THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
Luke 2:8-20
A MESSAGE FROM THE LORD
V:8-9. \” 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. \”
A. Shepherds
1. The Lord is my Shepherd. 23 Psalms
2. It is fitting that the Lord revealed His birth to shepherds
first.
a. Jesus came in a low estate.
b. He came in a humble spirit.
c. Jesus is our shepherd and we are His sheep.
1. They were on the job.
2. They were busy.
3. It was night time.
a. It was a quite time. God often reveals His Word to us in
our quite time.
b. He has our attention when there are no distractions.
4. God is pleased when we are where we are suppose to be,
doing what we are suppose to be doing.
B. The shepherds were first to hear of the birth of Jesus.
1. When God shows up in your life, you will know it is Him.
2. It was the middle of the night in the mist of what would
appear to be a flood light, that an Angel showed up.
C. God will comfort you in your fears.
1. God may show up in an unexpected time and in an unexpected
place.
2. God may show up in an unexpected way.
3. To receive a message from God, your mind has to be open to
God.
JESUS IS THE CENTER OF MY JOY
V:10. \” But the angel said to them, \”Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. \”
A. Some times when you are not expecting anything, God will
give you good news.
1. God can give you joy in the mist of your work day.
2. The Word of God is not just for you, but for everyone.
B. Sometimes the Word of God will not change your situation.
1. But it will change the way you see your situation.
2. The Word can change how you deal with your situation.
2. The joy I have, the world didn\’t give it and world can\’t
take it a way.
THE GREATEST GIFT TO MAN
V:11. \”Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord. \”
A. The Good News
1. The birth of a Savior, Christ the Lord.
2. The fulfillment of a promise.
3. The blessing of hope
3. This is personal, because Jesus is your Savior.
B. The location of the birth was Bethlehem
1. Bethlehem means \”house of bread\”.
2. The Lord, the owner was born in the house of bread.
3. When we hunger for Jesus, our appetite will be satisfied.
C. The City of David is the home town of a king.
1. Jesus is identified as Savior, King and Lord.
GOD DIRECT US TO HIMSELF
V:12. \” This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.\”
A. The Lord\’s instructions are complete.
1. You don\’t have to do any guessing, the Word is plain.
2. The Shepherds knew how to identify the right baby.
a. He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes.
b. He would be lying in a feeding crib for animals.
3. Jesus took on human flesh in body of Mary.
4. He was man and God.
THE PRAISE OF JESUS
V:13-14. \” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 \”Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.\”
A. If we don\’t praise God, He has a host of Angels that can do
the job.
1. God sets the example of praise for Jesus.
2. We should praise Him because He is God.
3. We should praise Him because He is the supreme authority.
4. We should praise Him because He came for our good.
a. Our peace.
b. Our good will.
c. Our eternal life.
B. Jesus is due our highest praise.
1. The Lord has favored us with a knowledge of Jesus.
2. The Lord has given us an example praise in the assemble of
the saints.
THE CONVICTION OF THE WORD
V:15. \” 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.\”
A. It is good to study the Word of God with other believers.
1. When others are involved, you can discuss your proper
response to the Word.
2. What should we do after having heard the Word?
3. In what way was our heart convicted?
B. You should check the Word out for yourself.
1. You can\’t always rely on others to give you the complete
truth.
2. When you search the Word for yourself, you get a better
understanding.
C. When you hear the Word of God you first response should be to
believe the the Word.
1. You second response should be to act on the Word.
2. Faith grows when you act on the Word of God.
3. Faith without works is dead.
THE WORD IS A JOURNEY TO CHRIST
Verse 16. \”So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.\”
A. There are times when Word requires an immediate response.
1. The baby would not be in that location long.
2. The baby would not be wearing those cloths described by
the Angel long.
3. Sometimes when we don\’t act immediately, we lose
opportunities.
B. The shepherds dropped what they were doing and went to see Jesus for themselves.
1. They saw the baby, His mother and His father.
2. They found that the Word was true.
3. Our confidence grows when we experience the truth of the
Word for ourselves.
CHRISTIAN DUTY: TELL SOMEONE ABOUT JESUS
Verse 17. \” When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.\”
A. Once you know Jesus, your next job is to spread the Word.
1. We are all God\’s disciples.
2. We have been commissioned by Jesus to spread the Word.
Matt 28:19
3. People are drawn to Jesus because of what we say about Him.
B. The shepherds were armed with Word of God and their personal
experience.
1. They heard the Word form the Angel.
2. They witness the praise of Jesus from a host of Angels.
3. They acted on the Word and were drawn in faith to Jesus.
4. They experienced the truth of the Word for themselves.
C. The Shepherds became the first evangelists of the Word.
1. Instead of returning immediately to their flock, they made
it their business to spread the Word.
2. When spend time serving Jesus, He make sure your other
responsibilities are protected.
3. God protected the shepherd\’s sheep while they followed His
call.
THE EFFECT OF EVANGELISM
V:18. \” And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. \”
A. The Good News is amazing.
1. Your excitement about the Good News can excite others.
2. Believers can\’t be ashamed of the Gospel.
3. God will prepare hearts of those you come in contact with
to accept the Word.
B. Our job as believers is to tell others who Jesus is to us.
1. What experience have you had with Jesus?
2. He is Christ, the Messiah, Anointed by the Father.
3. He is our Savior. He came to save us from our sins.
4. He come down from heaven to bring us joy.
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS A TREASURE IN THE HEART
V:19. \” But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. \”
A. One of the characteristics the Word keep reminding us about
Mary is her meditation.
1. All the experiences she had with Jesus were stored in her
heart.
2. She meditated on the Word.
3. She was putting a picture of the Savior together in her
mind.
4. Her experiences was completing the picture.
B. The Word becomes real to us as meditate on what God has done
for us.
1. If we consider our lives from day to day we can see God at
work.
2. I can see His blessings in what he has done for me.
3. I can see His blessings in what He didn\’t allow to happen.
OUR HEARTS SHOULD BE FILLED WITH THE GLORY AND PRAISE OF GOD
V:20. \” The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.\”
A. Each encounter we have with God is a reason to praise and
glorify the Name of Jesus.
1. Praise and worship starts with you.
2. We should continue without ceasing giving God praise and
glory.
3. He is worthy of our praise.
B. The shepherds went back to their job praising God.
1. We ought start every day praising God.
2. Jesus is the reason for our being.
JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Toll Way
Houston, Texas 77040
For more lessons, follow me on face book and visit my blogs
www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
