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Christmas Sermons
The
Characters of Christmas #3
The Shepherds
The Following Ones
Introduction:
1. We have already looked at several characters of Christmas.
There has been Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the favored one.
There has been Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, the faithful one.
Tonight we are looking at the Shepherds- the following ones
Next service Lord willing we will look at Jesus- the forever one.
2. It is so interesting that shepherds are mentioned in the Christmas story. There were so many of them around then in the land of the Bible, that you would think that one or several of them would be involved in some way.
3. Also notice that Mary came to Jerusalem when very great with child for the "taxing." She was great with child and did not have to make the trip, because the child could be born any time. Joseph could have insisted that she come, because he did not want her to be alone since the arrival date of the babe was so very near.
Also, they could have known the prophecy of Micah 5:2 that said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
It is possible that God used the taxing to draw them there to Bethlehem for Christ to be born. They might not have realized all that was going when they headed for Bethlehem.
4. Shepherding is in the days of Jesus was as common as working in a furniture factory in McDowell County, North Carolina. Shepherds were everywhere.
5-The word "shepherd" means "to pasture, or tend a flock." The first shepherd is mentioned in Gen. 4:2. He is the occupation used to describe Abel’s work. Later in the Bible Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Jacob’s sons were all shepherds. It was because they were shepherds that they were not allowed to dwell near the Egyptians, because the shepherds were considered unclean by them (Gen.46:34).
The shepherd did several things in regard to his flock:
A- He feed them.
B- He sought to lead them to green pastures.
C- He would protect them, even during the night. Often when the shepherd would fold the sheep he would sleep right at the door, where predators would try to sneak into the sheep-fold to provide maximum security for the sheep.
D- He sought out the lost sheep because they were often ignorantly lost and did not know it.
E- He would come to the rescue of those who were attacked by a predator. Amos 3:12 says, "Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus [in] a couch."
6- Moses was probably the most famous of the shepherds in the Bible. He was on the back side of the desert shepherding sheep, when the Lord came and called him in the burning bush, to lead Israel out of Egyptian bondage.
7- King David was once a shepherd. It was from that occupation that God called him to be the king of Israel.
Why did God call so many shepherds to lead his people? It was excellent preparation for shepherding people, though often it is much easier to shepherd sheep than it is to shepherd people.
From the idea of a shepherd, being the protector and leader of the flock, came the concept of God as the Shepherd of Israel. Jacob addressed God in this way just before his death.
Ge 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
In one of the most well known Psalms, Chapter 23, the Bible states, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
Consider how Isaiah speaks of God as a shepherd:
Isa 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young.
Listen to what Jeremiah said about God as a shepherd:
Jer 31:10 ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare [it] in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd [doth] his flock.
Hear what Ezekiel said:
Eze 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep [that are] scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
Isaiah pictures God as feeding Israel----
Jeremiah pictures God as protecting Israel---
Ezekiel pictures God as seeking out Israel---
Jesus is called:
The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.
Jesus in Heb. 13:20 is called "The Great Shepherd of the Sheep."
Let’s look as some things about these shepherds that were found tending their flocks around in the outskirts of Bethlehem.
I feel led of the Lord this evening to give you several words that I believe well describes to us what the Bible does tell us about the shepherds with which our Scripture concerns itself.
The first word is this:
I. FAITHFUL
V.8 "Keeping watch over their flocks by night."
A. The shepherd faithfully guarded his sheep, as I have already mentioned, even when they were folded or in their pen at night.
Often the shepherd would sleep with the animals in olden days. Shepherds must have possess a DISTINCT odor to say the least.
B. They did not punch a time clock and work 8 hours or until they felt like quitting. Shepherding was practically a 24 hour a day job, because those sheep was many men’s livelihoods. If the sheep were gone, their source of income was gone. By the way, Social Services was not there to pick them up either. They had to make it on their own and take care of what they possessed.
C. They often had to be out in rough weather and brave the cold,
moisture, and sand storms to take care of their flocks.
We need to learn to be faithful in the spiritual things of God.
So many things can hinder our faithfulness to God. I am not going to give you a long list this evening, but one of those things is a negative spirit!
Illustration:
Some people are so negative!
Did you hear about the farmer that had a brilliant dog? He had a neighbor that just absolutely was negative, no matter what. If it was raining, the farmer would say to his neighbor, "Boy, look at it rain, God's sort of washing it clean."
"Yeah, but if it keeps up it's gonna flood." Then the sun would come out and he'd say, "If it keeps that up, it's gonna just scorch the crops."
The farmer thought, "What am I gonna do to win this guy?" So he trained his dog to walk on water. He didn't tell his neighbor, he just took him duck hunting. Boom! Boom! They brought these ducks out of the sky, and said to his dog, "Go get 'em." The dog went across, picked them up, and hopped back in the boat, nothing wet -- just his paws. The farmer said, "What do you think of that?"
The neighbor said, "He can't swim, can he?"
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We need to "stay by the stuff."
Illustration:
An interesting story is shared in First Samuel, Chapter 30, concerning faithfulness. King David and his men were away at battle and while away their foes came in and laid the city of Ziklag in ashes, carrying away the wives and sons and daughters of the absent soldiers. When the men returned they were overwhelmed with grief. The scripture says they "lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep." They began to blame David. Then David selected 600 men and set out to rescue the captives. When they came to the brook Besor, 200 were so faint they could not cross over the brook. "Very well," said David. "You two hundred stay here and mind the baggage and the others of us who are stronger will go on." They went on, made a great recovery, and returned with the spoil. When they returned to the brook Besor a protest arose on the part of those who went to battle. They did not want to share the spoil. Then it was that David made a great statement about faithfulness: "As his part is that goeth down to the battle so shall his part be that tarried by the stuff. They shall part alike." What David said was that not are all equally strong yet all can be equally faithful. The 200 that did the best they could were just as worthy of the reward.
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God helps us to stay by the stuff and keep on praying, keep on reading our Bibles, keep on coming to church, keep on tell others about Jesus----be faithful, dependable and loyal to God’s work
FAITHFUL
II. FOLLOWERS
Verse 15 says, "Let us go....see."
A. The shepherds were keeping their sheep, when all of the sudden the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. There was so much brightness, they became extremely afraid. The angel told them not to fear because he had not come to scare them, but to give them good news. What was the good news? A babe wrapped in swaddling clothers, lying in a manger.
All of the sudden there a multitude of the heavenly host that were praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will, toward men (v.13,14).
B. Note:
That had to have been an exciting and breath-taking night! The Christmas lights at Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are nothing compare to what these shepherds saw that night on those heavenly lit hill sides.
They believed what the angel said, that this child born was for them, so they followed all the way to where Jesus lay in Bethlehem
C. We need to learn to always follow Jesus and seek the will of God in our daily living. It is not so much what we want in life that matters, but what He wants for us that really counts.
They walked and journey, look and search for a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. Why? Because God came to them first. I sought the Lord because He sought me first. I came to Him because He first came to me, where I was, and showed me where I needed to be (in Christ Jesus). He sent the angel of the Lord to him. Gabriel is the announcing angel. I believe it was Gabriel who appeared to Mary, to Joseph, to Zecharias, as well as to the shepherds were are considering.
Squire Parsons wrote a song called, "He Came To Me." In the song he says, "When I could not come to where He was, He came to me." What a blessing to know He has come to you!
FAITHFUL
FOLLOWERS
III. FAVORED
Verse 15 says, "Which the Lord hath made known unto us."
A. Have you thought about how many shepherds there were around on the hillsides that night? There had to be many all around the outskirts of the city, north, south, east, and west. But, there were some certain shepherds that the Lord came unto.
I have never been able to understand all there is to know about the sovereignty of God and the free-will of man, but I do know both are true. Man has a choice, but it is God that is in charge.
Anything spiritual that we know it is God that reveals it unto us, even if someone is teaching or someone is preaching. It is God that both gives truth and reveals truth.
B. I do not understand why God came by the West Court Street Baptist Church one Sunday morning, some 42 years ago, and wooed the heart of the young man by the name of Tom Walker.
There were others that morning that were not moved at all during the invitation, but He came to my heart in a very special way. I give the glory to Him! He brought me to himself!
Every ounce of truth I have ever realized, though God uses human beings, He is the one that has opened it unto me.
FAITHFUL
FOLLOWERS
FAVORED
IV. FERVENT
V. 15 "They came and made haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe, lying in a manger."
It says "They came with haste." They made an all out effort, and did not waste any time; they put all they had into the work of God.
Someone said, "It is not enough to be on the right track, you have to be moving or you get run over." That is such a true statement!
We need fervency in the work of God.
A. We Do Not Need What Man Can Work Up
There is a kind of "hip" contemporary Christian song that says,
"Get all excited, go tell everybody, that Jesus Christ is Lord." It is a jazzy kind of gospel song that as far as I am concerned speaks of a king of fleshly excitement being stirred up.
You do not need to work up the real things.
Illustration:
I sat beside a fellow once who started out breathing hard while the preacher was preaching. It got a little harder all of the time and he began to shake and tremble and finally he stood up and let out a scream. There was something didn’t ring true about it! It must have been because it was something he worked up.
B. We Need What God Can Bring Down
There is something better than fleshly excitement, and that is a divine manifestation of the power and glory of God in our midst and in our hearts.
You can tell most of the time, if you walk close to God, when it is the real thing.
FAITHFUL
FOLLOWERS
FAVORED
FERVENT
V. FORTHTELLERS
Verse 17 says, "They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the child."
They had good news and had to get it out.
Note:
First year men in Evangelism class at the Bible Institute have to give two witnessing reports. It just tells of their experience in witnessing to someone, how the conversation went, the response they received, and looking back, seeing what they could have done differently. Every once in a while I run across a student that doesn’t seem to have anything to write about.
We ought to be so spiritually elated and thrilled about what the Lord means to us and because of what He has done for us, that no one should have to tell us to witness.
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
FAITHFUL
FOLLOWERS
FAVORED
FERVENT
FORTHTELLERS
VI. THEY FOUND PRAISE
Lu 2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
A. They had met God (we have done that but not seen Him).
B. They had seen God.
C. They rejoiced in God.
If you cannot rejoice in your circumstances, in your health or in wealth you can rejoice in the Lord.
Conclusion:
Let’s be more like the shepherds.
SERMON
FROM DR. TOM WALKER- PASTOR ZION HILL BAPTIST
CHURCH- MARION, NC- USA
Site created by
Tom Walker