December 22, 2025 • 22 mins
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SPEAKER_00 (00:10):
Luke chapter two, how about that?
Well, we're doing kind of atwofer here.
Uh, we are starting series therein the life of David, but also
it's Christmas time, so it wouldjust be criminal not to work
Christmas into it.
So let's start with theChristmassy part.
That's where we ended last time.
Luke chapter two.
(00:33):
Um, starting in verse eight.
You can picture it, get in theholiday season here.
Now there were in the samecountry shepherds living out in
the fields, keeping watch overtheir flocks by night.
And behold, the angel of theLord stood before him, and the
(00:55):
glory of the Lord shone roundthem, and they were greatly
afraid.
Then the angel said to them, Donot be afraid, for behold, I
bring you good tidings of greatjoy, which will be to all
people.
For there is born to you thisday in the city of David a
Savior who is Christ the Lord,and this will be a sign to you.
(01:19):
You will find the babe wrappedin swaddling cloths and lying in
a manger.
And suddenly there was with theangel a multitude of heavenly
hosts praising God and saying,Glory to God in the highest and
on earth, peace, goodwill towardmen.
So uh we consider theseshepherds, right?
(01:40):
There's very few things that areas Christmassy as shepherds in
the field make for a greatmanger scene, a great Christmas
carol, right?
The first Noel, uh certain topoor shepherds in fields as they
lay, hark the herald angelssing, shepherds.
Why this jubilee?
Why are joyous strainsprolonged?
Good solid Christmas songs uhinclude the shepherds.
(02:03):
Um they're in Bethlehem, we knowis where we're we're at.
Uh, Mary and Joseph and babyJesus are there in Bethlehem,
and these shepherds are out inthe fields watching over their
flocks by night.
They would have been on theeastern side of the city.
That's the part that had fields.
The western side was terracedand uh for growing wheat.
(02:27):
But but there they were um inthe shepherds in the shepherds,
in the fields, watching theirflocks.
Um, why choose shepherds to talkabout?
I mean, the angels could havecome to anyone.
Maybe they were available,right?
Everybody else was trying to getto sleep.
Shepherds didn't sleep like thatbecause the nighttime would have
(02:48):
been the most vulnerable timefor the sheep.
Why did they come to shepherds?
Maybe it was to bring us back tothe time of David, Bethlehem.
It's the same city, it's thesame area, it's the town of
David.
And David, when we find him,he's a shepherd.
He's a little shepherd boywatching his father's flocks.
(03:10):
Uh, perhaps that's why to tiethe two together.
Now it's a thousand yearsearlier, and in that same
locale, you would have seenDavid out in the field watching
his sheep on those very hills.
Um, it's where David would haveprobably come up with his Psalm
23.
Picture it, just watching thesheep.
(03:33):
And he says, The Lord is myshepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in greenpastures, he leads me beside the
still waters, he restores mysoul, he leads me in the paths
of righteousness for his name'ssake.
Yea, though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for you'rewith me.
Your rod and your staff, theycomfort me.
(03:56):
You prepare a table before me inthe presence of my enemies, you
anoint my head with oil, my cupruns over.
Surely goodness and mercy shallfollow me all the days of my
life, and I will dwell in thehouse of the Lord forever.
David was a good shepherd, andhe saw it as a metaphor, just
naturally, of the way God tookcare of him, his relationship
(04:19):
with God.
So it works for us as well.
We're all like sheep.
Consider this the Bible saysover 400 times that we're like
sheep.
That's pretty intense.
400 times.
About 100 times, God is comparedto a shepherd that takes care of
(04:40):
us.
So we're compared to sheep, he'sthe shepherd, and you know
that's not a very glorious thingto be compared to.
Sheep, sheep.
You could do a full study juston sheep, but we know this about
sheep.
They're not very smart, andthey're vulnerable.
No real defense of their own.
(05:00):
Very few ninja sheep out therethat can hold their own.
They need somebody to take careof them.
A couple things about sheep toconsider uh is that they tend to
wander and stray without someonecontaining them or watching over
them.
They'll just wander off.
Um, even in a familiar place,they'll get lost.
(05:23):
Ezekiel 34, 6, God compares hispeople to sheep, and he says, My
sheep wandered through all themountains and on every high
hill.
Yes, my flock was scattered overthe whole face of the earth.
Uh, Isaiah 53, verse 6 saysabout us, all we like sheep have
gone astray.
So when we think about sheep,not a whole lot of real defenses
(05:46):
of their own, they tend towander and they'll only thrive
with care.
Um, did you know that if youleave sheep to themselves,
they'll eat the same plot ofground until it's dirt.
Even if there's grass just alittle bit away, they won't
notice it.
They're just kind of in aroutine, they'll they'll just
(06:07):
eat themselves out of grass.
Um, and so David looked at hissheep and he said, You know
what?
Honest, I'm just like thesesheep.
Um, I wonder.
I can't take care of myself, Ican't defend myself, but God is
like a shepherd.
(06:27):
The Lord is my shepherd, and hetakes care of me.
So here's what we see.
God says we're like sheep, verysimply, and we need a shepherd.
Now let's turn to 1 Samuel 16.
1 Samuel 16, considering thelife of David here.
(06:48):
1 Samuel 16, and this is whereGod chooses his um shepherd over
Israel.
Um, you remember the storythere.
Saul has disobeyed, uh, he'srejected God's command in his
life, and God says, I'm gonnaanoint a new king.
(07:09):
Uh, Samuel is sent to Bethlehem,and there in verse 11, we
realize by this point that Davidis overlooked.
He's overlooked by Jesse, whoforgets he has a son out in the
field pretty much.
He's overlooked by Samuel, andand so in verse 11, Samuel says
(07:30):
to Jesse, Are all the young menhere?
Then his father said, Thereremains yet the youngest.
He's he's keeping the sheep.
And Samuel said to Jesse, Sendand bring him, for we will not
sit down till he comes here.
So David, when he's chosen, ischosen to shepherd God's people
(07:52):
while he was a literal shepherdtending sheep in those Bethlehem
hillside area.
Um, David wouldn't be perfect,but God saw him in 1 Samuel 13,
verse 14, as a man after his ownheart.
There's a lot you could sayabout that.
David's not perfect, but Godsays, this guy's got a heart
(08:15):
like me.
If anyone's gonna represent meas a shepherd, it'll be David.
Um now, the alternative we havethough is the people have more
or less chosen Saul to be theirking.
And so we get the full picturehere.
Look at verse 14.
(08:35):
Where's Saul at at this point?
But the spirit of the Lorddeparted from Saul, and a
distressing spirit from the Lordtroubled him.
And Saul's servant said to him,Surely a distressing spirit from
God is troubling you.
Let our master now command yourservants who are before you to
seek you a man who is a skillfulplayer of the harp.
(08:58):
And it shall be when he willplay it with his hand, when the
distressing spirit from God isupon you, you shall be well.
And Saul said to his servants,Provide for me now a man who
will play well and bring him tome.
So here's the alternative king,right?
We've seen him before.
It's Saul.
He's got an oppressing, adistressing spirit that comes
(09:20):
upon him.
He's giving him mood swings,right?
When you consider where this guygoes in the future, um, from
time to time he would just getfits of anger, and he would grab
whatever was closest, a spear,and try to pin people like
David, like his own sonJonathan, to the wall.
(09:42):
So, what do we know about Saul?
He's not a man after God's ownheart.
He's not a good shepherd ofGod's people.
Um, so so this is where Israelis at, as they choose a new
king, as God chooses a king.
He chooses a man after his ownheart.
He's a shepherd, one who wouldshepherd his people.
(10:03):
It's appropriate then that theangels came to shepherds in the
fields of Bethlehem.
It makes good sense.
Now, the application here (10:13):
God, Jesus is our shepherd king.
He's the good shepherd.
He's also, as we've spokenabout, the king.
Let's finally turn to Johnchapter 10 as the study is
moving rather quickly today.
(10:34):
John chapter 10, verse 11.
Jesus says, I am the goodshepherd.
The good shepherd gives his lifefor the sheep.
(10:54):
But a hireling, he who is not ashepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf comingand leaves the sheep and flees.
For the wolf catches the sheepand scatters them.
The hireling flees because he isa hireling and does not care
about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my sheep, and I am knownby my own.
(11:18):
Um, as the father knows me, evenso I know the father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep.
So here Jesus takes the metaphorand he says, I am the good
shepherd, the shepherd that weneed for sure.
And he's a good shepherd.
(11:39):
Now, good, come back.
Good feels like a lazy word,doesn't it?
Doesn't that feel like a littlebit of a lazy word?
I I I I picture it, and I don'tthink I'm alone in this.
Guys, when you come home, howwas your day?
Good.
I mean, we say it as old as weare, we still say it was good.
(12:00):
Well, how was it?
Well, just good, you know, andnot bad, it's not wonderful,
it's it's good.
We need to understand this wordgood here as Jesus uh uses it.
Uh, it could mean beautiful, itcould mean noble, it could mean
excellent.
As far as shepherds go, Jesussays, I'm a fitting example for
(12:26):
a shepherd, a noble, beautiful,excellent, fitting example of
what a real shepherd is about.
Um, and so Jesus here goes on tosay, This is how I am as a
shepherd.
Now, the result should be thatwe learn to trust God, that we
(12:47):
learn to submit to Him being ashepherd in our lives.
Submit is one of those Biblewords.
Um, it's written into my uh whenI whenever I do a wedding, uh,
it's what the guy said when hedid my wedding, right?
I'm gonna say, wives submit toyour husbands.
Now don't get angry at me,right?
(13:08):
Because we hear the word submitand we go, ooh, I don't know if
we talk like that anymore.
We don't say the word submit,right?
That that sounds ugly.
That sounds harsh, you youaggressive man, right?
Um, but the idea of submit isbeautiful, and I think it's
something we ought to get down.
(13:29):
The idea of submit is to putyourself under someone else's
care.
Um, a beautiful example, even ofif it just started raining, it's
Texas, it could happen, right?
Let's just say this is arainstorm, came out of nowhere,
and there's a gazebo out there,you know, and it's just pouring.
You're in the middle of theyard, you're like, where am I
going?
You know?
(13:49):
And you find a gazebo like thatand you put yourself under it.
That's the idea of the wordsubmission, is to put yourself
under someone else for care andcovering, uh, concern, all these
different things.
Now we look at that in marriage,and in an ideal situation, that
can be beautiful, right?
When a wife can put themselvesunder their husband's care and
(14:12):
concern and protection and allthese things.
But when you're talking aboutGod, it's more than beautiful.
To submit to him as the goodshepherd, we ought to do that.
We need to do that, but we're soweak in that.
Us as Americans, we don't likethat idea of submitting to
anyone by golly, right?
(14:35):
We don't like the idea ofputting ourselves under someone
else's control or command.
But if they're good, like theGood Shepherd is, it's the best
thing we could do.
Put ourselves under his coveringfor guidance.
That's the first one I want tolook at.
(14:56):
Guidance.
John 10, starting in verse 3.
Uh, with back before what weread just a second ago, but um
also talking talking about beinga shepherd there, he says, To
him the doorkeeper opens, andthe sheep hear his voice, and he
(15:17):
calls his own sheep by name andleads them out.
When he brings out his ownsheep, he goes before them, and
the sheep follow him, for theyknow his voice.
So, first off, here guidance,right?
We already established uh sheeptend to wander, they need
guidance.
The good shepherd calls a sheepby name, they know their names,
(15:38):
they know his voice, right?
And they follow him and he leadsthem.
Remember David in Psalm 23again?
He says, You lead me in greenpastures and beside still
waters.
Picture that.
When God's leading you, he leadsyou to good places.
He may not always lead us toeasy places, right?
(16:02):
David also says, You prepare atable before me in the presence
of my enemies.
Picture sheep, right?
And the shepherd's leading themthrough a valley, right?
And there's wolves, there'spredators all around.
The shepherd might lead thesheep that way, but in the end,
it's still the right way to go,right?
(16:25):
So when God guides us, andthat's what we need, when God
guides us, he leads us to greenpastures, still waters, and he
prepares a table in front of us,in front of our enemies.
But the sheep don't care.
As long as the shepherd is withthem, they're safe.
God wants to lead us to goodthings.
(16:47):
Some things might be hardthings, difficult things, but I
don't know about you, but theone thing I've noticed is
there's never been a point, evenwhen God's led me to difficult
things, there's never a pointwhere in the end I haven't said,
but they were the best things.
They were the right things.
And so guidance is one of thethings that our good shepherd uh
(17:11):
leads us.
He he does for us, he guides us.
Um, now the second thing isprotection.
That's what the good shepherddoes for his sheep.
He protects them.
Uh, look at verse 12.
Uh, a little comparison to seehow good the shepherd's
protection is.
(17:32):
A hirel, he who is not theshepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf comingand leaves the sheep and flees.
And the wolf catches the sheepand scatters them.
The hireling flees because he isa hireling and does not care
about the sheep.
So, some comparison here, Jesussays, I'm not a hireling.
Think about a hireling.
(17:53):
This is kind of a funny way toput it, but somebody who just
does a job for the money, right?
Sometimes that's the way it'sgotta be.
You don't love your job, youjust do it because you need the
paycheck, you need to eat.
Um, but when you're talkingabout a shepherd, having a
hireling doesn't go very far.
Someone who has no vestedinterest in the sheep, who
(18:15):
doesn't care about the sheep.
When risks come and risks uhoutweigh the rewards, the
hireling says, That's fine byme.
I'm I'm out of here, right?
David showed what a realshepherd was like.
You'll remember there, he's he'sa little later in 1 Samuel, he's
(18:38):
talking about his credentials offighting off predators, right?
And 1 Samuel 17, he says, Thisyour servant used to keep the
father's my father's sheep.
And when a lion or a bear cameand took a lamb out of the
flock, I went after it and Istruck it and I delivered the
lamb from its mouth.
When it arose against me, Icaught it by its beard and
(18:59):
struck and killed it.
Your servant has killed bothlion and bear.
Now, I got animals, I loveanimals, but if a lion came up
and I didn't have like, youknow, a shotgun or some rifle or
something, I'm not taking it bythe beard and wrestling it to
the ground.
It's like, see you, Smokey,sorry, it's been good, you know.
(19:23):
But you know, David says, I takecare of my sheep.
I'll wrestle a lion, I'll kill abear to protect that sheep.
And God, even more so.
God never leaves us, neverforsakes us.
He will lay down his life, andthat's exactly where it takes us
(19:43):
in verse 11.
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives his lifefor the sheep, a sacrificial
love.
Now, this doesn't really playinto like natural shepherding
very much, does it?
Right, because it's very rarethat a shepherd would lay down
his life for the sheep in thatextreme sense.
(20:07):
But obviously, Jesus, he camefor this very reason.
I've said it often that withoutEaster, Christmas is nothing.
I mean, it's magical, it'swonderful that God would become
flesh and dwell among us.
But if Jesus didn't go to thecross and die for us and for our
sins to bring us close to God,it wouldn't mean anything.
(20:29):
I mean, I feel bad saying that,but it wouldn't mean anything
without the cross.
And yet Jesus has demonstratedhis love for us, that while we
were yet sinners, he died forus.
And we're just sheep, right?
We're just sheep that wander,sheep that can't take care of
(20:51):
ourselves.
Uh, we're sheep that needprotection.
And God says, I'm the goodshepherd.
I am the good shepherd.
I'm the best kind of shepherd.
And I lay down my life for thesheep.
I think it's appropriate thatGod ties it all together and
gives this message to theshepherds out in the field that
(21:12):
Christmas day, that day there tocelebrate his birth.
Um, because God loves us as agood shepherd, laying down his
life for us.
God, I pray that you remind usof these things.
Uh, even today.
God, it is so easy to getwrapped up in all the ritual of
(21:36):
Christmas, and it's so much fun,and it's it's good, but God, to
forget that you've loved us somuch that you came to save us.
And and God, really, we for allpurposes were not worth it, but
we are worth it to you.
Uh that you proved the way youlove us by saving us and coming
(21:59):
for us.
God, help us to remember thatthis Christmas, more than the
baby, more than the gifts, morethan the tree.
God, we would remember whatyou've done for us.
So work these things into ourheart.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Luke chapter two, how about that?
Well, we're doing kind of atwofer here.
Uh, we are starting series therein the life of David, but also
it's Christmas time, so it wouldjust be criminal not to work
Christmas into it.
So let's start with theChristmassy part.
That's where we ended last time.
Luke chapter two.
(00:33):
Um, starting in verse eight.
You can picture it, get in theholiday season here.
Now there were in the samecountry shepherds living out in
the fields, keeping watch overtheir flocks by night.
And behold, the angel of theLord stood before him, and the
(00:55):
glory of the Lord shone roundthem, and they were greatly
afraid.
Then the angel said to them, Donot be afraid, for behold, I
bring you good tidings of greatjoy, which will be to all
people.
For there is born to you thisday in the city of David a
Savior who is Christ the Lord,and this will be a sign to you.
(01:19):
You will find the babe wrappedin swaddling cloths and lying in
a manger.
And suddenly there was with theangel a multitude of heavenly
hosts praising God and saying,Glory to God in the highest and
on earth, peace, goodwill towardmen.
So uh we consider theseshepherds, right?
(01:40):
There's very few things that areas Christmassy as shepherds in
the field make for a greatmanger scene, a great Christmas
carol, right?
The first Noel, uh certain topoor shepherds in fields as they
lay, hark the herald angelssing, shepherds.
Why this jubilee?
Why are joyous strainsprolonged?
Good solid Christmas songs uhinclude the shepherds.
(02:03):
Um they're in Bethlehem, we knowis where we're we're at.
Uh, Mary and Joseph and babyJesus are there in Bethlehem,
and these shepherds are out inthe fields watching over their
flocks by night.
They would have been on theeastern side of the city.
That's the part that had fields.
The western side was terracedand uh for growing wheat.
(02:27):
But but there they were um inthe shepherds in the shepherds,
in the fields, watching theirflocks.
Um, why choose shepherds to talkabout?
I mean, the angels could havecome to anyone.
Maybe they were available,right?
Everybody else was trying to getto sleep.
Shepherds didn't sleep like thatbecause the nighttime would have
(02:48):
been the most vulnerable timefor the sheep.
Why did they come to shepherds?
Maybe it was to bring us back tothe time of David, Bethlehem.
It's the same city, it's thesame area, it's the town of
David.
And David, when we find him,he's a shepherd.
He's a little shepherd boywatching his father's flocks.
(03:10):
Uh, perhaps that's why to tiethe two together.
Now it's a thousand yearsearlier, and in that same
locale, you would have seenDavid out in the field watching
his sheep on those very hills.
Um, it's where David would haveprobably come up with his Psalm
23.
Picture it, just watching thesheep.
(03:33):
And he says, The Lord is myshepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in greenpastures, he leads me beside the
still waters, he restores mysoul, he leads me in the paths
of righteousness for his name'ssake.
Yea, though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil, for you'rewith me.
Your rod and your staff, theycomfort me.
(03:56):
You prepare a table before me inthe presence of my enemies, you
anoint my head with oil, my cupruns over.
Surely goodness and mercy shallfollow me all the days of my
life, and I will dwell in thehouse of the Lord forever.
David was a good shepherd, andhe saw it as a metaphor, just
naturally, of the way God tookcare of him, his relationship
(04:19):
with God.
So it works for us as well.
We're all like sheep.
Consider this the Bible saysover 400 times that we're like
sheep.
That's pretty intense.
400 times.
About 100 times, God is comparedto a shepherd that takes care of
(04:40):
us.
So we're compared to sheep, he'sthe shepherd, and you know
that's not a very glorious thingto be compared to.
Sheep, sheep.
You could do a full study juston sheep, but we know this about
sheep.
They're not very smart, andthey're vulnerable.
No real defense of their own.
(05:00):
Very few ninja sheep out therethat can hold their own.
They need somebody to take careof them.
A couple things about sheep toconsider uh is that they tend to
wander and stray without someonecontaining them or watching over
them.
They'll just wander off.
Um, even in a familiar place,they'll get lost.
(05:23):
Ezekiel 34, 6, God compares hispeople to sheep, and he says, My
sheep wandered through all themountains and on every high
hill.
Yes, my flock was scattered overthe whole face of the earth.
Uh, Isaiah 53, verse 6 saysabout us, all we like sheep have
gone astray.
So when we think about sheep,not a whole lot of real defenses
(05:46):
of their own, they tend towander and they'll only thrive
with care.
Um, did you know that if youleave sheep to themselves,
they'll eat the same plot ofground until it's dirt.
Even if there's grass just alittle bit away, they won't
notice it.
They're just kind of in aroutine, they'll they'll just
(06:07):
eat themselves out of grass.
Um, and so David looked at hissheep and he said, You know
what?
Honest, I'm just like thesesheep.
Um, I wonder.
I can't take care of myself, Ican't defend myself, but God is
like a shepherd.
(06:27):
The Lord is my shepherd, and hetakes care of me.
So here's what we see.
God says we're like sheep, verysimply, and we need a shepherd.
Now let's turn to 1 Samuel 16.
1 Samuel 16, considering thelife of David here.
(06:48):
1 Samuel 16, and this is whereGod chooses his um shepherd over
Israel.
Um, you remember the storythere.
Saul has disobeyed, uh, he'srejected God's command in his
life, and God says, I'm gonnaanoint a new king.
(07:09):
Uh, Samuel is sent to Bethlehem,and there in verse 11, we
realize by this point that Davidis overlooked.
He's overlooked by Jesse, whoforgets he has a son out in the
field pretty much.
He's overlooked by Samuel, andand so in verse 11, Samuel says
(07:30):
to Jesse, Are all the young menhere?
Then his father said, Thereremains yet the youngest.
He's he's keeping the sheep.
And Samuel said to Jesse, Sendand bring him, for we will not
sit down till he comes here.
So David, when he's chosen, ischosen to shepherd God's people
(07:52):
while he was a literal shepherdtending sheep in those Bethlehem
hillside area.
Um, David wouldn't be perfect,but God saw him in 1 Samuel 13,
verse 14, as a man after his ownheart.
There's a lot you could sayabout that.
David's not perfect, but Godsays, this guy's got a heart
(08:15):
like me.
If anyone's gonna represent meas a shepherd, it'll be David.
Um now, the alternative we havethough is the people have more
or less chosen Saul to be theirking.
And so we get the full picturehere.
Look at verse 14.
(08:35):
Where's Saul at at this point?
But the spirit of the Lorddeparted from Saul, and a
distressing spirit from the Lordtroubled him.
And Saul's servant said to him,Surely a distressing spirit from
God is troubling you.
Let our master now command yourservants who are before you to
seek you a man who is a skillfulplayer of the harp.
(08:58):
And it shall be when he willplay it with his hand, when the
distressing spirit from God isupon you, you shall be well.
And Saul said to his servants,Provide for me now a man who
will play well and bring him tome.
So here's the alternative king,right?
We've seen him before.
It's Saul.
He's got an oppressing, adistressing spirit that comes
(09:20):
upon him.
He's giving him mood swings,right?
When you consider where this guygoes in the future, um, from
time to time he would just getfits of anger, and he would grab
whatever was closest, a spear,and try to pin people like
David, like his own sonJonathan, to the wall.
(09:42):
So, what do we know about Saul?
He's not a man after God's ownheart.
He's not a good shepherd ofGod's people.
Um, so so this is where Israelis at, as they choose a new
king, as God chooses a king.
He chooses a man after his ownheart.
He's a shepherd, one who wouldshepherd his people.
(10:03):
It's appropriate then that theangels came to shepherds in the
fields of Bethlehem.
It makes good sense.
Now, the application here (10:13):
God, Jesus is our shepherd king.
He's the good shepherd.
He's also, as we've spokenabout, the king.
Let's finally turn to Johnchapter 10 as the study is
moving rather quickly today.
(10:34):
John chapter 10, verse 11.
Jesus says, I am the goodshepherd.
The good shepherd gives his lifefor the sheep.
(10:54):
But a hireling, he who is not ashepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf comingand leaves the sheep and flees.
For the wolf catches the sheepand scatters them.
The hireling flees because he isa hireling and does not care
about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my sheep, and I am knownby my own.
(11:18):
Um, as the father knows me, evenso I know the father, and I lay
down my life for the sheep.
So here Jesus takes the metaphorand he says, I am the good
shepherd, the shepherd that weneed for sure.
And he's a good shepherd.
(11:39):
Now, good, come back.
Good feels like a lazy word,doesn't it?
Doesn't that feel like a littlebit of a lazy word?
I I I I picture it, and I don'tthink I'm alone in this.
Guys, when you come home, howwas your day?
Good.
I mean, we say it as old as weare, we still say it was good.
(12:00):
Well, how was it?
Well, just good, you know, andnot bad, it's not wonderful,
it's it's good.
We need to understand this wordgood here as Jesus uh uses it.
Uh, it could mean beautiful, itcould mean noble, it could mean
excellent.
As far as shepherds go, Jesussays, I'm a fitting example for
(12:26):
a shepherd, a noble, beautiful,excellent, fitting example of
what a real shepherd is about.
Um, and so Jesus here goes on tosay, This is how I am as a
shepherd.
Now, the result should be thatwe learn to trust God, that we
(12:47):
learn to submit to Him being ashepherd in our lives.
Submit is one of those Biblewords.
Um, it's written into my uh whenI whenever I do a wedding, uh,
it's what the guy said when hedid my wedding, right?
I'm gonna say, wives submit toyour husbands.
Now don't get angry at me,right?
(13:08):
Because we hear the word submitand we go, ooh, I don't know if
we talk like that anymore.
We don't say the word submit,right?
That that sounds ugly.
That sounds harsh, you youaggressive man, right?
Um, but the idea of submit isbeautiful, and I think it's
something we ought to get down.
(13:29):
The idea of submit is to putyourself under someone else's
care.
Um, a beautiful example, even ofif it just started raining, it's
Texas, it could happen, right?
Let's just say this is arainstorm, came out of nowhere,
and there's a gazebo out there,you know, and it's just pouring.
You're in the middle of theyard, you're like, where am I
going?
You know?
(13:49):
And you find a gazebo like thatand you put yourself under it.
That's the idea of the wordsubmission, is to put yourself
under someone else for care andcovering, uh, concern, all these
different things.
Now we look at that in marriage,and in an ideal situation, that
can be beautiful, right?
When a wife can put themselvesunder their husband's care and
(14:12):
concern and protection and allthese things.
But when you're talking aboutGod, it's more than beautiful.
To submit to him as the goodshepherd, we ought to do that.
We need to do that, but we're soweak in that.
Us as Americans, we don't likethat idea of submitting to
anyone by golly, right?
(14:35):
We don't like the idea ofputting ourselves under someone
else's control or command.
But if they're good, like theGood Shepherd is, it's the best
thing we could do.
Put ourselves under his coveringfor guidance.
That's the first one I want tolook at.
(14:56):
Guidance.
John 10, starting in verse 3.
Uh, with back before what weread just a second ago, but um
also talking talking about beinga shepherd there, he says, To
him the doorkeeper opens, andthe sheep hear his voice, and he
(15:17):
calls his own sheep by name andleads them out.
When he brings out his ownsheep, he goes before them, and
the sheep follow him, for theyknow his voice.
So, first off, here guidance,right?
We already established uh sheeptend to wander, they need
guidance.
The good shepherd calls a sheepby name, they know their names,
(15:38):
they know his voice, right?
And they follow him and he leadsthem.
Remember David in Psalm 23again?
He says, You lead me in greenpastures and beside still
waters.
Picture that.
When God's leading you, he leadsyou to good places.
He may not always lead us toeasy places, right?
(16:02):
David also says, You prepare atable before me in the presence
of my enemies.
Picture sheep, right?
And the shepherd's leading themthrough a valley, right?
And there's wolves, there'spredators all around.
The shepherd might lead thesheep that way, but in the end,
it's still the right way to go,right?
(16:25):
So when God guides us, andthat's what we need, when God
guides us, he leads us to greenpastures, still waters, and he
prepares a table in front of us,in front of our enemies.
But the sheep don't care.
As long as the shepherd is withthem, they're safe.
God wants to lead us to goodthings.
(16:47):
Some things might be hardthings, difficult things, but I
don't know about you, but theone thing I've noticed is
there's never been a point, evenwhen God's led me to difficult
things, there's never a pointwhere in the end I haven't said,
but they were the best things.
They were the right things.
And so guidance is one of thethings that our good shepherd uh
(17:11):
leads us.
He he does for us, he guides us.
Um, now the second thing isprotection.
That's what the good shepherddoes for his sheep.
He protects them.
Uh, look at verse 12.
Uh, a little comparison to seehow good the shepherd's
protection is.
(17:32):
A hirel, he who is not theshepherd, one who does not own
the sheep, sees the wolf comingand leaves the sheep and flees.
And the wolf catches the sheepand scatters them.
The hireling flees because he isa hireling and does not care
about the sheep.
So, some comparison here, Jesussays, I'm not a hireling.
Think about a hireling.
(17:53):
This is kind of a funny way toput it, but somebody who just
does a job for the money, right?
Sometimes that's the way it'sgotta be.
You don't love your job, youjust do it because you need the
paycheck, you need to eat.
Um, but when you're talkingabout a shepherd, having a
hireling doesn't go very far.
Someone who has no vestedinterest in the sheep, who
(18:15):
doesn't care about the sheep.
When risks come and risks uhoutweigh the rewards, the
hireling says, That's fine byme.
I'm I'm out of here, right?
David showed what a realshepherd was like.
You'll remember there, he's he'sa little later in 1 Samuel, he's
(18:38):
talking about his credentials offighting off predators, right?
And 1 Samuel 17, he says, Thisyour servant used to keep the
father's my father's sheep.
And when a lion or a bear cameand took a lamb out of the
flock, I went after it and Istruck it and I delivered the
lamb from its mouth.
When it arose against me, Icaught it by its beard and
(18:59):
struck and killed it.
Your servant has killed bothlion and bear.
Now, I got animals, I loveanimals, but if a lion came up
and I didn't have like, youknow, a shotgun or some rifle or
something, I'm not taking it bythe beard and wrestling it to
the ground.
It's like, see you, Smokey,sorry, it's been good, you know.
(19:23):
But you know, David says, I takecare of my sheep.
I'll wrestle a lion, I'll kill abear to protect that sheep.
And God, even more so.
God never leaves us, neverforsakes us.
He will lay down his life, andthat's exactly where it takes us
(19:43):
in verse 11.
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives his lifefor the sheep, a sacrificial
love.
Now, this doesn't really playinto like natural shepherding
very much, does it?
Right, because it's very rarethat a shepherd would lay down
his life for the sheep in thatextreme sense.
(20:07):
But obviously, Jesus, he camefor this very reason.
I've said it often that withoutEaster, Christmas is nothing.
I mean, it's magical, it'swonderful that God would become
flesh and dwell among us.
But if Jesus didn't go to thecross and die for us and for our
sins to bring us close to God,it wouldn't mean anything.
(20:29):
I mean, I feel bad saying that,but it wouldn't mean anything
without the cross.
And yet Jesus has demonstratedhis love for us, that while we
were yet sinners, he died forus.
And we're just sheep, right?
We're just sheep that wander,sheep that can't take care of
(20:51):
ourselves.
Uh, we're sheep that needprotection.
And God says, I'm the goodshepherd.
I am the good shepherd.
I'm the best kind of shepherd.
And I lay down my life for thesheep.
I think it's appropriate thatGod ties it all together and
gives this message to theshepherds out in the field that
(21:12):
Christmas day, that day there tocelebrate his birth.
Um, because God loves us as agood shepherd, laying down his
life for us.
God, I pray that you remind usof these things.
Uh, even today.
God, it is so easy to getwrapped up in all the ritual of
(21:36):
Christmas, and it's so much fun,and it's it's good, but God, to
forget that you've loved us somuch that you came to save us.
And and God, really, we for allpurposes were not worth it, but
we are worth it to you.
Uh that you proved the way youlove us by saving us and coming
(21:59):
for us.
God, help us to remember thatthis Christmas, more than the
baby, more than the gifts, morethan the tree.
God, we would remember whatyou've done for us.
So work these things into ourheart.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
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