John 8:31-37 "Freedom"
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
My spirit has been vexed for a few weeks now so
I've struggled in prayer to find out why.
Like most of you, I almost always know when
something is troubling me.
But sometimes I'm kind of thick headed and don't
always figure it out immediately.
It's during those times when I don't catch on that
something has vexed my spirit that I end up hearing
things like this: "You sure have been grumpy
lately." Or, "You've been snapping at people. Why
are you so irritable?" Or, "You're using that 'tone'
with people again."
And, yes, for those of you who haven't heard it, I
do have a "tone" I tend to use when I get frustrated.
I can't describe it, but if you've ever heard it you'll
know!
For those of you with whom I've used that tone, I
want to offer my public apology right now.
It's not my purpose to offend you or upset
you...it's been a part of me all my life.
I can offer praise to God, though, because he's
still refining my character.
My "tone" is one of those areas God is working
on.
Having said all that, let me share with you why
my spirit has been vexed.
Some messages are easy to preach.
They are uplifting, edifying, encouraging; they are
just a joy to preach.
Others aren't so easy to preach.
In fact, there are some messages I'd rather not
preach.
It's sort of like when God told Jonah to go to
Nineveh and preach...he didn't want to so he went
the other direction.
That's how it is with some messages.
But the fact is that some messages have to be
preached whether I want to or not.
This is one of them.
Paul said this to the elders at the church at
Ephesus, "... I have not hesitated to proclaim to you
the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves
and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made
you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,
which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:27-28)
The reason I have to preach this message is
because I am your pastor.
I've been charged with the responsibility to
proclaim the whole will of God to you because God
has made me overseer of this flock.
The writer of Hebrews says I will have to give an
account. (Hebrews 13:17)
I want you to understand something: you are His
flock, bought by His blood, yet he has entrusted
your care to me.
Now, I don't want you to think I'm being arrogant;
I'm not.
It's a biblical truth that God calls pastors to
specific congregations.
Had God not called me, I wouldn't be here.
So, because I'm your pastor I hope you'll see that I
have your best interest at heart.
It's my responsibility as pastor to help you know
the truth, because the truth will set you free.
Some of you will be encouraged by today's
message.
You'll be encouraged because you'll learn some
new biblical truths and you'll be prepared to put
those truths into practice.
For some of you, today's message will come in the
form of a mild rebuke.
Others of you will find yourself getting angry.
And you'll direct your anger toward me.
That's o.k.
Did you know that when sheep get angry they
often butt the shepherd?
I want to apologize in advance to those of you
who might be offended by today's message.
It's not my intention to upset anybody, but I am
compelled to proclaim the truth.
Let me tell you something I read about shepherds
in the Middle East.
They are always in front of their sheep.
 They aren't like a cattle ranchers, who ride behind
their cows, driving them on and pushing them
forward.
No, a shepherd walks in front of his sheep,
leading them in the direction of greener pastures
and an abundant supply of cool, fresh drinking
water.
Why?
Because it's his responsibility to feed his sheep,
and he wants them to have the best grass and the
best water he can give them.
He leads them to the best!
Another interesting thing about shepherds is that
they usually name their sheep.
Each sheep has it's own name.
Do you know how a shepherd gathers his sheep
when several flocks of sheep are grazing together?
The shepherd starts walking, and while he's
walking, he calls his sheep by name.
And they follow him.
A shepherd is also responsible for protecting his
sheep.
When sheep are corralled for the night, the
shepherd would sleep at the entrance to the
sheepfold, to protect his sheep from wolves.
If they were left out to pasture, a watchtower was
often erected, from which approaching danger could
be easily seen.
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. (John 10)
The writer of Hebrews calls him "that Great
Shepherd of the sheep."
Listen to what he writes, "May the God of peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with
everything good for doing his will, and may he
work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
(Hebrews 13:20)
Jesus has entrusted some to be shepherds of his
flock.
"...he gave some ... to be pastors and teachers, to
prepare God's people for works of service, so that
the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of
God and become mature, attaining to the whole
measure of the fulness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13)
As your pastor, it’s my desire and my goal to give
you the best, as the Holy Spirit leads.
That's a little bit about shepherds.
But a shepherd wouldn't be a shepherd if he didn't
have sheep, so here's a little bit about sheep.
Some sheep have a habit of trying to find the best
grazing areas on their own.
They'll be munching and walking, munching and
walking, always trying to find the best grass.
They tend to be totally oblivious to what's
happening around them.
They are interested in eating.
If they happen to be by a cliff, and the grass is
good, they'll eat themselves right over the cliff.
The shepherd keeps watch over his sheep, and
when they get close to the dangerous edge, he'll
bring them back to safer ground.
Sometimes a pastor has to do that.
What do I mean by that?
Sometimes committed Christians get tunnel
vision.
What I mean is that they might focus in on one or
two biblical truths and forget about other biblical
truths.
For example, we believe that once you're saved,
you're always saved.
That's a biblical truth.
But, if you get too entrenched in that truth, you'll
neglect another important truth that says when
you're saved you can't live the way you used to.
It's dangerous to think that when you're saved you
can live life the way you always have.
It's the pastor's responsibility to lead you to those
other biblical truths so you'll have a healthy,
balanced diet.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free.
Some sheep like it where they are.
They'll find one spot and not move at all.
When the grass is gone, they won't move unless
the shepherd moves them, and then they aren't
really happy about it, so they tend to gradually find
their way back to their "favorite spot."
They run the risk of starving.
Some folks want to hear the truth but not apply it.
They're happy just coming to church Sunday after
Sunday, singing hymns and listening to the
message, but they won't move.
 What I mean by that is that they have become
complacent with their place in the kingdom.
They don't want any more.
They don't want commitment; they don't care
much about getting the best God has for them.
They're just happy getting what they get.
Now, the difference between shepherding sheep
and shepherding people is that, if you were sheep, I
could pick you up and move you to greener pastures
and cooler, more refreshing water.
But you are people.
I can only offer you those deeper biblical truths
and encourage you to apply them, but I can't force
you to.
I can't make you be all God wants you to be.
That's your choice.
Some sheep are "black sheep."
I'm not talking about color...I'm talking about
attitude.
Black sheep generally ignore the shepherd.
They are going to do their own thing no matter
what the shepherd does.
If the shepherd leads one way, they'll go another.
If the shepherd calls them, they'll pretend not to
hear!
Some well-meaning church people are black
sheep.
They are going to do their own thing, their own
way and you best not get in their way.
Black sheep will try to get as many other sheep to
join them as they can.
The problem with that is that it's always
detrimental to the rest of the flock.
And it puts the flock in grave danger.
You see, black sheep will often try to get the flock
to go where they want to go, and that might not be
the safest place to go.
It might be a place dangerously close to the cliff,
or a place without sufficient food and water.
It might be a place overcome by wolves.
With black sheep it's a "me" thing.
Let me give you another biblical truth: It’s not a
“me” thing.
It's not about me, and it's not about you.
It's about Jesus.
You know what Genesis 1:1 says?
"In the beginning, God..."
Everything after that is a written history of how
God has dealt with his creation to restore a
relationship broken by sin.
You see, it's not about my way or your way or
somebody else’s way.
It's not about what I want or what you want or
what anybody else wants.
It's about what God wants.
What He wants for us as individuals; what He
wants for us as a church.
Some of you here today fall into the category of
black sheep.
You've ignored your Heavenly Shepherd and
you've ignored his messengers.
You're so hung up on you that you won't let the
truth set you free.
Some of you talk so much during worship that
you can't possibly hear the truth that will set you
free.
You talk from the time you enter the church
building until the time you leave the church
building.
Not only do you not hear God's truth, you prohibit
others from hearing God's truth.
Some of you walk so much so that, at best, you
only get bits and pieces of God's truth.
You are in and out of the service so much that you
become a distraction to those around you who
desire to know the truth.
It's has always amazed me how small a person's
bladder gets at 11:00 on a Sunday morning.
And I've not yet understood how such thirst sets
in during a worship service.
I assume it must be the singing that causes a
person to be so thirsty that they just can't wait until
the worship service is over to head for the water
fountain.
Some of you leave and don't come back.
You don't even make an attempt to hear God's
truth.
How can a person apply God's truth when they
won't hear it?
Brothers and Sisters, you can't possibly know how
it troubles my soul to know that some of you won't
embrace the truth that will set you free.
And if it troubles my soul, how much more so
does it trouble Jesus, who gave it all up for you?
 Paul said, "Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the
one they have not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching
to them? And how can they preach unless they are
sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of
those who bring good news!" But not all the
Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says,
"Lord, who has believed our message?"
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the
word of Christ.” (Romans 10:13-17)
We’ve been given good news!
 We can be freed from our sin.
 We can be forgiven.
 Our relationship with our creator can be
restored.
 We can experience love the way God
meant for love to be experienced.
This is good news!
Pastors proclaim that good news from their pulpits
Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, but so few
people want to hear it.
Even less want to apply it to their lives.
Have you ever wondered why people don’t come
to church anymore?
Overwhelmingly, unchurched people say that
church isn’t relevant.
This is what they say: “I don’t need a church to be
like you. I already am.”
What a harsh indictment on the church: that we
are no different that the unchurched.
We look the same; we smell the same; we eat the
same foods; we go to the same places; we rent the
same movies; we act the same.
What makes matters even worse is that churched
people say they don’t need church for the same
reasons the unchurched say they don’t need church:
It’s not relevant.
It’s not relevant because Christians are no longer
making a difference in their world.
We go along with the flow in the name of
tolerance, but the fact is that we simply don’t know
God’s truth.
And in so many cases we don’t want to know
because we don’t want anybody upsetting our
applecart.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are
really my disciples. Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free."
What did Jesus teach?
What are some of His truths?
1. Love God with all your heart, mind, and
strength, yet so many other things in life
compete for that love…and win. Oh, how
easy it is for so many other things to win our
affections.
2. Love one another, yet we hate people simply
because they might be different. They might
not be the same color. They might not be in
the same socioeconomic class. They might
not be as smart. They might not be as good-
looking. They might not share our same
beliefs.
3. Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you, yet if we don’t get our way we pout
and take our ball and go home. We’ve bought
into the cultural lie that says, “do unto others
before they do it to you…because they will.”
4. Each one should use whatever gift he has
received to serve others, faithfully
administering God’s grace in its various
forms. (1 Peter 4:10) Yet so often we serve simply
to be recognized for that service.
We are no different than the unchurched people
we say we are trying to reach.
The Bible says that we are no longer to be that
way.
If you know the truth, the truth will set you free.
You’ve heard the truth.
Will you be set free today?