MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX
A. If you were to choose a character in the Christmas story that you would like to be, which one would you pick? Joseph? Mary? One of the shepherds? A wise man? Or, maybe an angel?
I think I’d like to have been the angel who told the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. What a privilege that would have been - to make that announcement, & then to be surrounded by a heavenly host saying "Glory to God in the highest, & peace on earth, good will toward men."
B. Or maybe a shepherd? Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to have been one of those shepherds that night? Here you are, on the hillside, everything is quiet & peaceful. Suddenly, the sky is aglow with heavenly light, & you hear the news that the world has been waiting for for a thousand years.
How would you have reacted if you’d been there? Luke tells us that the shepherds at first responded with fear. They were afraid. I imagine that we would have been afraid, too.
Then it was over. The angels were gone. Listen to what Luke says happened next: "When the angels had left them & gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, `Let’s go to Bethlehem & see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’
"So they hurried off & found Mary & Joseph, & 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, & all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
"But Mary treasured up all these things & pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying & praising God for all the things they had heard & seen, which were just as they had been told" [Luke 2:15-20].
PROP. Now with this fresh in our minds, let’s consider this question, "What do you do when the angels are gone? What do you do when there is no more heavenly host? What do you do when Christmas is over?" I think the shepherds set us a great example, for there are 3 things to notice in this scripture.
I. THEY INVESTIGATED THE EVIDENCE
A. First of all, they investigated the evidence. Listen again to vs. 15. It says, "When the angels had left them & gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, `Let’s go to Bethlehem & see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’" They decided to check it out.
APPL. I think that one of the great weaknesses in the church today is that there are so few who are really checking things out. We just kind of believe whatever we’re told, without bothering to check the evidence.
But if the church is going to stand strong for the Lord until He comes, there will have to be Christians who know why they believe what they believe. It is not enough just to be told the story from the pulpit or hear it in a Sunday School class.
SUM. You need to check the evidence. You need to be able to give a defense for the faith that is in your heart. If you don’t, then you’re in danger of falling by the wayside.
B. ILL. Did you read the featured article on the Religion page in yesterday’s "Brownsville Herald?" In big headlines it proclaimed, "Scholars Debate the Virginity of Jesus’ Mother." Listen as I read part of that article to you.
"Some academics, theologians, clergy & churchgoers say the New Testament accounts of Mary’s virgin motherhood are myths, allegories, vestiges of an ancient pagan belief..." "And the Episcopal bishop...John Shelby Spong Jr., suggests that Mary was `a sexually violated teen-age girl.’ Insistence on her virginity, he says, is a sexist ploy by early church leaders to repress women."
It reports, "Some groups - such as the Jesus Seminar, a controversial collection of about 70 liberal Biblical scholars... - have made headlines lately with their denials of the Virgin Birth, the visit of the Three Wise Men, the flight of the holy family into Egypt." It goes on, "Still, (Bishop) Spong displays a nativity scene outside his church. `You don’t destroy symbols because they’re not literally, historically true,’ he says.
SUM. Now what is that article telling us? Well, that the Christmas story is not true. It quite plainly says that Biblical scholars reject what the Bible says about the birth of Jesus - that they consider it all a myth, an adaptation of some ancient pagan belief.
APPL. Now folks, most of us don’t really consider ourselves Biblical scholars, do we? We’re just Christians, trying to follow Jesus. We’ve always believed that the Bible is the Word of God, & what it says is true.
But if Biblical scholars agree that the Bible is filled with myths, & that what it teaches are lies, then what hope do we have?
Well, maybe I can help you there. You see, the "Valley Morning Star" also printed that exact same article. Only, they included one paragraph that I guess the "Brownsville Herald" didn’t have enough room to print. Listen to how that paragraph begins: "Spong’s & the Jesus Seminar’s debunking of long-held Christian beliefs is based on `a closed world view where miracles do not happen.’"
Aha! Now that makes a world of difference! Do you understand? That is saying that these so-called scholars approach the Bible with a pre-conceived view that there is no such thing as a miracle or anything supernatural or divine. Anytime the Bible mentions anything that even sounds miraculous, they automatically reject it - whether it be angels, or a virgin birth, or even the idea of a "God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son."
APPL. Folks, long ago we learned to be skeptical when anyone tried to convince us that "everybody who is anybody" is this or that. And we need to be just as skeptical with false teachers & false teachings. Follow the example of the shepherds. Check it out!
ILL. I grew up in a time when Christianity was popular in this country. In fact, one of the greatest compliments you could pay anyone was to say, "He or she is a good Christian," because when you said "Christian" that meant he or she stood for all the things that were right & moral & decent.
But today, Christianity is no longer popular, even in this land that still calls itself a "Christian nation."
C. In the 60’s & 70’s in communist Russia, slanted propaganda was coming from the media everyday to turn them against the U.S. and other free countries of the world. Discerning Russians had to decide whether to believe what was being reported or not.
1. In our country I think we’re facing the same thing. Look at some of the slogans we just accept today. "Separation of church & state." Every time there is an issue regarding government & church we hear people saying that there must be separation of church & state because it is in the Constitution.
But it is not in the Constitution. We have been told that so often that we think it is there. Our Constitution makes provision for the church, & says that the government should not interfere by establishing a state church like that which existed in Europe. But there is nothing in the Constitution that says there must be separation of church & state.
2. Or how about this one? "You can’t legislate morality." Hooey! We do it all the time. We legislate against drunk drivers. We legislate against child abuse. We legislate against spousal abuse. We do legislate morality.
SUM. In Acts 17, it says that the Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica because they searched the Scriptures daily to check out the Apostle Paul & make sure he was telling the truth. Folks, examine the evidence. Check it out!
II. THEY SHARED THE GOOD NEWS
A. Secondly, the shepherds shared the good news. Vs. 17 says, "When they had seen Him they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, & all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."
They immediately started telling people what they had seen & what they had heard.
APPL. One of the great weaknesses of the church is that we’re not very evangelistic. Now the reason we give for not being evangelistic is that we say we don’t know enough, & we’re afraid that if we try to tell someone about Jesus they’ll ask questions we won’t be able to answer, & we’ll be embarrassed.
B. But there is another reason. It is not that we don’t believe in Jesus. It is not that we don’t believe in heaven. It is not that we don’t believe in hell. Its just that we don’t seem to be convinced that anybody is lost.
APPL. When something is lost you search until you find it. But the problem in the church today is we are not really sure anybody is lost. So we’re not looking for people. We’re not out in the highways & the byways. We don’t have the passion & concern for those who are going to Christless graves & a Christless eternity.
ILL. Some time ago the Catholic Digest conducted a survey & asked people if they believed in hell. The vast majority said they did. They believed in hell. But when they were asked who was there, only 22% believed that Hitler was there. Fifteen percent believed that Joseph Stalin was there, & only 10% believed that Judas Iscariot was there.
You see we believe in hell. But we’re just not concerned enough or eager enough to share the good new that is ours. We need to follow the example of the shepherds & get busy telling what we seen & what we have heard.
III. THEY RETURNED TO THEIR JOBS
A. The shepherds investigated the evidence & then they shared the good news. Thirdly, they returned to their jobs.
Vs. 20 says, "The shepherds returned, glorifying & praising God for all the things they had heard & seen, which were just as they had been told."
There comes a time when we have to leave the manger. You can’t stay there forever. At some point in time we have to leave the manger & go back to tending the sheep.
ILL. A minister friend of mine received a Christmas card with a note in it from a lady in his congregation. He said she was very complimentary about his preaching, & compared him with Billy Graham. She finished by writing, "I think you are one of the really great preachers of all time."
Later that day, when he showed the note to his wife, she asked, "Who is that woman?" He replied, "She is a very intelligent woman in the congregation who loves great preaching." He then asked his wife, "How many great preachers do you suppose there really are in the world?" She replied, "One less than you think."
APPL. You see, the test of our ministry is not dependant upon how many complimentary notes we receive, or how many pats on the back come our way, or even how well everything is going our way.
There will be times when anonymous notes arrive, & criticisms come, & unpopular decisions made. The true test of ministry comes when times are tough & hard - when the angels are gone, & when we go back to doing our jobs faithfully every day.
ILL. Howard Thurman wrote these words: “When the song of the angels is silent, & the star in the sky is gone. When the shepherds are tending the sheep again, & the manger is darkened & still. That’s when the work of Christmas begins.”
CONCL. We have been to the manger. We have listened to angels, & it’s been a glorious experience. Tomorrow is December 26, & now is when the work of Christmas begins.
This morning if you are here & you don’t know Him as your Lord & Savior then we want you to know that He died on the cross for you & He offers Himself now as your Lord & your Savior.
We extend this invitation & invite you to come to Him now. If you have a decision on your heart today, won’t you come? Don’t delay.
