Sermon

I Am the Good Shepherd

August 15, 2020 Christchurch Clevedon - Sermons

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Probably for us who live in a town we're not aware of what a shepherd actually does.
It's estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 sheep each year are killed because of attacks by predators or are stolen
and that roughly equates to about 11 animals that are killed or injured per attack.
Being a good shepherd isn't just about sort of floating around on a quad bike
with a whole load of hay bales strapped precariously to the back.
It's about caring and protecting for your sheep.
Shepherds are passionate about what they do.
They are out there in all winds and weathers.
The people who were hearing this morning's reading knew about shepherds.
They lived with them. They knew them.
They had already heard Jesus talking about, I am the gate.
And here in the presence and heart of the religious leaders,
Jesus is saying, I am the good shepherd.
By saying the good shepherd, I guess probably he's ruffling a few feathers
because he's sort of saying actually, if there are good shepherds,
there's probably not good shepherds as well,
which clearly isn't what the Pharisees really wanted to hear at that time.
So Jesus uses this analogy from everyday life that people would understand.
You see, the hired hand is not the shepherd and he doesn't own the sheep.
So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
The man runs away because he is a hired hand and he cares nothing for the sheep.
You and I know whether people are going to stand with us.
You know, whether they're going to stand with us in tough times,
the good friends that are there with us, the good shepherds that will be there.
They won't hang us out to dry.
They won't leave us when trouble comes.
Jesus says, I am the good shepherd.
I am not going to abandon my flock.
The good shepherd owns the flock.
He has a strong investment in them.
You see, if it's yours, you stand and protect.
If necessary, with your life.
The hired hand hasn't got that level of commitment or trust.
And sadly, we know from our own experience in life, don't we,
for many of us that are watching this today,
that people will step aside and sometimes abandon us
when the going gets tough.
People who we thought cared for us, maybe an employer, our carer, our relative.
Maybe it's to do with our finance, our pension scheme, our wealth.
Only to realise that when the going gets tough,
people just disappear and go.
You realise very quickly that they weren't the shepherd you thought they were.
And when the going gets tough, they're just up and left.
Not Jesus.
You see, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd.
He promises that he will never leave us or forsake us.
Take David, for example, in the Bible.
David, the shepherd boy.
There he is looking after the flock.
No wonder God chose David.
You know, David has got that commitment.
He has got that commitment to his sheep.
He's the youngest son.
He learnt to tend for them from a young age.
And he's fighting off wolves.
He's fighting off wild animals.
No wonder he wasn't fazed and intimidated by Goliath.
I mean, Goliath was just another predator to be dealt with
because Goliath was going to come and decimate the flock.
Oh, that's not going to happen.
God is with me, said David, and dealt with it.
A good shepherd stands their ground.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father
and I lay down my life for the sheep.
It's relational.
Jesus loves me.
This I know for the Bible tells me so.
It's a great hymn.
It's a great song.
It's a great biblical and life-giving truth.
It's no surprise that it appears in the soundtrack
of one of my favourite films,
which is The Bodyguard for Obvious Reasons.
And in the middle of the film where Kevin Costner
is doing all that he can to protect Whitney Houston
as her protection officer,
fighting against all the odds to keep her and her family alive,
she sings this hymn with her sister,
Jesus loves me.
This I know.
It's a truth.
You see, the shepherd never kicks the sheep.
I can't emphasise that enough.
He is there to care and to fight for us.
I think we forget that sometimes,
the fight that is going on with the evil one.
The fact that, you know, Jesus, the good shepherd,
that he engaged with that.
He knows that.
He knows what the fight is.
You know, if you're the son of God,
why don't you come down from the cross?
It's not what's in our hands.
It's what's in our hearts.
That's why Jesus took on death and won,
because he is the good shepherd.
He didn't give up on us.
He fought for us and continues to stand for us
and fight for us.
He is never going to desert us.
He told us that.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
You know, this relational, deep relational part of scripture
is something for me that's at the heart of my relationship.
And I have your relationship with Jesus.
You know, I know my sheep.
He knows us.
He knows our finances, our issues, our vices, our joys,
our fears, our flaws.
He knows about our honesty.
And when we say that we are for him,
he knows if we really are.
And the cost that it takes.
And that it has taken to live that with him.
You know, it's the discipleship principle
that Jesus surrounded himself with,
that he didn't surround himself with the 18.
You know, he chose people who were the least likely people
to shape the early church.
He uses you and I.
That's why they stuck with him.
That's why he stuck with them.
In the storm, on the cross, he never gives up.
I've read that Sunday school story time and time again
about the 99 sheep and Jesus goes off and looks for the one.
That to me is so powerful, a message of the good shepherd.
You know, sitting on any alpha course
and hear some gut-wrenching stories from people
how they had experienced addiction
and they had lost everything.
They'd lost their home, their house, their family,
their dignity, their self-esteem.
And then you hear the story of how Jesus came
and met with them.
And perhaps through a person, through a situation,
through you or I, they found fresh hope.
They found dignity.
They found restoration.
They found new life.
And they found the good shepherd
who came and brought them home.
No wonder Jesus tells us and models to us
that we should go after the one time and time again.
The 99 is secure.
We need to go after the one.
I pray that to know Jesus is your rescuer and protector,
rubs off on you and is your passion to go and reach people.
Going to the one, I believe,
is at the heart of what we're called to do at Christ Church at the moment.
The young person who receives TLG coaching.
The family that is receiving help and make lunch.
The person who hopefully you phoned today.
The one that you've had that conversation with.
You know, it's about the one that others gave up on.
That Jesus says, go out and find them.
Be with them.
Bring them in.
Love them against the odds.
Show them what it means to reach out
and bring them home into a lifelong,
life-giving relationship with the one who never gives up
and keeps seeking the lost.
Nicky Gumbel tells a story on an alpha course
where many people come to know Jesus as the good shepherd.
And Nicky Gumbel tells the story of the Welsh revivals.
I've got a real passion for the Welsh revivals.
High on the moors in the Welsh mountains,
there was two vicars that used to go for a walk, two ministers.
And they met a shepherd, a young lad who was looking after his sheep.
And as they met with him, again and again as they walked,
they introduced him to Jesus.
He couldn't read or write.
So they taught him the 23rd Psalm in the beginning
by using his fingers.
The Lord is my shepherd.
Is my shepherd.
It was about a relational,
a relational thing with Jesus.
Jesus.
And he got it.
This young lad got it.
And he came to faith through talking with these two people
who he met day by day, week by week,
while he was out tending his sheep.
There was a long, hard winter
and the ministers went out for a walk upon the hills.
And they looked for this shepherd.
They couldn't find him, understandably.
So they went to the nearest village
and they were shown to his mum's cottage.
And she explained during the harsh winter
that he had died.
That he had died on the hills.
And she said to them,
can you explain something to me?
Because they found my son
in a snow drift
but laid over his sheep,
protecting them,
as he always did.
But one thing I don't understand
is when they found his body,
they found his finger
grasped around the fourth finger.
The ministers explained to him
of what they had taught him,
that the Lord is my shepherd.
Jesus was prepared
and laid down his life for the sheep,
for you and me.
That's the good shepherd.
When he went to the cross,
it wasn't a disaster.
It was a design.
It wasn't a tragedy.
It was a strategy.
He came for those
who were lost from the fold.
And in the time
that Jesus was telling this story,
it was you and me,
the Gentiles.
We were the lost sheep.
We weren't expected
or even allowed into the fold.
He is the one who came for us
and rescued us
and brought us back.
These sheep I must gather.
It's a gospel imperative.
That's why he's a good shepherd.
He isn't worried about the sheep,
what we look like.
He's not worried about
where their sheep are
or what stock they're from,
whether they are black,
white, grey, green,
pink, blue,
rainbow-coloured,
smelly, dirty,
beautifully coiffured.
He came for all the sheep,
especially for those
who have a propensity
to get lost,
to wander off,
to sin,
to rebel,
because that's what
some sheep do.
The good shepherd
never kicks his sheep.
He carries them home
to safety,
often weighed down
with sin,
but brings them safely home.
Jesus said,
I am the good shepherd.
He knows his sheep.
He loves you,
whether you have been
with him for years
or whether you have wandered off.
And whether you have wandered off
now and watching this,
he is waiting
to come and meet with you
and find you.
He knows his sheep.
He's committed.
You see,
his love for us
is sacrificial
and successful.
He doesn't walk away.
He's compassionate.
He knows you
and will guide you
through life's joys
and struggles
and fight for you
when you need it.
He rescues.
He comes
and snatches you back
from safety
when we wander
into harm's way
and when we cry out
for help.
And he protects.
And when the predators come
and they will come,
and many of us know that,
the wolves that come
to scatter the flock,
the wolf in sheep's clothing
that comes
to scatter the church,
he is ready,
fearless
and doesn't abandon us.
And he cares.
The love of God
never ceases.
He knows his sheep.
He knows you and me.
And most of all,
for the one,
for the one
that comes back
every time,
he rejoices.
And we should be rejoicing too
because there is nothing
more exciting
than seeing somebody
brought back into the fold
to know Jesus,
to know him,
to know the good shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd
and he is good.
Do you relate
to the good shepherd?
Do you love his qualities?
Do you love his values?
Do you love his grit
and his determination?
You see,
Jesus talks about
the good shepherd
that goes after the one.
And if ever there was a day,
I believe,
for the church
in this season
is to get our eyes
off the 99
and go after the one.
because there's a lot
of ones out there
that we,
as a church,
need to reach.
Perhaps now the Spirit of God
is prompting you.
Perhaps he's saying
something to you
about reaching the lost
and the least.
Ask him to equip you now.
Ask him to come
and give you
that boldness
and courageousness
of the good shepherd
as we go out
and do
as he has asked us
to do,
as we see him do
time and time
and time again.
And let's do
as he's commanded,
like he shows us.
Would you pray with me now?
And maybe if the Lord,
the Holy Spirit
is prompting you now,
maybe you feel that
burning up inside you
of,
yeah,
this is my calling.
This is,
it's for me to go
to make that phone call
to go and get
alongside that person.
I pray that the Holy Spirit
would come
and encourage us,
empower us,
enthuse us
and excite us
this morning.
Lord Jesus,
reach out,
Lord.
Lord,
thank you for the times
that you have
carried us home,
the times that we
needed carrying.
Encourage us
to be more adventurous
in our quest
and our mission,
knowing that you
are always there
with us.
And help us
to be more like you
in all that we do
and say.
And thank you,
Jesus,
that you are
always there.
And for all of us,
Lord,
thank you for carrying me
home
on the time
that I needed it.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.