Leading God's Children, John 10:1-21; The Good Shepherd

This last Sunday we had our worship service on the back lawn of the church.  It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful morning and we'll be very fortunate if any of our other outdoor services this summer/fall will be even half as lovely.  It was almost perfect the temperature was great, there was only a slight breeze, and there were no bugs harassing and tormenting us.  After worship, the men's group had a Cookout as a fundraiser for upcoming projects.  The cookout also went very well and the men raised more than I'd had anticipated for this event.  There were at least 85 folks at the worship service (we may have missed a couple of the little people in counting) and most stayed for the food also.

The scripture for the sermon is found in the Gospel of John in the 10th Chapter.

John 10:1-21  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Jesus the Good Shepherd
1 “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes[a] it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words. 20 Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” 21 Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?

In the sermon I hit upon the fact that we cannot chase or drive people to Christ, rather we have to lead them to Jesus.  In verse 4, we read the following: 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  Jesus clearly says that the 'Good Shepherd' goes ahead of his sheep and they 'follow' Him.  We simply cannot 'drive' people to Christ; rather just as Christ did we must gain their love and build a relationship with them through the extension of love, grace, support, and more.  Once the 'sheep' know Christ's voice by our example, then we can go ahead (or beside) and call their name.

I used one of my childhood experiences back in South Dakota as an illustration for the sermon.  One time we were rounding up cattle out of a large pasture along the Missouri River breaks.  This was a rugged and expansive pasture that held around 400-500 head of cows along with their calves.  After several hard hours of popping through brush and washouts, we brought the herd up onto the flats to prepare to head out.  My father pulled up in his pickup, took a look and proclaimed "you haven't got them all, go back out there and look again."

Honestly, I thought he was crazy and told him so, but he just pointed for me to go... and I did.  Riding back through the pasture (which is very much easier said than done) I did find three old cows and their calves hiding in a brush thicket.  I brought them out and Dad said "okay, let's go" and we started heading out to new pasture.  Just as my father knew (he was like that, he could just tell by looking) that all the cattle weren't there and he wasn't about to leave any of his cattle behind... God, our heavenly Father knows each of his children and isn't about to leave even one of His little ones behind.  When we're tired and the day is well spent, we will hear His voice "you don't have them all, go back out and look again."  As long as we are drawing breath in this world, our charge is to lead those little ones through the gate... the gate called Jesus.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace & Love,
Roy