They Will Listen

The Good Shepherd

John 10:11–18 NRSV

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 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. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 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. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes 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.”

Good Shepherd— He is....

Present to Us

-present to us

Image Slide: The Good Shepherd

Planning for our Care

-planning for our care— not just tending to our felt needs, but preparing the way for us. Giving us what we really need. Moving us forward together. Correcting us when we stray from the path

Correcting us when

Laying Down His Life

Philippians 2:3–18 NRSV

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

Philippians 2:3-18

Reaching Beyond Us

-reaching beyond us to those who will listen and respond. The Church is the primary expression of the Kingdom of God but God is always reaching just beyond the borders of the church to draw people into kingdom life. So it’s always bigger than us, even though we all matter so much to God. We should not be smug. We don’t have to feel blah or stuck. There’s always more and there’s always a wonderful opportunity to let God use you in the world.

They Will Listen

It’s stunning to think of this. But God is in conversation with people who are not yet followers of Christ. We may tend to think of this as mainly about our friends and loved ones who have a vague connection to Christianity but simply don’t act on it much. However, Jesus here speaks of sheep of another fold. At that point in history, Jesus would have been referring to gentiles who were currently practicing other religions. He said when they heard his voice they would listen. He even says it as a bit of an indictment against God’s people. It’s as if he’s saying: often those who already know me, fail to listen carefully and follow me closely. But surprisingly my sheep from another fold will listen and will follow.

This has huge implications for our lives. One important thing it means is that Jesus is looking for those who will listen to him and follow. If we are not inclined to listen or inclined to follow, Jesus doesn’t just sit around waiting to build his kingdom later when we finally decide to turn off the TV or get out of our easy chair. He has one purpose: to fulfill his mission. We need to be in fellowship and publicly worship God. It’s very important. We should not neglect it. But don’t misunderstand. Just because you go to church regularly doesn’t mean you’re in step with Jesus. And if you won’t get in step with Jesus he will be patient with you, but his mission goes on. You might get left behind. He won’t interrupt your TV routine. Jesus is always seeking those who are lost.

Next, let’s get off our high horse when it comes to evaluating people who don’t attend church regularly yet. They may walk in off the street and in about ten minutes be light years past where you are in the Lord. Don’t sit in your pride and think you’re better than someone else. Don’t judge others by things that just don’t matter. Don’t waste energy on things that quickly fade like: music styles or how bright the lights are. GIVE GOD FREEDOM TO WORK! Let the shepherd lead the way. We just concentrate on following.

They will listen… So are you out there with the shepherd finding new sheep? This view of how Jesus builds his kingdom values everyone as they are right now today. Oh, well he’s Hindu. Great! That means he believes in God and is seeking to do God’s will in the world. Start the conversation there. See if they are interested in Jesus. Be as interested in their journey as you want them to be in yours. She’s Muslim. Great! She believes in one God. You have even more in common. She dresses funny because she’s trying to be modest. Respect her. Listen to her. Tell her what Jesus means to you in the most loving way possible. If they aren’t interested in listening to you it might be their problem. But it might be your problem. Jesus said: They will listen. This is very subtle: but do you expect people to listen or do you expect them to reject what you say? Often times we find what we go looking for in relationships.

MTD- Monotheistic Therapeutic Deism

MTD is the leading religion in America: Monotheistic Therapeutic Deism. That’s a joke among theological types to refer to believing in a God who is mainly here to make me happy. Otherwise he just sits back and lets me do my thing. We need to help people get past this weak understanding of God. The problem is we may be just as hung up as they are. So Jesus is gently reminding us here to be humble and realize he has a big project going. It’s not all inside these walls. He’s very active in the world and in the lives of people that might surprise us. If we are sucked into this kind of thinking we won’t be good listeners to our active God. So don’t get parked at a lull in your spiritual journey. You’ll miss the best parts.

Knowing His voice… Listening… Following… Looking for those other sheep and lost sheep… It’s all part of the rhythm of following Jesus. So let’s follow.