When Shepherds Meet

Good morning children of God! WOW! Christmas is upon us again! I got to thinking this year about how the Christmas season can be a dangerous time of year. How many of you do last minute shopping? Dangerous! I am not talking about going to Walmart or Target, although I think those are dangerous adventures during the Christmas season.

I am talking about the Christmas story. I think there is a danger in the story of our Savior’s birth becoming so familiar, that it loses it’s significance.

Every year, we tell the same story. We talk about shepherds, angels, wise men, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. If we are not careful, we will end up taking the amazing and beautiful truth about our Lord and Savior’s coming for granted. We can become so familiar with the Christmas story that we overlook just how incredible it really is.

I want to challenge all of us today, to see it again for the first time, Filled with awe at the power of God and the birth of the King of Kings.

Last week, Pastor Paul spoke on Isaiah 55:9 when God said “my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” Kingdom thinking versus worldly thinking. I was thinking about that this week when I was planning this teaching.

I started thinking about the announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ. By worldly standards, by human thought, we would expect God to announce the birth of His son to a King, an Emperor, or a High Priest in the Temple.

The announcement of the birth of the Son of God WAS NOT made to Kings, WAS NOT made to the High Priest, or the upper echelon of society. The announcement was made to shepherds. Kingdom thinking.

We are going to look at the Gospel of Luke. One of the things I love about Luke is that he wrote as a historian. Many people do not realize this, but Luke set out to interview people with eyewitness accounts of the events that occured to provide a historical and accurate record of Jesus Christ.

Luke was so accurate in what he recorded that Biblical archeologists, for years, have relied heavily on the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts when they dig. Lets look at Luke 2:8-12.

Luke 2:8–12 NIV

8 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 that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Shepherds were looked down upon. It was near impossible for these shepherds to attend services at the Temple because they had to take care of the sheep. They were frowned upon because it was difficult for them to observe the cleanliness laws of the Jews. They didn’t have a place to go to get cleaned up because they had to stay with their flocks.

The shepherds could not even pretend to fulfill religious law, yet the message of the birth of our savior was given to those looked upon as “the least of these.” What a picture of the salvation and good news to come!

Here is an incredible connection. These shepherds raised the sheep that were used in the sacrifices at the Temple. The lambs acceptable for sacrifice, the lambs without spot or blemish. Our Savior is perfect, without spot or blemish.

They would wrap these baby lambs up in swaddling cloth and place them in a feeding trough to protect them.

God chose to tell these shepherds that the perfect, unblemished, spotless, Lamb of God was born and that they would find Him wrapped in swaddling cloth, laying in a feeding trough.

They were going to meet THE SHEPHERD, THE KING OF KINGS, the one who would become the perfect and final sacrifice for all mankind.

Religious folks and the self-important people ignored the shepherds until they needed something. Until they needed a lamb. Many ignore God until they need something.

How many of us have been in a similar place as these shepherds. Forgotten about until somebody needs something? Looked down upon or not looked at all, unless you had something of value to them? Doing everything you can, yet being made to feel like it is never enough or that you are less than?

Let me tell you something this morning: You have tremendous value to Abba Daddy, to God. So much value, so much worth, so crazy is His love for you that he made the first move! As we celebrate the birth of His only son, our Savior Jesus Christ, we cannot ignore the fact that he came to earth so that he could be with you and you could be with Him.

You may think to yourself “If God is even aware that I exist, He probably does not think much of me.” A lot of people feel that way deep down. No matter how insignificant you may think you are, God knows you and you are important to Him.

God is not a respecter of persons. God does not care what kind of job you have, your level of education, how popular you are, or how much money you have. That may be how the world judges us, but His love, His mercy, and His grace are equally available to all people.

God loves you and values you as much as the Billy Grahams of the world. Your worth to Him, your value to Him, is eternal. If you don’t believe me, just ask His son, Jesus Christ. As much as we celebrate and praise him this Christmas, Jesus made it about you.

If you do not know the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and you want to know him, please come speak with Pastor Paul or me after service today. For those who know The Good Shepherd, remember what Christ said in John 10:14

John 10:14 NIV

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

I do not know of any greater comfort in this world than to know that Jesus Christ knows you and me by name. He calls you by name. He knows your heart, your hurt, and your successes. He knows right where you are in this moment. He has written your name in the Lambs book of Life.

Luke 2:13–14 NKJV

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Glory be to God! Let this reality set in this morning: The same angels that celebrated Jesus arrival celebrate your arrival! Listen to what Jesus tells us in Luke 15:10.

Luke 15:10 NLT

10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

The same angels who were there proclaiming the birth of Jesus to the shepherds are the same angels who rejoiced in the presence of God, with God, with Christ, when you chose to repent and follow Him. When we are reborn into the family of God, Heaven celebrates. When we wander and return home, Heaven celebrates. Let’s put Luke 2:13 back up.

Luke 2:13 NIV

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

All of a sudden a heavenly host of angels appears. Now, I wanted to know what a heavenly host looked like. To give you an idea what that looks like, in the book of Daniel, Daniel described a multitude or a heavenly host of angels as 10,000 X 10,000 angels! I can’t do that in my head. I pulled the calculator out. That looks like one hundred million angels. The population of Georgia is 11 million.

We are talking about a heavenly host of angels stretched from one end of the horizon to the other bearing witness to the single greatest event in the history of the universe. The birth of our Savior.

In Luke 2:14 When the angels cried out for “Glory to God in the Highest,” they were crying out with joy for what God had done. They were glorifying God for the good will that God shows to each of us, to you, to me, and to this world.

The birth of Jesus meant the end of our alienation from God. We are no longer separated from the Father. They were praising God because He is the one who made a way for you and for me to enter into His presence, through Christ. They were celebrating the birth of Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus the Messiah.

Luke 2:15 NLT

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

This verse struck me differently this year. I started thinking about what the shepherds could have said and done. The things many of us say and do at times.

They could have debated it. “What do we do about the sheep?” “What if something happens while we are gone?” “We really need to talk about what we should do!” Talking, talking, talking.

Sometimes, we will talk ourselves out of responding in faith to God. How often do we get in debates with ourselves over something WE KNOW God is calling us to do? Or we debate scripture.

We will allow pride, ego, fear, anxiety, and doubt to override Holy Spirit’s prompting on our hearts. Sometimes the easiest answer is the best answer. “Let’s go!” “Let’s see what God is doing.” “Let’s see what God is going to do.”

They could have rejected it. They could have said “This is not for me.” How many of us have said “I can’t do this,” or “I don’t want to do this” when it comes to listening to God? Sometimes thinking that God is testing us or hurting us? He is not the one testing or hurting us. He came so that we would have victory. We either accept the Word of God as truth or we reject it. There is no in-between. The decision is ours to act in His will or to defy and reject His will.

They could have made excuses. They could have said “It is too far to Bethlehem.” “The angel is just asking too much.” “I am too tired to go.” “It’s cold.” “I don’t feel like it.” Many times we will look for excuses to NOT do what the LORD asks of us. There are times when we exchange our faith for our comfort and our worldly desires.

The shepherds did not do any of those things, they chose to believe and they acted on their faith. It’s right there in what they said, “Let’s go and see this thing that has happened.” Sometimes we get so tied up in the “What-if’s” and we over-complicate things rather than simply acting on faith. There is no telling how many opportunities or blessings we miss when we stop walking or living in faith.

Luke 2:16 NLT

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

The shepherds did not hang out and discuss what to do, they rushed to Bethlehem, just as the angel had instructed. They found Jesus, and they worshipped Him.

It is not enough for someone to look at the manger , to see Jesus, and say “Oh, that’s nice.” People can get all the sentimental and warm and fuzzy feelings they want, but unless Jesus is alive within the persons heart, they are eternally lost.

I may get in trouble for saying this, but If Christmas becomes nothing more than going through the motions, it becomes a mockery of the reason he came. The shepherds did not stop at the manger.

Luke 2:17 NLT

17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.

Before John the baptist, were the shepherds, the first evangelists. They were the first people to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to others. Simple shepherds. They took the message at face value and went to Bethlehem. Their lives forever changed, their eternities secured. They shared the message that God gave them with anybody who would listen. Are we sharing him with this world through word and deed?

Worship Team

As we celebrate the birth of our savior, let’s not get so familiar with the story that it loses its significance in our lives. The birth of Jesus Christ changed the course of human history and our eternities. Unlike the shepherds, we have the whole story. We know that His birth exists in the shadow of the cross.

He left heaven for you. He was born in humility for you. He suffered for you. He died for you. He overcame death, for you. He sits in the Kingdom awaiting you. I have asked before, what do you give to a God who has given everything to us? A God who literally has everything. All he wants is our hearts, our faith, and our obedience.

Alter Call

If there is something you are hanging onto this morning, give it to God. Let today be a new beginning. Leave it at the cross. If you want prayer this morning, we have brothers and sisters ready to pray with and for you. If you want to know more about Jesus or you are ready for him to be your Lord and Savior, please see one of us. Jesus made the first move. The next move is up to you. God bless you, and Merry Christmas.