It's Good to be a Sheep

Title:  It’s Good to be a Sheep By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text:   John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, “Pastor, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.” The stunned pastor replied, “What on earth do you mean?” “Well,” said the layman, “Often I hear the phrase, ‘We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.’ And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God’s flock.’ Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards. There I discovered that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created. Why, they are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse. Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig’ every Sunday morning. So I’m not at all sure I want to come to church and be called a sheep’ any longer...even God’s sheep’.”  The man had a point.

I. We’d rather be something other than a sheep. We would entertain a proud peacock perhaps, strutting its tail feathers for all the world to admire. Or a sleek cat, a loyal dog, a strong horse, a bull. Really, if you’re going to run with animal metaphors, let it be anything but a sheep. Maybe we’d even settle for a pig.

A. But I think it's a good thing that for God's people it was an abomination to eat pigs or even touch them, but there was no such law regarding sheep.

1. If it had been the other way around; if sheep had been considered unclean animals but the people of God were allowed to raise hogs, how different wouldn't things be for us!

a. Instead of Jesus holding a lamb like in the statue above our altar, He'd be holding a tiny pig.   b. The 23rd Psalm would begin, "The Lord is my Hog Farmer..." One of our favorite hymns would be, "I Am Jesus' Little Pig."    c. And every year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, instead of hearing a sermon about how we are sheep who love to stray, we'd hear about how we are vicious little pigs who bite and devour each other as we slop around in the mud.

2. But really it’s better to be a sheep than a pig.  The picture, for us, is one of which we are much more accepting.  But really pigs are much smarter than sheep.

a. Pigs are aggressive, sheep are followers.  Pigs can take care of themselves.  They are not easy prey for wild beasts.  They do not need someone constantly watching over them.  Sheep do.    b. If you were a pig then you would have no need for today's sermon, no need for the church, no need for a Shepherd.

B. But whether we like it or not, in the language of the Bible: both the Old and New Testaments we are called “God’s sheep.”

1. So why does Jesus choose to use a sheep to represent his disciples? Even in ancient society, sheep and shepherds did not garner the respect and admiration of the rich and famous. But Sheep have one particularly admirable quality. They will follow their shepherd wherever he leads them.

a. The people of God have been placed in a very large field that is often called the world. Many voices are calling us to come and join them. The voice of materialism wants us to deny our faith in the supernatural and believe only in the physical world. The voice of consumerism calls us to fulfill our envy by overspending on vacations, cars, clothing and a home. The voice of entertainment wants to fill our lives with media driven flashes that grab our attention, isolate us from our family and friends and then leave us with nothing but an oversized bill.   b. And out of all this noise God’s flock has been called to follow Him and trust him. And now because we follow Him we are not easily distracted by another shepherd.

c. Like this: A man in Australia was arrested sometime back and charged with stealing a sheep. But he protested that he owned the sheep and that it had been missing for many days. When the case went to court, the judge didn’t know how to decide the matter. Finally he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom. Then he ordered the plaintiff, the man who had accused the man of stealing his sheep, to step outside and call the animal. The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened.   The judge then instructed the defendant to go to the courtyard and call the sheep. When the accused man began to make his distinctive call, the sheep ran toward the door and his voice. It was obvious that the sheep recognized the familiar voice of his master. “This sheep hears only him,” said the judge. “Case dismissed!”

II. So we are called sheep and here is what Jesus says of His sheep:  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ..."

A. There are four actions taking place here.  Two that we do; two that Jesus does.  We hear and follow.  Jesus knows and gives.

1. Now sheep become confused quite often, and being sheep, this happens with us.

a. We have the tendency to turn these actions around. In our sinful confusion we see ourselves as the ones who know and give, and Jesus as the one who hears and follows. To be a sheep, we think, all it takes is for us to know who Jesus is and to give Him some of our time and money once in a while.  He is the one who hears and follows.  He hears us when we pray to Him now and then, and He follows us around to pull us out of trouble when we need help.  But that's utter confusion!   b. We are Jesus' sheep not because we know Him, but because He knows us; not because of what we give to Him, but because of what He gives to us.  We are Jesus' sheep because we hear His voice and follow Him, not the other way around.

2. Now on the surface it appears that these four actions follow in order.  First we hear Jesus' voice.  Then He knows us.  Next we follow Him.  And finally He gives us eternal life.  But this is not so.  All four actions are simultaneous.  As we hear and follow He knows us and gives life to us.

a. When a baby is at his mother's breast the mother speaks softly to her child while nursing.  The infant hears his mother's voice.  The mother knows her child as her very own.  The child follows her leading to find milk.  Drinking of that milk the mother is giving life to her child.    b. All four actions, really, happen at the same time.  And so with us.  Jesus' sheep hear His voice.  We follow that voice.  And all the while He knows us as His dear sheep and from Him we are receiving life.

B. Now again, because sheep are often confused, so let's understand clearly something about these four actions.  They are in the present tense.  Jesus' sheep always are hearing His voice.  Always He knows His sheep.  Always they follow Him.  Always He is giving life to them.

1. But as confused sheep, we have the tendency to put these actions in the past tense and to say, "I heard Jesus' voice in the past, in Sunday School, Confirmation Class, in church a few times.  And so even though I don't hear His voice in the present much today, because I heard His voice in the past I am His sheep."  "And I followed Him for a while in the past, back when I was not as busy, and so even though I'm not much of a follower today in the present, I am His sheep."    2. But this is utter confusion.  "My sheep," says Jesus, "did not just hear in the past and follow in the past...but they are always, in the present, hearing My voice and following Me."

III. You are Jesus' sheep and it is no accident that you are here today.  Where the Shepherd is, that's where the sheep are found.

A. Jesus made you His sheep in the waters of your baptism.  He washed you and cleansed you, sins and all.

1. Why? Because you are precious to Him; because He is merciful; because He died for you and chose you for His very own.   2. But your Shepherd did not stop with your baptism.  Through Christian parents, teachers, and pastors He taught you of His love and His truth.

a. Through such people, sinners though all of us are, He brought, and brings, His voice to your ears.    b. So when you heard mom and dad reading to you an Arch Book about Abraham, or your Sunday School teacher reading a lesson about King David, or when you hear Pastor preaching to you from the pulpit about sin and grace, you recognize the voice of your Shepherd.

3. You also recognize your Shepherd’s voice in the Words of Institution – and you can see His Hand feeding you with His Body and Blood for the strengthening of Your faith.

B. You never stop being a sheep, and so Jesus never stops knowing you as His own and giving life to you.  He never tires of leading you with His voice.  He never ceases to care for you.

1. Are we perfect contented sheep like the sheep in the statue above our altar--no spots, or wrinkles, or unholy things about us?

a. Not at all.  We're picky sheep, critical sheep, judgmental sheep, lazy sheep, lustful and greedy sheep.  We are sheep with an attitude.  We are sheep with problems.    b. But because you are Jesus' sheep, you are more than anything, forgiven sheep, holy sheep, sheep with hope, sheep who know where you are going--to heaven through Jesus.

2. And so that perfect little sheep above the altar is how Jesus sees you. Not without problems, but problems that vanish in His love.  Not without sin, but completely forgiven, innocent and blameless in His eyes.  You are not a sheep without worries and concerns, but you are happy and content because He is your Shepherd.

CONCLUSION: No pig ever had it so good.  All this is yours, friend, because you are Jesus' sheep.  Amen.

Look Through the Cross

Title:  Temptation – Look through the Cross By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text:  Luke 13:   5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, Most people have seen the movie Forrest Gump.  That opening scene where he is sitting on the bus bench and the feather floats down is classic.  It seems to promise some deep philosophical statement.  Then from that bus bench Forrest spouts his philosophy of life to all who come by as he waits for his bus.  I’d like to begin with a reference from that great philosopher named Forrest Gump.  He said: My momma says: “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” Now that’s a pretty good philosophy on life, but even though there is some truth to it, It’s still very weak.

I. Now we’re normally not as great philosophers as Forrest and normally we don’t even have as clear a philosophy has he does.  But our  philosophy does tends to look at life through circumstances like his. But our philosophy is often tainted because we always want to know why we get the chocolates we get.

A. When we get the good chocolates life is OK in our eyes.

1. We expect the good chocolates to continue and even get better.

a. Somewhere along the line we’ve reached the point in our thinking that we deserve to have good days, and when we have a bad day we get all upset and wonder what we did to deserve it.    b. We think we deserve to have good health, and we complain when we have aches and pains and when we have to constantly take medicine.    c. We think we deserve to have cars that run well, appliances that work well, and we complain when our power goes out because of a lightning storm.

2. But even when we receive all the good chocolates we aren’t truly satisfied, either.

B. And inevitably when we get the bad chocolates we complain and feel put upon.  Our text has two instances of people receiving bad chocolates.

1. Both reports are about atrocities visited upon innocents. These two headlines pretty much cover the waterfront of any modern headline that deals with suffering. It’s either a bad person caused it or someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time -- malice or chance, take your pick.

a. Our underlying assumption seems to be: these people must have done something really, horribly bad to cause God to abandon them in this way.    The assumption is that these were bad people in some way we don’t see.     b. And we may go so far as to say we’re not like that.  We say, "Look, I never slit anybody's throat. I never designed a shoddily constructed building that collapsed on anybody." And you would be right. But Jesus is saying today, at least in part, that the headlines that grab our attention and raise our moral revulsion are a smokescreen for a subtle sin that is in each of us. It is far easier, you see, to locate evil in somebody or something else rather than in ourselves. Far easier to rant and rave at the evening news rather than see the subtle sin in us.

2. Today Jesus turns his audience’s philosophical gymnastics squarely back on them.  He turns them back to see their own sin. He turns us back to see our own sin, too.

a. One of our subtle sins is to try and blame God – as if we were His judge.  We try to place ourselves above God.  As if God were answerable to us. This in effect puts sin in and on God and we accuse Him of being unjust.  This is sin of the most grievous kind.   b. And also in this we try to put the sin on others and not on ourselves.  But Jesus brings us to ask, “Is there such a thing as an innocent man or woman??”   If we are really honest and look at it from a Scriptural perspective we have to say, “No, there is no innocent man or woman.”    c. And it goes even further.  If we are really honest we must realize that we deserve only death and hell.  One of my favorite scenes in a movie has an evil man falling from a tree and dying.  He immediately he continues to fall.  He hits bottom in someplace strange and hot.  He says, “Where am I.” A demon like thing says “you’re in hell.”  Then he is hit repeatedly  and says, “I deserve this, I deserve this.”  Yes, that’s all we each deserve.

3. The fact that we have gotten one moment past birth is a testimony to God’s grace.   That we receive anything, anything at all, is more than we deserve.  When we see suffering my reaction shouldn’t be: “Oh, Yes, they must have sinned” -- implying I’m better – I’m innocent.  But my reaction should be: “I repent for I deserve that suffering and more.”

II. Jesus wants to bring a change in our philosophy of life.  He’s bringing us to look at life through the cross no matter what chocolates we get.

A. All in all, Jesus' abrupt statements here deal a blow to our sinful pride. He tells the people that the normal safety of their lives is far more than they deserve; it's a gift of a merciful God, not something they've earned.

1. Not only is God merciful, but He is also gracious. Thus He has sent His Son into the world--not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus is going willingly to that cross so that they might repent and live.

a. God does not want you to perish, and so He wants you to look at Jesus.  Here is Someone, the only One who had the right to say, “Why Me?  What did I do to deserve this?  What did I do to deserve the mocking, and the beatings, and the whippings, and the thorns, and the nails?  What did I do to deserve the suffering and pain of hell?”  But He didn’t!  He said not a word.   b.  Jesus did not point His finger at you as He hung on the cross and say, “You deserve this, not Me!”  Instead, He said:  Father, forgive them.  Do not hold their sins against them.  Give Me whatever they deserve, and give them your grace and blessing.

2. And that is the reason why you and I have good chocolates is because God is merciful to you for Jesus’ sake.  The fact that God cares for you and sees you through your bad chocolates is because His heart is merciful toward you.  Why do good things happen to sinners like us?  Because of what Jesus did for you; because you have a merciful God.

B. Jesus wants you to see life through the cross rather than through the chocolates you get.  So to prepare you for the chocolates that you will receive, both bad and good, I would bid you to keep the following points in mind.

1.  Because of our sin, we don’t deserve any good from God at all. So when we get uptight and ask the unanswerable “why do bad things happen” to us, it may well be a signal that we need to be blasted by the more appropriate question: “Why does any good happen to us at all?”

This question is better for two reasons. a. First, it recognizes the depth of our sinfulness. b. Second, the Lord makes that answer very clear: good things happen because God pours out all sorts of good on you for the sake of Jesus Christ. c.  I would encourage you daily to renew in your mind the truth that every good thing is an undeserved gift of God. The more we think we deserve things from God, the more we deny our sinfulness; and the more we will grow angry with God when we do not receive what we think we deserve.

2. And we need to keep in mind that in all this God treats us like children and because of that He keeps some things to Himself.

a. Sooner or later, parents find themselves saying to their kids for the best of reasons, “I can’t explain why right now. Just do what I say. You have to trust me.” God says the same to us. He treats us like children—and with good reason: we are His children! He has made us His children for the sake of Jesus, and He assures us that He is “our Father, who art in heaven.”   b. It could have been different: He could have made it a king/subject relationship. In that case, the answer to the problem of bad chocolates might well be, “Bad may happen and because I’m the King, and I’m going to do what I’m going to do. Who are you to question me?” But God doesn’t deal with you in terms of tyrannical power, but in terms of fatherly mercy. And as a merciful Father, He says, “I’ve made you My own child, and I take care of My kids. You don’t have all the answers, but you can be sure that I’m working all things for your good. I’m telling you: trust Me.”   c. And something else to consider is that because of God’s mercy to you, those bad chocolates that happen really aren’t bad chocolates at all.  We see troubles as obstacles and hindrances that prevent us from enjoying life.  But God sees them as things which build character; which teach us to persevere, to trust in Him, and to hold, not so tightly to this world because our true home is in heaven.  Even death is really not a bad chocolate for us, for Jesus has made it the gate of heaven for those who love and trust in Him.

3. And we need to keep in mind that while you don’t know why bad chocolates come our way, you do know that God is merciful and you do know there are places where you know exactly what God is up to, because He tells you.

a. One is your baptism, where He made you His child. That’s why you remember your baptism daily in the face of temptation and affliction, because it is your assurance that you are God’s beloved child, that you have a merciful Father in heaven who will deliver you.   b. Another place and time is Absolution: for no matter what else is happening around you, the Lord declares, “I forgive you. You are Mine.”   c. Third, of course, is His Holy Supper: there you know that the Lord is present with His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. In the midst of all the bad and uncertainty of the world, you are not forsaken: the Lord comes to you to give you life.

CONCLUSION: Yes, Forrest Gump has a more profound life philosophy than you might think.  But any that philosophy that’s based on chocolates just has to be anemic.  In this text Jesus is moving us to a life philosophy that is not centered in the chocolates we receive.  He moves us to a life philosophy that looks at life through the cross. In the cross we see God’s mercy is ours no matter what chocolates we receive.  Through the cross we know where God has acted in love for us.  Through the cross we know we are His children for Jesus’ sake—and sometimes children don’t know what the parents are up to, but they always should know that they have their best interests at heart.  And through the cross we know that the best chocolates are yet to come.  Amen.

The Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.