Scripture: Luke 2:15-21
Theme: Year of the Shepherd - New Year
Luke shares with us some characteristics that the Shepherds possessed - 1. They were Receptive Listeners 2. They Embraced Obedience 3. They were Enthusiastic in Praise and 4. They were Public Proclaimers.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world.
Many organizations and businesses give each New Year a particular name or theme. According to the Chinese zodiac calendar this New Year will be the Year of the Rooster. It is suppose to be a year in which the majority of people will be more polite and less stubborn. However, it is also suppose to be a year in which people will have a tendency to complicate things that should be simple.
According to the Jewish Calendar this New Year is not 2017 but instead it is the year 5777 - 5778. For the people of Korea it is the year 4350 and for the people of Iran it is the year 1395-1396. Sometimes, we in the US forget that not all countries have adopted the Gregorian calendar and instead have their own calendar. Some like the Jews and Koreans have calendars that are much older than ours.
Other organizations tell us that this new year will be something more than a date or the year of the rooster.
+The National Garden Bureau has declared that 2017 will be the year of the Rose, Daffodil, Pansy and Brassica.
+Pantone's has declared that 2017 will be the Year of the Color Green.
+The UN must have been listening to the Chinese as they described that 2017 would be the year to complicate the simple as they have declared that the New Year to be the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM FOR DEVELOPMENT. Now, that's a mouthful.
I would like to propose to you this morning an alternative way of looking at this New Year. Rather, than adopting the Chinese Zodiac or the UN declaration for the year, I would like to propose that we call this upcoming New Year the YEAR OF THE SHEPHERD. For as we look at our passage this morning, our shepherd friends display for us some wonderful characteristics to emulate this New Year.
The pastoral scene that Luke paints for us is a very familiar one. A few miles outside of Bethlehem some shepherds had gathered their sheep together for the night. More than likely there are several hundred sheep gathered along with a company of shepherds. It was common for the shepherds of various flocks to join together during the night hours for companionship and protection. Shepherding was tedious and tiresome work. By coming together at night it allowed some of some of the shepherds to be able to get some rest while the others stood watch. Then after a few hours they would get up and watch over the flocks while the others rested.
St. Luke tells us that just when everyone was settling down and getting warm around their fires the skies suddenly opened up. Perhaps, at first they thought a storm was brewing but they quickly realized that this was no storm. It wasn't thunder they heard or lightning they saw but it was God's Holy Angel who began to speak these words to them: (Luke 2:10 - 11 ESV)
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the LORD. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
Can you imagine this morning what that was like? Can you imagine after a full day of watching sheep, getting together with some of your friends to get some needed sleep when all of a sudden the sky is filled with one angel and then a host of angels?
It is what happens next that I would like for us to look at this morning. For as we read in verses 15 - 20 we see some wonderful characteristics that these shepherds displayed. Characteristics that I believe that we should emulate this upcoming New Year. Let's take some time and look at four of them:
1. The Shepherds were first of all, RECEPTIVE LISTENERS
In other words the Shepherds genuinely listened. That seems quite simple does it. Of course, they shepherd listened. Who wouldn't listen if all of a sudden an angel appeared? Who wouldn't shut their mouth(s) and listen intently to what an angel from heaven had to say?
Well, if we go back to Genesis chapter 17 we find that when Abraham was visited by three heavenly beings, Sarah, his wife wasn't a receptive listener. She didn't believe one things those angels were saying. She thought their good news was ridiculous.
If we fast forward to Luke chapter one we have Zacharias refusing to fully listen and believe the words of Gabriel concerning the upcoming birth of John the Baptist. Like Sarah, he thought it was all foolishness. Finally, in John chapter 20 it appears that Mary Magdalene had some trouble being a receptive listener to angel's news that Jesus had risen from the dead. Instead of being a receptive listener she began looking all over the cemetery garden for Jesus' dead body.
It is one thing to think that you heard someone and quite another to genuinely hear and receive what they are saying. Dianne Schilling1 writing for Forbes Magazine reminds us that in today's high-tech, high-speed, high-stress world that communication is more important than ever and yet, we seem to devote less and less time to really listening to one another. She believes that genuine receptive listening has become a rare gift. She also believes that the better listeners we are the more effective we will be at work and the deeper our relationships will be with our children and our friends. She believes that better listening saves money and marriages as well.
This morning, one of the characteristics that all of us can work on this upcoming year is to be better receptive listeners to others and especially to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. We can sharpen our receptive listening skills by:
a. Being present when someone is talking and doing our best not to zone out or allow things around us to distract us
b. Keeping an open mind and a closed mouth; not making a conversation a contest on who is smarter, quicker or more interesting
d. Being more like a sponge than a reflection screen or a critic
I believe all of us this morning could be better receptive listeners. I know that I need to better my receptive listening skills and I am sure that you would agree this morning that perhaps you could be a better receptive listener. Not only with other humans but most importantly with the LORD. We all need to be better receptive listeners when it comes to our LORD this morning.
II. The Shepherds also EMBRACED OBEDIENCE
Verse 15 tells us that the shepherds came together and made a commitment that they were going to embrace obedience. They were going to walk to Bethlehem and find Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. Don't you like the way that St. Luke puts their actions in verse 16 - "and they went with haste"? Now, that's embracing obedience.
So, we see that they were not only receptive listeners but they were quickly to embrace obedience as well. Embracing obedience is not always easy. At least it was not for the Israelites during the time of the Prophet Ezekiel. Six times in two chapters ( 2 and 3) the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY tells the prophet that the Children of Israel are a rebellious people. They were not receptive listeners nor did they embrace obedience. Because of that they were soon to experience God's judgment.
How many of us this morning are as quick to embrace obedience as these shepherds. We don't know if they all left for Bethlehem or some stay behind. I have a good feeling that if they left some behind to watch over the sheep as soon as some of the first group returned the others made their way to Bethlehem. More than likely, Mary and Joseph entertained a number of shepherd visits that day.
As important as it is to be a receptive listener it is just as vital for us to embrace obedience. Over and over again in the Gospels we read story after story challenging us to embrace obedience. Jesus calls his disciples to embrace obedience and follow him. Jesus calls the leper, the lame and the blind to embrace obedience and receive healing.
It is when we choose not to embrace obedience that we find ourselves in trouble. No one shows us this better than the Prophet Jonah. He was a receptive listener but he was refused to embrace obedience. However, after a few nights in the belly of the great fish we see that he was better at embracing obedience.
Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson, the Scottish theologian who wrote IN CHRIST ALONE made this statement - "Be obedient even when you do not know where obedience may lead you."
Those shepherds that day lived out that statement. They were not given the street corner where Mary and Joseph was staying. They were told to go to Bethlehem and look for Jesus. We don't know how long it took them to get there but we know that they found Jesus. No doubt they brought some gifts of cheese and perhaps a woolen blanket for Jesus. They didn't know exactly where to go and what they would discover but they embraced obedience to the leadings of the LORD.
You and I this morning would be wise if we would do the same. Not simply be receptive listeners but embrace obedience as well. To surrender our agendas and our plans into the hands of the LORD. To be willing to lose a little sleep and walk a few miles in order to discover and experience one of God's greatest miracles. Let's embrace obedience to the LORD as one of our New Year commitments this morning.
III. Thirdly, we see that the Shepherds were ENTHUSAISTIC IN THEIR PRAISE
First they were receptive listeners and then they were people who embraced obedience and now we see that they were enthusiastic in their praise.
Psalms 111:1 tells us that passion and enthusiasm are vital keys when it comes to praising the LORD. Listen to words of the Psalmist
"I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart."
"I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart." What does that mean? It means that we should praise the LORD completely, unreserved and unrestrained. We are to praise the LORD with passion and enthusiasm. It means to worship the LORD like King David did when they were bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 6).
If your remember, while the Levites are carrying the ark into the city of Jerusalem, King David is leaping and dancing before the LORD. He is praising the LORD with all his heart, mind and soul. He continues by presenting burnt offerings before the LORD and ends by blessing all the people who have gathered with him. He blesses them and then rewards each one who has joined him with extra food and favor.
While all this was going on his wife Michal ( the daughter of Saul) was watching from the sidelines. She had refused to join in the praise celebration because she thought that David was acting shamelessly. In fact, she calls his worship vulgar. She believes that he has dishonored the crown and the LORD.
Do you remember how that story ends? David has to reprimand her and even worse the LORD severely judges Michal. The LORD was so upset with how she viewed David's worship that He closed her womb forever. Michal was not allowed to have any children all because she spoke out against King David's enthusiastic praise. Wow!
This year we must not be barren in our praise and enthusiasm for the LORD. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone has to jump and shout during our worship and praise time. You can be enthusiastic without jumping and shouting but also you can also jump and shout as well. Both are acceptable to the LORD and since they are acceptable to the LORD they are acceptable to all of us as well.
Enthusiastic worship is warm, energetic and fresh. It is God centered. It is worship that is eager and alive. It is worship that is full of joy and celebration. It is this kind of worship that we see here that the Shepherds are practicing in verse 20.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church realized that some of the new people that he and his fellow pastors were bringing into the church did not know how to worship. Some of them had never attended a church service. They had come out of the fields and coal mines with very little knowledge of what it meant to worship the LORD. To assist them Wesley wrote a list of guidelines to how he believed people should worship. He called them "Directions For Singing". Let's listen to them again this morning:
1. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.
2. Sing them exactly as they are printed here without altering or mending them at all.
3. Sing all. See that you join with a congregation as frequently as you can, let not a slight degree or weariness hinder you.
4. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength.
5. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation so that you may not destroy the harmony.
6. Sing in tune. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it, do not run before or stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move there exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow.
7. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing.
I believe that these shepherds in our story would agree with Dr. Wesley. And I believe this morning that one of the greatest commitments we can make this New Year is to become more and more passionate in our worship and praise. To be people who are enthusiastic in our praise times and who worship without reservation whole body, mind and soul.
IV. Finally, we see this morning our shepherds were PUBLIC PROCLAMERS
+They were receptive listeners.
+They embraced obedience.
+They were enthusiastic in their praise and
+They were public proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus.
When you read this story it is really amazing. After miles of walking what did they find? Some people would have walked into that stable and seen a humble and poor family who had to have their baby born in a stable. They would have seen a teenage girl who had given birth and a young father who was completely over his head. They would have been appalled at the conditions and thought felt only pity for Jesus and his family
But because they had listened and obey the LORD, the Holy Spirit revealed to them that laying right there before them was the Savior, who is Christ the LORD. They saw exactly what the angels had told them. They saw the one whom the host of heaven had praised as the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. They saw the Incarnate Son of the Living God. They saw Jesus, the promised Messiah and LORD.
Not only did they see Jesus they went all around telling everyone their story. They shared the story of the angels. They shared the story of seeing Mary, Joseph and the baby. They share the Good News. They were public proclaimers of the message of salvation. They were the first proclaimers of Jesus.
Today, we need boys and girls, men and women who will commit to becoming public proclaimers. People who are not ashamed to tell people about Jesus and to live like they know Jesus. People who have cast aside the notion to just be quiet. People who will follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit and share Jesus when they are prompted. People who are free to talk to others about Jesus at work, at home, at school and around the lunch room.
People have come up with all kinds of reasons why we don't need to witness today. Some of them even sound wise but they aren't. Here are some of the reasons people give for not sharing and for being quiet.
1. I don't know enough about the Bible and God and wouldn't even know how to start to share.
2. I don't want to be offensive to those who don't believe and start an argument.
3. Won't I be made fun of and is that really what Jesus wants?
4. I don't see anyone else doing it except old people and those crazies charismatics.
5. I'm not a good Christian in the first place and don't want to be a hypocrite.
6. I don't know anyone who isn't a Christian.
7. Isn't that a job for preachers?
We have to admit this morning, those are really lame. When we think about witnessing we need to remember three things:
a. One - Jesus tells us we are to be His Light in our world - lights that shine in darkness (Matthew 5:14-16). When have we ever seen a light shown in darkness that has stood out. We are to allow the light of Jesus to shine in and through us. When we do that we will be noticed.
b. Two - Jesus tells us we are to be salt (Matthew 5:13). Now, when have we ever eaten something that is really salty and not noticed it? It's impossible to be genuine salt and not change the taste of something. So too, as salt Christian, people are to see, feel and experience a change when we are around.
c. Three - and this is the most important one. We find it in Matthew 10:32-33. Listen again to the words of Jesus:
"So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."
I don't think there is a great deal more that needs to be said about being a public witness for the LORD in lieu of that passage. If we have ever wondered if it is necessary to witness for Jesus at home, at work or at school then I believe Jesus in that passage makes it quite clear what we should do.
This morning, our passage I believe challenges us to live out the YEAR OF THE SHEPHERD. A year in which we commit ourselves to
+Being Receptive Listeners
+Being Embraced to Obedience
+Being Enthusiastic in our Praise and Worship
+Being Public Proclaimers
As we close this morning we invite any who would like to begin the New Year accepting the LORD JESUS CHRIST as their Savior and LORD. Like the shepherds you can take that first step by hearing and receiving the call of the LORD in your heart and life right now. You can then embrace a life of obedience by asking the Lord to forgive you of your sins and receive Jesus' grace and mercy.
Our altars are open for any who would like to come and pray.
(Altar Call and Prayer or Receiving the Lord's Supper)
This is the Message of the LORD for the People of God
Blessing for any who can use this message: May these words help you as your prepare your message. May the LORD anoint your words and may they be used to bring people to faith, encourage their hearts and challenge them to grow in spiritual formation. May the LORD anoint you and watch over and grant you favor and blessing this New Year. May you rest in His favor and grace and experience His Presence and Peace today! Amen.
1In her post Dianne shares 10 steps to better listening. See http://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/11/09/10-steps-to-effective-listening/#7ec5f03726fb
