December 15 Advent

Lets close off the encounter of the shepherds with some encouraging evangelistic  song-learning!  Our story continues with the Angels having just heard the message from the heavenly host, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” They immediately decided they must go see the Christ child...

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:16-20)

So the Shepherds see Jesus, and instead of just telling the crazy story about seeing angels and heavenly hosts, or about the teenage girl they saw who  had given birth in a barn, they spread the MESSAGE that they were told by Gabriel. (Just assuming it was Gabriel... I mean he already made the trip to earth, right?). Today lets look at a semi-common Christmas song, Go tell it on the mountain. This is David Crowder’s version of the song.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uY7W1kYlX4 

(if it doesn’t work on a smart device (I know the Amy grant link was temperamental) look up K-LOVE – Crowder “Go Tell It On The Mountain” LIVE

Here are the traditional lyrics. Crowder doesn’t get through all the verses, but I thought it was a very beautiful interpretation of the song.

While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light:

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Saviour's birth:

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And God send us salvation,
That blessed Christmas morn: 

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,

Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

So the first three verses are simply the story of the shepherds... First of all, this is an encounter worth recording! And Likely, the Shepherds wrote many songs about what they saw. After all, that’s simply what people did when they had a life-changing God encounter. And we know from David, that shepherds seem to have a decent amount of time on their hands... Maybe they all sat around and made up songs together, then shared them with their families. I think if Luke included every person’s songs in his book, it would have been a hymnal instead of a historical account. But the truth is, The Shepherds likely wrote songs of their own just like Mary. It is good for us to sing songs about some of the other events of the Christmas story that also Glorified God.

What I find interesting is that many (non-band-specific) lyrical sites had additional verses to the song. In the most “classic” form of the lyrics I found these two verses. They were also the most consistently appearing verses in versions that had fuller lyrics.

When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.

Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

My guess is that these verses get taken out simply because the song is so long otherwise for a church service or recording artist track... But they are in there, and ought not to be forgotten, since they contain most of the moral of the story for us today.

The second last verse emphasizes the fact that the shepherds, just like wise men, sought the savior. Immediately after hearing about the birth of Christ, they knew this was what they had to do. I doubt they herded all their sheep into town, so they put their jobs on the line as well, to go see the Christ child.

The final verse seems slightly out of place if you haven’t had time to dwell on it... This is what comes to mind for me when I read the words. The shepherds were near town but outside of it, and could have been considered watchmen of-a-sort, simply because if any danger was coming, likely they would be the first to run into town and warn people, right? However, Shepherds also held a very lowly position, so they were very much the least of these. And so the song writer encourages us that as Christians we ought to be watching, and be on guard to see a sign from God, just as the Shepherds saw a sign from God. They saw the sign, and reported it to all the people like any watchman would have. However, they were still the least of these. As Christians ought we to think likewise? 

Sometimes I can get prideful if God has given me a specific prophetic word, or blessing or vision that is impactful. But the truth is, I am just a mailman. I am simply a messenger-pigeon without the ability to make it on my own. This is both humbling and glorifying, because when we realize our lowly state, we stop trying to control it all, and we start allowing God to be in charge again. And when God is in charge, satan better watch out because God will use us in very powerful ways. Just like God used some lowly shepherds to prepare the hearts of many in Bethlehem for their savior yet to come. Who knows? Maybe the shepherd’s telling their story prepared the way for Christ in a small way like how John the Baptist did, for his whole devoted life...

And so, we should be bold to act on the promptings of God on our hearts, just as the shepherds did. Because when our hearts are right with God, this is a beautiful thing. God loves to be near the broken hearted, and work through the least of these. The truth is, we are all the least of these, some of us are just in denial of that fact. That denial is called “pride” and it is a problem. Let us (as Paul commands us) take pride in our lowly position, and start allowing God to move through us! Only then can we be so bold as to “go tell it on the mountain”. Why can we then be bold?  Because it is no longer about us, but it is all about God. And who ought we have more confidence in, than God!?

Lord, please guide our hearts today into a place of repentance toward you. Please help us come to terms with who we really are apart from you... God we are nothing without you. Yet you made us fearfully and wonderfully. Thank you! God please correct our vision of ourselves, and help us instead of being prideful, be full of pride for you our God! Give us full confidence in you, and a boldness to act and speak as you have told us to. Lord, we want you to be glorified this Christmas, and ever after. Please let this be so Lord.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.