Of Sheep and the Shepherd's Song

 

Monday, May 9, 2022

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Psalm 100:1-3

I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name.  They were all holding harps that God had given them.  And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:  “Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.  Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name?  For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”  Revelation 15:2-4

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

The imagery of God’s people as sheep is plentiful in Scripture, and a common metaphor for those who follow the Shepherd.  Less on the front burner is that of a Chief Shepherd who is also a sheep.  Yet, the connection is unmistakeable.  In any account of the Incarnation of Christ, He is the Lamb, who will be slain – a sacrifice for sins.  The Shepherd is also a sheep. 

Leaping from the Incarnation to the eschaton, the last days, and of Christ’s coming, and our gathering ‘round the throne of God to worship the Ancient of Days, the meaning of my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me is Revelation’s flock singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.  It is here we see that glorious condescension of the Christ of eternal glory stooped to enter the manger.  He became one of us, that we might recognize Him, and hear his voice.

While in seminary in the port city of New Orleans, our family hosted two Japanese officer trainees for a day.  They spoke no English, and we were clueless as to their language.  We all pointed, gestured, and did whatever possible to convey meaning to our conversation.  In the end, all we could do is smile and misunderstand. 

In Eden, God spoke human language, and Adam and Eve understood.  By the time of the tower of Babel[1] humankind had gotten far enough away from God to not listen for His voice.  They lost the sound of their Master, like wandering sheep straying from their shepherd.  That is, by the way, the story of most sin…selfish wandering, mindlessly grazing on whatever satisfies a momentary appetite.  God sent prophets to remind them of what the Shepherd’s voice sounded like; one after another the prophets were ignored, and eventually slaughtered to stop their bleating.  The wandering continued, unhearing.  

Finally, God sent his son to be a sheep…some heard, others prepared a cross.

In the final account of Revelation, the continuing, eternal story of after the end, the restored Eden will be filled with the sound of God’s flock, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.  Even those who have died will hear his voice, and follow Him.  The sheep will hear the Lamb, one who became one of us, to speak clearly the love of God.

For You Today

One day our journey will be complete, and the flock will lie down together in perfect harmony with all creation.  And we’ll sing.  We’ll sing the song of the Lamb throughout eternity.  And we’ll be on key, in perfect harmony!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road with Jesus; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] See Genesis 11

Voice From the Heart of the Fire

[1]

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

“The Lord spoke these words to all of you assembled there at the foot of the mountain.  He spoke with a loud voice from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness.  

Deuteronomy 5:22^(NLT)

Your decrees have been the theme of my songs wherever I have lived.  I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions.  This is how I spend my life:  obeying your commandments.  

Psalm 119:54-56^(NLT)

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  

2 Corinthians 5:17 ^(NLT)

The words from the heart of the fire are a picture of what happened at the mountain in the wilderness when God spoke his presence to the people of Israel.  They had been nothing in the eyes of the world – slaves, mere chattel property to the Egyptian pharaoh; now God was giving their lives purpose and strength.  God was making a covenant with the former people of bondage.  And he gave them ten words by which they could measure their walk.  We call them the Ten Commandments, and they were from the center of God’s heart, spoken from the heart of the fire.  In these three lectionary readings from Scripture I see what God spoke to everyone who would become a follower of Christ – the process of transformation:

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  

Romans 12:2^(NLT)

Transformation beginning – Deuteronomy

When God spoke it was to introduce people who didn’t have a clue to that which makes hearts understand the difference between right and wrong.  God’s law (commandments) was a tutor, teaching the people about the nature of this God they would serve.  They needed to know on which side their Lord stood when it came to the temptations of life they would experience (murder, stealing, envy, lust, greed, etc.).

Transformation progress – Psalm Songs

The Psalmist, King David, expressed in Psalm 119 how his life’s theme had been to obey the commandments.  This is what I have understood in my own life and ministry, that the surrendered life is one’s bowing in obedience to the Word of God.  Foremost in that experience is the prominent surrender to Christ as we accept His free offer of salvation.  But it is also a daily surrender to which we’re surrendering.  Each day is a day of choosing to obey the will and call of God to trust and obey in every intention, thought and act of life.  I bend my will to match His!

Transformation blessing – New Life

In all the surrendering and obedience there is an ongoing incremental change of character happening in the human soul.  As you walk with Christ you become more like Him.  This is transformation, being formed day by day, step by step, into His image.  Your character is being changed; the sin with which you struggled (and mostly lost) is being conquered.  Temptation still comes after you, but now the very thing you once could not resist has become repulsive, and you turn your back on it.  Instead you walk joyfully-freed, and ready to help others.

For You Today

If it’s been awhile, take some time to look back at the pathway of transformation in your life.  See where Christ has taken the old person.  Rejoice today that when He saved you He didn’t just take away the penalty of sin – He also started the process of sanctifying you, and taking away even the desire to sin.   He’s giving you a heart of fire like His own!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Lessons

Wednesday – September 11, 2013

There are always some very kind folks who say to the preacher, “you are great”, or, “your preaching feeds me like no other preacher I’ve ever heard.”  And they really mean it too!  No doubts there are some preachers who absolutely live to hear words like that.  The real problem occurs when the preacher begins to believe those reports.

I’ve been thinking recently about how really dangerous “good” preaching can be.  When a congregation first gets a new pastor, and he is deemed by most in the congregation to be “good”, the doxologies at the church door are like the praise for all blessings flowing out of heaven. 

·             “Wonderful job, preacher!” 

·             “I really enjoyed that.”  (seldom spoken on stewardship Sunday)

·             “Oh….I just can’t tell you what that meant to me.” 

Now, if those reports are absolutely accurate, and the sentiments are heartfelt, where’s the foul…what’s the harm in giving a compliment?  Everyone likes a stroke, a pat on the back.

Here’s the harm

Preachers are human; if you hear those reports often and long enough, they begin to sink-in and take hold.  Preachers are prime targets for pride and self-promotion.  Most of us have sufficient ego to float a battleship; we don’t need secondary inflation.

So…what DO you say after the service?

Well….whatever is said at the door, it is best kept short (you don’t want to get trampled by a bunch of Methodists heading for the cafeteria).

And whatever is said should reflect what God’s Word meant to you.  After all, we call preaching “proclamation of the Word” (not the preacher’s nifty speech).  To reflect meaningfully on God’s Word it is imperative that you should be listening for God’s Word in the sermon, AND applying His principles to the way you live your life.  

And whatever is said should be in light of what’s at stake: 

Jesus told a story[1] of a very wealthy man and a beggar.  They lived very different lives, of course.  The rich man was very selfish, ignoring God’s opportunities to help the poor man.  In the end, he wound up in Hades, while the beggar wound up in paradise.  The rich man had a conversation across the great gulf between heaven and hell; his requests for relief were denied, and so was his request to send someone to warn his still-living brothers back on earth about this awful place.  Request denied; this way:

“…‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”  Luke 16:31b (NLT)

The point here – what’s at stake here – is whether we will listen for the voice of God.  It’s never about who’s preaching, or how cleverly or powerfully the message is delivered; it’s all about God’s message to you.

The danger of good or even great preaching is that we become so accustomed to the voice, we forget The VOICE; it is God’s will we are seeking – not entertainment from a highly-skilled, charismatic man.

Today

Make it your purpose this coming Sunday to listen for God’s voice.  Then tell the preacher what you heard.  The preacher also needs to hear how God’s speaking.

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[1] Luke 16