Sermon-Themes of the Shepherd
Themes of the Shepherd’s Voice
Introduction:
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Don’t know what you just heard? Don’t feel bad because that is the beginning of what is called the greatest nonsense poem in the English language. Its title is, Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carrol, an English author. We know him as the author of his most famous work is popularly known as Alice in Wonderland.
People without Christ react to the message of the Bible in much the same way that you did when I recited that poem. They hear it but it makes no sense to them. They know that something is going on but they can’t quite get the meaning.
But you, the believers in Christ, the sheep of his fold, can understand the meaning of the Good Shepherd’s voice. After all because you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are His Sheep, and he knows you. He has equipped you to hear His voice and to follow Him.
Since you are then you will hear and know from this morning’s text what the origin, themes and objective of the shepherd’s word.
Read the text: 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Prayer - Heavenly Father, you are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You want us to hear from you by your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Give us attentive ears and receptive hearts committed to follow Him all the days of our lives. In the matchless name of Christ we pray, Amen
That’s right, I am equating the Bible with the Person of Christ as the Word of God and His word is His Voice. “Search the Scriptures, . . .for they are they which testify of me,” Jesus told his inquisitors (John 5:39). And so we will do it.
Look at these Words to from Paul to Timothy
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I The Word has an origin - it is God breathed
It is a claim that the word does not originate in humans. It is God Breathed, it originates in God. This is from God himself. When Paul wrote ‘all Scripture’ he had in mind the Old Testament. For the most part the patriarchs, prophets and poets knew that what they wrote did not come from them but were words and wisdom beyond themselves. Scripture is no mere figment of an artist, or a drunkard, or a human under the influence of some narcotic. These writers were holy men of God who spoke as they were carried along by the Holy spirit (II Pet 2:21). God Himself has given us his Word.
II The Word has themes. These themes are threads of information that run through all of the scripture. They are ideas that God develops so that we begin to see as He sees and we stand in wonder and awe of His plan and his work, and the part he gives us in them. The Apostle Paul give four main themes that serve as the voice of Christ. They are, teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training.
A. Teaching – That is the “Big Picture” Do you know what God is doing in our world today? It is the underlying principles of a Godly life. The Scriptures state that God is and He is the Creator of all that exists. He created mankind as part of his Great Work, but Adam (and the whole human race with him) rebelled in willful sin against the will of God. From that time on God’s purpose is to redeem the world, to bring it back to Himself. At first He dealt with the human race as a whole. Then His work focused on a people we call the Jews. Now He is doing the same work in Christ as He has always done, as Peter put it while testifying before the Jerusalem Counsel, ‘He is “taking from the Gentiles a people for himself (Acts 15:15).” He also, wants to teach believer how to walk in the newness of life. Our walk draws attention to Jesus Christ so that the Father might draw all of mankind to Himself. Do you get the Big Picture?
B. Rebuking - The next theme is ‘rebuking.’ Rebuking is letting us know that we are not walking in the newness of life, but have gone off the ‘path of righteousness.’ It is telling us that we have done wrong. We aren’t going to do everything right. Nor are we always conscious that we have done wrong. The word tells it to us the way it is.
Humanly speaking, a rebuke is unpleasant, but in the end it works a glorious work.
(Illustration) Should a chunk of marble become angry with the artist that is chipping away at its surface? In the end the result may be a masterpiece.
The surgeon cuts us and causes us pain, but we don’t get angry for the work. We have submitted ourselves to the work. We know that the surgeon’s work is in our best interest.
A rebuke from God can come like a hammer strike or a knife wound. Why should we be angry with Him. He is working all things for our good, shaping us into the image of Christ (Rom 8:29).
C. Correcting – I am told that the word means: ““restoration to an upright or right state, correction or improvement” of life or character.
It is as if someone has fallen and can’t get up. But God shows us the skills needed to get up.
A merciful God has given us tools to deal with our shortcomings, our sins. One of the great tools of the vibrant Christian is the tool of confession, confessing to God, confessing to others when it is appropriate. One of a believers best skill is forgiving. Another is being generous. And you know that there are more skills that God wants us to use.
(Illustration) In my part time job I am on the lowest rung of the ladder, so to speak. In the hall the other day I met one of my bosses who has caused me some consternation. I smiled and greeted the boss pleasantly, but in my heart I grumbling about the boss’s decisions that have made my life difficult. Immediately I turned a corner in the hallway and The Holy Spirit brought to mind a verse from Ecclesiasties that we had been studying on Wednesday evening Bible study. The verse was Eccl. 10:20
“Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird of the air may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.”
I confessed my sin, realizing the thoughts I had were not those of a
growing Christian.
D. Training in righteousness – The last of the list is “training in righteousness.” Training righteousness comes in steps. A good teacher teaches in steps. We learn to do one skill and practice that one so that we may learn a new and more difficult skill. This process goes on over and over, one skill added to another and to another until the student learns options that overcome roadblocks that crop up along the path of life.
Training in righteousness allows us to see how all things work together for good to them that love Christ, to them who are called according to his purpose. When does our learning stop? By the grace of God, not until we reach heaven.
But where is are these themes taking us?
III. God’s objective- Verse 17
17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
We have before us the goal that God has for that training. He wants to have all the equipment to do the job of walking in Newness of life. We are being equipped to live a life we never thought we could live, the life in Christ, And its triumph and to watch God work through us. He wants us to ‘go in and out and find pasture.’ He wants us to have every skill that will allow us to have life and to have it more abundantly.