Main Idea: When God speaks he asks us to search for who he knows we need to find.

Christmas is about God speaking. During these Sundays of Advent we have been reliving the stories of how God spoke to particular individuals announcing to them their role in the fantastic revealing of his Son, Jesus Christ. He spoke to Zechariah, surprising him with the announcement of a son that would be his. He spoke to Joseph, offering an invitation to share in doing the unexpected by taking Mary as his wife. He spoke to Mary calling upon her to surrender to his purpose for her and his plan for the world. On this last Advent Sunday we will hear God speak to the shepherds directing them to begin a search for the Christ himself. It was a search that God already knew what they would find. Today I want us to hear the same thing. I want us to understand that when God speaks he asks us to search for who he knows we need to find.

Whenever I read writers of the gospels I am always intrigued as to the sources for their information. That is especially true when you read Luke’s gospel. Luke was not a Jew and was a trusted traveling companion of Paul on his missionary journeys. He was not an eyewitness to any of the events of Jesus’ life or of Jesus himself. All of his information came from sources that were either eyewitnesses themselves or from the other gospels that may have been written by this time.

What we do know is that Luke spent time carefully and meticulously researching all that he presents as evidence for the message of his gospel. He writes, "Many people have written accounts about the events that took place among us. They used as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses of what God has done in fulfillment of his promises. Having carefully investigated all of these accounts from the beginning, I have decided to write a careful summary for you, to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught." (Luke 1:1-4)

Luke claims basically that everything he heard he investigates or searched to find out if it was true. It is very likely that he had the chance to interview Mary herself because of the intimate detail that he gives regarding her feelings about the birth of Jesus. No other gospel tells us what Luke does about Mary. As well, no other gospel tells us about the shepherds who were told by God through the angels to go and search for the Christ born in a manger in Bethlehem.

I want to believe that Luke had a personal encounter with one or more of the shepherds in order to give us the details of a story so amazing and compelling. What happened to the shepherds was not some random incident of the shepherds somehow overhearing what was occurring on heaven’s frequency. No, it was God’s way of speaking to those who guided sheep that there was a search waiting for them to begin. Yet this search involved far more than finding sheep but discovering the Savior of the world. When God spoke he invited them to search for the one he knew they needed to find.

The shepherds’ job was taking care of the sheep for the sacrifices for the Temple in Jerusalem. They roamed from hillside to hillside but never strayed far from the quiet village of Bethlehem. Tending sheep was passed down from generation to generation. Their bodies and clothes smelled of their labor and care of sheep. They lived alone except for their families that offered a freedom that those who live in villages could not know.

Business had become brisk that season and it was all Caesar Augustus’ doing. Augustus had ordered a census to be taken of the entire Roman world. Every man was to return to the city of his birth and register. Those who returned to Bethlehem, the wealthy ones, would purchase a sheep to be sacrificed in the Temple so priests and shepherds all were enjoying the profit from the decree of Caesar.

The shepherds had been buying, selling and caring for the sheep. The routine could be monotonous in the day and lull you to sleep at night. They were always to be wary of any predator and watch for their attacks. On this night the darkness fell around them. The stars began their scheduled appearance. The sheep quieted themselves. The ewes stilled the lambs. Their fire was a signal to any thief or animal that they were protecting and watching.

The darkness was suddenly penetrated by light. It was not the light of the moon or of a star falling from the sky. It was unlike any light ever seen. They turned to see the source and when they turned they heard a voice. The voice was one voice but it was like many voices speaking all at once. It was like the sound of water that rushes through the rocks after a rain. The voice awakened the shepherds and immediately the light blinded their eyes. They were dazed, confused and yet drawn to what was before them. Whose voice was speaking to them? It was—the Angel of the Lord.

The voice of the Angel said, "Don't be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"(Luke 2:10-12 NLT) No sooner had those wondrous words been spoken than it seemed that the whole sky was ripped open to reveal a universe full of angels shouting this news from every cloudbank under heaven. It echoed back and forth and back and forth—voices, words, light—triumph! It seemed that their presence would remain while the stars marched their way across the sky.

The shepherds watched, listened and stood in amazement. When the last Angel had gone they stood mute in the darkness. The stars, the moon, the fire all the same. When you have heard and seen angels in the dark light and life are never the same. The echoing of the message of the Angel still rang in their ears—Bethlehem, Savior, baby—manger. The angel’s message to them was that there was a Savior waiting to be found and that there were signs that would lead them to this amazing discovery. Immediately they began to say, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." (Luke 2:15 NLT) Like men who are dying of thirst seek water they left their sheep to search for a baby who was their Savior.

As they approached Bethlehem they suddenly realized what they were facing. The city was full of people. All they were told was that they were to find a baby in a feeding trough. They decided to search the places where travelers would stay but because many people kept their animals inside their houses the manger could be anywhere. They looked in stables—small caves or wooden shelters for there they knew would be a trough to feed animals. They searched until they found the only stable in all Bethlehem that really mattered.

What they saw perhaps by the light of an oil lamp was a woman looking into a manger and a man staring in dumbstruck wonder. What held their vision was the sight of a tiny hand reaching up from the straw that surrounded it. They heard a cry, a cry of a baby. They saw a tiny head still damp from the fluid of his birth. The hair was black and the eyes were dark. The face was red and swollen from a birth that had taken the entire night. They watched the exhausted mother lift the tiny form, unwrap the cloths from around him and place him next to her breast. His tiny cheeks and lips drew life from her body.

What those shepherds saw was what God knew they needed to find: God in human flesh. God willing to be naked, vulnerable, humble, ordinary and weak. They knew from the teaching of the synagogue that Isaiah had promised it would be this way. ‘The Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel’ (Isa. 7:14) – God with us. That night it was true. God was now part of their world.

They no doubt had their questions and listened to Joseph, and his wife Mary, tell the story of angel’s announcements and their engagement. Joseph explained that she had become pregnant miraculously. That it was all God’s plan and purpose. Mary took all of this in, as if every word and movement was being remembered, absorbed, treasured over and over again and hidden away not merely in her memory but locked in her heart.

As the angels had slipped away, so the shepherds began to ease their way back out into the night. Dawn was approaching and perhaps sheep might be missing. They looked just one last time at the baby and the mother and knew they had been forever changed. With this discovery now experienced the search the shepherds had been told to begin now ended in this simple manger.

While their search may have ended the story they had to tell was just beginning. You cannot witness God in human flesh and not have a story to tell. As they left the stable they told the story—the story of the angels, the husband, the mother and the baby. They told what the angels had said, that on this day the Savior was born. The Messiah had come! Christ the Lord was now here! When asked where they told of a manger in the stable behind the inn. They knew they would not be understood but every street in Bethlehem heard the story! They shouted to God what they had heard, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all that God favors.’ They shouted all the way back to the sheepfold. They told all who would listen that night. They sang to the stars and whispered to the sheep. You cannot see God as a baby and be silent. God’s voice had spoken to them and said, "Search!" They responded with a relentless desire to find that for which God knew they would discover.

Does God still speak to people in such a way that he asks them to search for him? On one hand we say as Christians that God is everywhere and that he is always anxious to reveal himself to us. Yet if God is always with us, why is he so hard to find? Why does it seem that our prayers go nowhere and that God’s presence is not sensed or felt by us especially when we need him the most? This raises another question, also. That question is why is it that to some people who do not believe in Christ when told the truth about Christ believe almost immediately while others seem as if they can’t accept what is right in front of them.

Here is what I believe: I believe that God knows each of us so well that he is freely able to allow us to travel our own individual path that will bring us into the relationship with him that he wants us to find. For some people that will involve a search for him. The Wise Men in Matthew 2:1-12 searched by following a star until they found Jesus. They were men of science, knowledge and language. For them, searching for Jesus was in some ways the result a journey that matched their background of maps and charts. For the shepherds, they were men of labor, hardened by the elements and ignorant of culture and knowledge. For them, searching for Jesus was like finding a lost sheep in a canyon, they just didn’t know which one.

There are two kinds of people a message like this speaks to this morning. One group that it speaks to is believers who, for whatever reason, are in a place where God seems distant, removed and hidden. It is not that you don’t believe; it is just that what you once believed now seems lifeless and remote. You come to Christmas and you hear all the songs and sermons and they are like a dream that you had in the night that you can’t quite recall in the morning. You remember bits and pieces of it but it doesn’t make sense. To you, I believe God is speaking and rather than revealing himself quickly, he is asking you to search for him, not to make your life harder but to make your discovery more meaningful. He may ask you to search but he knows the one you will find.

There’s another group of people that this message includes this morning and that is persons who have not yet accepted Christ for themselves. It is not that you are struggling with some intellectual issue that keeps you from faith. It is that there is within you a resistance, a reluctance to just accept what you know is true. To you, God is speaking and he is telling you to search. It, again, is not to make your current situation harder but to allow you the experience of knowing that you overcame all your resistance to reach a place of acceptance. He may ask you to search but he knows the one you will find.

When God spoke to the shepherds he told them to search. He says to you who feel God has abandoned you to search. He says to you who want to believe but just can’t get there to search. While the paths may be different for each, there are some things that are true for all.

One thing that is true is that there is a Savior waiting to be found (Luke 2:10-11). The angel makes it clear that there was Someone waiting for them at the conclusion of their search. The angel told them when, where, who and what was to be found. This Savior was not just for them but was for all people. Today, whatever path you are on, there is one thing to be found at the end of your search and that is the Savior, Christ the Lord. He is the Savior for those who are feeling distant from God because he is there waiting to welcome you back. He is the Savior for those who are resistant to God because he is the One that your heart desires, even if you don’t understand it. It doesn’t matter where our location is or the circumstances that call on us to search; there is only one Savior to be found. He is the Savior for those who feel alone and those who would rather be alone. Regardless of the path, there is only one destination: "A Savior who is Christ the Lord."

Another thing that is true is that when God asks us to search there are signs to be followed (Luke 2:12). The angel told the shepherds that there would be ways that they would recognize this one for whom they would be asked to search. They were told that they would find a baby in a manger wrapped in cloths to secure him tightly. There could have been many babies born in Bethlehem that night but there would be only one who would be placed in a feeding trough for animals. God didn’t ask them to just start looking but he gave them signs, evidence to point them the way.

When God speaks and says to you to search, he gives signs, evidence, direction that is to be followed. What are those signs that give direction? For some who feel forsaken by God, it may be a willingness to listen to an inner voice that calls you back to places where you felt close and alive. You remember where you were and find yourself on that path to that place once again. For others who have yet to cross the line to belief, the signs may be in the reasoned proof of Scripture or circumstances that you have just been unwilling to accept as God’s voice. God doesn’t tell you to search and then walk away. He invites you to search but points you the way.

There is a Savior who is waiting to be found and signs to be followed when God says for us to search. There is also a discovery to be experienced in that search (Luke 2:15-16). After the angels left the shepherds had two choices—go back to tending their sheep or go and search for the Savior. They made the choice to search. The Bible says, "They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger" (v. 16). Their search only lasted one night but it wasn’t the length of the search that mattered, it was the discovery that was experienced that made the difference.

For some, their search is brief and for others it seems to go on forever. What is hard sometimes is a person begins to think that the search is the goal. In other words, you get to a place where you don’t know where you are or where you are going, you are just searching. What purpose would God have for you to keep going in circles with no end in sight? When God speaks and tells us to search, there is a discovery that he wants us to experience. That discovery is simply to experience a relationship with him. If you are feeling separated from God, then you may be on a journey to come back to him but the goal is to get home, to return to the place of relationship. If you have yet to commit your life to him, then God may ask you to search but the search is to bring you to a discovery of personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The shepherds found what they were told to find and so must you. The search is the process but the discovery is the experience!

When God spoke to the shepherds he told them to search because there was a Savior to be found, signs to be followed and a discovery to be experienced. Yet, because they searched, they had a story to tell (Luke 2:17-20). They could not keep quiet about what they had discovered because of their search. They didn’t tell so much about the search; they told the story about the Child, because it was the Child that was the one for whom they were searching.

When you search for God, especially when he is distant and you are at last in the place he has wanted you to be all along, you will have a story to tell. It will be less about your search and more about whom you found waiting for you. When you search for God when you have yet to trust him and then trust him completely, you will have a story to tell. It will, as well, be more about the one you trusted than how you got there. It will be your story that is waiting to be told.

I’ve asked my wife Kathy to tell you the story of her search for God, how she found him waiting for her and the signs that led her to what he wanted her to find all along: "The first 17 years of my life were spent learning that God is loving and good, a provider and an encourager. This I learned in large part to my parents who mirrored these qualities. The church provided me with basic knowledge about God and his work in this world. However, I was unaware of the search that was ongoing in God's heart and the deep need in my own.

The fall of my junior year in high school, at a retreat on top of Petit Jean Mountain, for the first time I recognized that I was a spectator in my spiritual life and wanted to be a participant. During a break I overheard several college students who had been leading the retreat talking about what God was doing in their lives. For the first time it registered with me that they were talking about Jesus as if He was active in their lives, as if He was their friend. A hunger started in me that day that I had previously not even known existed. Outside I found a friend and under a tree with roots bulging out of the ground I told this friend that I wanted to know Jesus like that.

This began a process of studying the Bible, going to church, talking to Christian believers. For the first time I felt I was desiring the same thing that God desired for me, to know Him and allow Him to guide my life. That winter during a message about responding to who Jesus is my mind and my heart were challenged and I realized that this search was what Jesus had come to do. Only by accepting Him as the Savior that I needed would this search be complete.

It was not that I was opposed to Jesus or for that matter that I didn't love God. I loved Him as best I could with the knowledge I had. But as Os Guinness says in his book Long Journey Home I was "caught up in the project of myself and chose not to hear." Christmas reminds us that the world and time don't revolve around us. Jesus came "to seek and to save that which was lost." We are what was lost even if we don't recognize it or see the need for a Savior. This Christmas season I pray that if you've never hungered, never sensed God's search for you, that you will and will respond by searching in return and find Him.

Finding is what Jesus' coming was all about. Finding us where we are. Finding the love of God in perfect form through a baby in a manger. He's come all this way. I pray that you will make the effort to meet Him."

Is God speaking to you today? Is he saying to you, "Search," "Look," "See," "Follow"? You may feel that the path back to him is too hard to find but it really begins with one step. You may feel that you could never believe yet you know inside that the signs point the way. God is speaking. He is asking you to stop being satisfied with being stuck and to search. Christmas is about God speaking. The question is: "Are we listening?"

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org