Get To Work

RECORD

This morning is the third message in our 3 part series about those who did not miss out on the first coming of the Messiah and what we can learn from them to be prepared for His return

In our first message we saw how those that were ready for His birth were the ones who were watching like the Magi were

They were actively looking for the signs of His coming and knew how to interpret those signs

Secondly we saw how those who who were ready were the ones who were waiting, like Simeon and Anna were

That they had made themselves ready, were remaining true and were looking forward to it with great anticipation

This morning we are going to see how those who were an active participant in that first appearance of the Lord were also busy working

From what we read in Luke’s gospel we can surmise that the birth of Jesus Christ took place not only in the little town of Bethlehem but that it took place during the nighttime hours

The sun had set, the temperature had dropped and people had finished all of their work for the day

Families were finishing up their evening meal, Mom’s were putting the young ones to bed, Dad was reclining against the wall trying to shake off the fatigue of yet another day while the older children were reciting to him their Torah lessons from that day

Soon they would all be sound asleep until the sun rose in the east and another day started

But just outside of the safety and comfort of the city walls, in the hills that surrounded the sleepy town there were another group of individuals for whom work was just beginning

They were shepherds and the dark of night time was when their sheep were the most vulnerable to predators and so they had to remain awake, vigilant, and do their job

I think that you probably know what happened next

Luke 2:8-

Luke 2:8–20 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the 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 that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, 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 heaven, and on earth peace to those 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, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

While others fell asleep and missed out on the greatest miracle to have ever taken place, the incarnation of the Word of God, these men who were busy working were made a special part of it

The same is true for us

If we don’t want to miss out on His return we have to be busy working when He comes otherwise we run the risk of being caught asleep

But we can’t just be busy doing anything, taking a look at the story of the shepherds we can see that there are 3 aspects to working that are important if we are to get it right

First on that list is the personalization of work

In the first verse of our text we red that “there were shepherds…keeping watch of their flocks.”

In other words there were shepherds doing shepherd things

It wasn’t shepherds trying to catch fish, or fishermen trying to build cabinets, or carpenters trying to look after sheep

These were shepherds doing what they were supposed to be doing, taking care of their business

Now I know that this same point that I am about to make has been in all 3 of these messages now, but that ought to give you a clue that this is important and worth taking special note of

The first thing that you need to be busy working at so as to not miss His return is “You!”

If there is one thing that Christians are good at it is telling other people what they should or should not be doing

Last week we looked at this verse from Paul’s letter to the Philippians

Philippians

Philippians 2:12 NIV

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

I’m sorry, continue to work out whose salvation? Oh yours!

And seeing as Paul wrote that to me by inspiration of the Holy Spirit he obviously meant that I am supposed to work on my own salvation and not get caught up in what other people are doing and whether they said, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy holidays” or whether they smoke or drink or eat meat sacrificed to idols

Paul had some harsh teaching for the Christians in Rome when he said,

Romans 12:9-

Romans 12:9–21 NIV

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you...” Those are words that every Christian should have hanging on their wall because the first job of every follower of Christ is to take care of their own business, to make sure that they are walking in the Spirit and that their life is full of the fruit of that same Spirit

That’s our number 1 priority

Only when we are doing well at doing that can we add to it the second aspect of working which is the proliferation of our work

The dictionary defines proliferation as, “a rapid and often excessive spread or increase”

Many of us will experience a proliferation of our waist over this Christmas season

But that’s not what I am talking about here, of course in this context I am referring to the spread of the gospel

In verse 17 of our text it says,

Luke 2:17 NIV

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,

Now I am not suggesting to you this morning that you need to go on a street corner with a bullhorn and preach, or that you need to go door to door with a bunch of tracts and try to get people saved

The shepherds had made their way into town and had found the Messiah just as had been told and so as they were heading back to their sheep, taking care of their business they talked to people about what they knew and had experienced

You see shepherds were smelly and dirty and not exactly the elite of society

To the extent that they didn’t live in town or associate with the people who did

They were from the other side of the tracks and so it must have caused quite a stir and commotion as the made their way back through the streets towards their sheep and I can only imagine that there would have been questions by the townspeople who had been awakened

“What are you guys doing in town? Why did you leave your sheep alone? What are you babbling about?”

Now put yourself in the shoes of these shepherds, the Son of God has just been born into the world and for whatever reason you were chosen by the almighty to be one of the first people in all of the world to have a personal encounter with Him

Would you apologize for waking them and be silent about the angels and the message they proclaimed, or would you or would you spread the word of what has happened to you over the last few hours to everyone who asked?

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

I’m not talking about missions here, or at least not what we traditionally think of when it comes to missions

I’m talking about when you are taking care of your business and because of it God shines through in some manner and so people become curious

Your witness and the testimony of your encounter with Christ and what He has done in you will speak far louder than all the printed tracks in the world

And can I just encourage you that these simple shepherds were not theological geniuses giving a detailed explanation of the incarnation of the eternal Word and the impending implications for the trinity

You don’t have to try and convince people with deep theological truths, in fact you’re not supposed to, you’re just supposed to tell about your experience and let the Holy Spirit do the rest

The final aspect of work that we need to be busy with when He returns is Praising

Luke 2:20 NIV

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The Greek word used for “praise” here means to celebrate,

Part of the job that we have been left with until He returns is to celebrate, to celebrate God and His love and goodness, to celebrate Christ and all He has done for us, to celebrate the Holy Spirit who continues to work in us and through us that which is pleasing to the Father

Can you imagine hiring someone to build you a house and when everything is done there is little to no roof

Chances are you would have a few questions for the builder, like, “Where is my roof”

How are you going to receive it when he responds, “Well my guys just didn’t really FEEL like making a roof that day so we just watched the other builders put roofs on their houses instead. Besides there’s a little bit of roof here and there if you look closely.”

I think that you would probably respond something like, “I don’t care if you didn’t feel like it. That was your Job! I paid for a roof and I expected a roof”

It’s a little longer than I like to interject in a sermon but can I read for you?

Good cause I was going to anyway

Psalm 145 NIV

A psalm of praise. Of David. I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works— and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

You were designed and made to be an instrument of worship and you were purchased (hired ) to celebrate and when He returns we had better be working or, if you’ll pardon the expression, there’ll be Hell to pay

I’m going to have to stop right there because this is one of those sermons where determining what to leave out was more difficult than deciding what to put in and there was just so much more that I wanted to say

As we close let me remind you that just as surely as Christ came the first time, He will return, and just as surely as only a handful of people were ready for it the first time, the Bible declares that the majority of the world will not be ready when He comes back

If we want to be ready we need to watch, to look for the signs and determine by His Word what they mean, we need to wait, to get our house in order and be true, and we need to work, to work on our own business to work on spreading the message and to work on giving Him praise

Let’s pray

#78 O Come All Ye Faithful