Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
8/13/00 pm
Having The Spirit Of A Shepherd
Reading - Luke 15. 1-7
Helen Keller once said, the saddest thing in the world is someone who can see, but yet has no vision.
Proverbs 29.18 declares: Where there is no vision - without vision - the people perish. Last Sunday evening we caught a glimpse of seeing ourselves as the second incarnation. Jesus is God incarnate... God in the flesh. Church, to the extent that we daily conform to the image of Jesus, we become the second incarnation. What a vision of what we should be! Paul tells us in Romans 8 that God has predestined us to conform into the likeness of His son...into the likeness of Jesus. Like Paul, we need to be able to say when you look at me, It is not me you see, but Jesus living in me.
This morning I want you to catch a glimpse of another vision--Jesus as the good shepherd. This is His own declaration from John chapter ten, verse 11: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep...I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Now church, if Jesus is the good shepherd and we are to conform to his image, then we too must become shepherds. We too must have the heart of a shepherd...the spirit of a shepherd. Question!! Do we have that vision? Do we see ourselves as shepherds?
As a church, as people and persons 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 and taken home to live with the Father forever.
We are also called to be shepherds... Like in similar fashion as Jesus is the ultimate good shepherd, we are to lead others to green pastures... To drink of still waters... We are to call others to be renewed and restored, to know the presence of God in the dark times... To enjoy God's cup of spiritual blessings and to have a hope of forever being in the Father's house. The challenge this morning is to be become more than just sheep. The challenge is to become a shepherd.
Follow this reasoning:
God is a shepherd - As His children we are to have His spirit within us. If we have His spirit then we have the spirit of a shepherd. Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd. He also tells us in Luke 6.40 that every student, every disciple, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher. He is a shepherd and we are to be shepherds. Well, what does it mean to be a shepherd? How can we have the spirit of a shepherd? I believe we can find his answer here in Luke 15. 1-7.
Jesus gives us this parable in response to a comment by the religious leaders of His day. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. You see, they may have been religious but they didn't have a shepherd's heart...a shepherd's spirit. They thought that holiness, that being right with God had to do with isolation, staying as far as they could from sinners. Jesus knew that holiness was not isolation but insulation. Holiness is being in the world but not of the world.
You see, our being welcomed by God is not because of our self-righteousness, our goodness, but because of his love for us; His willingness to welcome and call sinners to repentance.; his willingness to become flesh and dwell among us and save us and lay down his life for us.
OK--Application of the parable to us...how to become a shepherd...how to cultivate the heart of a shepherd.
FIRST, WE MUST KNOW THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE ANOTHER. NO MAN IS AN ISLAND TO HIMSELF.
Each of us as shepherds are responsible for one another. Note verse 4. Suppose you have a hundred sheep and lose one of them. Yes, the reality is that the sheep wanders off... But church, it is our individual responsibility to keep that from happening if at all possible. 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 dispair
You never mentioned Him to me.”
Or worse still, if I was astray and you never came looking, searching, when I wandered from the safety of the fold. I was saved, but I strayed, and you didn't care. John Fontenot and I were talking about this yesterday. This is the work of the church. Shepherding is an awesome, sobering responsibility. We are responsible for one another. No, no, not just the elders but each and every one of us.
SECONDLY, TO HAVE THE SPIRIT OF JESUS...THE HEART OF A SHEPHERD MEANS THAT WE UNDERSTAND ALL STRAYS BELONG TO AND WITH GOD.
Note 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, perhaps by name. They knew the ones who grazed together. They were aware of those who would be more likely to wander off. Perhaps each night they would take a head count. A shepherd's reputation was on the line, his livelihood as a shepherd, was based upon him caring for the sheep...all the sheep...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 and culture we think that batting 99% is pretty good. We would be satisfied with this percentage. But a shepherd didn't deal in percentages. He dealt in sheep, individual sheep.
Thirty plus years ago, our Karen was 4 or 5. Each Sunday noon we all gathered at mom and dad's for dinner. One Sunday we got gathered around the table only to discover that Karen was not there. Sometimes she would ride with mom and dad, sometimes with her papaw and mamma Jamison. But today she was missing. We rushed back to the church building to find her on the front steps, chin in hand, waiting. When asked if she was afraid, she said No, I knew you would be back to get me.
Now, church, why didn't Georgia and I just say, Hey, we've still got 2 children, we're batting 66 2/3 %...that's not bad! A shepherd was 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.
They cared for their hurts, and salved their wounds.
They disciplined their straying habits.
Jesus is saying I am eating with these tax collectors and sinners because they are God's sheep. Sheep gone astray. Sheep that I am trying to bring back. It is a no-brainer, folks, stray sheep belong to God and as shepherds we must be interested in them. Each and every one of them.
THIS BRINGS US TO POINT #3. - HAVING THE HEART, THE SPIRIT, OF A SHEPHERD MEANS EACH OF US WILL AGGRESSIVELY SEEK THE STRAYS, THE LOST.
He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the lost. The Greek word used here speaks of making an effort, transversing, tracking, pursuing. You see, God pursued the lost. He is the God of the chase. He so loved us that He gave His only begotten son to save us. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Folk, that is us. God doesn't give up easily. He is long-suffering...patient in his pursuit, not willing that any should be lost but that all come to repentance.
The entire chapter is about God's pursuit of strays. Here God is pictured as a shepherd risking Himself for one lost sheep. He is the lady who swept the floor, literally taking up the floor in search of one lost coin. God is the father who watches and runs to the prodigal when he returns.
As a church, as the body of Christ, as the second incarnation, as those with the heart and spirit of God and Christ living in us, we are to aggressively seek and save the lost.
- Elders are you listening? Are you aggressively pursuing the strays under your care?
- Preachers, are we listening? Our ministry does not end with just preaching good sermons, but pointing to Jesus; bringing the lost to Christ.
- Bible teachers are we listening? Are we contacting those who used to come but have dropped out. God has placed them in our care.
- Deacons are we listening? Are we serving, ministering with the intent in mind to save the lost?
- Christian friend, do you have the spirit of a shepherd? You see, most of us are content to invite the world to come to us. We have a “You’all come back now” attitude. But 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.
FOURTHLY, CULTIVATING A SHEPHERD'S SPIRIT MEANS WE ARE WILLING TO EXIT OUR COMFORT ZONES AND SACRIFICIALLY DO WHAT 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 take the sheep, shoulder it, wrap its feet around his neck and carry it back to the fold. Malcolm had sheep, he has done this, most of us who have or still work with cattle have picked up a new-born or injured calf, hoisted it to our shoulder and neck and carried it to the barn. This is dirty, tiring work. Injured, straying newborns are dirty, filthy critters. But shepherds don't care.
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 service.
Now I commend some of you in this church this morning because you have left your comfort zones and are sacrificially giving yourselves to rescuing strays.
- Some of you are going into homes that are dirty and filthy because people are down on their luck and no longer care.
- Some of you are dealing with alcoholics and drug abusers, cleaning up after them, and caring for them. This certainly means exiting your comfort zone. Others are visiting Concordia, Bentonville Manor and hospitals caring for the sick, elderly and helpless. This is sacrificial service that demands we leave our comfort zones to serve.
- Still others of this church are exiting their comfort zones to sacrificially take the gospel to others, be it in Honduras or across the street.
Yes, I commend you and I challenge the rest of us to resolve this year to exit our comfort zone and sacrificially give ourselves to seeking and serving and saving the strays.
During his reign King Fredrick William the 3rd of Prussia found himself in trouble. War had ravaged his country, war had been costly and he was short of funds. To rebuild and reconstruct his homeland he asked the women to exit their comfort zones and sacrificially give their gold and silver jewelry to the treasury of Prussia. They did. In exchange for their precious medals, each woman was given a small cross of iron on which was engraved, I gave gold for iron and the date it was given. In Prussia it became fashionable to wear this iron cross on a chain around their necks. It was a sign of sacrifice for their country and king. Later King Fredrick created the Order of the Cross to whom all who gave were admitted.
God, through his Son, Jesus, has created the Order of the Cross. For those willing to exit their comfort zones and sacrificially give of their time, talent, treasure and energy to the good of the king and kingdom. Those willing to lay down their life for the sheep. No, no, Jesus is not asking us to die for the lost, but to lay down our lives, to use our lives, use our time, talent, treasure and energy in seeking out the strays...placing them on our shoulders and bringing them back to the fold, back home, back to a right relationship with God. Are we willing to have the heart of a shepherd. I pray we are... I pray we are.
THEN FINALLY, THIS MORNING, CORPORATELY AS A CHURCH WE MUST BE WILLING TO PLAN FOR FUTURE SHEEP AND THE SAFETY OF THE STRAYS.
Shepherds don't just think and plan for today but also for tomorrow. They provide a place of safety for them to graze and seek tomorrow.
Folk, aren't we glad we are a part of a church that continues to plan for seeking saving lost sheep with additional land and facilities? Aren't we glad to have a budget 2/3 of which goes to preaching and teaching both at home and abroad? Too many churches have turned inward, focusing on themselves, their personal preferences and egos, focusing on issues rather than becoming shepherds, having the heart of a shepherd, caring for sheep, seeking and saving the lost and bringing strays back home safely. May God help us to continue to prepare for sheep who are not here yet but they are coming.
- God is blessing this church
- God is working in your life.
- God is molding your heart into that of a shepherd.
Church, what happens when the lost are found? When strays repent and come home?
- There is a celebration, there is rejoicing.
- A rejoicing and celebration in heaven.
- A rejoicing and celebration in the church.
Heaven and this church are ready to rejoice with you this morning.
- 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 by faith, repentance, baptism by immersion in water for the forgiveness of your sins and would like to join this church, becoming a shepherd with us, we welcome you.
Come now, respond to God's call. Have the heart of a shepherd.
Will you come?
