Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
November 3, 2002 A.M.
The Heart Of A Shepherd
Reading - Luke 15.1-7
Our Eldership is giving us an opportunity to choose an additional Elder in our church family. They are aware that as we grow; and, as our Eldership becomes older and less energetic... That there is a need for more help in the shepherding process.
In your Worship Bulletin, you will find a selection from. Read it carefully... Pray diligently that God will guide your choice. Then, write the name of the man you believe will successfully shepherd us through this life... And into heaven's eternal joys. Then sign your name. Only members of our church family are qualified to select this individual. We will have about three weeks to do this...
- Then the man with the most mentions...
- If Biblically qualified in the mind of our current Eldership...
- And if he agrees to serve...
Will be ordained the first Sunday in December.
Because we had several lessons on leadership and the qualifications of Elders last fall, we will not repeat them... However, you will find what the New Testament has to say about these men and their qualifications on the selection form. If you would like to listen to the lessons from last fall... Tapes are available in the church office.
Now... Let's get to our lesson for this morning... This will be the only sermon on the Eldership. I just wanted to begin this nominating process with a lesson on what an Elder's heart should be like.
Palestinian shepherding was a different concept from the cowboying of our Western culture...
- Palestinian sheep were not destined for the table.
- The Palestinian shepherd loved his sheep.
- He spent his life caring for the sheep.
- He knew them by name.
- They knew and responded to his voice
- He was willing to risk his life to save the sheep.
In fact... Several places in the Bible... God is pictured as a SHEPHERD... For instance in David's Twenty-third Psalm... The Lord is my Shepherd.
Here in the New Testament we find that Jesus is the GOOD SHEPHERD. Paul instructs us in Philippians two... That we are to have...
- The HEART...
- The SPIRIT...
- The ATTITUDE..
- The DISPOSITION... Of Christ Jesus in us. If we have His HEART... Then we have the HEART of a shepherd... RIGHT? So... The lesson this morning certainly applies to us all... But especially to SHEPHERDS... ELDERS
You see church, as children of God we must not be content just to be sheep in the Lord's pasture...
- To graze in grass...
- To walk beside still waters...
- To be restored... renewed...
- To be loved and cared for...
- To be blessed till life's cup runs over...
- And then taken home to live with the Father forever.
We too are called to be shepherds... To Guide... Feed... Protect... And generally care for one another.
OK... With these thoughts in mind... Let's apply this shepherding parable to... How can we become a shepherd... How to cultivate the heart of a shepherd.
FIRST... SHEPHERDS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SHEEP
Note verse 4... Suppose you have a hundred sheep and lose one of them. The reality is that...
- Sheep wanders off...
- Sheep stray...
- Sheep become lost.
It is the Shepherd's responsibility to keep that from happening if at all possible.
Here it is church... Jesus is holding us responsible for one another. Do we understand this sobering thought?
If in that better land
Before the bar we stand
How deeply grieved our souls may be
If some lost one there
Should cry in deep despair
"You never mentioned Him to me."
Audience... This is a work of the whole church... But... This is the primary work of Shepherds... Elders... They are to keep the saved SAVED! You see... Shepherding is an awesome... Sobering responsibility. Elders... Regardless of what you might think your job description is... Your primary responsibility is to keep the saved within the safety of the fold. And church... This is not just the Elder's responsibility... Each and every one of us are responsible for one another.... Right?
SECONDLY... THE SHEPHERD UNDERSTANDS THAT ALL STRAYS BELONG TO AND WITH GOD.
Verse 4... Suppose you have a hundred sheep and you lose one... Do you not leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost?
Palestinian shepherds knew their sheep well... They knew them by name.
- They knew the ones who grazed together...
- Ran together...
- They knew the politics of the sheep fold...
- They knew who influenced who.
- They were aware of those who were more likely to wander off... And who would go with them.
I believe this passage teaches us that one cannot be an effective Elder in the church of God without knowing the political & social complexities of the congregation. They must KNOW their sheep... They must know those under their care.
You see... Each night the shepherd would take a head count. Then... Each morning they would call them out of the fold... BY NAME!... They knew their sheep. A shepherd's reputation was on the line daily... His livelihood as a shepherd was based upon him caring for the sheep... All the sheep... And not losing a one... And not losing a one.
Because we live in a world far removed from shepherding... We don't understand why a shepherd would leave the ninety-nine in the open... Unprotected... And go after one sheep. In our westernized economy... We think that batting 99% is pretty good. We would be satisfied with this percentage... But a shepherd does not deal in percentages. He dealt in sheep... Individual sheep.
In the middle sixties I took Georgia and the three children to New York City where I had spent several months in the army. While I carried Keith, the girls complained that their mother was hurting their hands by holding on too tightly. However, in our visit to Central Park, we got caught up in watching the ice skaters. Before we knew it Kathy had wandered off. A four year old lost in Central Park. Now church... Why didn't Georgia and I just say... Hey, we still have two healthy children... We're batting 66 2/3%... That's not bad!
A shepherd was not interested in percentages... But in individuals.
ELDERS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN PERCENTAGES... BUT IN INDIVIDUALS.
Aren't you glad that God and Jesus are not interested in percentages... But in us individually.
You see... Shepherds loved their sheep.
- They fed them in green pastures.
- They led them to quiet... still waters.
- They provided shade for rest and renewal.
- They led them in safe... right paths... Paths of righteousness.
- They cared for their hurts... and salved their wounds.
- They disciplined their straying habits... Quickly... Quickly!!
- The shepherd provided everything... Everything the sheep needed.
Audience... Look back at the text... In verses one and two, Jesus is eating with these tax collectors and sinners... WHY??... Because they are God's sheep.
- Sheep gone astray... But still God's sheep.
- Sheep that He is desperately trying to bring back.
It is a no brainier... Folk... Stray sheep belong to God. And Elders must be interested in them... Each and every one of them. And listen to me... We too are to have the heart of Jesus... So... That means that straying sheep... Those out of duty... Must become a priority in our lives also.
THIRDLY... AND CLOSELY RELATED IS THIS... ELDERS WILL AGGRESSIVELY SEEK THE STRAYS... SEEK TO SAVE THE LOST.
The shepherd of our parable leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the lost. The Greek word used here speaks of:
- Making a concentrated effort...
- Transversing...
- Tracking...
- Pursuing...
- Taking chances in the pursuit of.
You see... God pursues the lost... He is the God of the chase. God was willing to take a chance to rescue us.
In this same chapter... We see God the Father of the Prodigal... RUN to His straying son.
God worked meticulously through 4000 years of human history from the fall of Adam & Eve, in the Garden... To bring about the cross.
God doesn't give up easily.... Jesus came to seek and save the lost
God so loved us that He gave His only begotten son to seek and save us.
Scripture tells us that... He is longsuffering... Patient in His pursuit... Not willing that any should be lost but that all come to repentance.
- Elders are be patient and longsuffering with those who stray.
- Elders are to aggressively pursue the strays under their care?
- Preachers & Teachers... Our ministry does not end with just preaching good sermons, teaching interesting Bible classes... But bringing the lost and those who stray back to Christ.
- Bible teachers... God has placed some precious souls under your care... Have we contacted the dropouts?
- Deacons... Are you serving... Ministering... With the intent in mind to save the lost?
- Christian friend... Do you have the heart of a shepherd?
God wants us to aggressively seek His strays. Jesus' commission is a shepherd's commission... Go!... Go into all the world... Go preach the word... Go bring the strays home.
Elders are to be men who are willing to exit their comfort zones... And do whatever is necessary to shoulder the stray... Carry the stray. Note verse 5... And when he finds it... He joyfully puts it on his shoulders. Because of injury... sickness... or fear... The shepherd would shoulder the sheep... Wrap its feet around his neck... And carry it back to the fold.
Some of you in the audience have raised sheep... You've done this. Others of us who have raised cattle have picked up a newborn or injured calf... Hoisted it to our shoulder and neck and carried it to the barn. This is dirty work... Tiring work. Because injured, straying newborns are dirty, filthy critters... But shepherds don't care because they love their sheep more than life itself.
You see... The sad truth is that some of us have become...
- Too good...
- Too clean...
- Too self-righteous...
- Too sophisticated...
- Too comfortable...
To be shepherds in God's pasture... RIGHT?
Elders are to be men who love the sheep enough to do whatever is necessary to rescue the sheep.
So... Church... Don't select a man to shepherd your soul who will not do whatever is necessary to save your soul. Are we all willing to have the heart of a shepherd... I pray we are... I pray we are.
THEN FINALLY... SHEPHERDS PLAN FOR FUTURE SHEEP AND FOR THEIR SAFETY.
Shepherds don't just think about the present... But for tomorrow. They provide a place of safety for the sheep to graze today... While making plans and scouting out possibilities for tomorrow.
Folk... Aren't we glad that we are a part of a church that continues to plan for seeking and saving lost sheep. Aren't we fortunate to have Elders...
- Who are soul conscious?...
- Who have an urgency for souls?
Aren't we glad to have a budget... Two-thirds of which goes to preaching and teaching both at home and abroad?
Too many Elderships and churches have turned inward...
- Focusing on themselves... Their personal preferences and egos...
- Focusing on their own comfort... Rather than the dirty job of saving lost sheep.
- Focusing on money and issues rather than becoming genuine shepherds of souls.
May God help us to maintain our priorities... While improving on what we have and are. Let me encourage you to select your new Shepherd from among men of vision for the future.
Well church... What happens when church families have...
- Loving caring shepherds...
- Shepherds with a heart like Jesus?
What happens when the lost are found?... When strays repent and come home? What does our text say in verses 6 & 7 that happens?
- There is a celebration... There is rejoicing.
- A rejoicing and celebration in heaven.
- A rejoicing and celebration in the church.
Folk... Nothing is more important in any church family... Than to have loving... caring... rescuing shepherds... Amen?... Amen !!
Listen to me... Heaven and this church are ready to rejoice with you right now...
- If you are ready to come to Jesus... Become a sheep in God's pasture by faith, repentance and baptism... We will rejoice with you.
- If you have strayed... And are ready to repent and come home... We are praying for you.
- If you are a child of God and would like to join this church... Placing your soul under the expert shepherding care of these Godly Elders... We welcome you.
Will you come?
