Strength for the Day

November 3, 2013

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

Sermon 3 of Fall Series

“Shepherd Us O God”

Psalm 31:24 Amplified Bible

Isaiah 40:29 Amplified Bible

Psalm 32:8 Amplified Bible

Psalm 23:3 King James Version

 “Shepherd Me O God” by Marty Haugen

A reading from the Psalms, Psalm 23, verse 3…listen for the voice of the Shepherd to you and me, the sheep of His flock. (Read from the King James Bible)

“Shepherd me O God beyond my wants,

beyond my needs, from death into life.

Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul,

You lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth,

my spirit shall sing the music of your Name. (Sing)

One of the things I love is to watch T.V. shows when they restore old things and make them like new again. They take this ugly, out dated thing and make it into something of beauty. I am always in awe when I watch these shows and at times think to myself…that looks easy…maybe I could do something like that. But then again…they’re the professionals and they make most things they do look easy. Things always look better when they are restored.

The same goes for our Spirit. We all need to be restored at one time or another…to be able to rest beside still waters in life…to lie down in lush green pastures. This past Friday, Ray and I went to Bangor to see Michael W. Smith. It was such an AWESOME concert. At one point we were all sing Agnus Dei, it was so powerful. The whole place was standing with arms raised singing…Alleluia, Alleluia for the Lord God almighty reigns, Alleluia…Holy, Holy, are you Lord God almighty, worthy is the Lamb…worthy is the Lamb…Amen! It struck me right to my very soul. I felt uplifted and restored within my soul. How Awesome is that?!

Last week, we began our journey with the Shepherd found in the 23^rd Psalm, the Good
Shepherd. WE talked about us not wanting because of our Shepherd, our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. But this not wanting has nothing to do with material things and everything to do with knowing the Good Shepherd and that He will provide all our needs. We are never without Him. We will not want to have Him with us…He WILL be with us. Our Shepherd wants to bring us to peaceful pastures where we can rest beside the living water He gives so freely to all of His sheep.

Now…some seem to think that because we belong to the Good Shepherd that we will never become so distressed in our lives that our soul needs a restoration time. Unfortunately we live in a fallen world and because of that, our souls need to be restored form time to time.

Even David…who wrote this Psalm…had defeat in his life. He knew the feeling of being hopeless and without strength in himself…remember the Bathsheba thing…? Even though he was a man after God’s own heart, he felt the need of his soul to be restored. He felt his soul was down cast…

Now…let’s stop here for a moment and look at the statement of “down cast”. The word actually a shepherd term. It is when the sheep gets on its back and can’t get up…can’t set itself right again. Try as it might, it just can’t do it. The sheep may cry…may bleat for help but usually it just lies there thrashing about and frightened…frustrated. Much like humanity…

Now if the owner…the shepherd…does not come by and set it up right soon…it will die. A good shepherd watches over his sheep daily counting them and making sure they can all get up. But…but…not only does the shepherd watch for cast sheep, predators do as well. They wait and watch for the opportune moment…when the shepherd is not watching. They seem to know that a cast sheep will die soon if they are not set right again. Much like sin that prows around looking for someone to devour.

Now many think that when a child of God falls, when they are in a helpless spiritual problem or dilemma, God becomes frustrated, fed up or even worse furious with them. But this is not a true statement. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has concern and compassion for His “cast” sheep. We read and hear about the compassion He felt for those down and out that humanity had no use for. He was ready to help, save and restore those hurting around Him. Again and again we hear stories of Him “picking up cast sheep and setting them up right again…and the Good News is that He continues this type of shepherding even today…

At times we may discover that when we are most sure of ourselves…we fall. WE may even appear to be flourishing in faith and we find ourselves in situations that we become cast. We sometimes look for the easy place, the cozy corner, the comfortable pasture where there is no hardship. This is a time when we could be in mortal danger of becoming cast…complacent…on our backs. Only the Good Shepherd can restore us back to solid ground again…grounded in Him with a firm footing. As we find our firm footing in Him, He is able to lead us in paths of righteousness for His name sake…not our own.

Now being creatures of habit…sheep, if left alone, will follow the same trails until they carve out a rut…they will eat from the same pasture until it is a dry desert…they pollute the area they are at and cause disease and parasites. As a matter of fact…some of the most fertile grazing land has become a vast waste land because of over grazing.

Sheep need to be under meticulous control and guidance in order for them to flourish. Sheep will not flourish if they are left to go their own way, left to the whims of their habitual and even destructive habits. A sheepherder who is good knows all of this. Not only for the sheep but also for his own good name, the shepherd takes the necessary precautions to safeguard against these adverse traits the sheep possess.

The Shepherd keeps the sheep in the move. Now even though they would rather stay where they are…they like where they are…they will follow their shepherd. The owners…the shepherds name and reputation is on the line. Now these sheep follow the voice of their shepherd. Their voice is probably the first thing they heard. They have gotten used to the sound of the shepherd’s voice. They have come to know that this shepherd cares for them. Where they go…the sheep will follow.

Now…humanity…the sheep of God’s sheepfold, are much like the animal called a sheep. We prefer to follow our own way. This we do habitually and repeatedly, even to our own disadvantage. We insist that we know the best even if we can see that the end result is not a good one.

Just as sheep will go blindly, habitually and follow one another along the same path, even when we seen it ruin others lives. But the Good Shepherd tells humanity, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” He wants the flock to have life abundantly. But we still may choose to have it our own way even if we are walking right into trouble. The world is full of people who want to go their own way and we see the results in broken homes, broken hearts and broken lives.

Even within the chaos the Good Shepherd bids us to come…to deny ourselves and take up our cross. But…we don’t want to deny ourselves…to stop making our own decisions…we don’t want to follow or be led. Think about where that leaves us…

We need to change our attitudes to be led in the path of righteousness.

1.     Instead of loving ourselves more we need to love Christ and others more

2.     Instead of being one of the in crowd we need to be singled out…set aside from the gang

3.     Instead of insisting on our own rights we need to be willing to think of others rights first

4.     Instead of being the “boss” we need to be willing to be at the bottom of the heap, much to the difference if the way of the world

5.     Instead of finding fault with the life we have we need to willing to accept every circumstance with an attitude of gratitude…we can always be thankful that even though we are having it rough…God is always with us.

6.     Instead of my will we need to change it to thy will be done

And one of the most important attitudes

7.     Instead of “my way or the highway” we need to choose “Christ’s way or I don’t go.”

Church, we need to be willing to do what Christ asks us to do. We need to go where He invites us to go. We need to be concerned with Christ’s reputation more than our own. God wants us to move with Him in to the pasture that He knows is best for us. It is for our benefit as well as the benefit of others.

Perhaps some of us think that the Shepherd expects too much from us. Maybe we feel that His demands are too out of the boat. Or maybe some feels His calling in impossible for us to carry out. Perhaps if we are willing and earnest to do His will and to be led, He will make it possible by His gracious Spirit that is given to all who obey. Maybe…just maybe…we will be restored the joy of our salvation and led to do great things for the kingdom of God. Maybe…just maybe.

Let us pray:

Lord God, be our strength and shield as we trust in You. How our souls will rejoice with songs of praise… Remind us to put on your armor so that we can withstand the voices of the world. Renew our strength as we mount up with wings of eagles. Teach us they way we should go and guide us with Your tender, loving eyes. May we hear your voice calling on the wind to come and follow You.

Shepherd us O God beyond our wants,

beyond our needs, from death into life.

Amen!