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Sermon for 05/07/06
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Jesus is Everything To All People
[Guest Sermon by Diane Nelson]
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen!
“I am.” That
statement is an attention grabber for me. Those are the first two words in
our Gospel text today. Jesus used the statement; “I am” to gain the
understanding of His audience. Is anyone here a shepherd? No. But, here in
John, Jesus was speaking to shepherds. Jesus has the ability to make
Himself whatever His audience needs in order to grow in wisdom and
knowledge of who He is.
Now, in Israel they
couldn’t ALL be shepherds. Some grew crops, even grapes to make wine.
Jesus first miracle turned water into wine. Jesus addressed this farming
crowd when He described himself in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the
branches.”
The Israelites were
saved from captivity in Egypt and as they wandered the wilderness, God
provided manna for them to eat. Hebrews were well educated in their
history and remembered the stories of how God provided for their people.
Jesus spoke to them in John 6:48, “I am the bread of life.”
In fact, in the
gospel of John, Jesus refers to Himself as “I am” 26 times.
I am the bread of
life
I am the light of the
world.
I am the gate for the
sheep
I am the good
shepherd
I am God’s Son
I am the resurrection
and the life
I am the way the
truth and the life
I am in my Father
I am in you
I am the true vine,
my Father is the gardener
I am the vine you are
the branches
I am He
Ultimately what I
learned from this is “Jesus is everything to all people.” I want you to
truly grasp that. It’s amazing when you think about it. Which brought to
mind... have you ever tried that? Have you tried to be all things to all
people by changing your behavior, your speech, and your mannerism
depending on whom you were with? It doesn’t work very well does it? I
can’t be everything to all people. I just need to be me. But, this is who
Jesus IS!
I thought about the
phrase, “I can relate to that.” It feels so good to hear those words. It
means that person knows what you are going through. It is someone that can
help you and be empathetic with you. Looking at this long list of I AM’s,
that someone is Jesus!
Not only is Jesus
everything to all people. Jesus speaks to the people in a language they
will understand. The Israelite and Hebrew people had been shepherds from
day one. Genesis 46:33 and following reads... “When Pharaoh calls you in
and asks, ‘what is your occupation?’ you should answer, ‘your servants
have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’” Many
important figures in Hebrew history were shepherds - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
and his sons, Moses and David (to name a few). So this crowd understood
shepherding it was their livelihood and here Jesus is taking them one step
further in saying a “Good shepherd” lays down His life for the sheep.
What is the job of
a shepherd?
Psalm 23 paints a
beautiful picture of a shepherd’s job as he cares for, leads and guides
his sheep.
Shepherding is a
livelihood that called for diligence and endurance. Most of the shepherd’s
work involved, leading the sheep to food and water and returning them to
the safety of the fold. If any animals were missing, his duty was to
rescue the lost. Finding green pastures often took them far from home, so
they put up with simple food, harsh weather and primitive lodging.
Shepherds had to be on guard against thieves and wild animals.
Shepherds were
skilled in defending their flocks. The shepherd knew his animals by name;
his sheep recognized his voice. Special attention was given to expectant
moms and newborn lambs. A shepherd nurses sheep back to health when they
become sick or hurt.
We also read in 1
Samuel 17:34, ‘David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his
father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from
the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its
mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed
it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear...the Lord who
delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver
me from the hand of this Philistine.’”
So we learn here that
a shepherd was expected to defend these helpless animals, but they were
also expected to come out of the confrontation alive. Jesus’ audience knew
this! It was their way of life. Yet, here is Jesus taking it one step
further in telling them that a good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. That must have left them all scratching their heads! After all,
when I’m dead, what good am I then?
From Psalm 23:1
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want?” What do you want? Does
it align with what God wants for you, or do your desires show in your
heart where your true priority is? Is He your shepherd?
Jesus talked about
the wolf. To me the wolf represents sin and Satan’s hold on the world.
Satan is crafty. He has used the same tactics for years. Since the Garden
of Eden, and still true today, Satan causes us to doubt God and put
ourselves first and foremost in our lives and to blame others for our
misfortunes. We have to be extremely strong in our faith to resist Satan’s
temptations.
We can visualize the
scene with the hired hand. He’s just in it for the paycheck. He has no
attachment to these sheep. So we see him putting himself first - running
at the first sign of trouble and leaving these sheep defenseless.
Yet, here is Jesus.
In this scenario, Jesus obviously wants us to recognize Himself as the
good shepherd and we are the sheep. He cares for us and lays down His life
for us. That is what Good Friday is all about. Jesus went head to head
with SIN and Satan. He didn’t put Himself first; he didn’t run at the
first sign of trouble.
Now, I want you to
think about this story in a different way. Could you be a shepherd too?
Aren’t we called by God to be His disciples and share with others the
abundance of God’s mercy and grace? Any parents out there feeling like you
need to shepherd your children? Yes! We have a job to do! Or you might
feel called to shepherd another family member, friend, co-worker, or maybe
a neighbor?
We are so blessed to
have the Good Shepherd on our side! He never leaves us or forsakes us! He
cares for us so much He died for us!
Have you heard the
AAA commercial on the radio? These two men are talking on the phone and
one is really piling it on thick saying, “I’m there for you man!” He goes
through all these scenarios where he would drop everything for his friend
to help him. But, by the end of the commercial we hear the words “I’m
there for you, well except on Tuesday evenings and weekends, oh and...”
Thankfully, Jesus isn’t like that! Jesus is there for us 24/7!
In verse 14, Jesus
makes His point again. I AM the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my
sheep know me.
So, let’s focus on
the sheep for a minute. What are sheep like?
Psalm 23 also shows
the submissive nature and trust of sheep as they are comforted and
protected by their shepherd.
Sheep are mentioned
in the Bible more than 500 times. Sheep are helpless animals. They need a
lot of supervision, guidance and protection. Sheep become lost easily,
once lost they are defenseless. The sheep know their shepherd and are
comforted when he is with them. They trust their shepherd and respond to
his voice.
Think about this...
Are you a
“Submissive” person or are you ‘domineering’?
Does “trusting,”
describe you or are you more ‘uncertain’ in your life and the choices you
make?
Do you feel
“helpless/defenseless” recognizing your need to rely on God, or are you
totally ‘independent’?
Can you be
“comforted” or are you a first class ‘worrier’?
To be sheep, we need
to take on the attributes of sheep: trusting and submitting ourselves to
God, recognizing we are helpless, and allowing ourselves to be comforted.
Earlier in this
passage of John, it says, “My sheep know my voice.” How do we know if we
are hearing God’s voice?
I’ve received this
email a couple of times, so I’m sure most of you have seen it too. But, I
really feel it helps make my point this morning...
“A flood came and a
man had to climb onto the roof of his house. As the waters rose a
neighbor in a rowboat appeared, and told him to get in. "No," replied the
man on the roof, "the Lord will save me." Then a firefighter appeared in
a speedboat. "Climb in!" shouted the firefighter. "No," replied the man on
the roof, "The Lord will save me." A helicopter appeared and the pilot
shouted that he would lower a rope to the man on the roof. "No," replied
the man on the roof, "the Lord will save me." Eventually the man drowned
and went to heaven, where he asked God why He hadn't helped him. "I sent
a neighbor, a firefighter, and helicopter," said God. "What more do you
want?"”
What did this man
forget to do? Well the very first thing I noticed was PRAY!
Let’s look into this
a bit further... many Bible passages promise God’s guidance and God’s
wisdom to believers who truly seek it. Humbly, we come before God in
prayer, trusting Him (just like the sheep) and expecting Him to give us
guidance. After prayer, God guides us in three unique ways.
After you’ve
prayed, open your Bible! If this is new for you, check the concordance
for a key word to guide you to a specific scripture passage. Sometimes
as you read the Bible, God leads you to a verse that exactly fills
your need. Try it!
Do circumstances,
following prayer, help you make a concrete decision? By reasoning and
judgment after prayer, God leads your mind to think of a good
reasonable solution and God is not beyond causing outward
circumstances to confirm it!
Again, after
prayer, do you have sense of peace concerning your decision? God gives
us guidance after prayer with inner peace concerning one path of our
decision; on the contrary you may find the wrong choice a bit
difficult to swallow.
BONUS! To have all
three of these confirmations are to know real assurance of God’s guidance.
I don’t think sheep
automatically know their shepherds voice from day one. How can they? They
have to build that trust, which unfortunately is just like us with God,
isn’t it? We don’t trust Him right away. Little by little we give over
some of the small things to Him and build up to giving over the bigger and
more urgent matters to Him.
So, when Jesus says
there are other sheep not of this sheep pen, He’s telling us that there
are more sheep out there than us. We’re not to be exclusive but inclusive!
Have you ever been lost? Depending on where you are, it can be really
scary! Do you remember what it was like to be found again? It feels so
good! What concerns me is there are numerous people out there in the world
today that don’t even realize they are lost! I challenge you to pray for
them and ask God to reveal how you can reach out to help them. As
shepherds we need to go and find the lost sheep and train them to trust in
His voice and join the flock. They too will recognize His voice; they
belong to Him, just as we do.
So, how far would you
go in laying down your life for others?
Thinking about the
events that lead up to His crucifixion, I thought about how willing Jesus
truly was to lay down His life for you and for me. Jesus allowed Himself
to be arrested in the garden, be put on trial unfairly, mocked, beaten,
flogged, nailed to and hung on a cross. Jesus went all the way in
obedience to the will of God, His Father.
Jesus was human, but
He was also God. He performed miracle after miracle during His earthly
life. He could have escaped the whole crucifixion. He is powerful. As the
crowd gathered at the cross hurled insults at Him and dared Him to come
down from the cross to PROVE He was God’s Son. He easily could of. But
that was NOT God’s plan. Jesus did this FREELY! I love the t-shirt that
says something to the effect, “Nails did not hold Jesus to the cross -
love did.”
We aren’t guaranteed
salvation through being a nice person. We receive salvation by FAITH -
through the grace of God shown to us through the sacrificial love of His
only Son, Jesus. God sent Jesus here to be the Savior of the world and
open the path to heaven for lowly sinners like us! Why? Because, HE LOVES
US!
Looking back at this
text through the empty tomb, we understand what Jesus meant when He said,
“I lay down my life – only to take it up again.” Jesus was raised from the
dead. For 40 days, He appeared, walked, talked, and ate with His
followers. Death did NOT have the final word in His life and if we truly
believe - it doesn’t have the final word in ours!
Praise God!
Amen!
Opening Prayer
Let us pray,
Almighty God, eternal
Father, Holy! Holy! Holy! Is your name! We come to this sanctuary today to
worship You - in prayer, scripture, communion and songs of praise! How
awesome it feels to be in this place. Clear our minds of any distractions
from the outside world. For this next hour, Lord, turn our focus
completely on You and what You would want us to learn today. We thank you
Lord, for Your Son, Jesus Christ, the Good shepherd who laid down His life
for us!
We pray in Jesus’
name. Amen!
Confessional
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Plain and simple, You
sent Jesus here to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins and grant us new
life in You. Thank you for loving us more than we can ever imagine! So
many of us know that in our heads, but we don’t know it in our hearts.
Transform us God!
Forgive us Lord, when
we struggle to trust You as we should, we neglect to listen for your
voice, and we worry over things we have no control. Help us grow to be
more like sheep. Recognizing how helpless and defenseless we are without
You in our lives.
And now Lord,
although you know us better than we know ourselves, listen as we share in
a moment of silence, those other parts of our lives that need to be
forgiven, washed clean, healed, and recommitted to you!
(Silence)
God our Shepherd, we
praise you for the gentle guidance you provide for us daily. Help us to
recognize your mercy and grace working in our lives and eagerly share You
with others. In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN
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