I am the Good Shepherd

Transcription

1 I am the Good Shepherd How am I listening? John 10:11-18 Last week: I am the LIGHT of the world how am I seeing? This week: I am the Good Shepherd how am I listening? STORY: No One Listens! The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who came down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, I murdered my grandmother this morning. The guests responded with phrases like, Marvelous! Keep up the good work! We are proud of you. God bless you, sir. It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, I m sure she had it coming! Have you seen the film Babe? The film shows how shepherds use sheep dogs (or in this case a sheep pig!) to drive the sheep, to direct them into a pen or to move them from field to field. That is exactly the opposite to what Jesus describes here. In the Palestine of Jesus day, several shepherds would end up at the same watering hole for the night and all the sheep would mix together. In the morning, the shepherd would call out his sheep the sheep would respond and would follow because they recognized the voice of the shepherd. The Good Shepherd cares for his sheep he knows them and they know him. In contrast to driving the sheep ahead, the Good Shepherd calls the sheep out Rather than yelling impersonally, the Good Shepherd calls the sheep by name. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep! Are they worth it? YES! In this analogy, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and you are the sheep

2 The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep! Are you worth it? YES! Jesus gave his life for you Jesus came to reclaim you Jesus came to rescue you he gave his life so that you might have LIFE, life to the full = life in union with God. Scott McKnight, in his book Embracing Grace says The gospel is the story of a God who embraces us in spite of who we are and what we have done; it tells us that God s embrace enables us to embrace God back and to embrace others, and that this double embrace (of God and others) is intended for the good of others and the world. This grace comes to us in Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, and in the gift of the Holy Spirit. In his commentary, Leslie Newbigin writes: There is no other Good Shepherd, no other who can lead the human family into fullness of life, except him who laid down his life for us all. Several years ago we had a memorable visit from Brad Jersak, author of CAN YOU HEAR ME? subtitled - tuning in to the God who speaks. In his book he challenges the reader to take a Bible in his hand and to ask the following questions: Is this a book about a God who speaks or a God who is withdrawn and silent? Is this a book about a people who couldn t hear or a people who wouldn t listen? Is this merely a history text about an ancient religion, or does it contain centuries of firsthand testimony that God continually communicates with his people? He also tells us what God s phone number is! Do you want to make a note of it? MOBILE CONTACTS ADD CONTACT Contact Name : God O.K. Contact number: J-e-r-e-m-i-a-h 33:3 Cal l t o me and I wi l l answer you and t el l you gr eat and unsear chabl e t hi ngs you do not know. LAST WEEK: Beginning Let there be light. (before the sun) End The Lord God will give them light. (they won t need the sun) I am the LIGHT of the world

3 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. Beginning End Disobedience of Adam Because of Jesus obedience GOD calls out, Now the dwelling of God is with men Where are you? No longer will there be any curse JESUS In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:1&2) After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, white than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him! When Jesus saw the large crowd he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So, he what? began teaching them many things ARE WE LISTENING? We are living in the time between the coming of Jesus, and the End. Why does the bible tell us about the end? Why are we given a vision of how it is all going to end up? Redeemed children of God have this vision of the end so that they will anticipate it! work for it, demonstrate it, live it What we believe about the END affects how we live NOW! Redemptions climax is where we are heading! It s the dream we live for NOW It s the life we are called to demonstrate NOW We are invited NOW to live in the light of the END, and in the context of this sermon, what is the END? It is communion with God.

4 We can talk to God in prayer then we should listen too! Clancy Nixon: Before I heard God for the first time in the still small voice, it took me forty days straight of listening for God, with my pen in hand and my prayer journal at the ready, thirty minutes each day and getting nothing. Even so, those were precious times with Him, times of expectant faith. At the end of those 40 days of wrestling, he began to speak to me in an unmistakable way. He called me his son. Over and over, he told me he loved me, that I was his son. He told me very little else for several months, except that he loved me. Believe it or not, I began to grow tired of that message. I said to him, Thank you that you love me. But what am I supposed to do today? What do you want me to do with my life? But he kept telling me he loved me; he kept telling me that I was his son, because he wanted it to sink in deeper than I knew I needed. When you listen to God, he is in control of the message. Henri Nouwen The still small voice of love Many voices ask for your attention. There s a voice that says: Prove that you are a good person. Another voice says, You d better be ashamed of yourself. There is also a voice that says: Nobody really cares about you and one that says: Be sure that you become successful, popular and powerful. But underneath all these very often noisy voices, there is a still small voice that says: You are my Beloved, my favour rests on you. That s the voice we need most of all to hear. To hear that voice, however, requires special effort; it requires solitude, silence and a strong determination to listen. That s what prayer is. It is listening to the voice that calls us My Beloved. That is what we need to hear above all else, because confident in the love of God for us we will be able to love others, and that is the crying need of this world, above all else. Listening to God is not a technique or a method, it s a walk with a person in fellowship with others on the same journey.

5 Maybe you feel confused about listening to God because you have been put off by others. Put off by questionable use The LORD has told me that I am going to marry you Put off by erratic use The Lord told me (yesterday), and THE OPPOSITE today. Sometimes we compress the experience of several months / years into one phrase The LORD told me or The Lord said and that can be misleading as to the process of hearing God s word for you [PERSONAL STORY - Taking this role as Pastor of CMCC] Personal reading of scripture Preaching of God s word Personal circumstances Our own life experiences o Then bringing this to trusted Christian friends o Then bringing this to the church Taking time does this word stay or evaporate? Does your conviction grow or diminish? The one who calls us to follow, whose voice we need to learn to listen to is our GOOD shepherd, the one who cares for us (shepherding, under his caring discipline and authority, he gives us rest, feeds us & refreshes us, leads us and provides for us in our whole person). He cares for us so much that he laid down his life for us He is our example, the model of communion with His father we are to follow [Isaiah spoke prophetically of Jesus in this way: He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious, I have not drawn back from what?...offering my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; my face from mocking and spitting ] o He rose early to pray in solitude o He spent time in prayer o He set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem o He prayed, Not my will but yours be done o He prayed, Father, glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. May we follow, may we listen, may we respond for His glory. AMEN.