Friday, April 24, 2015

sermon, "The Lord is My Shepherd", by Raymond A. Foss, Mountain Heights Healthcare, April 24, 2015

The Lord is My Shepherd
Psalm 23
John 10:11-18
1 John 3:16-24
Mt. Heights Healthcare
Raymond A. Foss
April 24, 2015

Let us be in the Spirit of prayer…

We gather in the fields, we come together, to worship, into this space made holy because we are gathering in His name.

We gather in this place where we have been planted, this good earth. We are the sheep of God’s pasture, the children of His flock.

Lord we ask for Your presence to be thick with us as we enter into this time of worship. We pray that You would speak to us a message for our hearts and a message for us to share with the world. Be with us now Lord, our Good Shepherd as we seek to share You. Amen.

The Lord is My Shepherd

This week’s scripture readings include some of the most hopeful, the most comforting words of the Bible, and they include powerful words of identity, of naming the Christ.

They include the words of David in the 23rd Psalm, describing the Lord as our shepherd, the words of the Gospel of John in John 10 where Christ names himself as the Good Shepherd (there is no ambiguity, no question of who He is), and this week’s readings include the other John 3:16, in 1 John 3, where God again assures us of His great love for us and Christ’s faithfulness, even to the cross.

These all speak to relationship, to protection, to our being held by the Creator, the Savior, the Spirit of God, lovingly, better than the best parent that ever lived upon this earth.
We begin with the song of David, the 23rd Psalm, and I will be reading from the King James Version. Please join me in reading the Psalm if you would like.

Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)

1.      The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2.      He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3.      He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4.      Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5.      Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6.      Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

There are such powerful words of assurance within each verse of this blessed scripture, this song of David, for all God’s people.

In verse 1, we are assured that we will have everything we need. We can be at peace because God provides; we don’t have to feel we need to earn our way; we have abundance even in the storms because of our faith in God.

everything I need

I know not want
I have an abundance
everything I need
in this life
I can be at peace
satisfied within my spirit
God supplies
everything I need.

In verse 2, we are told God lets us rest, that God leads us to places of peace within the storm. God have mercy upon us; God understands our struggles; God leads us by still waters in the storms of life; God gives us Sabbath rest.

God lets me rest

God shows me mercy
God lets me rest
beside lakes and ponds
by these still waters
days of Sabbath rest
God lets me rest
from work, from struggle
God leads me there
to still waters.

In verse 3, we acknowledge that it is God who gives us new strength. After our times of rest, we are rejuvenated; we are lifted for the journey; God lifts us up to walk the straight and narrow way, so that we are good examples of His disciples; we then may be sheep walking in single file on the path God has for us.

God gives me new strength

God gives me new strength
after moments of rest
to face the challenges
the trials of this life
God leads in the way
of love, of righteousness
when I claim His name
for His name’s sake.

In verse 4, we proclaim that we will not be afraid because God is with us; God’s rod and staff comfort us, as the Good Shepherd. We are not saying that there is nothing to fear out there, for David the shepherd and king knows well that there are dangers. Other scriptures talk about him fighting lions and wolves watching over his father’s flocks. No, we are saying we will not be fearful in spite of that because God protects us on the journey.

I will not be afraid

I will not be afraid
not matter what comes
God will protect me
by His right hand
I will not be afraid
in the darkness
God’s light guides me
on the journey.

In verse 5, we go even deeper, we hear of the victory that David claims, that each of us may claim, if we walk righteously. God provides for us as we read in verse 1; but, more than that, we feast at a banquet within sight of those who would seek to do us harm, our enemies. We can have victory in this life, not just in the life to come, if we are faithful to God. God will provide.

you chasten my enemies

You chasten my enemies
by how You provide
food and drink
mocking their cries
You prepare a banquet
right in front of them
I am fed, anointed
I have nothing to dread.

Oh, and in verse 6, we have the joy of God’s presence, of God’s love walking with us, of being present with us on the journey. God’s Spirit walks with us, following us, more than this but as a dog faithfully follows His master. Goodness and Mercy are like our shadows, walking with us.

love will be with me

Love, Your Presence,
Your Spirit abiding
Love will be with me
upon this journey
Goodness will walk
with me, beside me
Love will be with me
all of my days.

But, in that reading from the King James Version, and in many other versions, we miss one of the richly understanding of verse 6, and the whole Psalm.

You see there are other translations that I learned about in 2004 in bible study. Goodness and Mercy in those translations of the ancient texts do not merely follow us, like a sheep behind a shepherd, or even like the disciples who followed Christ.

No, Goodness and Mercy actively pursue us, wooing us back to God, calling to us from our wilderness places. Maybe in whispers, in people who God puts into our lives, in the trials and tribulations we all go through.  I would like to share a poem I updated this afternoon about that reading of verse 6.

Pursued, not merely Followed – v5

What an idea, a gift, a different way of seeing the familiar, the hopeful
this treasured scripture, God’s Word handed down to us;
The beautiful Psalm of David, this song of the ancient people,
filled already with comfort, but seeing the words, a deeper meaning,
more than we imagined, in the action of God.

Our pastor told us that in some translations the words have even more power
that Goodness and Mercy, do not “follow” us, we are not “followed” but “pursued”, that these were living beings, Goodness and Mercy
proper names of the movement of God, that Goodness and Mercy  would pursue us
all the days of our lives, eternally; That the God of creation, our Maker, our Lord
that He would sustain us, providing, that He would send out these agents of love,
Goodness and Mercy, a mighty presence, angels of better days, of His love, for us.

Richer meaning in the subtle difference, from “followed” to “pursued”, that we are
sought after, wooed by God, that God was not just the waiting Father for the
Prodigal to come home; this is like the difference of being “Disciples”,  not just “Followers” of the Risen Christ, all the difference in the world in simple words
in the Living Word, this love letter of God.

In John 10:11-18, Christ removes all ambiguity. He makes it plain that He is the Good Shepherd described in the Psalms. He distinguishes himself from the leaders of the people. They are the hired hands who leave at the first sign of trouble. They do not really protect the sheep.

John 10:11-18 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’

            Christ is not like the hired hands. He is the Good Shepherd. He stands in the breach, in the gate, watching over the sheep as David had. He loves the sheep and is willing to lay down His own life. He protects the sheep in this life, all of His sheep, from every flock, those in the original chosen people and all those who believe, to the end of time.

Christ is the Good Shepherd loving the sheep.

We see sacrificial love
of the Good Shepherd
He is ready to die
to protect each sheep;
Self-sacrifice is His free choice
the choice of submission
knowing the weakness of all of us
of each of the sheep.

Love for the sheep
is deep, abiding
wanting what is best
for each and every sheep;
Love for the sheep
without limit, the Servant,
willing to sacrifice, to die
for even one lost sheep.

He is faithful; He chooses, within His free will, to submit His life for the sheep, to give into the will of God.

In John 3:16-24, the example of Christ becomes our calling. We are to lay down our lives, our treasure, the things we have in abundance for all who are in need. We are to love as Christ loved us, sacrificially, without limit.

1 John 3:16-24New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.

            This verse becomes our prayer, that our lives would not be just words, that we would live out the commands of God. That we would act on our beliefs, that our lives would become a sermon of love.

Let us pray.

Oh Lord, May our walk, our lives
be witness, a testimony
May every word, every action
be a sermon of Love
May our living, our choices
be sure, righteous.
May every sentence, every thought
be a profession of faith
Heal us Lord
where we are broken
Change us Lord
where we need mending
so that every word, every action
may be pleasing to You,
a sermon of Love
for all people.

Amen

=====
Psalm 23:1-6
John 10:11-18
1 John 3:16-24
sermon, “The Lord is My Shepherd”
worship led by Raymond A. Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Fourth Friday of the month service at Mt. Heights Health Care Facility
April 24, 2015
&
April 24, 2015
faithful to the command of God
John 10:15b-18
devotion for April 26, 2015
read April 24, 2015
&
edited April 24, 2015
loving the sheep – v2
edited/ merged April 24, 2015
loving the sheep
April 24, 2015
love for the sheep
April 24, 2015
a good shepherd
John 10:11-15a
John 10:11-18
devotion for April 25, 2015
read April 24, 2015
&
edited April  24, 2015
a sermon of love – v2
April 24, 2015
a sermon of love
1 John 3:21-24
devotion for April 24, 2015
read April 24, 2015
&
April 24, 2015
share love
1 John 3:16-24
devotion for April 23, 2015
read April 24, 2015
&
merged/edited April 24, 2015
everything I need – v2
April 24, 2015
love will be with me
Psalm 23:6
April 24, 2015
you chasten my enemies
Psalm 23:5
April 24, 2015
I will not be afraid
Psalm 23:4
April 24, 2015
God gives me new strength
Psalm 23:3
April 24, 2015
God lets me rest
Psalm 23:2
April 24, 2015
Everything I need
Psalm 23:1
April 24, 2015
a journey of blessing
Psalm 23
Psalm 23:1-6
devotion for April 22, 2015
devotion for April 22, 2015
read April 24, 2015
&
“Knowing  the Shepherd’s Love”
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18
for April 20, 2015 to April 26, 2015
by Eradio Valverde, Jr.
(formerly) District Superintendent
Southwest Texas District
United Methodist Church
Upper Room Disciplines for 2015
&
edited April 24, 2015
Pursued, not merely Followed – v5
(editing version 4)
edited April 23, 2015
Pursued, not merely Followed – v4
(editing version 3)
edited January 29, 2015
Pursued, not merely Followed – v3
(merging edits to version 1 and version 2)
edited July 25, 2012
“Pursued, not merely Followed – v2”
November 29, 2006 8:28
“Pursued, not merely Followed”
Psalm 23:6


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 37,250+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

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