Set Free to Follow
John 10:22-30
ŌMy sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish,
and no one will snatch them out of my hand.Ķ (John 10:27-28, ESV)
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday where we focus on Jesus as our Good
Shepherd. And to prove that God really does guide us, he led me to a resource
for todayÕs sermon. This past week a member loaned me a book called Lessons
from a Sheep Dog by Phillip Keller. As I looked through the table of
contents I noticed a chapter that was titled ŌSet Free to FollowĶ which fit
perfectly with our Gospel reading today. God knows how to get His point across.
Phillip Keller is a rancher
who has written several book on what he has observed in his life relate well
with spiritual ideas in Scripture. And this book is no exception. Phillip
Keller tells the story better than I can, so read the book if you get a chance,
but I want to tell a piece of it since it fits so well with our text today as
Jesus is talking about following Him.
Phillip Keller, as I
mentioned, was a rancher originally of cattle. He found a nice plot of land on
Vancouver Island that he wanted to purchase to establish his own ranch. But the
property was for sale with cash only so Phillip had to spend most of his saving
to get this land and with the money he had left over he could not buy a decent
amount of cattle. So he decided to purchase sheep instead.
Now the dog he owned was
bred for taking care of cattle and soon lost interest in taking care of sheep.
So Phillip needed another dog, one who he could train to care for sheep. One
day he so the perfect opportunity. And ad was listed in the paper of a border
collie for sale to someone who could give it a good home. Phillip immediately
contacted the lady in the ad and went to visit their home. When he arrived he
met a lady that was urgent on getting rid of this dog, which they had named
Lassie. You see this dog had become a terror for them chasing anything that
moved and growling at anyone who came near. Phillip found Lass, as he would
soon call her, chained to a pole in the back yard with another chain from her
neck to her hind feet to hobble her and keep her under control. His heart broke
fro her.
Phillip knew that this
wasnÕt going to be an easy task, to take this dog and re-train it for a sheep
ranch. He knew that at two years old this dog may be past the point of which it
could be trained. But he wanted to try. He knew that this may be the only
chance for this dog to have a good life, if it would submit to him as her new
master.
Taking Lass home was a
mixture of joy and fear. Lass wasnÕt being to friendly and Phillip wasnÕt sure
how to proceed. He had grand plans and had made all the arrangements of kennel,
food and water bowls and everything Lass would need for a good life. But he
also knew that at first Lass would have to be chained, not hobbled, but chained
until she would learn the lay of the land and get to know Phillip. Lass didnÕt
like this and each day she would just lay on the ground in protest, not eating
or using her kennel.
Finally Phillip decided to
take the chain off and see what would happen. And to his fear, Lass ran off
into the woods. Phillip knew that Lass would not survive on her own in these
woods and ranch area, so each day he would look for her. For weeks he didnÕt
see her at all until one day she appeared on a large outcrop of rock. Phillip
ran home and got her food and water and brought it back to her but as soon as
he returned she would run off again. Each day he did this for many weeks and
each day the same thing happened. Phillip was starting to resign himself that
Lass was never going to come home. Then one day, as he was enjoying the
beautiful sunset by the ocean he looked down to notice that Lass was standing
right next to him. No fanfare, no excited movements, just her present with him.
And from that day on Lass was home to stay.
Phillip Keller wrote, ŌLass
discovered, to her delight, that what she found was not new chains, or abuse,
or bondage. What she had come to was warmth, understanding, affection, and the
thrilling freedom to fulfill the purpose for which she had been bred.Ķ (p. 54)
ArenÕt we not unlike Lass.
We too often want to go our own way, do our own thing in our own time. We give
lip service that we follow Christ but in our actions we go our own way. We run
off thinking that we can have a better life on our own than we could have under
the control of God.
Maybe we do this because at
one point in our life we have placed control in anotherÕs hands or situation
and we have been disappointed. Maybe we have been abused by people or
circumstances out of our control and we have set in our minds that we will
never let anyone control us. We will get things done on our own.
The problem is that we
canÕt survive in the wilderness anymore than Lass could have survived in the
forest. On our own our end is destruction. We really canÕt get total control of
our lives. We have to give control to someone else. God calls us to follow Him,
do let Him be our Shepherd and Master. It takes courage for us to relinquish
our control and let God be our Shepherd. But to do that is to find not new
slavery but Ōto discover His boundless love, His enormous good will, His
generous care, His wondrous knowing management of [our] lives, his affectionate
acceptance into His family.Ķ (p. 55, Lessons from
a Sheep Dog, by Phillip Keller, Word Publishing, Waco, Texas, 1983.)
This wouldnÕt be Good
Shepherd Sunday without hearing the 23rd Psalm from David who shows
us again that the Lord is our Shepherd.ŌThe Lord is my shepherd my Master and Lord of my
life; I shall not want.
He
makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. When I want to go off on
my own and seek after things that will harm me he makes and leads me to the places I
should be for my own good. He restores my soul. Nothing else satisfies
my soul like Jesus Christ. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his nameÕs sake. Too often I want to go my own way
that is selfish and full of pride and rarely righteous; God has to lead me
again in the way that gives Him glory. Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death When I face all the awful things
of this life, storms, trials, temptation, malice, violence, sickness, etc I
feel like I am in total darkness., I will fear no evil God has overcome all the evil in my life and I can find
security in Him, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort
me. How
can a weapon and an instrument used for discipline give me comfort? They can
when they are used for my good and used out of the ultimate love of God. You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies; I donÕt want to be with my enemies, I fear them and they fear me but you
put us together in peace you anoint my head with oil; You set me apart as
special and make me holy. my cup overflows. It is beyond what I can imagine
or need that you provide for me. I lack nothing with You. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life, Not just on special days or sometimes in my life but You are with me
always looking after even the daily routines of my life. and I shall dwell
in the house of the Lord forever. Not only do You guide me now but You will
ultimately lead me to live with you in heaven our final home.Ķ (Psalm
23, ESV)
Give
control over to God. Let Him guide and protect and lead your life – for
He is the Good Shepherd.