I. Introduction

A. Illustration – Stephen Nordbye writes, The commercial begins with a young girl standing alone in a picturesque meadow. The camera then pans to another part of the field where it shows a gigantic African rhinoceros. The ominous beast begins a lethal charge towards the girl, whose serene and happy face remains unmoved. As the rhinoceros gets closer, the words appear on the screen, "Trust is not being afraid." A split second before the rhino tramples the helpless child, it stops, and the girl, her smile never wavering, reaches up and pets the animal on its massive horn. The final words then appear, "even when you are vulnerable." The commercial was designed to tout the abilities of an insurance company to protect its clients from the uncertainties of life. How much more does it describe the believer, who can confidently say with the psalmist, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" (as cited on PreachingToday.com)

B. This morning we’re going to look at the record of Jesus’ remarkable birth and see how Joseph, Mary, and some shepherds overcame their fears to break through to God’s blessings.

II. Fear Paralyzes; Faith Frees

A. Mary dealt with the fear of losing everything. Luke 1:26-38 from NIV – In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be with me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. She faced conviction of adultery under Jewish law when it was discovered she was pregnant, meaning she faced a sentence of death by stoning. She faced the loss of Joseph, her beloved fiancé, meaning she faced the prospect of raising this baby alone. Mary faced the very real possibility that her parents would kick her out of their home for disgracing them by becoming pregnant out of wedlock. And homelessness for a Jewish woman often meant death by starvation. Mary faced more than mere inconveniences – she faced the fear that her life and her dreams for the future would be over. And yet listen to what she said in verse 38 - “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be with me as you have said.” I know that in the heat of the moment it’s often easy to get all excited and jump right in. But Mary kept her commitment to carry God’s Son, and through it blessed not only herself but the whole world.

B. Joseph faced a very real fear of ridicule, which in his line of work would put him out of business. Matthew 1:18-25 – This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill want the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Imagine the snickers behind Joseph’s back when it was discovered that Mary was pregnant. “What’s the matter, Joseph? Couldn’t wait ‘til the wedding? Couldn’t get your house built in time?” And very likely, “I can’t do business with a man like that!” Yes, Joseph also faced stoning, but in the culture of that time that rarely happened to a man unless there was a jealous husband involved. But face it – when Mary was discovered to be pregnant, Joseph’s reputation was trashed. Divorcing her, or canceling the engagement, privately would keep her from being stoned but also keep his reputation intact. That would help him overcome the rejection and betrayal he must have felt. And yet when the angel spoke to him, Joseph overcame his fears and not only married Mary, but kept her a virgin until after Jesus was born. He did the exact opposite of what he was accused of, and as a result, experienced the blessing of helping provide for God’s Son.

C. Joseph and Mary both faced the fear of physical challenges. Luke 2:1-7 – In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her first-born, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Picture this: You’re Joseph, Mary is very pregnant, and you both have to walk at least three days, about forty-five miles as the crow flies, up and down hills and ravines, just to register for the census. More likely than not, they both walked because they were poor and probably couldn’t afford a donkey. That would be like walking from Portland to Salem, only put a bunch of hills in. Plus, to follow the road, they had to descend about 3300 feet to Jericho in order to climb 3300 feet to Jerusalem. That’s a physical challenge if I’ve ever heard of one. I know they had to go because of the census, and you definitely didn’t want to mess with the Romans, but I have to wonder if they had the prophecy about Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem in the back of their minds. Maybe they were hoping the baby would come late so they’d make it back home. But regardless, they faced up to the fear of physical challenges to experience God’s blessing of being a part of prophecy fulfilled, and of witnessing the shepherds worshiping Jesus.

D. The shepherds faced the very real fear of God and of what He might do. Luke 2:8-20 – And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find him wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 15 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.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what has been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Now I’ve never had an angel appear to me, much less an angel choir, but I know I’d be just as terrified as those shepherds were. The angel appears, the shepherds know that he is holy and they aren’t, and wonder what God is going to do next. In that split second before the angel spoke, they probably relived their lives and imagined their deaths a hundred times over. They’d heard the Old Testament stories about how God dealt with unholy people. But when the angel spoke, they chose to overcome their fears and listened, and experienced the great blessing of being among the first to see the newborn Savior. They also got to be the first witnesses of his birth. What great blessings they experienced because they overcame their fears.

E. Joseph and Mary faced the fear of death and destruction. Matthew 2:13-18 – When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” When the angel appeared to Mary, good news. The first time the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, good news. So imagine Joseph again seeing the angel in his dream and thinking, “All right!” But the angel gave him terrifying news – if they didn’t leave right away, Herod would track them down and kill them. So they got up and left that night and ran for Egypt, which was not under Herod’s jurisdiction. And they had to leave at night so there wouldn’t be witnesses to tell where they’d gone. Imagine the constant looking over their shoulders to see if they were being followed. In fact, I probably would have kept going past Egypt to get as far from Herod as possible. But in spite of their fear of death and destruction, they stopped and stayed in Egypt, fulfilled another prophecy about Jesus, and were able to live on the gifts the wise men had provided. Joseph and Mary overcame their fear of death and destruction to experience God’s blessings, not only of living in Egypt and not having to go farther, but of eventually being able to go back home to Nazareth.

F. How did these folks overcome their fears? They had faith that God would do what He said He would do. And what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In the New Living translation, it reads: What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. And in The Message, The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes like worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. What’s the point? We all have faith in something. When we flip the light switch we have faith the light is going to come on. When we go to the gas station, we have faith that they are putting gasoline into our car. When it gets dark at night we have faith that it will get light in the morning. If we can have faith in these simple things, doesn’t it make sense to have faith that the God who created the universe, who sent His Son Jesus to come as one of us and die for our sins, can help us overcome our fears to break through to His blessings?

III. Conclusion

A. I’d like you to please bow your heads and close your eyes out of respect for each other’s privacy. My question for you today is this: What is God calling you to do this Christmas that you’re afraid of? What blessing of God are you missing out on because you won’t trust God enough to step forward in faith? Make yourself the gift this Christmas of overcoming your fear to break through to God’s blessings. It’s the gift Jesus is offering you this Christmas, and He is the best gift we will ever receive.

B. Let’s pray together.