Christmas HOPE - Day 13

Did you know that in heaven and in a church they are comprised of two groups? Scripture says in Revelation chapter 5 that there are both Kings and Priests. God has made believers as one or the other. Today, consider the hope of a shepherd a.k.a. Priest, Pastor, "a teller". Check out this verse from the Christmas story at the birth of Jesus: Luke 2:16-18-”And they (shepherds) came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

Let's talk about shepherds and some of the characteristics

Shepherds have:

- A natural ability to gather a flock, gather and invite others to the kingdom

- Same word as pastor

- Worked for the temple system taking care of sacrificial lambs, not just random shepherds. A. They raised the perfect lambs that you would buy to sacrifice B. When a lamb was born, they wrapped them in swaddling clothes

- After Jesus’ birth they told everyone about Christ, with a natural ability to point other’s to Christ inside and outside of the kingdom

- They have a natural ability to get people to listen to them about God and advancing the kingdom through “telling” people good news about Jesus

- They represent a “priest-type” wiring in the kingdom of Jesus

Why this is important and brings hope this Christmas is because God made people to be shepherds/tellers of good news at the birth of His son. They carried good news onto our ancestors who carried it to our grandparents, then parents, to us - and hopefully we tell it to our kids. Think about this, in order for someone to receive Jesus after He ascended into heaven they had to have someone tell them there was a God who was all man and a man who was all God (at the same time!) who was sent to bridge the gap between us and God. Same theory would be to for rejecting Jesus. Someone had to tell someone about Jesus and a person makes a choice to receive or reject good news. The hope I have today is because someone told me God's not mad at me. He's not about me following a bunch of rules. He's not about punishing me. He is about meeting me and taking me where I can't take myself. He is about me following him as God and him alone. He took his punishment out on His son on the cross so I don't have to be punished for all the wrong things I've done and said. The truth for me, I deserve to be smacked down. But thanks to Jesus I have hope and we all can too. This is really good news.

When we receive good news our natural response is we want to tell someone about it. Here's good news for you - God's not mad at you either, trying to get you to follow rules, or punishing you. He has good news for you and it is gift you can receive or reject. I just had to "tell" you that piece of hope. If your natural ability is to strike up conversations or you're a people person - you are a teller. You are wired as a shepherd. If you believe and have received Jesus and you possess these natural abilities, realize these gifts are truly for the super-natural.

Shepherds became the “TELLERS” of the Christmas story. Will you be a "teller" of the good news and hope of Jesus this Christmas?