Matthew 18:11-13 11 [a][For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.] 12 “What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
I read this blurb about shepherding online this week
“The image of the shepherd seems somewhat irrelevant to modern Americans. Without a doubt this makes it quite difficult to communicate God’s plan for church leadership. The picture of the shepherd fails to connect with us in the modern church. Shepherds would have been as common to the original readers as telephones and Wal-Marts are to modern Americans. You would think that we could find an image that would be more easily understood by the modern person. Regardless of how hard we search there is just no modern equivalent to reflect accurately the concept of Biblical leadership. Dr. Lynn Anderson writes, “I cannot find any figure equivalent to the shepherd idea in our modern, urban world. Besides if I drop the shepherd and flock idea, I would have to tear about five hundred pages out of my Bible, plus leave the modern church with a distorted, if not neutered view of spiritual leadership.” As you read through the Bible it is impossible to miss the numerous references to God as a shepherd. The image of a shepherd appears more than five hundred times throughout the Bible. Jesus Himself says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
“An item in Leadership magazine illustrates the importance of giving attention to needs, not just to numbers. "During World War II, economist E.F. Schumacher, then a young statistician, worked on a farm. Each day he would count the 32 head of cattle, then turn his attention elsewhere. One day an old farmer told him that if all he did was count the cattle, they wouldn’t flourish. Sure enough, one day he counted 31; one was dead in the bushes. Now Schumacher understood the farmer: you must watch the quality of each animal. ’Look him in the eye; study the sheen of his coat. You may not know how many cattle you have, but you might save the life of one that is sick.’" Great advice whether it’s for the Sunday school teacher or the pastor. A full class or a crowded church isn’t necessarily a healthy class or a spiritual church. To find out people’s spiritual condition, you must "look them in the eye." Then you can minister to their needs.”
I got to looking at the analogy of the church as a flock of sheep. And what that analogy tells us about the next 20 years. A church is to do three things. Think about three characters; The Shepherd, the undershepherd, and the sheep
I. The Great Shepherd: The Lord is my Shepherd-worship the Lord
The first truth from this analogy is that our church, our work, our gaze is to be set on the Lord, not ourselves. We all know the Shepherds psalm.
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
The Bible uses the analogy of the Lord as our shepherd a number of times.
Genesis 48:14-15 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, [k]crossing his hands, [l]although Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd throughout my life to this day….bless these boys.
In Psalm 80:1 He is called the “Shepherd of Israel”
Jesus is called our shepherd.
Matthew 2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Leader Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”He calls Himself our Shepherd.John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.Hebrews calls Him the same.
Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
But we often read that chapter in a self-centered way, thinking about all that our Lord does for us. We read it from the perspective of the sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; leads me beside [b]quiet waters. restores my soul;”
We think about all the blessings of being a sheep in the Lord’s fold. But if you go back and read the poetry of Psalm 23, the emphasis is really on the Lord, not us. It begins and ends with the Lord. “The Lord is my shepherd…I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
And the message of the psalm is all about the Lord. No matter how shaky this life is, the Lord is my shepherd. No matter the level of need I may encounter in this life, no matter how disquieting the circumstances, how evil the temptations, how dark the path in front of me, or how numerous are the enemies, I don’t tremble or fear because…He makes me lie down, He leads me beside [b]quiet waters. He restores, He guides me, For His name’s sake. You are with me, you comfort me. You prepare a table, You anoint my head with oil.
The Psalm is about our great shepherd.
You know, we gather here on Sunday and our thoughts go in all kinds of directions. We are thinking about our lives and the struggles we go through. We are thinking about our plans and goals. If we come through these doors into this gathering, sometimes we look around us, and think, “There are so few of us.”
But I have a feeling. Now, I will not claim to know how a sheep thinks. But I highly doubt that sheep are counting the number of the flock each day. I doubt that sheep think, “Our flock used to be twice this size 10 years ago.” Sheep don’t gather and plan and strategize and worry. What is on the mind of the sheep? His shepherd. The whole point of the Shepherds psalm was for the psalmist to put himself in the mind of a sheep and to say, “And the message of the psalm is all about the Lord. No matter how shaky this life is, the Lord is my shepherd. No matter the level of need I may encounter in this life, no matter how disquieting the circumstances, how evil the temptations, how dark the path in front of me, or how numerous are the enemies, I don’t tremble or fear because…He makes me lie down, He leads me beside [b]quiet waters. He restores, He guides me, For His name’s sake. You are with me, you comfort me. You prepare a table, You anoint my head with oil.”
So, what is the first thing that we should do as we gather as the church, the Lord’s flock? Turn your mind away from the world, your troubles, your plans, our numbers, even our future, and remember, think about our great shepherd.
What is the second?
II. Know and follow the Great Shepherd’s voice
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
The second character in the analogy of the church as a flock is the under shepherd.
Now, the words “under shepherd” are not in Scripture in that way. But the role is described in 1 Peter.1 Peter 5:1-4 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over [a]those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading [b]crown of glory.The idea is that The Lord Himself is our shepherd, but He calls men to be the face of the Shepherd among the flock. God has always chosen to lead by men and women of God. God could have brought the children of Israel out of Egypt with just Himself, or His Angel. But instead He chose Moses. And at the close of Moses life, Moses asks God to choose a successor.Numbers 27:16-18 “May Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, 17 who will go out [a]and come in before them, and who will lead them out and [b]bring them in, so that the congregation of Yahweh will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” 18 So Yahweh said to Moses, “[c]Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;
God uses under shepherds in the church.
John 21:16 He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
Acts 20:28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
So, when we gather as the church, we worship the Lord, our Great shepherd. But we are also to ensure that “shepherding the sheep” happens. The church is a place and a people where sheep are shepherded. But what does that mean? What is the role of the under shepherd? Well let’s go back to Psalm 23 for a moment. What is the Lord doing for His sheep?
Yahweh is my shepherd, I [a]shall not want. (want what?) 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; (I shall not want, or be in need of nutritious grass to eat.) He leads me beside [b]quiet waters. (I shall not be in need of my necessary hydration.)
And then
here, the psalmist shifts gears away from the picture of a sheep eating grass,
and drinking water, to what they symbolize to God’s people.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. (For God’s people, the
grass and water are symbolic of Spiritual nourishment. He provides for our Spiritual health. He gives us His Word, and the encouragement
of the Spirit to obey it in fellowship with Him.)
Then the psalmist goes on…
4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death, I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (The shepherd keeps the sheep from straying
with His rod and staff.
5 You prepare a table before me in
the presence of my enemies; You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows. (The Shepherd protects from predators
and the infestation of bugs by anointing the head of the sheep with oil.)
The
shepherd guards the life of the sheep against outside enemies.
6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will [h]pursue me all the days of my life,
And I will [i]dwell in
the house of Yahweh [j]forever.
So, what can we gather from this about the role of the under shepherd, and by extension, the job of the church? It is two things; to provide for the health and safety of the sheep in the flock. To provide for the Spiritual health and safety of the sheep in the flock.
We gather to worship, but we also gather for our own spiritual protection. There are spiritual enemies in the world. And they come in two varieties; predators and false shepherds.
You know that sheep would readily recognize the danger of a wolf or lion. And in the spiritual world, we can often easily discern who the wolves and lions are.
Scripture tells us that Satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing to gnaw for the morning.
Jesus said,
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
Sometimes there comes against the church blatant and ferocious attacks. But more often than the church being openly attacked by predators, is when the predators are actually false shepherds.
Sometimes predators and false shepherds are one and the same.
For the shepherds have become senseless And have not sought Yahweh; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.
The Righteous Branch
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares Yahweh.
“My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn away on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place.
Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Acts 20:29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;
So, what is the role of the under shepherd? What is the second function of the church? To guard the health and safety of the flock by guarding against spiritual predators, and false prophets.
We must be constantly vigilant about teaching the Word of God. Helping groups and individuals understand its truths. A pastor’s job is “the ministry of the Word of God and prayer.” And the church members job is to “always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you.
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
We have to be “putting on our armor.”
We spend a lot of time with the Bible in our church. It is our health and safety. Did you ever think about the armor of the Lord, how much of it has to do with our understanding and applying the Word of God? Yes, we have the sword which is the Word of God but we also have…
Ephesians 6: 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, (how do you know the truth to gird your loins with? The Word of God.) and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (How do you know how to live righteously so that you are putting on the breastplate od righteousness; the Word of God.) 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (Where do you find the message of the gospel in order to shod your feet with it; the Word of God.) 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Where do you learn the faith so you can be shielded by it; the Word of God.) 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: (Your salvation comes when you believe the Word, your one offensive weapon against the lies of Satan and the world is the sword of the Word of God.)
That is our second most important job in the church. By means of the gifts God has given, pastors, and teachers, we study and apply the Word to our lives and to each other.
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, (show him his fault) rebuke, (warn) exhort (encourage) with all long suffering and doctrine.
If you read modern church growth articles and books, they are often just concerned with one thing; how do I get more rear ends into the pews. But the goal of the first two functions of the church is not more numbers, but exalting the Great shepherd, and multiplying the understanding and application of the Word of God.
Now, what is the last character in this analogy; the sheep.
III. Seek the Great Shepherds lost sheep
The church is called a flock of sheep. This is a familiar analogy in the Bible. Israel were called God’s sheep.
Psalm 74:1 Why, O God? Have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
Psalm 78:52 But He led forth His own people like sheep And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
Then Jesus picked up the analogy to describe those who would follow Him.
Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’Matthew 25:31-33 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.So, we’re sheep. But what does that tell us about the church’s job? Our focus for the next twenty years? It seems to always come down to one thing in regard to sheep; seek the lost ones.
Matthew 12:11 And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?
Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?John 10:11-15 11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees—and the wolf snatches and scatters them— 13 because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
1 Peter 2:25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The third function of the church; first; Worship the Great Shepherd, Second; Know and follow the Great Shepherds voice, third; seek the Great Shepherds lost sheep.
That’s where we are beginning today. I have put a plan in place to begin the process of seeking the lost sheep of Parkview Baptist. Where do we begin? Right here. Look around you and take attendance. Who is absent among us who is usually here.
There are three types of lost sheep; the straying, the endangered, the lost.
John 10: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and [a]have it abundantly.
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees—and the wolf snatches and scatters them— 13 because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one [b]takes it away from Me, but from Myself, I lay it down. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
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