We Are the Sheep of His Pasture

Jubilate Deo. Psalm c. 

O Be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands; serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name. For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth from generation to generation. BCP 1928

I have been reading Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, the latest selection by my book group. Hardy has long been one of my favorite authors, and the audio version I'm listening to is delightful. The protagonist is a young farmer/shepherd Gabriel Oak. Much of the story revolves around his relationship with a beautiful young woman, Bathsheba Everdene. But throughout the novel we see Gabriel as the shepherd, the one skillfully, compassionately and lovingly caring for his flock. Early on Hardy describes his care of a newborn sheep:

"He returned to the hut, bringing in his arms a new-born lamb, consisting of four legs large enough for a full-grown sheep, united by a seemingly inconsiderable membrane about half the substance of the legs collectively, which constituted the animal's entire body just at present.

The little speck of life he placed on a wisp of hay before the small stove, where a can of milk was simmering. ... The lamb revived by warmth, began to bleat, and the sound entered Gabriel's ears and brain with an instant meaning, as expected sounds will. Passing from the profoundest sleep to the most alert wakefulness with the same ease that had accompanied the reverse operation, he looked at his watch, found that the hour-hand had shifted again, put on his hat, took the lamb in his arms, and carried it into the darkness. After placing the little creature with its mother he stood and carefully examined the sky, to ascertain the time of night from the altitudes of the stars."

Shepherds are ever mindful of their flock. Ever present, aware of their need. Rescuing those in distress. Caring for the weak, the lost, the broken, and returning them well and whole to the flock.

Jesus is our shepherd.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Matthew 9:36

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 does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just 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 that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.  John 10:11 - 16

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost." Luke 15:4-6

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17

We are like sheep. We need a shepherd. When we are lost we need found. When we are wounded, we need healing. When life is difficult we need His comfort. We always need his presence.

I Need Thee Every Hour
 Words: Annie Hawks

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord; 
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; 
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
O I need Thee every hour;
I need you Lord, O bless me now, 
My Savior, I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain; 
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain
I need Thee every hour, teach me Thy will; 
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One; 
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son

I need Thee every hour, I need Thee every hour,
I need Thee every hour, I need Thee every hour.



And Jesus calls to us...

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Matt 11:28

Today let's not despise our weakness, let's delight in our ever-present shepherd, resting in Him alone. Trusting in His care.

Loves The Reason Why You Brought Me Here

Loves The Reason That You Brought Me Here
Preached at Four Winds Mission  2/1/15

Preparing for my trip to Pittsburgh a few weeks ago with Erin, Shane and Kevin, I confess I wondered why I was going. It was a conference about worship, and I’m not a worship leader. It was unexpected to be offered this opportunity. But God has been doing some crazy wonderful things in my life, and in my heart and I jumped at the chance to follow his leading into the unknown. By day one I was so thankful. I was so overwhelmed by His love and grace for bringing me to that place at that time. There was a sense that it was divinely appointed. This gratitude swept away the last vestige’s of regret that it took so long to get to this place in my life. For a moment I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.


One of my favorite songs right now is by Andy Gullahorn, it’s called Why You Brought Me Here. It starts out saying:

I know I’ll get an answer
that I won’t understand If I ask
that your intentions be made clear
I know your plans are greater
And in that greater plan
Lie the reasons why you brought me here


The words of this song give me comfort because it reminds me of the reality I often forget;

Life is not a random string of circumstances.

We are part of the larger story of redemption by our loving Father. Often we don’t

understand. We aren’t God. We can’t see the larger picture. We thank God when our lives

are happy and comfortable, then we’re confused and angry when we’re blindsided by painful

and difficult situations in our lives. We are not alone in our myopic vision:

I​n Deuteronomy 8 Moses reminds Israel of who their rescuer and provider is:
15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, 

Despite miracle after miracle being done on their behalf, in their years in the desert they had forgotten that their God had saved them. He provided for them every step of the way. Moses knew they needed to be reminded.

But their story didn’t start with their suffering in Egypt. And in looking further back our perspective shifts from Gods intervention into a specific circumstance to a wider view of how he is at work in our w​orld. Hundreds of years before, when Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, this evil act was used by God to go before and prepare a way for Israel. When famine came to Israel and they had to seek the mercy of the leaders in Egypt, Joseph was there to provide. Egypt became a refuge and new home for Jacob’s family, their children and on for many generations. But this was never meant to be their permanent home. For a time life was good, food was plenty, they were treated well by the Egyptians. But a time came when things changed and they were no longer guests but slaves, and life became hard and dangerous and they cried out to the Lord for rescue. It was time for them to leave this place that was once a refuge and move on to the land that God had for them so that the next chapters of God’s story of redemption could be revealed.

This is our story too. Like the Israelites in Egypt we settle into the routine of life. What God has provided as blessing we take for granted, and when it is threatened we cry out for help. But is it really God we want, or do we just want our peaceful life to return?

Because of God’s great love for us he disrupts us. He reveals our longing and need for Him. He meets us and moves us on to life much richer and deeper.

This is the Gospel.

Gods love brought us redemption, reconciliation with Him when we were His enemies. That same love woos us back to him when we wander, wakes us when we fall asleep.

The verses about Gods love for us are familiar. We may have read them so often the weight of it is lost on us.

John 3:16 16 “For God so loved the world,fn that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Eph 2:4­5 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

One of the most beautiful pictures of the gospel in literature is In Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, Les Miserable. The hero of the story, Jean Valjean spent 19 years in prison for the crime of stealing a loaf of bread to save his sister’s son from starvation. He had nothing and no where to go. He ended up at the door of Bishop Bienvenue’s.

Jean Valjean was welcomed into the Bishop’s house from which, fed a meal and given a place to see. In fear and desperation he fled in the middle of the night, taking the Bishops silver with him. He was apprehended by the police returned to the Bishop’s house to answer for his new crime. 

The Bishop declared the silver to be a gift freely given, and then threw in two silver candlesticks that the Bishop claimed Jean Valjean had left behind in error.

Bishop Bienvenue removed Jean Valjean’s chains of “hatred, mistrust and anger,” and ransomed his soul from evil to reclaim him for God.

This act of grace led to Jean Valjean’s salvation. He went on to care for the helpless and victimized. The grace that Jean Valjean received he extended to others.

This is the goodness of God that we’ve each experienced. Sin forgiven. Declared righteous on the basis of someone else’s life. Given abundant blessing.

W​hen God in his mercy illuminates our sin and brings us to faith in Christ, we understand and believe that we are unable to save our selves. Christ alone is our salvation. How amazing that God our Father loves us, has made a way of reconciliation with him, and pursues us.
And sends the Holy Spirit who renews us...

In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and

believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 1​4 w​ho is the guaranteef​n​of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,f​n​to the praise of his glory. Eph 1:13

Why then do we start to rely on ourselves to live out our life of faith. We try to continue what Christ started in our own strength. We just need to do better, try harder. And when we fail, or the hard things of life hit, we become discouraged and angry. We can be so busy doing for Jesus that we stop being with Jesus.

We are not alone. Paul confronted the Galatians in 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected byf the flesh?

Our flesh will always choose independence, self will and self sufficiency. It is what led Eve in the garden to eat from the tree. It is what Moses warned the Israelites about in the desert (Deut) “17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

But our spirit knows we were created for God, we are not meant to be separated from Him. We long for him. And the battle within us rages on.

Rev. Ashley Null says:
What a heart loves, the will chooses, the mind justifies.

What we love is what we will choose and we will find a way to justify it.

With grace God is revealing to me daily the things I love more than Him, These are not bad things, evil things, but they often are the things I look to for life. Jesus alone is the source of life.
So despite the fact that we are the prodigal sons, the one who wants his inheritance to squander on the pleasures of life, and/or the the son who does his duty, and seeks to earn favor by his obedience. Our Father loves us so much that seeks us out, he hikes up his robes and in humiliation runs far off to embrace us. I picture myself lifted off of my feet, washed in the kisses and joyful tears of a Father so delighted to have his child with him.

And still the love of Christ pursues us.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go ­ Scottish Pastor George Matheson
1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.
2. O light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in thy sunshines​blaze its day May brighter, fairer be.
3. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust lifes​glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be.
And our heart responds with love.


We can love God because he first loved us 1John 4:19

His love, moves our heart to love Him and our desire and longing is for Him. to be with Him.
When I started visiting Four Winds, I came as many of you, wounded and broken. I felt abandoned by God. invisible and unloved. The first Sunday here I was overwhelmed by the love of this body, especially the children. That alone seemed reason enough to have ended up here that morning. Then Father Brad got read scripture. And he read the verse in Jeremiah that I had been holding on to, that was my last thread of hope:

Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfarefn and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

And in that moment I thought maybe God hadn’t forgotten me. And that hope in my heart, refreshed my faith.

As I came back week after week to receive God’s love through his people, the Father gently whispered that He did see me, that He did love me, that He had not left me. His love reignited the flickering flame of my love for Him, and in the process brought healing and joy.

And I know my story is not unique. WE have all been wounded. We have been broken.
We do suffer. But our suffering should not take us by surprise. We read of the suffering of Israel in the old testament. How did Paul and the other disciples suffer for Christ? They even tell us it is part of our journey. Romans 8:14 ­ 18 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.  For consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.


But Gods love makes us travel down roads we don’t want to go to places we don’t want to leave. (A. Null)

In God’s great mercy he’s brought us here, He’s brought us healing through the love of Christ, poured out in this body. It is no accident that you are sitting here today. How has God brought healing and restoration in your life? How is He continuing to work through our pain and brokeness? Praise God that everyday we get to encounter the Love of God anew. And we are called to extend that love and grace to others. We delight in loving God, but we are called to so much more.

Jesus said in Luke 10:27 27 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

What will it look like for us to love our neighbor? We can start by entering into the work God is already about. Welcoming the broken. Being present and praying. Loving them well, which takes time, and a lack of agenda. Bringing joy and hope into our community.
It also means loving and supporting artists and welcoming them here. Art and Beauty can be used of God to reach the guarded broken hearts in our communities. Art will connect with the internal longing for life and peace. The unidentified longing for God. Caring for artists will transform not just their individual lives, but will encourage and equip them to be a source of transformation in our culture.

Artist and advocate Makoto Fujimura reminds us:
“The arts provide us with language for mediating the broken relational and cultural divides: the arts can model for us how we need to value each person as created in the image of God.” He goes on to say;
“Create we must, and respond to this dark hour. The world needs artists who dedicate themselves to communicate the images of Shalom. Jesus is the shalom. Shalom is not just the absence of war, but wholeness, healing and joy of fullness of humanity. We need to collaborate within our communities, to respond individually to give to the world our Shalom Vision. “

Our brokenness, will lead to wholeness, because of the love of God.

Andy Gullahorn finishes his song saying;
It hurts to be so broken
But its bearable somehow
As the grounds to prove I’m worthy disappear 
I’ve always heard you loved me 
And I think I know it now
It’s a reason why you brought me here 
Love’s the reason why you brought me here
Love is the reason that God brought you and me here.

Our lives our intricately wound in the tapestry of Gods story. At this place and time the threads of our life are intersecting and being used to create a beautiful representation of the gospel. The most beautiful works of art contain light and dark places. The light and color more brilliant against the contrast of darkness. God is the Master Artist, each thread is securely in His Hand. He weaves a tapestry that brings Him glory and in the process brings life to the world. Brings life to us, brings life through us.

There is a prayer that is part of the liturgy for this 4th Sunday after Epiphany. 
It is I think the perfect way to close.

O God,
you spoke your word
and revealed your good news in Jesus, the Christ.
Fill all creation with that word again,
so that by proclaiming your joyful promises to all nations 
and singing of your glorious hope to all peoples,
we may become one living body,
your incarnate presence on the earth. Amen.