Latest / The Salty Pastor / Our Fear of God [Ep. 147]

Transcript

Our Fear of God [Ep. 147] · The Salty Pastor

0:00
Zach: They are, they are frightening, uh, beings to behold.
0:04
And so that's probably part of the other reason that the, the,
0:07
the shepherds were terrified and, and not only are angels terrifying
0:12
in a lot of ways, God can be too.
0:23
Jesse: Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Salty Pastor Podcast.
0:26
My name is Jesse Maher.
0:27
I'll be your host and welcome, Zach Peake, our Salty Pastor for the day,
0:33
or what did we call you last time?
0:35
Our sea salt, sea salt, Himalayan salt, Himalayan salts.
0:39
Yes.
0:40
I can't keep track of all of the different spices we bring on here, but we definitely
0:45
have a lot of spice and we are so excited.
0:47
Everyone who has, is listening, only on our podcast, you won't be
0:51
able to see this, but we have a brand new desk that, um, was made
0:54
by a very, very special volunteer.
0:57
Um, here at Foothills named Jerry Anderson.
0:59
He made this amazing desk that has this TV mounted in it.
1:02
So we feel so special and blessed that he decided to put some time and
1:07
craftsmanship and creating something so amazing for, um, the podcast and
1:11
for Foothills, because we use the studio for a lot of different things.
1:14
So if you're only a listen only person just tune in once for the
1:18
podcast, just so you can check out our new desk, but we are so thankful
1:21
to Jerry and everything he's done.
1:23
But enough with that, we have Zach Peake here.
1:26
It is Christmas time.
1:28
We are in the middle of our series, Jesus Is Christmas and Zach, what
1:33
are you preaching about this week?
1:35
Zach: Well, I was a little bit, uh, confused, uh, last Sunday because
1:39
yeah, because I got sent the basic outline of what, uh, Pastor Peake
1:44
wants me to preach on for this Sunday.
1:47
And then he started preaching on Sunday and I was like, this is.
1:50
Similar outline.
1:51
Jesse: He wants to reinforce the point.
1:55
Zach: But thankfully he brought in a little bit of Matthew.
1:57
We're not in Matthew.
1:58
We're just going to be in that Luke chapter two, we touched on it this
2:02
last week, and now we're going to dive a little bit deeper into it.
2:05
Um, you know, he was opening the series and so he was kind of covering a
2:08
little bit of everything, a little bit higher level, you know, that 30,000.
2:12
Jesse: Casting vision of where we're going.
2:14
Right.
2:14
Zach: Yeah.
2:14
And we're going to get a little bit more specific about Jesus, about joy
2:19
and about some of these, uh, these more specific things and about how
2:22
that actually works in the context of our relationship with Christ.
2:25
That's what we're going to be doing this week.
2:27
And a little bit with Christmas.
2:28
Jesse: You know, I kind of love Christmas.
2:30
I'm so excited for just celebrating Christmas that the church just
2:34
had, it takes on a different energy around Christmas time.
2:37
Um, I think, I mean the world as a whole does, right?
2:40
Like there's a different kind of, you know, it's not necessarily
2:43
true authentic joy that you get from Jesus, but there's a definite
2:47
like increase in like just general
2:49
excitement around Christmas.
2:51
And so it's always great.
2:52
Zach: And it's cool that it's such like a worldwide thing.
2:54
Jesse: I mean, you see this in Pastor Doug talked about this on the podcast pass last
2:58
week that, you know, even nonbelievers over in Arabian countries still celebrate
3:03
Christmas for not the best reasons.
3:06
Commercialism and stuff, but they still get excited about Christmas.
3:10
And so.
3:11
We're just wanting to keep the focus on why we are excited
3:13
about Christmas, which is Jesus.
3:15
Right?
3:15
So you said we were in Luke two today.
3:18
Zach: Yeah.
3:18
We're going to be in Luke chapter two.
3:20
Uh, we're going to, we're going to talk a little bit about the opening to it,
3:23
where it goes, you know, anybody who's read the Christmas story will recognize
3:27
the, you know, there's the census Caesar Augustus says the census should be taken
3:31
and Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem.
3:33
And we'll talk a little bit about that.
3:35
Uh, but we really want to pick up, uh, kind of, what happens once they're
3:40
there and once Jesus is born, um, I mean, we can just jump in right now,
3:45
you know, uh, anybody who's read the Christmas story this'll sound
3:47
really familiar starting verse one.
3:49
In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be
3:52
taken of the entire Roman world.
3:55
And everyone went to their own town to register.
3:57
Joseph went up to, went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,
4:01
to Bethlehem, the town of David.
4:03
Uh, we all, we know that's all familiar to us.
4:05
We, he went there to register with Mary, who he was pledged to be married to him
4:09
and was expecting a child while there the time came for the baby to be born.
4:13
And she gave birth to her first born son.
4:16
She wrapped him in cloths and placed them in a manger because there was
4:20
no guest room available for them.
4:22
Uh, and then this is what we really want to focus on this week.
4:25
This is kind of the pivotal part of the story that we're going
4:28
to be taking our attention to.
4:31
Uh, in verse eight, it says, and there were shepherds living out in the fields
4:34
nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night, an angel of the Lord appeared
4:39
to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified.
4:46
So I want to start right there.
4:47
We talked last Sunday about how fear it can kill our joy.
4:52
Fear causes us to behave in a lot of ways and do a lot of actions that take us
4:57
away from experiencing the joy of Christ.
5:00
And here we see when an angel shows up to the shepherds, what happens?
5:05
They are terrified.
5:07
They are overcome with fear.
5:12
But the angel said to them do not be afraid.
5:15
I bring you good news.
5:17
That will cause great joy for all the people.
5:19
Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you.
5:22
He is the Messiah.
5:24
The Lord.
5:25
This will be assigned to you.
5:26
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
5:31
So I want to take a second to, to focus on the fear, and then the defeating of
5:37
that fear and where the joy comes in.
5:39
Because we see these shepherds are terrified and they're terrified
5:42
for a couple of different reasons.
5:44
Uh, one of them is because, you know, they're just out with the flocks
5:47
at night and something shows up in the sky and starts talking to them.
5:50
Right.
5:51
Definitely a little creepy.
5:53
If you were out camping in the mountains, you know, and you're
5:55
sitting around the fire, it's 10, it's gotten dark, you know, it's nice.
5:59
You just hanging out, talking and then a light appears in the
6:02
sky and starts talking to you.
6:03
You you're going to be a little freaked out.
6:05
Jesse: I mean, people get freaked out just by like being in their
6:07
tents and they constantly think like,
6:09
bears are coming to get them, right?
6:10
Like you hear a snap of a twig out there and it's like, gosh, they
6:13
were used to being outside, but it's like, they're still on high alert.
6:16
That's why you're out there is to protect the flocks.
6:18
Right.
6:18
So it's like, they're already kind of amped up.
6:22
You know, just like every, a quote, unquote, UFO sighting or whatever, you
6:26
start seeing lights in the sky, then it really, uh, it's contradictory to what
6:30
you are expecting, in a people mind.
6:33
Zach: Uh, light to appear in the sky at angel to appear in the
6:36
sky and start talking to you.
6:38
Yes.
6:39
There's another reason they're terrified though.
6:40
And we can know this from the Old Testament, a lot.
6:44
Angels are scary.
6:46
You know, we have a great idea in Western culture of angels, looking
6:50
like these, you know, very, very white people with these nice flowing
6:54
robes that have a nice little halo.
6:56
They're playing the harp.
6:57
They sit on her shoulder.
6:59
Jesse: They're so calm.
7:00
Like sheriff style, like very, very peaceful.
7:04
Well, yeah.
7:05
Zach: And that's not an angel.
7:07
When you read in the, uh, in the Old Testament.
7:09
I think one of my favorite encounters is, is the book of Daniel.
7:13
Daniel is in the kingdom of Babylon.
7:15
You know, he's doing his thing and an angel shows up to talk to him.
7:20
And like, there's a couple of men with him that run out of the room.
7:24
And like the way Daniel describes it, he's like, I couldn't stand
7:27
anymore, cause my knees were so weak.
7:29
Like this guy he's like he's described, I can't remember exactly how it is,
7:33
but he's like this 20 foot tall guy, like, who looks like he's made of bronze
7:36
with a sword, you know, he's got like
7:38
Jesse: They are warriors, right?!
7:39
For the most part, like every instance we see of angels in the Bible, Contrary
7:45
to the Western cultures view of them.
7:47
They're the warriors.
7:49
They are not like meek mild thing Kings.
7:51
They were they're like, whoa, they're like Avengers, but even bigger, even
7:57
scarier, even more like empowered.
8:00
Yeah.
8:01
Zach: They are frightening, uh, beings to behold.
8:05
And so that's probably part of the other reason that the, the, the
8:08
shepherds were terrified and, and not only are angels terrifying.
8:13
And a lot of ways God can be too.
8:16
And I think this is something that we don't often recognize.
8:18
We can talk about how, you know, we can be afraid of this world and yes, that
8:21
can kill our joy, or we can be afraid of what might happen to us or afraid
8:26
of, you know, financial things or, you know, really anything in this world
8:30
can cause us fear and insecurity and yeah, that can take away our joy, but
8:34
there's something else that's scary.
8:36
And that is kind of getting closer to God.
8:39
You know, God, uh, uh, when it's, it's so interesting when you read the Old
8:43
Testament, there's a part where I believe it's Moses says, God, I want to see you.
8:47
I want to see who you are.
8:48
I want to see you.
8:49
And it's interesting because earlier in the, and I believe it's the same passage,
8:53
you know, it describes the Old Testament describes how Moses talked to God.
8:57
As a friend talks to his friend face to face.
8:59
Right.
9:00
And so it's like, Moses has this relationship with God.
9:02
He knows him.
9:02
Jesse: He's already very close, he's closer with God than
9:05
basically anybody before him.
9:07
Short of Adam, basically in the garden.
9:09
Zach: But then Moses is like, I want to see you in all your glory.
9:14
God.
9:15
No, no, you can't.
9:17
It's like, well, why not?
9:18
I thought we were buddies and God's like, oh, because you'll die.
9:21
Jesse: Would you like to be vaporized today?
9:22
Would you like to cease to exist?
9:24
You can, you can come be with me sooner than you're supposed to do if you
9:27
Zach: really want to.
9:28
Yeah, exactly.
9:30
And so he has Moses stand in this crack of this mountain.
9:33
And he goes by in all of his glory and it describes how Moses can, you know, he
9:38
can, he feels the shaking in this power.
9:41
And then when the Lord is a ways off, he comes out of the
9:44
crack and just sees behind him.
9:46
And even that has a profound impact on him.
9:49
Jesse: Well, cause he comes down from the mountain glowing after that
9:51
experience, like he's literally like his face is glowing just from train...
9:56
Yeah.
9:57
Just from the train of his glory, which is basically just the vapor waves of,
10:02
of God.
10:03
And that was enough to basically transform.
10:05
Um,
10:07
Zach: And I think it's really important for us to, to take away.
10:09
And what I really want to focus on with this scripture
10:12
is that God is terrifying too.
10:14
When we first encounter him, he is scary.
10:17
He's the creator of the universe.
10:18
He is perfection.
10:20
He is goodness and incarnate.
10:22
He is so many things that are wonderful and beautiful and also
10:26
very scary at the same time.
10:28
You know, I'm sure we've all had experiences where we went
10:32
into a situation that was good.
10:33
Maybe it's when you went to, you know, you'd want it to go to maybe
10:36
a dream college or something.
10:38
And you know, it was a really good school and you got in and you show
10:41
up that first day and it's a good thing, but you're a little scared.
10:46
Yeah.
10:47
Or I'm sure you know, with, with you being out on tour, you know, when
10:49
all your dancing, I'm sure there were times where, you know, it's,
10:52
it's scary and it's a good thing.
10:55
But it's still scary.
10:57
It's still tough.
10:59
And that's only amplified with God because he is so good.
11:03
You know, I played sports in high school and there were times where, you know,
11:07
the first day show up to practice, especially the first day, you know,
11:10
I was part of the high school team.
11:12
You know, that's a, that's an intimidating thing because you recognize that, you
11:16
know, that you're in this new level.
11:18
You know, you're like, okay, the game is going to be raised and I got to
11:20
step up and there's that insecurity inside you, which can cause fear.
11:24
And it's only a lot more with the Lord, right.
11:27
Because he is much, much better than the JV football team,
11:30
but I was trying to play for.
11:33
So, yeah.
11:34
But, but that's so that's, there's so many reasons the shepherds were
11:37
terrified, you know, and there's a lot of reasons for in our lives that we can be
11:41
terrified of the Lord, you know, we can be afraid of the way he will change us.
11:45
He can be afraid or we can be afraid of what he may ask us to
11:50
leave behind for him .The ways he will mold and shape our lives.
11:54
I remember in high school, um, you know, at me and like everybody else that needs
11:59
to be like, yeah, we want to follow God.
12:00
But, but what if he asks us to be a missionary in Africa?
12:04
I don't want to do that.
12:04
I don't want to do that.
12:06
So I want to follow him, but I'm scared of what he's going to do.
12:09
On my own terms.
12:11
And that's how a lot of us act.
12:12
And that's how a lot of us behave is we recognize the power of the Lord.
12:16
And that much power can be scary to us.
12:21
And so when we talk about fear and we talk about the fears
12:23
that hold us back from joy.
12:25
Yeah.
12:25
There's fears about this world there's fears about, well, it could happen
12:29
that there can be worries about money or food or how we're going to get gas
12:33
in our car, you know, our house or you know, where we're going to live.
12:37
And there, there are a lot of things that we can worry about and some
12:39
of them can be really legitimate.
12:41
But I think the greatest fear that we have of all, for many of us is actually
12:45
going to God and fully follow him.
12:47
Excuse me fully following him.
12:49
So, and we see that with the shepherds, you know, when the shepherds are in
12:54
the fields and they're just living their lives, you know, like you said,
12:57
they're used to this, they're out there, they're watching the flocks and what
13:00
happens, a heavenly host shows up.
13:04
Jesse: Well, and you, we see a lot, especially in the Old Testament
13:07
before, you know, Jesus kind of allowed us a more personal relationship.
13:13
The only people that really got that kind of like one-on-one time
13:16
with even an angel where like the holiest of holy people, right?
13:20
Like the best of the past Moses, you know, Joshua, these guys
13:24
that were like the leaders.
13:25
And so these shepherds who are just like, nobody's out in a field, like
13:30
they're just working class guys to have a
13:34
supernatural experience like this to have a divine experience
13:39
is very out of the norm, right?
13:42
Compared to what they've been taught from childhood of, you know, Moses gets to
13:46
talk to the, you know, God, these guys, these are very set rules and you know,
13:51
the priests in the tabernacle, they can kind of sometimes interface with him.
13:55
But you know, you, you are too unclean.
13:57
You are not worthy enough to have an experience.
14:00
So that's a whole nother layer of like, oh, we either really
14:03
messed up or something weird.
14:04
It's not like, right.
14:05
Like,
14:06
Zach: But I mean that point you bring up is so interesting because do you know why
14:09
Moses was the spokesman to the Israelites?
14:12
Tell me, because when you read Exodus, when you go through the book
14:16
and they are led out of Egypt, you know, they they're led out of Egypt.
14:19
Moses is the one who acts, you know, on behalf of God, him and Aaron,
14:23
they speak to the people in Pharaoh.
14:25
They get them out of Egypt.
14:26
They crossed the red sea.
14:27
They get out to the desert, they go to Mount Sinai, which is, you
14:30
know, at that point is the mountain of the Lord because the Lord has
14:33
decided this is where we're going to.
14:35
Figure this stuff out.
14:37
Jesse: We're going to make our covenant figure out.
14:38
Zach: Where we're going to do it.
14:39
And they spent a long time there.
14:41
They were there for like a year, you know, we all know about
14:43
the 40 years in the desert.
14:45
We all know about the leaving Egypt, but there's a time in between
14:47
like that's over a year long where they're hanging out at Sinai.
14:50
Jesse: Just waiting, they're just waiting for whats happening.
14:52
Zach: And the people are terrified of God.
14:56
They have the opportunity they could have in the covenant with God, they could
14:59
have talked to him and be like, Hey, we want you, we want you in our lives.
15:02
But they were like, no, please.
15:03
Moses, like, Hey anybody wouldn't.
15:05
Nope, Nope, Nope.
15:06
You go up there
15:07
Jesse: you go up to the scary mountain with all the lightening.
15:09
Zach: With all the light.
15:10
You can spoke that thing.
15:11
Yeah.
15:11
You go up there or we're going to stay here.
15:14
Um, yeah, we're good.
15:16
We're good.
15:16
It's all good.
15:18
Jesse: We've actually been looking into crafting a bowl.
15:21
Zach: We're going to, we're thinking about a little calf over here.
15:23
Aaron's got us.
15:24
You go hang out with the big, scary cloud.
15:26
If it's talking to you, right.
15:27
They were terrified of God.
15:30
They were scared.
15:32
And that's an Exodus.
15:33
The people who have been led out of Egypt, who've been saved
15:36
from slavery and captivity.
15:38
And not only that, but they become decently wealthy off of it too.
15:43
Cause
15:43
Jesse: they, they inherit, or God basically puts it on the Egyptians
15:46
hearts to give them all this wealth.
15:48
As they're leaving their life, just go , take all of this stuff.
15:51
Just get out.
15:52
Zach: Yeah.
15:52
Imagine if you were at some awful job and God's like, Hey,
15:57
I'm going to get you outta here.
15:59
We're going to get you into a great place to work purely for me.
16:02
And we're going to get you a severance, that's worth five years of salary.
16:06
And what's the Israelites reaction to this.
16:08
They are terrified because God can be scary and it's
16:13
okay for us to recognize that.
16:15
It's okay for us to recognize that the creator of the universe upon which all
16:19
of our life depends, you know, and who has sent his son and who loves us, is
16:24
also, you know, very scary sometimes, you know, in that great power that he has.
16:29
Jesse: There's so many points where, whether it's David, the Psalmist
16:32
or other writers talking about our first reaction, anytime we think of
16:38
God should just be to fall on our knees in fear and trembling, right?
16:42
Like that is a phrase that's used so many times.
16:46
And we as a Western culture kind of take it for granted.
16:48
We're like, I want Jesus is he's, he's fighting for us.
16:50
We can just have this
16:51
Zach: Jesus is just that skinny guy with that nice beard.
16:55
Jesse: And he's gonna be, he's the one that, you know, we
16:58
don't have to be afraid anymore.
16:59
He's got us covered, but it's like, no, like.
17:01
God is still scary.
17:03
Zach: But you don't have to be afraid of anything else, right?
17:06
Jesse: Yeah.
17:06
And so I think it's, it's, I love this point.
17:09
You're bringing up of like, it's really easy for us to just
17:12
kind of be like, it's Christmas, everything's supposed to be happy.
17:15
God's always in our corner.
17:16
And he is always on our corner, even in that same section when he's talking
17:21
to Moses and this is a really great characteristic of God where he's talking
17:24
about, he says, I am a jealous God.
17:26
And it's like, if you worship another God, besides.
17:30
For three to four generations after you, you will be punished.
17:33
But someone who loves me and follows me for a thousand
17:36
generations, they will be blessed.
17:38
And so it's like, God, doesn't say, you know, you're good.
17:40
I love you no matter what, which he does, but he's also like,
17:44
but you got to love me back.
17:45
This is not a one-sided relationship.
17:48
And he does instill basically some rules and consequences of if you're not
17:52
stepping up and putting your time in and showing that I am your one and only.
17:59
I can also be not a very nice, you know, it's kind of like parenting.
18:03
Zach: Well, he also is a, he's a God of love.
18:05
He's also a God of justice.
18:06
Yes.
18:07
You know, and, and, and th that, that balance is something that, you know,
18:12
a lot of us talk about, you know, when we talk about why there's evil in the
18:15
world and all of these things, um, but you know, it's, it's important
18:18
for us to realize that approaching God is something that can be scary.
18:25
And that we, as humans who are flawed in the sinful and who have been raised in
18:30
this world, that doesn't want us to know God, it is a scary thing to go to God.
18:35
And it's important for us to realize that.
18:38
Because there is no way for us to overcome that fear, to overcome that
18:42
scariness without admitting it's there.
18:45
We have to recognize it's there, but listen to what the shepherds
18:49
do, listen to what their story is.
18:51
Do not be afraid.
18:52
I bring you good news.
18:54
That will cause great joy for all the people today in the town of
18:56
David, a savior has been born to you.
18:58
He is the Messiah.
18:59
The Lord.
19:00
This will be assigned to you.
19:02
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
19:05
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising
19:09
God and saying glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace
19:13
to those on whom his favor rests.
19:16
Again, this is, this is something that is good.
19:18
We know this is good.
19:19
We read this story and this is an incredible thing.
19:22
It's also very scary for the shepherds, but how do the shepherds respond?
19:28
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said
19:31
to one another, let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
19:35
which the Lord has told us about.
19:38
See the shepherds here, make an incredible decision.
19:41
Instead of letting the fear overcome them, which I mean, yeah, the angel
19:45
said do not be afraid, but that's, you know, you can still be afraid.
19:50
Jesse: You're still probably going to be afraid.
19:52
Zach: I remember this one time, uh, when I was in middle school, um, we had been
19:56
in basketball tryouts and this one kid at it, he really wanted to make the varsity
20:00
team, but he wasn't quite good enough.
20:02
He didn't make it, you know?
20:04
And he was in the locker room.
20:05
He was really sad afterward.
20:06
He was crying a little bit and everybody there like really felt for him.
20:10
Biggest guy who is a football player.
20:13
Who's just, this tank goes up to him and the nicest way he
20:17
can is like, Hey, it's fine.
20:19
You're going to be, but he does it in his tone.
20:21
He's doing his best, but it's so like intimidating still.
20:25
And it did not help at all.
20:27
And I'm just like, that's kind of what the angel probably was like.
20:29
It's like do not be afraid.
20:31
And you're like, I am still very afraid.
20:34
I am now more afraid.
20:37
The shepherds, you know, we read this like, oh great.
20:39
Angel said, don't be afraid.
20:40
Why would you be afraid?
20:41
It's like, well, well, I mean, there's still that opportunity for
20:45
them to be afraid, but despite that, and then, you know, all these other
20:49
angels show up and start singing and they're like, what's going on?
20:51
Like, that is an amazing, but also in some ways, a terrifying experience,
20:56
especially with like what you talked about, where, you know, if, if any Jewish
20:59
background which living in Bethlehem, they probably had a Jewish background.
21:04
That is a scary thing to experience, you know, the Lord to experience his
21:08
glory and power, but what do they do?
21:12
They make the decision to not allow that, to affect them.
21:15
They make the decision that, yes, this is a scary thing, but it's also a good thing.
21:19
And so I'm going to choose the good part of it.
21:22
And even though I might still be scared, I'm going to go try to
21:25
experience this and figure it out.
21:27
And they go into Bethlehem.
21:28
Jesse: Well, and they don't know what, to expect, like the angels are not, like
21:34
they say, you know, the Messiah is born, he's here, but like, you know, they're
21:38
probably expecting he's maybe in a palace or cause like the, the idea back then was
21:44
the Messiah was going to come in basically as this king, this like glorious figure.
21:48
And,
21:50
so they're kind of going in and I'm, you know, I would be thinking, well, he's
21:54
probably locked behind some door and like, there's probably a host of angels also
21:58
protecting him and like, it's, you know, like trying to go and see like, you know,
22:02
some celebrities, baby, basically, right?
22:05
Like there's security everywhere.
22:06
And it's like, it turns out he's just in a manger because there was no room
22:10
for him even in just like a broke down inn, like he's out in a barn basically.
22:15
And so it's like, their expectations are constantly
22:19
being, um, changed, changed right.
22:23
Of what it is.
22:24
But they have the, the, the courage to go out and be like,
22:28
well, we were told he's here.
22:31
And even though it's super scary and we don't know what to expect, we're
22:34
still going to go forward and go see
22:36
what it is they told us.
22:37
Zach: Yeah.
22:37
They make that decision to go.
22:38
And what are the effects of this in verse 16?
22:42
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby
22:45
who was lying in a manger.
22:47
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them
22:50
about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
22:54
But Mary charged up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
22:58
The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things
23:01
they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
23:05
And so we see here that the shepherds are confronted at the beginning of
23:08
this story with something that is scary, that they are terrified of.
23:12
It says explicitly, they were terrified.
23:15
That is where they start off.
23:16
They are terrified.
23:17
And where do they terrified of?
23:19
They are terrified of a messenger of the Lord.
23:21
Something that is good.
23:23
So something that is good, something that is bringing joy, the Messiah Christ.
23:28
His birth and the surrounding circumstances and glory of
23:32
God terrify the shepherds.
23:34
That is where they start off with this, but they take the steps
23:38
to go explore it, to seek God in it, to see what is going on here.
23:43
I want to find out despite.
23:46
You know, initial fear and despite, despite what could be
23:49
very scary, you know, and they're not a hundred percent sure.
23:52
I mean, according to Bible, all the angel said is this will be the sign to you.
23:55
You'll find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.
23:58
They're like, that's not a lot to go off.
23:59
Right.
24:00
You know, and Bethlehem probably wasn't the biggest town, but that's
24:03
still like, okay, interesting.
24:05
We're going to go try.
24:06
So it's not like they were like, Hey, go, do you know, it's not a GPS.
24:10
Take three turns in here, go down this street, look at here.
24:12
Oh, well that's where it is.
24:13
It's, you know, it's a little bit more ambiguous than that.
24:16
But despite all that, they go and seek it.
24:20
They go and search for it and they end up not only having great joy themselves,
24:25
you know, they worship the Lord.
24:26
They praise him for all these amazing things they've seen and heard.
24:28
But the people in Bethlehem who hear this are amazed and Mary treasures
24:32
up all of these things in her heart, you know, it brings joy, not just to
24:36
themselves, but to those around them.
24:38
Jesse: Well, and it's, it's kind of like, it's a longer lasting joy, right?
24:42
Like that phrase of treasuring, these things up in your heart, you're like
24:44
kind of storing them away at something that's going to last you rather than
24:48
kind of an ephemeral, or just short term.
24:50
Zach: It's not happiness.
24:51
It's not some, it's not happiness.
24:52
It's not temporary.
24:53
It's, it's a Joy.
24:54
It's a joy, something that is long lasting that does not go away.
24:58
And so that's what we're going to try to talk about a little bit, uh,
25:01
you know, this Sunday, when we're talking more specifically about joy
25:05
and fear and how that fear can prevent us from experiencing the joy is that
25:09
Jesus being born, Jesus being God.
25:12
Jesus
25:13
having a relationship with us, is an objectively good thing.
25:16
It is something that brings us joy that brings us happiness.
25:20
You know, that it's both temporary and, you know, sustainable.
25:24
It's, it's an amazing, and it's a good thing.
25:26
But our fear of him can prevent us from taking those steps.
25:32
Jesse: Well, and you know, we never hear about these shepherds again, right?
25:36
Like they're in this chapter, but you have to imagine like,
25:39
that experience changed them.
25:41
Right.
25:41
That joy, that, that fear of do you guys remember the time all the angels appeared
25:47
to us and were singing and telling us.
25:50
Zach: I mean, its got to be great at dinner parties.
25:53
Might have
25:54
a story that's a little bit better.
25:55
I think I can beat you.
25:56
I attended the angels choir practice.
25:58
It was kind of cool.
25:59
Jesse: But then it's like that joy had to have been transformational for
26:02
them for the rest of their lives of, we were the, you know, some of the
26:06
first people to go and see the Messiah and, you know, heartbreaking that
26:10
they may have seen, you know, him go through what he had to in the end too.
26:15
Like we don't, we don't have their story.
26:17
That's not in the Bible, but you have to imagine that there.
26:21
What happened to Jesus got spread through the country afterwards.
26:25
And so it's like, they have to have been, like, we saw him at the
26:29
beginning and we've now heard about what has happened to him at the end.
26:32
And then probably had also heard about his resurrection, which is another form of
26:36
joy that they could, they could thrive on.
26:38
But it's just like, I think it's so easy in this like very
26:43
celebrity focused culture of.
26:47
Um, ways people, especially in these, um, charismatic kind of churches where
26:52
it's like, oh, that person that passed, or he's so much better than I am.
26:56
And it's like time after time, after time, God comes to the lowliest of
27:01
people and they get to have the best
27:05
joy.
27:05
And so it's like when you, when you see and read these stories, don't, I
27:09
guess what I want to share is like, don't think that you are not capable
27:13
of getting that same kind of joy.
27:14
You know, this joy that Jesus brings to you is not reserved for the best
27:19
of the best Christians or, you know, the mega church pastors or whatever.
27:23
This is the joy, same joy that you and I can have the, you
27:26
know, the newest Christian and the oldest Christian can have.
27:29
That this joy is for everyone.
27:31
Yeah.
27:31
For just a select few, which is amazing because that's different
27:36
than almost every other religion.
27:37
It's like every other religion basically puts you in, you know, a ranking or a
27:41
hierarchal order of like, you get this, if you do these things and these acts, you
27:46
get to this level, I mean, and this is a very different way of approaching things.
27:51
God says, no, I love you all.
27:52
And I want you all to experience this joy.
27:55
Zach: Well, we
27:55
see so many of the stories of people who interact with Jesus,
28:00
uh, are people who have a reason to be afraid or have a reason to
28:03
have distance between them at him.
28:06
Jesse: Lepers, prostitutes, tax, collectors,
28:09
Zach: Zacchaeus, he is all of his disciples, you know,
28:12
and they overcome fear.
28:15
They overcome self doubt.
28:17
They overcome self pity.
28:18
They overcome all these things and they decide I'm going to seek him.
28:23
You know, his disciples leave, whatever business or whatever
28:26
livelihoods they have to follow him.
28:28
Jesse: Well, and they constantly see him do these works and almost after every
28:32
great miracle he does, like, he calms the waves, and it usually ends that
28:36
chapter with, and they were afraid, right?
28:40
It's like all the time, they're constantly overcoming their fears because they're
28:44
like, this guy is doing one major miracle after another and they're constantly
28:48
like, what is going ? And it's like this constant fear, and then they go
28:53
into sections of just amazing rapturous joy of like, we get to be with this guy
29:00
who's doing these amazing works, right?
29:03
Yeah.
29:03
So, well, I know that us and probably all of our listeners are really excited for
29:08
you to delve into this more on Sunday.
29:10
Um, Zach will be preaching and talking to us more about fear and joy.
29:14
And just overall, we want to encourage you guys to be joyful this season.
29:19
There's so many reasons that everyone wants to tell you why this Christmas
29:23
isn't going to be very good.
29:24
Whether it's, you can't get this thing because of supply chain issues or, uh,
29:28
you know, if you're listening to future people, if you're listening to this,
29:31
we're still in the middle of coronavirus.
29:32
You still might be in the middle of coronavirus and your time, who knows,
29:36
but you know, there's so many reasons why everyone wants to tell you this
29:40
isn't going to be a joyful season.
29:42
And we here at the Salty Pastor from myself and Zach and Pastor Doug and
29:47
our staff here at Foothills and just the church as a whole want to tell
29:50
you, there's plenty of reason to be joyful and the primary reason,
29:53
his name is Jesus, and he wants you to have real true, authentic joy.
29:58
There may be points where you're not overly happy, but that's
30:01
not what the point of joy is.
30:02
The point is to have an, a true eternal joy that you can only get through Jesus.
30:06
So we encourage you guys to focus on that this season, too, if you're
30:10
not in, uh, in doing the advent study with us, do an advent study.
30:13
If you're not doing our evidence study, do any kind of advent study
30:16
cause your study of Jesus and understanding why he came to help you.
30:20
It's going to help you in your growth and your walks so much more,
30:23
especially as you get closer to his birth and celebrating that.
30:25
So thank you guys so much for joining us.
30:28
We'll see you on Thursday, Pastor Doug, we'll be back on the desk to talk a little
30:31
bit more about, um, how some of these things apply to our modern day stuff.
30:35
And it's just going to be such a great week here on the Salty Pastor Podcast.
30:39
Thank you so much Zach for joining us and we'll see you on Sunday
30:42
here at Foothills Christian Church.