you know well ago we listen to what child is this and and there was a
caption down at the bottom and and it said that in 1965 this was a this was
written by a man named William Chatterton Dix and he wrote a poem and
it was entitled manger thrown and a few years later was set to the music of a
English folk lore song and and it was changed after that and it was called
Greensleeves but it was changed after that to what child is this so for a
decade and a half now every time we sing that song were reminded of the question
that those Shepherds probably had when they when they went to see the baby
Jesus what child is this and I know that can you imagine how they felt the wonder
that was in their hearts as an angel appeared to them and begin to share the
message that that in Bethlehem that they would go there and they'd find something
special because see you know what that wasn't an ordinary baby you know that
not was not an ordinary night that night something incredible happened and that
baby was an amazing person that would change the world and and the Shepherd's
in fact I'd like to read it to you it says in Luke chapter two and verse eight
we'll start there it says suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them and a
radiance and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them they were
terrified but the angel reassured them don't be afraid he said I bring you good
news that will bring you great joy to all people the Savior yes the Messiah
the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem the City of David and you will
recognize him by this sign you'll find him a wrapped snugly in strips of cloth
lying in a manger suddenly the angel was joined by a van
host of others the armies of heaven praising God and saying glory to God in
the highest good on earth peace and goodwill toward men then the angels when
the Angels had returned to heaven the Shepherd's said to each other let's go
to Bethlehem let's see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us
about they hurried to the village and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby
lying in the manger after seeing him the Shepherd's told everyone what had
happened and what the angel had said to them about the child all who heard that
heard the Shepherd's story were astonished but Mary kept these things in
her heart and thought about them often no nativity scene would ever be the same
without a shepherd but what is it shipped as shepherd will the child he
was a shepherd he is a shepherd in fact the later Jesus said it this way in John
chapter 10 and verse 11 he said this I am The Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd
says life for the Sheep now many times Shepherds have been described as sort of
a rough around the edges and maybe there were kind of on the lower side or the
Lord part of the ladder but actually what Jesus describes is someone with
great responsibility and there's not any greater responsibility than then being
in charge or having the life of someone else's hands the life of someone else
someone else's life in your hands and pretend so you know this if you if
you're a parent that that when the baby I remember this one night when our
children were born but especially the first one I thought what next what I do
now but it was such a sense of responsibility that came on me and you
know what the Shepherd would do is he would he would lay down his life even
for the sheep which Jesus did in ancient Near Eastern history shepherds were
known as they were known for the righteous government they were expected
to show kindness in counseling protecting and guiding
those who were they responsible for they were good and they were just they were
wise and they were beneficial to others the shepherd's crook or the the staff
was a symbol of power and authority and strength shepherds are mentioned over
100 times in the Bible and in fact they were one of the first careers that was
mentioned in the Bible was was that of a shepherd in Genesis 4 2 it says this
that Abel was a keeper of the sheep and many times and most of the time
Shepherds were viewed as is wealthy and powerful Abraham was such an example it
says in Genesis chapter 24 and verse 35 and it says the Lord
I had the Lord has greatly blessed my master he has become a wealthy man the
Lord has given his flocks of sheep him flux of sheeps and goats herds of cattle
silver and gold and camels and donkeys there's another person that's mentioned
in the Bible that went through a really hard time in the book of Job but the
Bible says this that after a time that job after that his trial ended that he
was a very wealthy man this is a job 42 and verse 12 it says so the Lord bless
job the second part of his life with even more than in the beginning and he
now had 14,000 sheep six thousand camels ten one thousand teams of oxen and one
thousand female donkeys now the owners the one who owns the sheep a lot of
times were were actually they were the shepherds himself in Genesis chapter 4
we just talked about in a minute ago Abel was a shepherd and he owned those
sheep and in in Genesis chapter 30 the Bible says that Jacob he owned a lot of
sheep and cattle and all that stuff and he did the same thing that he was also
the shepherd but there were times when they delegated that response
ability to the children and when Rachel before she met the love of her life she
was tending taking care in fact when the servant of God our servant of Abraham
went to to meet her she was actually watering the camels for her dad she was
taking care of the flocks little Bible trivia for you I never knew this but
until I read the Bible that I didn't know Rachel smoked because but I found
out the Bible says this that when she feasted her eyes upon Isaac she led off
her camel okay I kind of did that for me okay another another person in the Bible
was David and David he was a shepherd let's read this and in 1st Samuel
chapter 16 and and it's verse 1 and then 10 to 13 it says now the Lord said to
Samuel you have mourned long enough for Saul I have rejected him as the king of
Israel so fill your flask with the oil and go to Bethlehem find a man named
Jesse who lives there for I have selected one of his sons to be the king
in the same way all all seven of Jesse's sons were presented to Samuel but Samuel
said to Jesse the Lord has not chosen any of these and Samuel asked do you
have any or are these all your sons there is still the youngest Jesse
replied but he's out on the field of watching the sheeps and goats sent for
him at once Samuel said we will not sit down to eat until they arise so Jesse
sent for him he was dark and handsome with beautiful eyes and the Lord said
this is the one annoying him so as David stood there among his brother Samuel
took the flask of olive oil he had brought an anointed David with oil and
the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon
David from that day on then Samuel returned to write Rama but here's what
happened after he was anointed to be king he went back to the he was being a
shepherd his brother as it says in 1st Samuel chapter 17 verse 13 through 15 it
says Jesse's three oldest sons ELab abinadab and Shama had already joined
the Saul's army to fight the Philistines David was the youngest son
David's three older brothers stayed with Saul's army but David went back and
forth so he could help his father with the Sheep and Bethlehem and so David Wow
while he was with those and he was he was doing what his dad told him to do
he's being a shepherd there was one that was really close by and that was the
child that would be born in Bethlehem and David he he had a relationship with
his child and it was his Lord and and David wrote about this the relationship
that he had between his Lord between he and his Lord and and actually this is
this would even before David was the king he was a shepherd and Jesus would
be a direct descendant of the king in the Shepherd and now he is the king and
he's our Shepherd it says in Psalm 23 this is probably his most famous Psalm
it says the Lord is my shepherd I have all I need
he lets me rest in green pastures he leads me beside that the peaceful
streams there were two responsibilities really for the first thing was they were
supposed to feed the flock in fact it says in 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 2 it
says fleed the feed the flock of God which is
among you and take the oversight thereof and part of that oversight was actually
protecting the sheep and so in one of those journeys between between the the
sheep you know what between tending the sheep and going to
the battlefield David arrived at the battlefield and when he got there there
was a this giant in his name was Goliath and and and I've always thought about
this and and you know and and I this may be mixing stories but but I always
thought this that David and what if Goliath would have went v5o fights I
smell the blood of an Israelite I know I'm mixing stories but David what he
thought in his mind was fee fie fo fed if the king of let me I'll cut off your
head so anyway David had to convince the king that he was going to that he could
do to do this so in 1st Samuel chapter 17 and verse 34 and 35 it says but David
persisted I have been taking care of my father's sheeps and goats
he said when a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock I go after
it with a club rescue the lamb from it and rescued the lamb from his mouth if
the animal turns on me I catch it by the job and by the jaw and Club it to death
but David also understood this with that relationship he knew in Psalm 23 and
verse 4 that the Lord was with him all the time it says this even though I walk
through the darkest Valley I will not be afraid for you are close beside me your
rod and your staff protect me and they come from me David describes this the
Lord is a provider and a protector these are the characteristics or Good
Shepherd what child is this he's the one that will protect everyone under his
care he'll protect even when the thief would try to snatch one such little one
away from him John chapter 10 talks about this it says this I tell you the
truth in verse 1 I tell you the truth any
one who sneaks over the wall of the sheepfold rather than going through the
gate is a thief and a robber but the one who enters through the gate is the
Shepherd of the sheep the gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the Sheep
recognize his voice and come to him he calls his own sheep by name and leads
them out after he has gathered his own flock he walks ahead of them and they
follow him because they know his voice they won't follow a stranger they will
run from him because they don't know his voice those who heard Jesus used to use
this illustration didn't understand what he meant so explained it to them I tell
you the truth i am the gate for the Sheep all who came before me were
thieves and robbers but the true Shepherd didn't listen to them but the
true sheep didn't listen listen to them yes I am the gate those who come through
me will be saved they will come and go freely and will find good pasture the
thief Serpas is to kill and to it's to steal and to kill and destroy my purpose
is to give them a rich and satisfying life the Good Shepherd with the great
links to take care of those under his care he would go the extra mile even for
that one that was lost Matthew chapter 18 talks about this and verse 10 it says
beware that you do not look down on any of these little ones for I tell you that
in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly father and then
there's a parable of the lost sheep if a man had a hundred sheep one of them
wandered away what will he do when he leave the ninety-nine others on the
hills and go search for the one that is lost and if he finds it I tell you the
truth he will rejoice over it more than the ninety-nine
under way in the same way it was was it not my Heavenly Father's will that even
one of these little ones should perish what child is this he's the one who came
to see those that are lost but the Bible says this that we've all sinned we've
all been lost and so his mission was to bring us into the protection that only
he can give he would grow up it it from that manger he would grow up and be our
Lord and our Savior and he had laid down his life see and in Isaiah it says this
way it says he will feed his flock like a shepherd he will carry his lambs in
his arms holding them close to his heart now when Jesus when he died on the cross
he completed his earthly mission so what he did then was amazing in fact this is
one of my favorite parts of the Bible for a lot of different ways but what he
did was he commissioned one of his followers named Peter who was certainly
you know he's a little rough around the edges too but he commissioned him and in
that day on the shores of Galilee Jesus actually he met with his disciples
they'd been fishing and he he was sitting with him after breakfast and he
looked at he looked at Peter and he said this I love this he said Peter do you
love me and Peter said this you know Lord I love you and he said this then
feed my lambs now this is one of the things that I
like about this God's concerned about our kids he's concerned about lambs our
little sheep and so I love that he's concerned about every one of our
children and then he went on to say this he said Peter son of John
do you love me Peter said Lord you know everything you know that I love you he
said then feeding my sheep he cares about you too then he you know I don't
consider myself a lamb anymore you know I may be an old goat but but I'm not a
lamb but but he cares about me so then the third time Jesus says this he said
Peter do you love me by this time he was wary of it and he was just was maybe put
out a little bit and he said Lord you know I love you
and he said this then feed my sheep what child is this what child is this listen
to this he's the one who came to lay down his life he's the one who is the
Good Shepherd he's our Redeemer he's our healer he's the one that sticks
closer than a friend he's a miracle worker
he's our provider he's our protector he is the truth the way in the life he is
the word of God and he awakens our spirit to the life of God I love what
that Shepherd said in that video he said ever since that encounter his spirit had
been a wage and you know I remember when I first got saved I remember I felt so
different on the inside and and I know this there are times when when I'm
reminded that that same encounter continues to go on all the time
he's woke me up on the inside and there's some times when he probably
really needs to shake me or whatever but if you have Jesus Christ on the inside
of you your heart and your spirit is a way
right now you know my wife and I we we we talked about something called God
encounters and and and we like to talk about that and and I remember just about
three or four years ago that she was talking to one of our sons and and he
was she was just really talking to him about the Lord and he's been very polite
to his mom and finally he he was listening talking it to her and finally
goes you know what mom I guess I just need a god encounter and so it so from
there Rhonda said or he said have you had any God encounters and so Rhonda
just began to tell him story after story about our encounters our personal
encounters with God and how he had intervened it so many times in her life
and touched us that's what child is this he's the one who did all those things
for us he's the one that that brought us through all those times have we walked
but we've been in the valley of the shadow of death you know or we've been
in tough places we sure have that child laying in a manger that's who he is
of course he's not a child anymore but he's seated next to the Heavenly Father
and he's always interceding for us he's sitting there and he's always he wants
us to call on him and use the power in the name of Jesus to help others hi yo I
read this story and I'm gonna end with this
it's a story I'll have to bring it up here it's a story my wife actually
shared with me I think it's it's awesome it has a little bitty word someone let's
put it right here yeah maybe I make it a little bit bigger
it says while traveling while traveling by plane to preach I was seated by a man
who had a Bible on his lap I switched part of the scripture he liked most he
told me Stuart he told me the stories of the miracles of Jesus performed he went
on to tell me he was having a hard time time believing God still performed
miracles today his wife had passed away and his son had left the church
announced he was an atheist and turned to drugs he was on that flight heading
heading home after finding out that his son had nearly overdosed on heroin I
need a miracle to bring my son back to God or I fear he I'm going to lose him I
told him keep trust in God and even invited him to attend the service that
was set I was set to preach at that night when we landed I stood up to get
my bag out of the overhead compartment that's when the man's eyes lit up and he
jumped to his feet after turning his phone on he found a voice mail from his
son hey he said he said to me after listening to the message my son said
he's going to church tonight praise God an evangelist is in town
speaking wait what did you say your name was again and the man says this I smiled
miracles still happen praise the Lord the God of miracles you know I can't I
can't imagine somebody after if you see a video like that you read the Bible I
can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want Jesus to be a part of your life I just I
just can't even imagine that and even those ones who go away I
believe and and they're trying to go away I believe he never leaves I believe
the Word of God is forever and it sits on the inside of
and I believe that even those lost ones that that that power that's in the Word
of God it never returns void and it's going to bring them back to the place
that they need to be amen so here's the deal you know today if you
are in this place and and you have never accepted Jesus you need to the bottom
line is that you need to do that you need to receive Jesus and you know
another thing that came to me is this you may be in a dark place - and in a
bad place in your life but you know what he never leaves you he never forsakes
you so I want to pray for you today and and and in fact you know what let me ask
you this is there is there anyone here that has
would like to pray and ask Jesus to be their Lord anyone anyone I guess I could
fake it and say I see their name but I wonder if folks do that just to make
somebody else feel comfortable I don't even know if they dude I don't know why
I said that but but oh praise the Lord nobody well let me pray for you guys
though how many in here know that you're going to heaven let me see your hand
your trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ hallelujah hallelujah
it isn't Jesus wonderful he is praise the Lord father I just lift up this
group of people today I thank your heavenly Father that you bless them in
every way father I just think you did in the Christmas season we're reminded all
the just all the more of the importance of walking with you all the more of the
importance of trusting you for touching our lives all the more of tread of
knowing this that you are our Lord father I thank you for that
father I thank you in the name of Jesus that you lead every one of us and guide
us father I just pray for that there's there's I really believe that there's
someone in here today that really needs a touch from you and it's in their
emotions and father I think you're right now as I speak the Word of God that
they're being settled in their mind they're being settled in their heart
stop it devil I stopped you in the name of Jesus hallelujah hallelujah praise
You Lord praise you Lord hallelujah praise You Lord hallelujah praise You
Lord Jesus hallelujah praise you I'm just listening praise God
praise God
hallelujah Jesus hallelujah crazy Lord
hallelujah praise you Lord Jesus
praise You Lord Jesus father we worship you today father I just had to clear
this the joy the Lord is our strength I declare this that we can do all things
through you who strengthens me holily us I mean praise you Lord father we just
thank you in Jesus name hey man praise the Lord
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