guys in the balcony. God bless you everywhere. In this final moment If you are not standing yet, stand now and we are going to pray. God bless you. God bless all of you.
Now you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking Jesus Christ to come into your life. Again as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now.
"Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But you were born in the manger. And you died on the cross. And you rose from the dead. Now come into my life and be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. I choose to follow you, Lord, from this night forward. Thank you for calling me and accepting me and forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray." Amen.