Sermon Notes: God, Our Shepherd

God, Our Shepherd

Readings

            OT: Ezekiel 34.1-24

            Psalm: 23

            Gospel: John 10.11-18

            Epistle: 1 Peter 2.21-25

Introduction

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us…worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about [us] is not what [w]e at a given time may say or do, but what [w]e in [our] deep heart conceive God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God. Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, “What comes into your mind when you think about God?” we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man. Were we able to know exactly what our most influential religious leaders think of God today, we might be able with some precision to foretell where the Church will stand tomorrow. That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are we likely to discover what we actually believe about God. A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God. It is my opinion that the Christian conception of God current in these middle years of the twentieth century is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity. (A. W. Tozer, Pursuit of God)

Q. What do we actually believe about God? Who do we think He really is?

A. Prayer often reveals what we really think about God, what we really expect of God, who we think He is!

1. “Dear god. Why did you try to kill me today? I was walking past the gas station and a car nearly ran me over…I don’t want to kill myself. Why do you want to kill me? Why are you so angry with me god. Do I not live in agony now that my mother is gone, and I am alone.” (anonymous, from Note to God on iPhone)
2. More subtle version: “Dear God, I’m not sure if you are listening but I really need a job. I know there’s a lot of people in my boat but I do need help and I’m not looking for a job that pays a lot. I’ll take anything right now. (anonymous, from Note to God on iPhone)
3. Q. Who is the God that you pray to in secret, when you reveal your real thoughts? What sort of expectations do you have of God?
4. Q. What happens when we have low expectations of God? What happens when we are not necessarily convinced that God is on our side?

B. Research has revealed what we think about God: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is the name that sociologist Christian Smith gave to the default religious belief system of American teenagers, surfaced by the National Study of Youth and Religion (see Christian Smith with Melinda Denton, *Soul-Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers* (OUP, 2005).  Here are its basic tenets:

(1) A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.

(2) God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

(3) The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

(4) God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.

(5) Good people go to heaven when they die.

The irony of MTD, is that is actually produces anxiety-ridden, insecure, self-centered, entitled individuals who find very little meaning in life outside of their own personal fulfillment—which is unattainable within the parameters they have established for themselves.

Analysis

1.      Read Psalm 23

2.      Backwards to front!

a.       Goodness and mercy follow me? (v.6)

                                                                          i.      ‘Follow’ in context: used to describe armies that pursue their enemies (Egyptians ‘followed’ Israel; Joshua and Israel ‘followed’ the Canaanites)

                                                                        ii.      Illustrations:

1.      Puppy dog (who follows you home from school) vs. A pitbull (who ‘follows’ you home from school b/c you have raw meat in your backpack)

2.      Is it enough to say that the DE ‘followed’ the QB as he rolled out of the pocket?

                                                                      iii.      God’s care is characterized in this fashion: He relentlessly chases down His people with goodness and mercy.

                                                                      iv.      This is good news for us! That should free us, awaken us!

b.      God’s care described in terms of a shepherd (v.1)

                                                                          i.      Three roles of a shepherd: provide, protect and guide.

                                                                        ii.      God relentless seeks to provide for, guide and protect His people!

1.      Provision (v.1b-2)

a.       We can be confident that God is looking out for our needs, giving us precisely what we need (though not always what we want!)

b.      ‘The grass may be greener on the other side, but it has no nutritional value!’

c.       His relentless pursuit in providing for us should free us to be generous and hospitable to others.

2.      Guidance (v. 3-4)

a.       We need not worry obsessively about whether we missed God’s perfect plan for our lives. God is leading us and we can rest in His quest to do so in our lives

b.      He does this even when we are going the wrong way! (He restores my soul…which means, he returns me to the right path…Isa 53.6/1 Pet 2.25)

c.       We can trust that where we are is where God is working, in and through us—this frees us to open our eyes to how God wants to use us in our circumstances! (Faithful presence)

d.      Sometimes the right path can be a dark valley. (Pace MTD)

3.      Protection (v. 5)

a.       He is with us in the dark valleys; keeping us from turning our hearts away from Him

b.      He disciplines us (rod and staff)

c.       He protects us from our enemies

c.       The LORD is My Shepherd…and for this reason I shall not be in want!

                                                                          i.      YHWH’s relentless pursuit of His people is good news!

                                                                        ii.      Jesus is the embodiment of the “shepherdhood” of God (John 10.11-18)

                                                                      iii.      Jesus is the Davidic Shepherd to come (Ezek 34.23/John 10.11-18)

Exhortations

What is our response to this word, to this vision of God?

1.      Repentance? For thinking either that God is against us, or that God exists exclusively to fulfill our dreams. For diminishing God to being genie.

2.      Rest in God’s care for you (1 Peter 5.6-7; Rom 8.32). Our God pursues us with his goodness and covenant mercy like a pitbull, like a DE! Let that give you great rest. Let that free you to trust in Him in new and exciting ways; to expect new things of Him—and to expect unexpected manifestations of mercy and goodness!

3.      God has rescued us so that we might live to righteousness, so that we might pattern our lives after Him (1 Pet 2.24-25). Our lives are no longer about ourselves, but about how we might heal, rescue, and care for others. (Eph 5.1)

a.       God’s care for us frees us up to care for others.

b.      You lead me by still waters, so i will not fall in. Your rod and staff chase after me, to comfort me within. You straighten out my winding way because i bear your name. surely Your goodness and love will pursue me all my days. *You interrupt me, overrule me, You convince me, You undo me. everyday i run away, i’ve come to love how You pursue me. You overtake me, see right through me, You compel me, You renew me. still everyday i run away, i’ve come to love how you pursue me. You make me lie down and rest, where it is the best for me. even if it’s in the shadows, i know You are with me. You overflow this empty cup because i bear Your name. surely Your goodness and love will pursue me all my days .**it’s quite a peculiar thing, i can’t put my finger on it, can’t quite conceive how You interrupt my tragedy with a kiss, You chase after me with a gift. what You’ve prepared for me is in plain view-for all to see, even my enemies. (Jill Koch, “How You Pursue Me”.