Louie Giglio - The Unconquered Son
The title is, «May I have your attention please»? In the old days, anybody remember the old days? Anybody? You’re like, «How old»? I mean, like the old, old days. Anybody remember Tom Brokaw on the news? Or Walter Cronkite, or one of these legendary voices? And when something major happened in the world, whatever you were watching on television, they would break into it. «We are interrupting your regularly scheduled program with an important announcement».
And I mean, the whole world now is just shutting down till we get this important news. Eventually, we moved on from that to where we figured out how to just make it scroll across the bottom, right, so you could keep watching your program, but you could see down below there’s a thunderstorm coming or there’s an advisory of some kind, or the world cup score just changed or whatever news they wanna, you know, it’s coming across the bottom.
Now, there’re so many things often times on there, we don’t even notice 'em. But breaking in with an important announcement, this is what God is trying to do today. In fact, that’s what God’s always trying to do. It’s stuns me to think that God has to get our attention. He’s got a lot of ways of getting our attention, but why don’t we just give God our attention? I’m wondering, why don’t we wake up in the morning and go, «Okay, God, you’ve got my attention today, because you are running the universe and I’m not, so I wanna be dialed into you».
But that’s not the way humanity works, and so God constantly is breaking into our story with important announcements about life, about who we are, about what He created us to be and how He wants us to live. And not any more important than the announcement that we are gonna see today. We’re in, obviously, the Christmas story, still in this journey of talks called «Still,» the tagline of this collection being, «When wonder erupts in worship». And that happens again in Luke 2. In the first few verses Jesus is born. I think you know that eventually a census went out and was gonna be taken, so Joseph went up from Nazareth and he went to Bethlehem because he was of the house of David.
And there, Mary who was expecting a baby, she gave birth to the baby, and they wrapped Him in cloths and put Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. If you didn’t know that, that’s Luke 2 when Jesus is born. God has done the miracle of miracles. He has found a way to birth deity in humanity, and it’s happened in a quiet moment that nobody knows about. And so, He needs to get everybody’s attention, and He needs to make this important announcement, and that’s what happens beginning in verse 8. «And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,» now, switch out of someone playing a little jazz piano in the background, and the fireplace roaring, and the kids running around in their matching pajamas, and just switch into the moment for a second.
«There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,» nearby to Bethlehem, «And they were keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.' When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned,» here comes the erupting in worship part, «Glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told».
A few things I want us to see in this text today and then we’re gonna have an opportunity as a house today to move into generosity. Not just generosity for our house, and yes, we’ve already mentioned that in the giving today, but generosity through our house to the people of earth. The first thing I want you to see, and I wanna remind us today that this announcement came to the shepherds. And we all know that in the story because they’re on the Christmas card and they’re a part of the backdrop of our Christmas. But it’s important that you know that this is very significant in the story. So, if you don’t know the story of the shepherds, the shepherds would be the lowest class. The shepherds were tending to the sheep, which meant they were ceremonially unclean.
So, if they went into Jerusalem, which was nearby, and they went up to the temple to worship, they wouldn’t let the shepherds in because they had all of the yuck of the sheep all over their lives. And so, these shepherds are doing the work of raising the sheep that are gonna be the sacrifice in worship, but they themselves can’t even go into worship. And so, when the announcement is gonna be made, when God is saying to the world, «May I have your attention please»?
Where is that announcement going to be made? To the richest people in town? To the people on the top end of the spectrum in town? No. God is choosing to make His announcement to those who would be called the low class of this world. You’re like, «Well, why does that matter to me today»? It matters to you today because according to that great theologian, Garth Brooks, God’s got friends in low places. First response we’ve gotten, by the way, in the talk today was Garth Brooks and friends in low places. I got my theologians mixed up in the earlier gathering. I don’t know what was going through my mind, but I said, «That great theologian, Kenny Rogers,» and everyone laughed.
And then there was all these people saying, «No, it’s Garth Brooks. It’s Garth Brooks». And I was like, «Yeah, I kinda got my wires crossed a little bit,» and we had got it all worked out and straightened out. So, it’s good to know your theologians, right? You gotta keep everything straight because you gotta know when to hold 'em, and you gotta know when to fold 'em. And see, those are sister songs in the theological universe. They actually, you know, could partner up into one great mashup hit. God has got friends in low places. And maybe in the gathering today you’re thinking, «If God made a world changing, history changing announcement, He would not make it to me, because I don’t even know if I’m on the radar anymore with God».
But I want you to know today that the God of heaven, who does miracles that no one else can do, that God has a word for you. And you may feel like you’re too far away, like you’re too far down, that you are too far out for God, but God’s making a point here today. When you can’t make it into worship where He is, He can bring the worship to where you are. When you can’t get close to the altar of God, He can bring the altar of God right to where you are. And He’s wanting to do that for someone in this gathering today.
The second thing I want you to notice is this, that there was awe and wonder in the birth of Jesus Christ. And I’m praying that that will be rekindled in me this year. That I won’t just kinda waltz my way through Christmas, but I’ll remember that when the announcement was made of the birth of Jesus, that they were terrified. And when the glory of God shone all around them, it wasn’t… No, It was… When God showed up and the announcement was made at the birth of Christ, these shepherds saw the glory of God around them and they were terrified. And the angel says for the third time in two short chapters in Luke’s account of the gospel, «Don’t be afraid». That angel had the message, and we’re gonna see that in just a moment. But the angels of heaven, imagine what they were thinking in this moment. Because do you understand?
I don’t know if we’ve ever really backed up at Christmas and really processed it, but in this moment of the birth of Christ, the throne of the king of the universe is vacant. And so, the angels of heaven are going, «Where is Christ»? And they’re not functioning in the whole story, we know that from the text we’re about to read. They didn’t get a printout or an email describing fully what God was doing. The angels are functioning in their celestial roles and all of a sudden, the king of glory is not on His throne.
And I can’t really get into the conversation among angels, but in their thinking there’s some kind of processing going on, «Where is the King of kings»? «Well, I don’t know. I’ve heard that He’s in a human womb». «What»? «I know». «Well, why is He in a human womb»? «Because He’s gonna be born in human flesh». «What? Why»? «So, that the Father can bring the rebels home». «Why would He do that? Why wouldn’t He just tell 'em, 'Have it your way.'» «Because He loves them, and He created them for a relationship with Himself». «Well then, why doesn’t He just bring them home»? «Look around, they couldn’t live here in this holy place. There’s gotta be a work done and the King has left His throne to do the only thing that can be done».
Can you imagine the angels? We just have all the angels around the throne and its glory, and it’s Christmas, and everybody’s happy. The angels of heaven, they’re looking into the story going, «What in the world is happening»? Now, the angel had the message, but the angels not really sure. Look at the way Peter wrote this. And some of you are like, «I’m not tracking with you fully». Peter in 1 Peter 1 he says it this way, talking about salvation that was foretold by the prophets. He said, «Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow».
In other words, even the Old Testament prophet who makes an announcement about the work of God coming through Christ, doesn’t fully understand exactly how all this is going to come together. But then look in the next verse, verse 12, «It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven». And this phrase, this is the one, «Even angels long to look into these things». In other words, the angels are trying to fully grab onto the announcement that’s being made, «Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among men, on whom His favor rest».
What are we saying? What does this mean? What does all this ultimately look like? I found recently just thinking through this and digging a little bit, the painting of the last supper. Not the famous one that we all know, but one by Tintoretto was painted in 1590. And in this particular painting you see all the normal characters in the last supper, but Tintoretto also paints angles on the ceiling peering in from heaven at Jesus breaking the bread at the table. And the looks, the countenance, the stooping down to see what is going on. I pray that some of that awe and some of that wonder will be stirred up in me again and in us again as we walk through this Christmas season.
The third thing I want you to see is that the announcement was something that God had already done. Today, a baby has been born. I’m letting you know what God has already done. Why is that important today? Because a lot of you are wondering, «Where is God in my story»? And I’m telling you, I can’t explain it all, but I know this, I know God is on the case and I know God is doing more than you think He’s doing. And at some point, an announcement’s gonna be made, and when the announcement is made, you’re gonna realize, «Oh, God was at work».
God was working. No one knew that God was working, but God was doing a miracle. Nobody knew the baby’s gonna be born today. And God’s like, «I got a plan, and I’ve told you from hundreds of years before that I’m gonna bring forth a savior and guess what? May I have your attention please? I just did what I said I was gonna do. I just fulfilled what I had promised. And I know there’s been a long gap of silence, but I’ve been working the whole time». And some of you just need to hear that today. God’s doing more than you know in your story right now.
The fourth thing I want us to know today is, this was an all-points bulletin. In other words, when the angel said, «I’ve got good news of great joy for all the people». He was saying, «This is a global story». I just want us to remember that today. Jesus wasn’t born at Macy’s. No knock on Macy’s. He was born in Bethlehem, currently in one of the Palestinian occupied territories. At the moment of his birth, smack in the middle east is where the story of the gospel arrived.
This is not an America story, it’s not a western story, it is a global story. It is good news of great joy for all the people on planet earth. And God picked the crossroads of the ancient world, literally the crossroads of the ancient world to make the most important announcement that’s ever been made. The twelve words of Christmas, «A savior has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord». And then, the announcement, glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace among men on whom His favor rest. Not world peace, that has not happened since the announcement. But peace in a troubled heart on a broken earth among the men on whom His favor rests.
The fifth thing I want you to see is that when these angels arrived, we realized that heaven is multilingual. You’re like, «What are you talking about»? Well, they didn’t actually, the angel say, «Glory to God in the Highest,» because had they said, «Glory to God in the highest,» the shepherds wouldn’t have understood them, because news flash, the shepherds didn’t speak English. No, have you ever thought through this? You’re like, «Well, surely, they spoke English, because the shepherd said, 'Glory to God in the highest.'»
No, they spoke Aramaic very close to Greek and the angel therefore, wanting to announce to them what God had done, spoke to them in their language. So, if you were there, you would’ve heard the angels say. It’s like that didn’t have the same lilt to it, you know, that glory to God in the Highest. I don’t know if Beethoven could have worked with that. The official language of Heaven, I know, is not English. You’re like, «Well, what are we gonna do when we get there»? That’s a good question, because heaven is multilingual, and the angels are miraculously multilingual. And when they appear to make the announcements of the grand story of God, they speak to people in the language that they understand. I love it.
The sixth thing that I want us to see in this story is, is that the only way we know about this great announcement is because we read about the great announcement. Unless you were there, maybe you were there. I don’t wanna, you know, suppose. Anybody heard the angels say, «Glory to God in the highest»? No. Anybody’s relative tell 'em they were there? No. Anybody seen the YouTube of the angel coming down and saying, «Glory to God in the highest»? You saw it on TikTok? It’s a angel doing an angel dance? Was that awesome and amazing?
The only way we know about the moment in history where God said, «May I have your attention please?» is because we read about it. Because Luke not only was an amazing physician, he was an incredible historian. And so, in his account of the gospel of Luke and of Acts, we have the greatest history of the beginnings of our faith. And so, Luke then is doing the work. He’s interviewing the shepherds. He’s saying, «What happened that night? I’ve heard, but you tell me what went down that night». He’s talked to Mary, he’s talked to Joseph. He’s gotten all of his reports filled out, and so, then when he writes the account of the great announcement, we know and we can depend on the account of history that tells us about the greatest announcement made to humanity, because we read about it, not because we actually heard it.
Which brings us to the seventh important thing in the text, that’s great news. Unless you’re one of the 1 billion people on planet Earth who do not have scripture in your language. And then, you can’t read about the great announcement, that there’s good news of great joy and it’s for all the people including the people who don’t have an account of the good news in their heart language to read and discover for themselves.
There’s a Hebrew word in the Old Testament for worship, it’s the word, «Avodah». And can you say Avodah with me? Avodah. Feels like we’re a little multilingual today. Avodah, it means worship in the Old Testament. But if you look up Avodah, the way the definition comes out is, «Worship, work, service». In other words, God didn’t delineate. He didn’t say, «Oh, worship, singing songs of praise, honoring God, blessing God, lifting our hands to God, a word. Oh, work, serving, different word». Worship, one world, work, a different world.
What you do on Sunday or in your alone time with God, that’s one thing. But what you do at your desk at work, that’s another thing. No, He says, «Avodah, worship, work. Work, worship». Why? Because most of us spend most of our time at our work. Praise God. I mean, all of this employment, unemployment, all the things that are happening in the workplace right now. Listen, the most important thing God did to mankind was to give them meaningful work, so you gotta find meaningful work.
That’s not an economic commentary, that is why you were created. You have a gift, an aptitude, an ability, something that you are good at so that you can contribute to the common good of planet earth and the people who live on this planet. You got a reason and a purpose. There is something in you that God has wired you for, and He did that with Adam, and He did it with Eve, and He did it with you. They had work and we have work. Not so the economy can move along, but so that we can contribute our unique gift to the world.
So, ask God if you don’t know, «What is my meaningful contribution to planet earth»? And if that is what God has given you, and you spend 20, 30 minutes in corporate worship every week, but you spend 30 to 50 hours at your desk, where is your primary place of worship then? It’s at your desk. Avodah. The way I’m gonna do what God’s wired me to do, is gonna be a gift of praise to Almighty God. Oh, I may get no applause from my coworkers, but I’m telling you one thing, I’m gonna light up heaven today. I may not get the top recognition from my company today, but I’m gonna get the attention of Heaven today because avodah, is my worship.
My work is my worship. The way I do my job, the way I carry myself, the way I treat the people around me is my way of shining a light and saying, «Glory to God in the highest». And peace to everybody working around me today on whom God’s favor rest. Avodah. And that’s the beauty of what we’re stepping into today. Maybe God would say, «I would love it if you would sing me another song at the end of the gathering today, but I would also love it if you would help me get my word to people today. That would resound through heaven». Whether it was the shepherds going, «What in the world is going on? We gotta go see what is this thing». When wonder erupts in worship, this is what we’re all about.