There is a Good Shepherd Psalm 80; John 10

 Psalm 80:1-7;  John 10:11-18  “There is a Good Shepherd”  4/21/24
Preached at Eastminster Presbyterian by Rev. Dr. J. Ben Sloan

Here is a video of a sheep that I would like for you to see at the beginning of this sermon:  

There are so many images of sheep in scripture.  In our more urban society, we may easily get confused.  But I remember 2 things: they can get messy and wander off;  I can remember when we had the Live Nativity here, and before we hired the sheep, we had a farmer, Mr. McCracken, who would allow us to have his sheep at the Live Nativity.  There were two problems.  First we had to catch the sheep.  My brother, who is about 10 years older than me—and I think David Chase, went to catch these sheep one Christmas.  It had rained the night before and they came home absolutely covered in mud!   Then the other problem was that the sheep tended to escape and headed down Trenholm Road toward what is now the field.  Sheep are cute, sweet, won’t hurt a fly, but they can be messy and get in trouble.  [show slide]  I love that meme.  It reminds me that as many times as Jesus rescues me, I tend to get in trouble all over again.  The good news is the Good shepherd does not give up- to the point that he would rather die than not rescue the sheep. 
     When Jesus restored Peter after his resurrection- He went after one of his lost sheep; His question  3 times (one for each of the times he denied him) was: “Do you love me.”  Then the next admonition was to “Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.”  He was asking Peter to be an under-shepherd- and a good one- motivated by love, and the need to care for the people of God.  He was asking him to be a good shepherd.  We need people who will consider the ministry.  Who are willing to give themselves fully for the glory of God.  Jesus here lists some qualities for a Good shepherd.  He listed them not just for the apostles, but for all who listen. 
He lays down his life; He knows his sheep; he cares for their being peacefully together; He gives them abundant life.
    1) THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP- He Doesn’t run away when trouble comes.  Do you know how much you are loved by the God who made you?  He loves you, knows you, and gives Himself for you.  When you stray away- He reaches down to bring you back.  The birth of God in human form that we celebrate at Christmas shows God is willing to come down for you that you might be brought up to Him.  The death of the Good Shepherd, Jesus, is not some esoteric theological concept.  Jesus said it like this, Greater love has no one than this- that He gives his life for his friends.  He said the Son of Man came not to be served- like a hireling- but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.  We know all that, but can you let it sink into your bones?  The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  God is not out to get you, or manipulate you, or zap you, or consume you. 
     That doesn’t mean that the Good shepherd doesn’t want you to come into His fold, into the safety of His care, to come back to Him.  The Good Shepherd cares when you go astray.  He doesn’t shrug his shoulder and say, “Those old dumb sheep- they’ll get what’s coming to them.”  No, He comes down.  He looks for us like the Prodigal’s father.  He leaves the 99 to go after us.  He looks for us as a person looking for a lost coin or a lost pearl, and He invites us to look for Him.  The Good Shepherd says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness then all these other things will be added to you.” 
   Eight months ago 9/2 at 1:30 AM, Joseph Pope and Charles Segar saved the lives of two 18 year old students whose car was burning in a late night wreck.  They saw the car burning, and when they looked they saw the man inside.  They busted out the window and pulled Anderson Jones from his Nissan.  Jones told him there was another in the car.  They pulled her from the car too as the car started to be engulfed in flames.  The car could have exploded.  Pope cut his arm trying to help and required stitches.  The two could not save themselves- but Pope and Segar saved them and were recognized for that by Clemson City Council, and the Boy Scouts.  Pope was an eagle scout from our own troop 10.   Jesus is our rescuer.  He came to us when we could not save ourselves at risk to himself.   When we rescue, when we help when we give of ourselves we are being Christ-like.

2) THE GOOD SHEPHERD KNOW HIS SHEEP AND HIS SHEEP KNOW HIM- he binds up their wounds, they call out to the shepherd, and the shepherd calls back to them.   I said this awhile back, but we tend to live like everyone knows us except God.  Our Snapchat, twitter, facebook, virtual friends may know us- but God doesn’t really know us.  If He did, He wouldn’t like that snidy comment I put up about someone else’s opinion.  We think our GPS service knows where we are- but somehow God does not.  We think Google can see our house from Google earth, but somehow God cannot.  If Google knows your email, your ad preferences and wants, and it is but a machine, cannot God Almighty the omniscient one?  The guillemot is an arctic bird that lays its eggs on the cliff . All the birds lay thousands in a row.  Yet studies show the mother incredibly  knows which egg is hers.  So God knows you by name and loves you.  There is a great article in the State paper about Dawn Staley texting a Clemson fan giving him comfort over his gamecock mother’s passing.  It meant so much that she took time and that of all the fans she met, she knew her and cared.  God knows you so well.  He made you.  He knows every cell, every molecule of your body.  He knows when you fall into a ditch.  He knows when you are in the green pastures feeding and lying beside the still waters.  He knows when your heart is broken.  He came down to earth to show us He understands us.  The One who is and gives eternal life understands suffering and death.  There is nowhere, not the darkest evil place, not the brightest good place;  not the stupidest place, or the most enlightened place; not the place where you feel horribly uncomfortable- even the death bed, and not the place where you think you are already in heaven.  There is no place where God does not know you and care about you.  Tim Keller said, “God know us to the bottom yet loves us to the skies.” 
3) THE GOOD SHEPHERD CARES ABOUT THE UNITY OF THE FLOCK- There are other sheep not of this pen—He is clearly talking about that there are gentiles that Jesus wants to invite into the fold.  They also will know Him, and he says, “And there shall be one flock.”  One of the saddest things in our day is that we seem to have lost in the last fifteen years, the desire to be one flock.  We divide and cast out and divide again until people say, “why do I want to go to that individualistic church.”  The number of denominations is growing.  The first 1,000 years of Christianity there was only one denomination.  The next 500 years there were about five.  Today there are roughly 45,000 different denominations in the world- including non-denominational churches who became denominations.  We have a problem.  The problem is not that our beliefs are not perfect- no one believes perfectly.  The problem is described in 1 Corinthians 13- “If I speak in the tongues of angels but have not love- I am nothing.  If I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love I am nothing.”  The church is dying today because we lack faith, hope and love. In our context, we must learn to love across denominational lines- to love those with whom we differ- or we will wither into nothing.   It is not our kingdom come- it is His.   The old joke is about a person who dies and goes to heaven.  St Peter is giving them a tour.  In one room are people kneeling.  The man says, “Who are those people?”  They are the Methodists;  Then another room there are people singing and raising their hands “Who are those people?”  They are the Pentecostals.  There were some with their heads bowed quietly- almost like they were asleep- “Who are those people?”  They are the Presbyterians.  Then there were three rooms with the doors shut.  The man says, “Who are those people?”  Peter says, “SHHHH!  Those are the indepen dents and they think they are the only ones up here.  It is time to repent of our divisiveness, and our willingness as sheep to wander off looking for greener pastures.  The Good Shepherd wants one flock. 
4) ABUNDANT LIFE-The Good Shepherd is not a thief who seeks to kill and destroy and take away your joy.  The thief is not just the devil.  There are many thiefs!  Envy steals our joy;  drugs we may think give us joy- but can also give us regret and addiction that kill and destroy- Last year in SC over 2,000 people died to drug overdoses and that is with an abundance of Narcan that keeps people from dying.  Immorality steals our joy- things like pornography- SC ranks 9^th in the nation in time spent on porn on the internet.  But porn can destroy a family.  There is a long list of wolves in sheeps clothing that people buy into.  Life can be hard and troubling- but we can be of good cheer- for the resurrected Christ has overcome the world.  The Good Shepherd is not a wolf in sheep’s clothing who wants to take the beauty of your life away.  The Good Shepherd says, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden- I will heal your wounds, get you beyond your past mistakes and hurts.”  The synonym for salvation is “eternal life.”  Jesus says, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  1 John 5:12 says, “Whoever has the Son has life.”  Ephesians 2 says when we were dead in our sins, Christ came to make us alive.  The abundant life is right here.  Today is the first day of the rest of your eternal life.  Are you just existing?  Are you just coasting in life?  Is your life meaningless?  Is loneliness consuming you?  Are you trying to find yourself?  There is one who wants us to open the door to His love.  He wants us to give up our destructive ways- give up jumping back into the ditches and live in the abundant life.  Today at Eastminster we will have baptisms of confirmation students and a baby.  It is not the end of their journey- it is the beginning of their abundant life!  Hedonism is living for pleasure.  John Piper coined the phrase “Christian hedonism” which means finding pleasure in the living God- the good.  We are made to not just glorify but enjoy God- right now and on into forever.   Do not let any thief steal your joy.  Instead, seek to relish the abundant eternal life- which begins today.