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In Luke chapter 2 verse number 8, it begins by saying there and there, we're in the same country, shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch of their flock by night. The title for the sermon this evening is, The Shepherd's Example. The Shepherd's Example. Luke chapter 2 is the Christmas chapter of the Bible. I mean there are some other chapters that we can read about, surely, but when we think about the angels coming, we think about the presentation of Christ, or the Lord being born in the manger there, we often think about Luke chapter 2. And we have this wonderful story about these shepherds that are, they receive this message. And I often think about this, you know, they're just shepherds. They're doing just a, you know, a common blue-collar job there, and the angels come and visit them, and proclaim the birth of Christ to these shepherds. And so they had a wonderful experience, and I believe they also give us a wonderful example, as I said, the title for the sermon tonight is, The Shepherd's Example. And as we saw there in verse number 8, let's just read it once again, and there we're in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. The first example that we can learn from the shepherds, example number 1, is the example of personal responsibility. The example of personal responsibility. What are these shepherds doing at night? Hey, they're keeping watch over their flock by night. You know, they've been given a job, they've got a responsibility. They've been given roles, and they're seen through their roles. And this is a wonderful example of a pastor. A pastor is a shepherd, and the church is considered the flock that God has given that shepherd. And it's my job, not only to be a shepherd, but also a bishop, which is an overseer, so you're looking out for the flock, you're looking out for the spiritual life, the souls, the word of God that they receive and that they're being taught, and that is the job of a shepherd. But these shepherds have personal responsibility. Hey, they're working the night shift. And I don't like working night shifts, I don't like working late shifts, I don't like working early shifts, and some of you brethren work those different shifts, and they're hard and they're difficult, but you notice that these shepherds are faithful, and look, we'll soon learn that these are definitely safe shepherds. They're definitely looking for the coming of Christ, which is why they receive this wonderful message. Hey, but they're hard workers. They're working hard, they're fulfilling their roles and responsibility. And so before we look at the proclamation of Christ, I think it's important that we look at what are the shepherds doing when they receive the proclamation of Christ? They're doing their jobs. They're keeping their responsibilities. And you know what? Each one of us, whether you're a man, woman, or child, has roles, has responsibilities, has duties, and you've got your families that you need to care for and look after, and we've all been given different roles and responsibilities. And we should not be people that shy away from those responsibilities that God has given us, because it gives us purpose, okay? It gives us something to do with our lives. It gives us satisfaction when we're able to accomplish the roles that God has given us. Galatians 6-5 reads, For every man, for every man shall bear his own burden. Each one of us has our own burdens. Each one of us has our own responsibilities, brethren, and we need to see them out. You know, within Australia, there's this sort of mindset, this concept, that if I can just remove myself from all responsibilities, then I can be a free man, then I can be a happy man. But it's wrong. You know, the people that I speak to, that are, as a pastor, that are the most miserable, the people that are the most sad, the people that have the least satisfaction in their lives are people with no purpose. People that have no responsibilities. They try to get away from responsibilities, they get away from duties, they get away from the jobs that God has given them to do, and then they find they've got no purpose. They've got no meaning to life. And they thought if they just got away from it, they'll have a happy life, but they find themselves miserable. And so, brethren, example number one is the example of personal responsibility. Without responsibility, without fulfilling your roles, then you're going to lose the joy, you're going to be without joy, without satisfaction, and you will turn out to be miserable. All right, also, in Galatians 6-4, just say it in Luke 2 for the purpose of the sermon, but also in Galatians 6-4, it reads, But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. Hey, you know what gives us joy, what causes us to rejoice? Is that we prove our own work. We do the work that God has given us. And if you're a husband, you know what your job is? To be the head of your wife, to lead your family, to raise your children in the nurture and admission of the Lord. If you're a wife, you're there to raise the kids to be that support, that help to your husband. You know, if you're a man, you're out there to work and work a job and be the breadwinner and make sure your family has what they need to look after their needs. And if your children, your job is to help your family, to help your parents, look after your room, look after your room, tidy your room, right? Do your chores, do your studies, do your school so you can get a good education for yourself and then you can be more profitable in the future. We all have roles and responsibilities and we see these shepherds caring for their sheep in the middle of the night, watching over the flock by night. And, you know, not only are these shepherds working a night shift, they're also working on the first Christmas Day. Brother, I think you're working Christmas Day. Yeah. And when I hear people working Christmas Day, I'm like, oh, man, come on. Like the one day that you kind of want to have off is Christmas Day. But let me encourage, anyone else working on Christmas Day? Anyone else? Brother, you're working Christmas Day. Hey, the shepherds did it as well. Okay. So if we're going to follow the example of the shepherds, hey, they worked on the first Christmas Day. And you know what, normally I've worked during Christmas as well. I've worked those Christmas hours. I've worked those Christmas, that Christmas week and New Year's week. You know what happens for a lot of companies? There's a major slowdown. Like there's not much to do. You know, you've got like a skeleton crew just to make sure the company doesn't fall over or something or something emergency comes up, you're there. But let me encourage you, especially if you're going to work this Christmas, that you don't just slack off on the job. If you can keep your finger there and go to Colossians chapter 3. Go to Colossians chapter 3 verse number 22. Colossians chapter 3 and verse number 22. Colossians chapter 3 verse number 22. And brethren, this verse, this passage that we're about to read is as true as any other working day as much as it is if you're working the Christmas week. Okay. Colossians chapter 3 verse number 22 reads, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. When the Bible speaks of servants and masters here, for us we think about the employer and the employee relationship. That's what it's referring to here, right? According to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleases, but in singleness of heart, fear in God. And so if you're working this Christmas, make sure that you go to work and you have a fear of God about the job that you're doing. In other words, do the best job you can. I know it's going to be more quiet, I know it's going to be slower, but don't slack off on the job. Hey, do the best you can even in this time because you're serving the Lord God. It keeps going in verse number 23, And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. Brethren, you're working Christmas Day, work for the Lord. Do it unto the Lord. Say, Lord, I know it's Christmas Day, I know there are other people having fun, they're having the time off, I'm going to go to work, but you know what, this is the day that we think about your birth, I'm going to work hard for you, Lord. I'm going to work hard for you, just like the shepherds worked hard. Verse number 24, Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. And so the Lord God's going to reward you if you work hard. Now if you're working the Christmas week, I know you get your double time or your triple time sometimes. Praise God, that's the reward of the Lord, in one sense, but also the blessings that you're serving the Lord God and he's laying up treasures for you in heaven. And so point number one, brethren, for the shepherd's example is the example of personal responsibility. We all have responsibilities. Let's make sure we fulfill those responsibilities that God has given us. It's going to give you purpose, it's going to give you joy. It's going to stop you from becoming lazy and miserable with no purpose in life. Back to Luke chapter 2, please. Luke chapter 2, verse number 9. Luke chapter 2 and verse number 9. The Bible continues, And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. Yeah, I understand them being afraid. I'd be afraid, wouldn't you? You're in the middle of the night just working your job, you find some angel just turns up, the glory of the Lord shines. Of course you're going to be afraid. You know, this amazing miracle takes place. You start to look through and see in the spiritual realm, see in the angel of the Lord. Verse number 10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. Hey, you know what, that word good tidings, what's the word that we commonly use in the Bible? The word gospel. The word gospel means good tidings or good news. And yes, they are bringing the good news. They are bringing the glad tidings. I bring you good tidings of great joy. Look at this. Which shall be to all people. Now, let me make it very clear. And if you're sick of me saying this for everyone, please don't get sick of it because there are people that believe Jesus only came for the Jews. I mean, it is so common. He only came for his people, the lost tribe of Israel. But look, these good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. Every person gets the opportunity to receive this great news. What is that great news? The birth of Jesus Christ. Because Christ came to this earth to die for our sins. He came to this earth to open the doors of heaven so we can be sure of a place of heaven by simply placing our faith and trust on Jesus Christ. He paid our penalty. He took our sins upon his body. He was nailed to the cross. He was put to death three days, three nights and rose again from the dead. And not only that, he gives us his righteousness. So when God the Father looks at us, he sees us not in our own righteousness because we're not good enough for heaven. He sees us in the righteousness and the shed blood of Jesus Christ that washes us from all our sins. And so, brethren, this is good news to all people. But even though it is to all people, what does it say in verse 11? For unto you is born this day. Unto who? Unto the shepherds. So even though Christ came for the whole world, unto the shepherds, unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour which is Christ the Lord. And so point number two, brethren, is the example of personal salvation. The example of personal salvation. Did Christ come for the entire world? Yes. But specifically he came for you. He came for you. For unto you is born this day in the city of David. And so even though Christ has come to pay for the sins of the entire world, and he has, every sin that every man has ever committed was laid on Christ and he was punished. He received the wrath of God upon himself so we could go free. But you know what? Just because Jesus Christ came and died for all men, we still have to make that personal decision to accept his salvation. Yes, it's wonderful that Christ paid for our sins but we must receive that salvation. How do we receive it? For as many as received him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. We receive salvation by believing on Jesus Christ, by placing all our faith on Jesus Christ, not Jesus and our good works, not Jesus and our church, not Jesus and stopping sinning because it's impossible. It's on Jesus Christ alone. He's paid that penalty. And the moment you believe on Jesus, ask him to save you, call upon the name of the Lord, ask him to save you, give you everlasting life. He will and you are personally saved. So yes, he died for the whole world but you must receive it personally. Even the most famous, or one of the most famous, but one of the familiar passages that we talk about when it comes to preaching the gospel and receiving salvation is in Romans 10. And actually let's turn there because I want to show you a few words there. Let's turn to Romans 10 and verse number 9. Romans chapter 10 and verse number 9. Romans chapter 10 and verse number 9. And I'll soon explain to you why I'm harping on about personal salvation soon. But Romans chapter 10 verse number 9, it says that if thou, now if you're reading from a King James Bible, you've got the these and the thows. Why do we have the these and the thows? Because in English, in our modern day English vernacular, we don't separate. When we say you, we don't identify whether we're speaking, the word you doesn't identify whether it's an individual you or if it's you as a group, okay? Now in Spanish, we have that. In many other languages, we have the separation. So in Spanish, if I'm saying you singular, I would say, what do I say? Tu. And if I was saying you plural, a group of you, I would be saying usted. Is that right, mom? Did I get that right? Ustedes. Ustedes for the group and tu singular. And you know, there are many languages. I'm sure it's the same like that. Is it the same in Greek, brother? Are you familiar with the singular and plural? It's the same in many, many languages. And so when the English Bible is translated and the these and the thows were included, you know, please don't think, oh, I wish we'd just get rid of the these and the thows. We don't talk that way anymore. But the these and the thows is singular and the you is the group, okay? It's plural. When we look at Romans chapter 10 verse number nine, it says that if thou, you singular, if thou shall confess with thy mouth, that's singular. This is about the individual. This is about personal salvation. Confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart, singular. Once again, that God have raised him from the dead, thou, singular, shall be saved. Salvation is a personal salvation. And the reason I wanted to show you this, actually now turn to Acts 16. Turn to Acts chapter 16. And the reason for this, as you know, we've been going soul winning door to door for this past week. And the last lady that I got saved on the, what day was it, Tuesday? Yeah, on Tuesday, the last lady that I got saved, before she, you know, decided to call upon the Lord, she said, oh, so, you know, I've read in the Bible that if I believe, because she's worried about her family, she says she's got all these children, the children aren't walking with the Lord, they're out there doing their own thing, they don't care about church, they don't care about this and that, but she says, but I read some in the Bible that if I believe in Jesus, if I get saved, then my whole family gets saved. No, that's not how it works, brethren. Okay, and even, you know, you got that religion in Mormonism. Mormonism teaches that basically someone can get their relatives to heaven if they get baptized for them. Hey, even Roman Catholics have this. You know, if you give enough indulgences, if basically if you give enough money to the priest, the priest will pray your relative out of purgatory and take him to heaven. No, we cannot step in the place of another and get them saved. Salvation is a personal decision for each one of us. And the passage that she was getting confused about, let's have a look at it together in Acts 16 verse 30, and you know the story, it's about the Philippine jailer, and in Acts 16, 30 it says, and brought them out and said, so the Philippine jailer says these words, Sirs, what must I, singular, do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Brethren, how are we saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Amen, it's easy, okay? Jesus Christ did all the hard work. He paid our penalty on the cross. But notice, it keeps going. It says there, and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Now obviously this is not talking about a physical building of the house, okay? It's talking about your family, okay? The house, the physical building doesn't need to be saved, but it's talking about your family. And your family can be saved as well. And so this passage may sound like, if you just read verse number 31, it may sound like if I get saved, my whole family gets saved. My whole family goes to heaven as long as you've got one member in the family going to heaven. But here's the thing, we're all family. Like we're all descendants from Noah, or we're all descendants from Adam and Eve, so really in hindsight, I guess, one person in the whole world could believe and we all go to heaven. That sounds ridiculous though, okay? But let's keep going. In what sense is thy house being referred to here in verse number 31? Let's keep going, verse number 32. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his house. So it wasn't just a Philippian jailer that heard the word of the Lord, the whole house, everybody that was in the house. So Paul, sorry, who are the men here again? Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas, yeah. Paul and Silas. They walk into the Philippian jailer's house, okay? And so he's got his wife, he's got his kids, maybe there are other servants there, maybe other people that are serving in the house or maybe even other relatives there, maybe a mother-in-law, maybe a father-in-law, who knows, living in the house. And so they come and preach the word to all that were in the house in verse number 32. Let's keep going, verse number 33. And he took them, so he noticed all of them, he took all of them, them, the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized, look at this, he and all his straight way, okay? So, sorry, I got a little confused. The them there is Paul and Silas. But anyway, they take the family, all of them, and they baptize he and all his straight way. Now baptism is not how we get saved, very clearly, okay? But the fact that they have been baptized, what does that prove to us? That they've believed on Jesus Christ. That they're saved. What? The entire household. So the entire household is getting baptized as recognition that they've placed their faith on Jesus Christ. Let's keep going to verse number 34. And when he had brought them into his house, he sent meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Praise God for the Philippine jailer. His entire house got saved. What wonderful news. It's really sad when one person in your family is saved and you know the rest of them, they're not saved yet, they're on their way to hell, but it's a wonderful thing when the entire house can believe together. And so I just wanted to clarify that when it says, and thou shalt be saved and thy house, you realize it wasn't just the Philippine jailer that got saved and by default the rest of the house got saved. No, they were all there hearing God's word, they were all there believing, they were all there getting baptized, showing that they had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the reason I say this, brethren, is just like that lady said, if I get saved, maybe my children. Eventually she understood it's a personal decision and she caught upon the Lord alone, okay? But the important thing by that example, she's realized she's lost her children in this world. She's got those concerns. But you know what, brethren? This can happen even within our church. This can happen even within Christian people, just taking for granted that our children will grow up and be saved. You know, we need to make sure as parents that we teach our children the Bible, that they understand that salvation is a personal choice. You know, my children can't go to heaven before God and say, well, God let me into heaven because my dad was a pastor for Blessed are Baptist Church and that should let me in. That's not going to work. Okay? Every time we place our faith in Christ, it's a personal decision. You know, every generation has to make that decision, am I going to believe on Jesus Christ? Please don't take your children for granted. You know, my experience, just because, you know, I guess I pastor, but not only because I pastor. You know, we've been going to church before I even pastored. My experience is eventually the kids, they start to grow. They start to hear. They start to understand that Jesus died for them. They start to understand the fear of God. They start to understand what hell is and eventually they make that decision. They come to mum and dad and say, mum and dad, look, I don't want to go to hell. I want to make sure that I'm going to heaven. What do I have to do? And that's a wonderful time when you know your child's heart is ready to receive the word. You know, we've never really pressured or pushed our kids to believe on Jesus, but so far they've all been saved either six years old or under. You know, that's our general experience. As young as four years old, which is pretty young, but usually when they're about six years old is when they get to that point when they fully understand what Christ has done for them and they call upon the Lord and be saved. And praise God for little children because their hearts are more tender. It's much easier for a child to place their faith on the Lord God rather than being a grown-up person where we think we've made a life for ourselves. We don't need God. You know, I'm doing just fine without God. But little children, they understand. They need mum and dad. It makes common sense for them, I also need God, okay? As we get older, we become hardened. We start thinking that we're much more than what we really are. But no, we need to make that decision alone. Personal salvation. Now let me read to you just a quick passage here in 1 Corinthians 7, verse 14. If you are someone that is saved in your family and you don't have anyone else in your family or in your house that is saved, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7, 14, For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife. There could be a situation where the wife is a believer. She's saved but she has an unbelieving husband. A husband that is not saved. But he's sanctified by the wife. What does that mean? And the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. So you might have the reverse. Where the husband is saved but his wife is unsaved. Now obviously, that's not an ideal scenario. You know, we should not yoke ourselves up with unbelievers. You know, if you are saved, you should be looking for another saved person, another believer of Jesus Christ before you get married. But look, sometimes those things happen, But hey, once you say I do, it's no longer a wrong choice. It's the choice that you've made. You've got to stick by it, okay? But not only that, maybe sometimes where you just have two unsaved persons and one of them gets saved and then one doesn't want to, you know? You might have that situation. It keeps going in verse number 14. It says, So what is this teaching? Well, we know that salvation is a personal choice. And the context that we read there in verse number 14 is about divorce because the question gets brought up. What if my husband or my wife is unbelieving? Can I depart from her? You know, can I just get divorced over that? No, you're better off staying together because you can have a great influence on your family. You can have a great influence on your non-believing spouse or you can have a great influence on your non-believing children. You know, you may very well be that vehicle that God uses to give them the gospel that they would call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. So that's how the sanctification of the family works. We don't want to separate ourselves from family that are unsaved because God may very well use you to be that person that wins them to the Lord. And so we saw the example of personal salvation. Let's go back to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2 verse number 12. Luke chapter 2 and verse number 12. Luke chapter 2 verse number 12. The Bible reads, So the Lord God, by sending Jesus Christ, being born in Bethlehem's manger, what is this a sign of? A sign of peace. God wants to make peace with man. In other words, before this, without Christ, there is no peace between God and man. Jesus Christ is the peace on this earth and goodwill toward man. What is goodwill? Well, think about goodwill in terms of, you know, showing kindness or showing a help, showing assistance. That's what the goodwill is. God is trying to help us from this sinful state that we would come to Jesus Christ and believe upon him. And so the third example that we have, brethren, the third point, is the example of personal peace, not just personal salvation, and there definitely is peace in salvation, knowing for sure that if you were to die that you'd go to heaven, but God has given us peace on earth through Jesus Christ. You know, the Christian should be the person that is with the most peace on this earth. And look, this earth is changing. We understand, you know, we don't know what's going on with this COVID variant. We don't know what's going on with the governance. They keep changing their mind every few weeks. You know, things are unsettled. People are without peace. But when it comes to Christianity, we should have the greatest peace out of all people. Number one, because we're saved. Absolutely. You know, people don't know what happens when they pass away. They want to make sure they're right with God, but they don't know. Listen, if we go knock doors, how many times do people say, I don't know if I'm going to heaven? I don't know what happens after I die. They're lacking the peace, but you know for sure because of what God's Word says. So you've got the peace of salvation. That's one thing. But then we've just got to live our daily lives, don't we? Or sometimes we just forget about salvation. We know we're saved, but we sort of stop thinking about that and we've got the rest of our lives to live. And even within our lives, we face turmoil, we face tribulations, we face hardships, and you might lose that peace. And so, you know, God has given us this goodwill, this kindness, this friendliness, this help, but that help only comes through Jesus Christ. And if you can please turn to John 14. Turn to John 14. Again, keep your finger there in Luke chapter 2, but go to John 14. And before we read John 14, I'm going to read to you from Psalm 4 verse 8. Psalm 4 verse 8. Psalm 4 verse 8 reads, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. What's the Bible saying here? That God guarantees us safety in this earth. Not only are we saved, but we have God the Father keeping us safe. And brethren, I look at you here today, it tells me you're safe. You've been kept safe by God, at least till this time. Okay? And God has his eye upon us because when we're saved, we're children of God. You know, one of the greatest things that one of the greatest desires I have as a father is to keep my family safe. You know, if I have that desire and we know it's a godly heart, then surely God the Father will look upon his children on this earth and desire our safety. And when we know that we have the safety of the Lord, we can lay down in peace and sleep. You know, a lot of people, they may suffer from anxiety and stress and worry and lives, and you know, you lack sleep. I've gone through that. I've gone through times when I've had great worries, great concerns, and sleep's the first thing that falls off the radar because your mind is buzzing. But we need to find the peace in God. Not only are we saved, but he guarantees us safety. He guarantees us love and safety through Jesus Christ. Look at John 14. What does Jesus Christ say about himself? John 14, verse 27. John 14, 27 reads, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You know, God says, Jesus Christ says, there's no reason for our hearts to be troubled. There's no reason for our hearts to be afraid. But we go through trouble. We go through fears. We forget the peace of God. But Jesus, these are the words of Christ. He guarantees us. He guarantees us. He's left us peace. He's given us his peace, which is beyond the peace that this world gives. This world cannot give the same level of peace that Jesus Christ can give. This is why I've said to you from the beginning of this point that as Christians, we ought to be the most peaceful of all people. It doesn't matter if this world is going down the toilet. It doesn't matter if we don't know who's infected with the virus or what may happen. Listen, brother, I might get infected with the virus. I might have a problem. I might pass away. But I know if I pass away, I'm going to open my eyes and see my Savior. And it'll be even better than it's ever been. Okay? I mean, heaven's going to be wonderful. Of course, I miss my family. I hope the best for them. But look, I don't have those concerns. I'm not worried about dying. Okay? And here's the thing. I'm not worried about this world being turned upside down because I have the peace of Jesus Christ. So if you are troubled, if you are afraid, brethren, don't forget that Jesus Christ has left His peace with you. And I'll quickly read to you a familiar passage, Philippians 4.6. It's so famous, but sometimes we just forget. You know, sometimes the most famous passages are the ones that we forget the most. But in Philippians 4.6, it says, Be careful for nothing. What does that mean? It means don't be full of care. Okay? Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And surely when we are troubled, surely when we are afraid, it's the mind that is troubled, it's the heart that is troubled. Christ is going to keep that. He's going to give us the peace which passeth all understanding. You know what? People can look at you if you take this peace of God upon you. Hey, once you've told God all your worries, you've told him all his concerns, and you've told God, I'm not going to worry about it, God, because it's outside of my control, there's nothing that I can do, but I know it's in your control, Lord, I know it's in your hands, and so I want to receive your peace. That moment that it happens, brethren, that peace passes all understanding. You know, people can look at you and go, why are you so peaceful? Why aren't you worried like the rest of us? Why aren't you overly concerned about how this world is going down the toilet? Say, because I've got the peace of God, that's why. Okay? And God can keep us in peace. And so the third point that I had for you today, brethren, is the example of personal peace. Let's go back to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, verse number 15. Luke chapter 2, verse number 15. 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. So what was the city of David that was being pronounced? Bethlehem. They recognized, oh, that's Bethlehem, right? That's the town that Christ would be born. But I want you to notice that it says there, the shepherds said one to another. Hey, the shepherds encouraged each other. Hey, let's go to Bethlehem. Let's go see this babe that's wrapped. Let's go see this babe that is born in the manger. Let's go see the Savior. Let's go see Jesus Christ. They encouraged one another. So the fourth point that I have for you tonight, brethren, is the example of personal encouragement. The example of personal encouragement. The shepherds encouraged each other to go see Jesus Christ. And, brethren, each one of us can be an encouragement to another person. We all need to receive encouragement, and we should dish out the encouragement to one another as well. You know, if sometimes you may feel like not coming to church maybe, like we're all going to go for that experience sometimes, right? But you know what? It's a wonderful thing when our brother says, hey, I'll see you at church this Sunday. I'll see you at church this Thursday. It's not like, are you going to be in church? I'll just see you there. You're being encouraged to be there. Brethren, we need to be together. We need to be in the house of God. We need to be in church. And I know it's hard during midweek services on a Thursday. We've got work. We've got other things going on. Especially we've got, you know, probably things planned for Christmas or Christmas Eve. But brethren, it's important that we're in a house of God where we can encourage one another. You know, encourage one another just in fellowship, just to see the brethren, just to know that, you know what? This world, you know, we come across so many wicked people. We come across so many ungodly people in our daily life. It's just a great thing to be amongst other people that actually love Jesus, that are saved, that actually believe the Bible like the rest of us. It's great to have some normality. And so there's an encouragement to be in the house of God. The Bible says in Hebrews 10, 24, And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. You know, we're here to provoke one another. You know, if you decide to say, you know what? I don't, you know, I'm saved. I know I can worship God at home. I don't need a church because church is full of hypocrites. Yeah, you're a hypocrite as well. You know, every church is full of hypocrites. Of course they are. Because we're all sinners. None of us are perfect. Okay? We do the best. Hey, we know what God's word says. We're doing the best we can. But we're never going to be fully perfect in this life. Okay? So we need a Savior. If we could be perfect, we wouldn't need the Savior. Of course we need the Savior, Jesus Christ. But we ought to come to a house of God where we can provoke one another unto love and good works. You know what the Bible said? The Bible's basically saying here that if you decide to just, you know, I would just go home, I would just worship God at home by myself. Nothing wrong with that. And so I don't need church. I don't need to be amongst other brethren where you're not going to be provoked unto love and good works. You're not going to do anything for the Lord. You're never going to serve Him. You're never going to serve the brethren, which is the opportunity to serve Christ on this earth. You're never going to become a soul winner. You know, you're just going to be, I'm just at home with the Lord and this is all I need. It's not enough. We need to be encouraged by the brethren. You know, I would not be a soul winner, brethren. It was just me. You know, if I wasn't in a soul winning church. I love it when you guys say, when are we going soul winning? I love it when I hear you guys, you know, gets a friend saved because, I better get out there as well because I'm the pastor. I need to be out there. It provokes me as well, brethren. We need each other to provoke unto love and to good works. And then it says in verse 25 straight afterwards, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. So there are. There is a manner of some. There are some people that think they can just live a fulfilled Christian life without church. But that's not the instruction that God says. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. Exhorting means to build up, exhorting one another, and so much so more as you see the day approaching. Listen, the closer that we get to the day of Jesus Christ, the coming of the Lord, those end times, we should be more desirous to be in the house of God. More desirous to be together with the brethren. And so we have the fellowship of the brethren. We can be encouraged. And as we saw these shepherds, they encouraged one another, let's go see Jesus. Now that's how we should be, right? Let's encourage each other. Let's go to the house of the Lord. Let's go and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Also, the friends, the friends that we can develop, we should strive to have Christian friends. And for some people it's hard for some people to make friends. But the Bible gives us a very simple answer. If you have a hard time making friends, let me give you the biblical answer to this. It's found in Proverbs 18, verse 24. Proverbs 18, 24, the Bible reads, A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly. Okay, you want to make friends? A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly. And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. And so if you want to make friends, you know what you do? You make yourself friendly. Show yourself to be friendly. Force yourself. I know some of us it's hard. I was telling some people in church on the anniversary that I'm actually a naturally introverted person. Like I don't really like to go out and talk to people and encourage people. I'd much rather at the end of church service to just run home and go to my room and see you later. But you know what? I've got to force myself. I've got to force myself to be friendly. I've got to step out of my comfort zone. And for many of you, you're the same. I assure you that you're the same as me. For many of you, introverted, you'd rather be by yourself. But you know what? We need the encouragement. We need the brethren to be together. And even if it's forcing yourself, force yourself to be friendly. And if you do that, brethren, you'll find that you'll make friends and then you'll not only be able to encourage them, but they'll be able to encourage you. So point number four, brethren, is the example of personal encouragement. Back to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, verse number 16. Luke chapter 2 and verse number 16. The Bible reads, And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen it... Notice verse number 17. And when they had seen it... Seen what? When they had seen Jesus. What did they do? They made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. So they go around all of Bethlehem saying, Hey, we've seen Jesus Christ. We've seen this babe born in the manger. They make it known, the sayings that came to them from the angels. Look at verse number 18. And so point number five, brethren, is the example of personal soul winning. The example of personal soul winning. Hey, the angels pointed them to Christ. They saw Christ. This is a picture, as it were, of salvation. Now I believe the shepherds were already saved, but I'm just saying as an illustration, they've gone, they've seen Christ, they've looked upon Christ, they've realized this is the Savior, then what do they do? Do they keep it to themselves? Oh, let's keep it a secret. No. They go and tell everybody. Hey, this is an example of the soul winner. Once we're saved, we should go abroad and make it known what Christ has done. Look at verse number 17 again. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying, the saying which was told them concerning the same child. What was the saying that was told them? The words of the angels. You know what? Those words of the angels are recorded for us in the Scriptures. We've already read them. And so one thing that I want to really encourage you, when you do go soul winning, when you do go preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, that you use the sayings of the Word of God. You use the Bible. That is the power of salvation. It is found in God's Word. Hey, we're just a mouthpiece of God. We've got the Holy Spirit of God guiding us to certain people to help explain the Scriptures, but really the power of salvation is found through the Word of God. And let me just quickly read to you Proverbs 11, verse 30. You guys know it. It says, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. You know, as a righteous person, not my own righteousness, the righteousness of Christ upon me, our fruit ought to be a tree of life. We ought to be like a tree that continues to produce fruits, okay, a fruitful tree. And then it says, and he that winneth souls is wise. Listen, the fruit of the righteous, the fruit of the Christian, should be other Christians. We should be able to lead someone to Jesus Christ, to love someone enough to tell them that Christ has come, that he came 2,000 years ago, born in Bethlehem's manger, that he will die on the cross for their sins and pay their way to heaven. It's a personal soul winning. I'm saying personal soul winning because sometimes we get this attitude in church where, oh, it's the pastor's job, it's the missionary's job, it's the evangelist's job. I put money in the offering plate, which is going to the missionaries, so I am contributing. No, we also have our own personal soul winning that we are commanded to do. These shepherds, they did it, okay? And I'm sure they were very rough, you know? They've seen Christ the very first day. They're already going out abroad proclaiming Christ. You know, I try not to shut down people. Like, sometimes I go soul winning. I'm not going to mention names in here. I just find this person's presentation is a bit rough. It could be better, and I try to encourage them. I'm not the kind of person that just wants to tear someone down because they've got a poor presentation. I'm just thankful that they're willing to go out there in the first place. That's the hardest thing, to go out there to the community and just go to a stranger and tell them about the love of Christ, about the peace on earth that came in Christ. You know, the Bible says in Romans 10, 17, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So faith, someone can only believe in Jesus by hearing the word of God. This is why it's so important when we go, we do give the scriptures. We do show them what the scriptures say about Jesus Christ. The shepherds did it. They used the same words that were said to them by the angels, which we know are the words of God, because they're recorded for us in the Bible. It then says in verse 18, The Bible's telling us here that the gospel message, the gospel message of Jesus Christ has gone throughout the entire world, even unto the ends of the earth, at least at the time of the writing in the book of Romans. You know, the soul winners have gone out and done a work in every nation by the time the book of Romans was written. You know what? You say, well, it was done once. Well, it needs to be done every generation. And God has planted, blessed up at this church, that we would be the church in this current generation to win the lost here in Fairfield and the surrounding suburbs. So the example of personal soul winning, that's the next thing that we learn from the shepherds. All right, back to Luke 2. Luke 2, verse number 19. Luke 2 and verse number 19. The Bible reads, And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. So what do we find? They've gone, they've seen Jesus, they've preached the gospel, Christ has come into this world, and now they're glorifying and praising God for the things that they've heard and seen. And so point number six, brethren, is the example of personal worship. The example of personal worship. You know, the Bible says in Psalm 59, 16, And so we see here in Psalm 59, the psalmist. Listen, it's one thing to praise God in the local house of God in the church. Yes, it's a wonderful thing to come with believers as we sing praise unto God, we worship God, but I want you to notice the psalmist. He also had time of personal worship. What did he do in the morning? He wakes up in the morning. He sings unto the Lord. Brethren, let me encourage you. You must have a personal time with the Lord. You know, I've heard churches call it the quiet time or the time of the altar. They call it the altar. Time, personal time with the Lord. I'm glad you're in the house of God tonight, brethren. I'm glad you're here. But are you spending every day with the Lord? Are you praising God personally every day? Are you singing praises? Are you thanking Him for His blessings? Are you thanking Him that He's given you a new day, new day of life to look forward to? Brethren, we must worship God personally as well. The Bible says in it, if you guys actually can turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. We're done with Luke chapter 2 now. If you can go to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And I'm going to read to you now from Hebrews 13, 15, which says, By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Continually. We should not stop praising God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Brethren, one thing that's going to give you a great peace as we've seen before, you know, the feeling of safety, the feeling of security is just praising God, just thanking God for all the blessings that we've received. And brethren, we are greatly blessed. If you live in Australia, you're greatly blessed. You know, Australians, we complain about how much we make. You know, we look at the neighbors and we think they've got so much more. But I've always said it. You know, Australians, as far as the rest of the world goes, we are, per person, the richest, amongst the richest in this world. You know, most of us are not struggling for food. Most of us have probably had three good meals. I know Brother Les has six. Six of them, right? I mean, he's got plenty to praise God about. You know, but we all have, generally speaking, transport to get around, a roof over our heads. We've got safety protection from the elements of the weather. You know, there are people in this world that don't have those blessings. But even as Australians, we complain. And when we complain, you know, we're unthankful for the blessings that God has given us. And then we'll feel far from God Then we'll feel like we're not safe in the hands of God. We'll lose the peace of God. But we need to remind ourselves continually, every day, thank God for every blessing that He's given us. It's a good thing to thank God every time you're about to eat a meal. Thank Him for the blessings that He's given you. Thank Him for the family that He's given you. Thank Him for the church that He's given you. Thank Him for the salvation that He's given you. We could go on and on. Think about everything that you own, everything that you have that is good and wonderful. It's from the hand of God. Every good gift coming from the Father of lights, the Bible says. But you're there in 1 Corinthians 6, please. 1 Corinthians 6, verse number 19. 1 Corinthians 6, verse number 19. The Bible says, and I want you to remember this because we can praise God with our lips, and we should. But it's more than our lips. It says in 1 Corinthians 6, 19. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own. You know, if you're saved, this body, this flesh that you walk in, it's not yours anymore. It belongs to God. So how does it belong to God? Verse number 20. For ye are bought with a price. When God saved you, He purchased you. Not only did He purchase your soul and spirit, but He's also purchased your body. You know, God's going to take this same body and resurrect it in a new glorified body. But it belongs to God. It's been purchased with a price. Say, what was that price? It's the precious blood of Jesus. That's the price that purchased your body. And then it says, Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. It's easy to glorify God in our spirit because that's the new man. You know what? The body, that's much harder. This body sins. This body has lust and all manners of wickedness and temptations that it wants to do. This body wants to live for itself. But Brethren, we're to bring this body under subjection. We are to glorify God in this body. Look, this body, it's going to perish. It's probably got sicknesses. It's got genetic defects. It's getting older. I'm getting white hairs. It starts to break down. But whatever shape your body is in, Brethren, it belongs to the Lord. Be thankful. Glorify. Praise God in your body as well. Keep it clean. Keep it holy as much as you can. I know we can't be perfect. We already said that. But we should be striving to say, no, this body belongs to God. When you're tempted to sin, remind yourself, no, this body belongs to God. I want to glorify God in my body. And when you keep that in mind, it's going to help you to overcome sin. And that's personal worship. You're glorifying. You're worshipping God in this body. And so, Brethren, this Christmas, let's consider the shepherds, the example that the shepherds have given us. And let me just, in conclusion, go through those six examples once again. Number one was the example of personal responsibility. Number two was the example of personal salvation. Number three was the example of personal peace. Number four is the example of personal encouragement. Number five is the example of personal soul winning. And number six was the example of personal worship. All right, let's go to a word of prayer.