We'll be looking at a number of these verses that we read together. But if we were to take a text, it would be the words of verse 17. Luke chapter 2 and the verse 17. And when they had seen it, They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. Let's just still our hearts, please, in a word of prayer and ask for the Lord's help and for his presence with us as we come to his word. Eternal God and our Father now, still ourselves again in thy presence. Lord, we come to look into thy precious word today. We come, O God, to hear what God the Lord would have to say to us. Lord, we thank thee that as we come to thee, we're coming to the words of truth. We're coming to the words of life. And so, Lord, we pray that you'll just use thy word and speak through thy word. We pray, Lord, that there will be a word to all of our hearts today. God, we pray that we may not leave the house of God without having heard the voice of God today. Lord, we pray that you'll come, therefore, and help our preaching, help our hearing. We pray, Lord, that you'll empty us all of self, fill us with the Holy Ghost and with power. Hide us behind the cross today. May none be seen, save Jesus only. Answer prayer, continue on with us now. In Jesus' name, we ask these things. Amen. Amen. The shepherds are, of course, one of the different groups of people who are in view, very much so, in the account of Christ's coming into this world. The incarnation of Christ and the humbling of the King of Glory is coming into this world. The shepherds form a very important part of that account. These were very lowly people. They were people of little significance as far as the rest of the world was concerned. They had no grandeur. They had no greatness about them in a public manner. They were viewed just as ordinary, common people. Yet as so often is the case when we think of Christ coming into the world, it involved humility on such a scale. The King of glory humbling himself to become man. to be made flesh involved such humiliation. And so it is then to these humble, insignificant shepherds that the announcement of the Lord's birth was given. And as the Lord brought this account to me this past week, I was struck with the words, especially of verse 17. that when they had seen it, that is, when they had seen the Christ child, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. I believe here in the reaction and the story of the shepherds, it depicts for us a wonderful picture of the people of God, especially in our soul winning endeavors. The shepherds were missionaries of their day. The shepherds were, I believe, among other things, soul winners, and we'll seek to explain that as we go through the message today. There was a message given to them by the angels that night. They had heard of the Savior's birth. They had heard of his coming into this world. They had saw and witnessed the glory of the Lord. It was revealed unto them that the Savior had been born. And as this message was relayed to them, They heard, they witnessed the multitude of the heavenly hosts singing glory and magnifying God, and then they went to see, and then they went and told others. Because as the angelic host left, the shepherds displayed a wonderful curiosity and interest in the things that they had just heard. This message that they had just received so captivated them that they wanted to hear and see more of it. What was it all about? And then when they saw it, they went and told others. And so it is the response of the shepherds to this message that we want to consider especially today as we consider the subject of the soul winning shepherds, especially as we see it from verse number 15 onwards. First of all, I want you to see here their faith in the message. Their faith in the message. In verse 15, We read, And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass. Here we see their faith in the message which they heard. They had a revelation. They had a heavenly, divine revelation of the message. The birth of Christ. And they did not disbelieve it. They did not doubt it, rather they believed it. They were not skeptics, they were believers in divine truth. They believed and they showed great truth, faith, in the message that they heard. You know what a telling statement that is. They believed the message. They wanted to go and see. Not out of nosiness, but rather out of a deep-seated belief and faith in what they heard. And as I thought of that, I remarked just how instructive their faith was. Because you see, here was a group of ordinary men, humble men, and they without question, and they without query, without hesitation exercised faith in the message in the divine revelation which they heard. How many people have heard truth so often and yet they will not believe truth? Oh yes, they believe everything else, but they will not believe the truth of the revelation of God as it is revealed to us in the word of God. Educated people, Learn it people, wise people, sensible people, yet when you talk to them about the matters of God and the divine revelation, they cannot take it in. It doesn't fit in with their rational outlook on life. When you speak especially at this season of the year as to why Christ came into this world, yes it's a pleasant story, they'll accept that. But they do not admit the real reason for his coming into this world was to seek and deceive that which was lost. Oh, for such a response when the message is preached. Oh, for such faith and conviction in the message when it is proclaimed that men would believe without questioning the message, but simply taking the message and believing it and receiving it. Perhaps there's someone here today, and you've heard this message of the Word of God for many years. You've heard the message of the gospel. You've heard the reason for this season that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. And yet with all of your hearing, you have still not believed. You have still not embraced the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the message, as your Lord and Savior. and today still finds you in a state of unbelief towards God. You have not recognized your need of God's salvation. You have not bowed the knee to God in humility and repentance and faith. We'll learn the example here of these shepherds who on hearing the message believed the message. People will believe everything today. And yet they will not believe the simple, plain message of the gospel. And yet as well for those of us who have believed, there is a lesson for us here. For those of us who are saved, we need to continue to exercise faith in this message as well. Not saving faith because that comes at the moment of conversion, but rather serving faith. Faith in this message. Faith in the message that has changed your heart and life. And faith in the message that can change the hearts and lives of others. This message of God's so great salvation needs to be displayed. It needs to be lived out and worked out in our lives. You see, if we profess the name of Christ, and yet do not seek to tell others about Christ, and do not seek to bring others to faith in Christ, then we are telling the Lord that we really do not believe the message in all of its totality. The church in New Testament times, they were persecuted for their faith. They had a desire to make Christ known. Yet, in spite of their persecution, They did not flounder, they did not fail in getting the message out because they had a deep-seated conviction in the message that it was true, that it was real, that it was powerful. Maybe today, maybe today that the problem with the church of Jesus Christ is that we have lost our confidence in the message of the gospel. that we have lost our conviction in the truth of the message and as a result we're not stirred up the way we should be to tell others, to live it out and to seek to bring people to Christ. We're not stirred up to live out our Christian life before others. It would seem in certain quarters today that the church is almost embarrassed and ashamed of the message of the gospel because it's received so often with so much hatred and opposition. The child of God today, we have a message that needs to be heard. The message which has been preached from this pulpit for many years must continue to be preached. The message of Christ, the message of the cross, the message of the sinner, repentance, faith, and all that entails in the whole counsel of God. We need to regain our confidence once again in the message. We need to display a conviction in the message. The shepherds believed the message. And so they desired to go and see further, to investigate for themselves. They wanted to see what the angels had told them. You look at that little phrase there in verse 15, where it says, and they said one to another. In the original it gives the idea of a repetition of desire. over and over again they were saying let us now go and as they were going they were saying let us now go and see this thing that has come to pass such was their conviction in the message there was an interest there was a hunger to find out more and to discover more you know that hunger should always characterize the child of God Child of God today, are you hungry to find out more about this message? Are you desirous to find out more about the message as it is revealed to us in the Word of God? Are you hungry to discover more of the great truths of the Word of God? You see, we should not be simply satisfied with what we already know about God's Word, but we should be desiring to find out more. What truths this week did we learn about God? As we read His Word, as we took time alone with the Lord, what truths, what wonderful lessons did the Lord reveal to us? Did we search out the Word of God? Did we come to the Word of God with that desire to find out more? Let us go to the Word of God and see more of His precious Word and to learn more about it. We need to have an appetite, we need to have a desire to find out more. How sad when the believer feels to learn from the Word of God, when we feel to have a desire and are yearning after more of His Word. Psalm has said that the Word of God was sweeter than honey to his mouth. And when you taste of the sweetness of the honey, you long for more. It leaves such a pleasant taste in your mouth. And you know whenever you taste of the sweetness of the Word of God, then it will give you a desire to learn more of the sweetness of His Word. We need to be interested. We need to be searching this Word to find out more. As believers, we need to build up on our faith, we need to grow in the things of God. We need to experience growth in our Christian life and in our walk with God. The church of Jesus Christ today, it's not about being entertained, rather it's about being edified. And you see, whenever we have a solid faith conviction in the message, then that faith will lead us to find out more, to inquire more about it. and to discover what we can find out more. Such was the case here with these shepherds. But what did they find out? Look at verse 15 again. They wanted to see this thing which has come to pass. What had come to pass? The birth of Christ. Notice again their faith. Notice they didn't say which may come to pass. They didn't go to see that which might come to pass at a future date. No, they took the divine revelation at its word and they said, let us come to see this thing which is come to pass. What were they going to see? Ultimately, they were going to see Christ. He was the object of their faith. He was what they wanted to find out more about. And how telling that is, because in all of our desire to find out more and to understand more of the message, more of the Word of God, it's not to fill up our minds with great knowledge. It's not that we'll be able to debate with people and put people down and let them know how much we know and let them know how little they know. That's not what it's about. Searching the message. Searching the Word of God is to search it with a desire to find Christ who is the object of our faith. Search the scriptures, he says. Why? For they are they which testify of me. Christ is revealed in all of the scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, He is in all of the message. And more than that, He is the message. Therefore, as we come to desire more and to find out more, it is to have a greater knowledge and a greater understanding of Christ, to know more about Him. Come into verse 16 and notice the swiftness there of their faith. It says, they came with haste. They came with haste. Delay in the work of God is not faith. Disobedience in the work of God is not faith. But rather determination and desire in the work of God displays real faith. You see, the work of God requires haste. If these shepherds had tarried, if they had waited for a little time to see how things had happened, maybe they would wait to hear if word had come back to them if this actually did happen. No, such was their conviction in the message. They went with haste. Such was their sense of anticipation that they came quickly. They didn't even wait for the new day, they went at night. There was an excitement, there was an anticipation as to what they were going to find. And dear believer today, I believe there needs to be that same excitement about the work of God. Too often the old devil can rob us of the joy of our salvation, and too often we can just go through the mere rituals and motions of living out our Christian life. There needs to be an excitement, there needs to be an anticipation about the work of God, and when there is that anticipation, then we will do the work with haste, and we'll do the work with hopefulness. So often the devil can dampen our enthusiasm. Other Christian circumstances can dampen our enthusiasm. And yes, there needs to be care. Yes, there needs to be attention to the work of God, but there also needs to be an expectation of what God is going to do. The shepherds, they didn't want to miss out. Why? They were so excited, they were so anticipated of what was going to happen, they came with haste. Whenever we come to the things of God, whenever we come to the house of God, it ought to be with the same sense of anticipation as well. This sense of expectation that we don't want to miss out. The blessing of God could fall and we wouldn't want to miss out. Therefore, we come with haste and we come with joy, expecting and looking to God to work. God forbid that we should ever come and go from the house of God out of a mere sense of duty and out of a mere sense of ritual. This is what we do. Yes, this is what we do, and this is what we should do. It's right and proper we come each Lord's day, morning and evening to the house of God. That's right. But we come with joy. We come with anticipation. Psalmist said, I joyed when to the house of God. Go up, they said to me. You see, the declaration of their faith was confirmed by the deeds of their faith in that they went with haste. You see, they were the recipients of this heavenly message. They were privileged to have heard this message. With that privilege came a responsibility and a duty, and that was to go and to go quickly. We have a message of hope, we have a message of life, a message of truth and a message of transformation and we need to show swiftness in getting that message out. And if we have the faith and the message as we should have, then there will be haste. And we will see the time wasted by delay is time when people need to hear this message. And so there needs to be an urgency. in the work of God, an urgency in the matter of telling others. Their faith in this message. Such was their conviction. They didn't question it, they didn't query it, but rather they wanted to find out more. And so they came with haste. Their faith in the message, but come into verse 17 now and we see their furtherance of the message. Let's read again verse 17, and when they had seen it. They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. What did they do? They had now come. Verse 16, they came with haste. They found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. What then did they do? They went and furthered the message. They went and broadcast the message. They told others they made known the message. They saw Christ with their own eyes. They witnessed for themselves what they had been told about and immediately they furthered the message and told others about Christ. They had a personal experience, a meeting, an encounter with Christ. Every saved child of God has a personal experience of Christ. the moment of our conversion, the time that we were lifted out of nature's darkness and brought to Christ, we experienced Him. We experienced His new life. But in order to further that message, we need to continually experience Christ. We need to continually have those fresh views and that fresh vision of the Lord. There's something important here I want you to notice in verse 16. We think here of their furtherance of the message. Look at verse 16, it says, They came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger. And then in verse 17, And when they had seen it, they made no one abroad the same which was told them concerning this child. What message did they further? What message did they broadcast? Was it the message of the manger? Was it the message of Mary? Was it the message of Joseph? No, it was the message concerning this child. They made known Christ. They broadcast Him. They didn't come and worship or broadcast Mary or Joseph. They made known Christ. And you see folks, we have no other message but Christ. He is all of the message. And it's Him that we need to further. It's not about ourselves. It's not about who we are or what we are. It's about the message of Christ. And these shepherds were so overcome with joy and excitement at what they had experienced, they then wanted to go and tell others. When they had seen it, they made known. They saw Christ, and then they spoke about Christ. They didn't speak about themselves. They didn't speak about the surroundings that they found Christ in. They didn't speak about the manger. They didn't speak about the shed that Christ was lying in. They didn't speak about the weather that day in Bethlehem. They didn't speak about what Caesar Augustus was doing and his form of government. No, they spoke about Christ. He was the message. He was on the tip of their tongue all the time. They made known Him. May it know this saying which was told them concerning this child. What were they told about this child? Well, look up in verse number 11. What was the message they were given by the angel? Verse 11, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. They were told that the one that they saw in the manger was the Savior of the world, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the promise, one promised away back in the Garden of Eden. This was now the one who was born of the woman, the one made under the law to redeem those that were under the law. Subject of their message was Christ. So instead they didn't preach about Mary. They didn't say about how great Mary was. They didn't say about what a humble man Joseph was. No, they made no one the same which was told them concerning this child. And you see, whenever a church deviates from the message of the cross and the message of Christ, then you can write Ichabod over that church. When a church is more concerned about people and more concerned about individuals than they are about making known Christ, there's something wrong. And whenever we, as the people of God, are more concerned about other things than we are about telling others about Christ, there's something wrong as well. All of those other matters that the shepherds no doubt witnessed that day, they were incidental. The real message was the one they saw in the manger, the one who was the Savior, the Redeemer of sinners. The shepherds had their priorities right. They didn't leave out the whole subject of what they witnessed. namely Christ. Christ is the reason for every season, but especially so this season. Yes, we can be taken up with so many other things at this time of the year, and we can very quickly forget the real reason for Christ coming into this world. That he did come in, and that he is our Savior. and that He is our Redeemer. I wonder, this Christmas season, are you more concerned about the tinsel and the trivial matters of this season than you are about making known Christ? Here's an opportunity for us, and we've all these meetings coming up over these next few weeks. Here's another opportunity for us at this season of the year to make known Christ. Why not go out this week, take one of those little leaflets with you, and invite people in, and use it as an opportunity to make no one Christ. Christ must remain at the center of our message, because if we leave Him out, then we have no message to proclaim. Like the shepherds, we do have a message to make no one. A message of hope, a message of new life in Christ. They made this message known abroad. They didn't limit themselves. They didn't worry about other people's areas. They wanted to make Christ known wherever they went. In their travelings along and the people that they met, wherever it was, what did they do? They spoke of Christ. What a challenge that is to all of us, myself included. Oh, we can talk about so many things, but let's talk about Christ. Let's talk about the one who came into this world to save sinners. Here were men who had a vision. Here were men who had a purpose. Here were men who were reaching out into areas with the message of Christ. They didn't limit themselves, nor did they limit the message. Such was their enthusiasm and their excitement at what they had seen. And you know folks, whenever we have an encounter with Christ, we will be joyed as well. Whenever we really comprehend all that Christ has done for us, will that not make us then go and tell others? Their faith in the message. their furtherance of the message. But finally, as we close and our time is gone, there is their fervency because of the message. Look at verse 20. Verse number 20, their fervency. Because of the message and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. They returned glorifying and praising God. Here was their fervency, their zeal because of the message. They glorified God. Here we see this message had the real impact upon them. Here this message had the desired impact upon them. They praised God. They didn't seek to bring glory to themselves. They didn't seek to praise Mary or Joseph, they brought glory to God. Their devotion to the Lord was continuous, but I believe as well it was contagious. They were so overcome by what they saw, they were so overjoyed at what they witnessed, they couldn't hold it back, they couldn't keep it in. They sang praises to God. Oh, what would it be for the church of Jesus Christ today to go down the street and sing praises to God because of what he has done for us? We can go down the street and we can have long faces and sad expressions, and I understand that at times things are hard, but what would it be for the church of Jesus Christ to go about our business singing praises, glorifying God? The world would sit up and take notice. This encounter that they had had such a dramatic effect on their lives. They broadcast the truth. They lived the truth. They were the greatest advertisements for truth. Child of God, you are still the greatest advertisement for truth. You will meet people this week that will never come through the doors of this church or any other church. and let's make an impact upon them for Christ. Let's tell them of Christ. Let's use this season of the year. Let's wish them a happy Christmas. And let's bring the whole conversation round as to why Christ came. Let's tell them of Christ. Their faith here was not simply a decision. Faith of these shepherds was a way of life. Christ was in them. They glorified God. They praised God. They lived their lives accordingly, and through it all, they brought glory to God. Do our lives bring glory to Him? By what we do and what we say, are we glorifying? Are we magnifying? the Lord. He is worthy of all of it. He is worthy of all of our praise. He is worthy of all of our honor. Oh, let's take example from these shepherds. Let's this week, by God's help and by God's grace, seek to tell others. Having experienced Christ for ourselves, let's go and make it known. And as we do, let's glorify and praise God. What example these men were. They showed faith in the message they'd received. They sought to further the message everywhere they went. And as they did, they displayed great fervency by bringing glory and honor to God. That's what it's all about. That's what it's all about. bringing glory to him. And may our lives this week and at this time of the year bring glory to our great God that he in love sent his son into this world to be our savior. Let's bow in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank thee for the example of the shepherds. We thank thee, O God, for their faith and the message that they received, for the conviction that they had, that it was truth, that it was real, for their desire to go and find out more, and having found it, that they then went and told others. O God, we pray that you'll give us such a desire. Help us, Lord, for each one who's saved and knows Christ, Help us, Lord, to tell others about him. Help us, O God, to use this time of the year as an opportunity to tell people as to why Christ came into this world. We thank thee, O God, that in love the Savior came. We thank thee, O God, that in love he died on the cross to take away our sins, and thank God what he has done for so many he can do for others. We ask, O God, that you'll speak on in lives For any who may be here without Christ, we pray, Lord, that you'll bring them to see Christ today, that they will believe this message, that they will receive this message with all of their hearts. And Lord, on receiving, that they then will go and tell others. Help us, Lord, to be missionaries. Help us, Lord, to be servants of Christ. Help us, Lord, in whatever way we can, to make known abroad. the message of Christ. Lord, we pray that you'll stir us up. We pray, Lord, that you'll awaken us up. Lord, we pray that we might be ambassadors for Christ in these evil, wicked, and sinful days. So answer prayer for us. Write thy word upon our hearts. We pray this in thy name and for thy glory alone. Amen. Amen. The hymn number 76, please. Hymn number 76. Find that on the page 206. Hark the herald angels sing.