December 16, 2007

 

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

The Care of the Good Shepherd

 

 

Introduction: Last Sunday morning our message was on John 10:1-18, titled “The Voice of God and the Voice of the Good Shepherd.” Specifically, we discussed how to identify the voice of the Good Shepherd. The porter, though unidentified in the text, could be God the Father because he is the One who allows the Shepherd to enter by the door and call out his sheep. Therefore, the voice of God and the voice of the Good Shepherd both ought to be considered. God now speaks to us by His Son. (Heb. 1:1-2.)

 

One writer said that the “ranch of the world” is filled with sick and dying sheep. The Devil is not a good shepherd. A hireling will not risk personal danger when the sheep are being threatened. But the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. This is not some theoretical statement; that he is just willing to do that. He did so that we might have eternal life.

 

“The thief comes not except to steal, kill and destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10.) “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18.)

 

The sheep cared for by the Good Shepherd has a good life. We should be well-fed and healthy spiritually. David said these famous words: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads by the still waters. He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thy art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the lord forever.” (Psalm 23)

 

It is a great truth that the Good Shepherd gives to us life and life more abundantly. The Lord enriches our lives. Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3.) He said, “Christ in you is your hope of glory.” (Col. 1:27.) No one else can affect our lives like the Good Shepherd does. Faith in him changes our lives. There are many things that can affect our lives and make a difference in them. In order to note the difference that the Good Shepherd makes in our lives, think about how other things also affect our lives.

 

Marriage and Children. Two of the great milestones in life that changes your life are marriage and children. You will never be the same afterwards. There is no going back, though you might wish you could!

 

Tom Norvell, minister at Cameron Avenue a few years back, made these observations during a wedding that he was conducting. The groom was a surgeon who had operated on Tom’s jaw a few months before the wedding. Tom had an extended jaw; the surgeon broke his jaw, removed part of it and moved it back. Sounds like that would hurt. . .  a lot. It was a complicated matter; it had to be done twice. Tom and the single surgeon got to know one another during this time; the surgeon asked Tom if he would perform his wedding. During the ceremony, Tom told the audience had the groom had worked on his face and rearranged things. Now, Tom said, it is my turn. He thinks he has changed my life; I am really going to change his. Marriage does that to us.

 

Jesus said that in marriage two become one flesh. (Matt. 19:6.) It is also one of the first statements made in the Bible. (Gen. 2:24.) Husbands and wives in marriage can model before the world the relationship between Christ and the Church. The husband can model the spiritual headship of Christ over the church; the wife can model the relationship of the Church to Jesus by being in submission to her own husband. (Eph. 5:21-33.) Not only does the fabric of society and the home depend upon this relationship, but also the relationship between Christ and the Church. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet in the upper room, but no one doubted for a moment who the spiritual leader was in the room. There is mutual submission of husband and wife. (Eph. 5:21.) Jesus served the Church and gave his life for it, but he is still the head of the Church. Marriage is not just about being in love (the way the world defines it); it is about covenant-keeping. God is faithful; the Lord is faithful in keeping his covenant with the Church. We too should be faithful to him in keeping the covenant with our Lord. Marriage changes our lives; our relationship with Christ changes our lives even more fully and completely.

 

Having children will change your life; the moment a child is born into you family you realize that life will never be the same again. Having the responsibility for raising a child will mature you in a way that nothing else can. It should not surprise us that both elders and deacons are required to have children. (1 Tim. 3:4, 12.) It gives you some experience that you cannot gain through just studying.

 

Sickness and suffering. Those who have suffered due to serious ailments have been affected in their lives by it. Suffering makes a difference in a person’s life. Isaiah said of our Lord, “He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3.) Job learned patience through suffering.

 

David wrote this about suffering: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now have I kept thy word. . . It was good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statues.” (Psalm 119:67, 71.) Solomon said: “Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3.)

 

Brother Guy N. Woods’ life was no doubt shaped by a childhood illness. The doctors advised his parents to build a hammock and put him out in the sunshine for seven to eight hours a day. They thought the sun would help to remedy his illness. During those long hours lying in a hammock in the sun, Guy Woods spent his time reading books. He borrowed books from preachers. While in the sun, he developed a life-long habit of reading and studying so that he became one of the keenest scholars of his day. Read the lives of great men and women in the world and you will learn that they overcame great obstacles in life. They endured great suffering.

Time and Age. Just the passing of years makes a difference in our lives. The experiences of life affect us; it is not just age. Here are some biblical statements about time.

 

“Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light. See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise; redeeming the time because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:14-16.)

 

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” (Eccl. 12:1.)

 

Death of family and friends. We are never the same again after losing someone close to us. Our lives are forever changed when our parents are gone. You do not have them any more as anchors in your life. Losing a child or mate has a powerful influence on all of us.

 

The Most Powerful Influence of All

 

The most powerful influence on earth in our lives is Jesus Christ. There are several reasons why this is so. He is the giver of life; the Creator of mankind. John wrote, “All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:3-5.)

 

It makes no sense to say that someone dwells in us like it does to say that Jesus dwells in our hearts by faith. Our lives are not enriched by another person the way it is enriched by Jesus Christ. Paul wrote about having the Gospel written on our hearts by the Spirit of God and that we can be changed into the same image of Christ by the Spirit of God. (2 Cor. 3:3, 18.)

 

Our relationship to Jesus Christ is spoken of in Scripture in a redemptive sense. This cannot be said of our relationship with any other. There is salvation in no other than Jesus Christ. Sinful things in life can have a powerful hold on our lives and hearts. We use the word addiction to refer to some things like drugs, but it is also true of all things sinful. Only the influence of and working of the Spirit of the Lord within us can these addictions be broken. If we make an excuse that we cannot overcome them, we are denying the power of the Good Shepherd to give abundant life to us. He can change our hearts and lives if we will trust Him.

 

If you have allowed anger to run with a free rein in your life, you can bring back under control through faith in Jesus Christ. If you are addicted to drinking and drugs, the power of this addiction can be broken if you give yourself as a servant to Jesus Christ. Homosexuality can be defeated. Love for money can be defeated by loving God more. You cannot serve two masters; you must choose between God and mammon. Self-righteousness can be destroyed by trusted in Jesus Christ instead of self.

 

Think about the change that was brought about in the lives of the following people: 1) Saul of Tarsus who madly persecuted Christians until he met Jesus on the Damascus Road; 2) Unstable Simon became a rock in the Church serving as an apostle and elder; 3) Timid Timothy became such a courageous disciple that he withstood a pagan crowd in Ephesus; they beat him to death with rods. Paul wrote to him: “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7.) 4) Onesimus was an unprofitable servant to Philemon, but he became profitable to both Paul and Philemon after his conversion. Paul gave him the name, Onesimus, which means profitable one.

 

Paul later wrote about himself: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20.) Some of the Corinthians had lived sinful lives, but Paul wrote about them: “Such were some of you, but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-11.)

 

Note this statement about the difference that Jesus makes in our lives: “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:17-18.) The Good Shepherd came to give us life and life more abundantly.