Calling All Shepherds (Acts 20:17-38)

August 24, 2022 By bro.rory

Calling All Shepherds
Acts 20:17-38
August 21, 2022

I know it’s been a while since we were in 1 John, and we are headed back there next week, but since we were already on a break, I wanted to take the opportunity to visit with you about something that has been on my heart for quite some time.

I want to begin this morning simply by speaking from the heart
Regarding shepherds or elders or pastors or overseers.
(All of those titles refer to the same job)

FIRST – just to set some minds at ease.
• I am NOT here about to announce some new structure for our church.
• I am aware that the current democratic structure of our church body is very
important to several in our congregation.

I do not think that is the most biblically accurate way to govern the church
Nor do I think it to be the best way.

However, at this point, I am not willing to offend any one of you
By changing the structure of how our church makes decisions.

So don’t sit through this sermon concerned that I’m about to announce some coming policy change in the way you are accustomed to the church handling her business, because I am not.

In fact, how the church handles her business
Is way down on my list of things which are important to me.

What is of infinite greater importance to me
Is the spiritual well-being of the flock.

And I think perhaps the best way to begin this sermon is
With A CONFESSION that I consider myself a failure here.

Now I don’t say that so you’ll come running up to me afterward
To try and console me or something like that.

BUT I CAN SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN.

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 34:1-6
• Certainly I recognize that there we are dealing with sinful shepherds.
• These were the spiritual leaders of Israel and they had no concern for the flock at all.
• All they were concerned about was exploiting the flock for their own selfish gain. God said “with force and with severity you have dominated them.”

I don’t consider that to be me, but I would call your attention again
To the LIST OF EXPECTATIONS that God set on these shepherds.

(4) “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost;”

Here God takes a physical analogy
And brings an obvious spiritual application.

“sickly” here is not necessarily physically sick people.
• Rather we are talking about spiritual sickness.
• These are people who are walking in spiritual weakness.
• And the shepherds had not “strengthened” them.

“diseased” would be people who are living in sin.
• And the shepherds had not “healed” them.

“broken” is not disheartened people so much as it is people who are living in the consequences of their sin.
• They are caught in trespasses like those Paul references in Galatians.
• And the shepherds had not “bound [them] up”

“scattered” is those who have fallen out of fellowship
• And the shepherds have not “brought [them] back”.

And finally you have “lost” sheep who are not yet saved
• But these shepherds had not “sought” for them.

The application here is primarily a spiritual one.
• We think of Jesus sending the twelve to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”
• We think of Jesus telling Peter to “tend My lambs”
• Peter would later in his epistle write to the elders to: “shepherd the flock of God among you”

THOSE ARE SPIRITUAL APPLICATIONS.

Now, we would NOT totally remove a physical application from them either.
• For Jesus also clearly spoke of things like clothing the naked brother and
feeding the hungry brother and visiting the sick or imprisoned brother.

So while the primary call is certainly spiritual
I think it is clear that there are some physical undertones
To be considered there as well.

And if I’m honest with myself and honest with you, there is no way that I can read that list and walk away boasting that I have done that job well.

One reason can most certainly be sinfulness or laziness or timidity in me.
And certainly I pray that God cleanse those things.

But another reason is simply that it is a huge job
And very difficult for any one man to try and do by himself.

We are reminded of the story of Moses:
TURN TO: EXODUS 18:13-27

The observation was clearly made by his father-in-law that
Shepherding God’s people is a task bigger than one man can handle.

The sheer size of the job requires more than one man to do it well.

And this is where I am coming to you from this morning.

As I said, we are NOT about to change the structure of our church,
BUT HERE IS WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO.

I am about to start training a few men as shepherds or elders or pastors or overseers (whichever term you prefer).

I want to be clear from the outset TO ANY MEN WHO ARE INTERESTED.

I am going to ask men from our church to do 4 things.
1) Subject themselves to the scrutiny of the qualifications of an overseer.
2) Study and train to be a Biblical elder or shepherd, etc.
3) Do the work of an overseer or elder or shepherd like what we saw in Ezekiel
4) Do it all with the understanding that you may never receive the title or any recognition at all from this congregation.

Biblically speaking the church is called to submit to its leaders.
Biblically speaking the church is called to submit to its elders.

But, as I said from the beginning,
That is NOT what we are right now pursuing.

Right now we are talking about training men
Who will do the spiritual work of a shepherd
Without any recognition whatsoever.

Men who will answer the call of Peter:
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

That’s what we’re going to talk about this morning.
• Men who will eagerly shepherd God’s flock.
• Men who will do it with absolutely zero ego.
• Men who will subject themselves to be a qualified example.
• And men who will do it solely for the pleasure of Jesus.

This morning I’m going to ask men in our congregation
To step up to such a calling and duty.

So that’s what this sermon is about this morning.
And while there are many texts on this subject, and we will study them if you come forward to be an overseer, this morning we are going to look at Acts 20.

But before we look at this chapter let me give a little general backdrop
To the concept of why shepherds are important.

I think the best place to start is with the famous Psalm.
Psalms 23 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

That is the song of the contented sheep.
That sheep is well cared for by its shepherd.
• He lies down in green pastures
• He is led beside quite waters
• He is restored
• He is guided
• He is protected
• He is vindicated
• He safely reaches the promised pasture

God identifies Himself as the Shepherd of His people.

Isaiah 40:11 “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

As a Shepherd then it makes sense why
God called out men to also fulfill the role of shepherd to His flock.

Two of the most famous in Israel are men like Moses or David
Who incidentally also spent time as actual shepherds before leading God’s people.

So God, the True Shepherd called out men to serve as undershepherds.

However, as we read in Ezekiel 34, in Israel those men were failing.
• They didn’t care about the sheep.
• And God actually pronounced judgment on those shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:10 “‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

And after God delivered His sheep from their mouth
God promised to give them a new shepherd; a Good Shepherd.

Ezekiel 34:23-24 “Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. “And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken.”

God promised to deliver His sheep from the mouth of the bad shepherd
And set a descendant of David as their new shepherd.

And you already know who we are talking about.
John 10:11-15 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

Jesus is the Shepherd God promised to send to Israel.

If you will remember He was deeply grieved at the way in which
The religious leaders in His day had treated God’s flock.

Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

Those people were exactly what Ezekiel had prophesied.
• They were the victims of cruel and brutal shepherds.
• They were victims of shepherds who only exploited the sheep for their own
personal gain but who had no interest in the spiritual life of the sheep.

Jesus came to eradicate those sinful shepherds and to gather His flock.

And that is precisely what He did.
• For 3 ½ years Jesus searched for the lost and scattered sheep.
• He bound up the broken
• He healed the sick
• He strengthened the weak

And before He left, Jesus then
Entrusted the care of His sheep to the apostles.

3 times He told Peter to “tend My lambs”

Jesus called and appointed these men
To be spiritual shepherds for His flock until He returned.

THIS BECAME THE STANDARD
For the care of His church from that day forward.

Qualified men would be appointed for the care of the flock.
Sometimes called elders, sometimes called shepherds,
Sometimes called overseers, sometimes called pastors.

But they were men who are appointed to watch over the flock of God.

The writer of Hebrews described them like this:
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

These would be men who would “keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account”

AND I CAN’T STRESS THAT ENOUGH
To any men who will submit themselves to this task.

We are asking men to take upon themselves a very serious calling.

IF A RANCHER IN TOWN was to ask you to feed his cows while he is gone you understand your task.
Each day you go and put out feed, you count them because if one is missing you know it’s going to matter.

THIS IS THE JOB.
Jesus has ascended to heaven and He has asked men to feed His sheep.

It is a high calling.
It is a noble calling.
But it is a very serious calling as well.
We are called to “keep watch over [men’s] souls”

Also apparent in that Hebrews passage is that
This was NOT a task intended FOR JUST 1 MAN.

The writer of Hebrews spoke of “leaders” not a single leader.

To Titus Paul wrote:
Titus 1:5 “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,”

Acts 14:23 “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

And in the text we examine this morning we see in Acts 20:17, “From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.”

The biblical model is of a plurality of elders to shepherd the flock of God.

• Partly because it is a big job.
• But also because various men share in various gifts.
• And also because even pastors have a propensity for sin and need others to
walk along side them.

There are a host of reasons here,
BUT THE POINT TO BE MADE IS A SIMPLE ONE.

God’s flock deserves
The absolute best spiritual care that is available.

God has laid out that this is to be done
By a plurality of qualified and trained men who will step into this role.

THIS MORNING I just want us to briefly examine part of this passage
In Acts 20 to give any men who are curious about the role
A quick picture of what is expected.

So here we are,
• Paul has sailed past Ephesus because he is in a hurry to get to Jerusalem.
• He lands at Miletus and he calls for the elders of the church.

And Paul’s message to them, is one that I think
Is very fitting for us to look at this morning.

• Now this entire text took us something like 6 sermons to get through when we studied through Acts.
• So we’re going to only focus on a brief portion of this segment.
• I want us to look at verses 28-31 specifically.

When we look at these 4 verses there is ONE overarching truth.

YOU HAVE BEEN ORDAINED BY GOD TO SHEPHERD HIS FLOCK

Now let’s just ask a few questions about this statement as we work through this text.

#1 WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Acts 20:28

What does it mean that to be ordained by God to shepherd His flock?

Well first I want you to focus in on one phrase in particular.
I think it’s the MOST IMPORTANT PHRASE in the entire segment.

It is the phrase “church of God”

The very first and most important truth that must be acknowledged
By any man who would step into this role
Is that it is a calling to shepherd God’s church.

This is the church that Jesus built.
He said in Matthew 16, “I will build My church”

If you read the book of Acts you see that this is exactly what He did.

Acts 2:39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Acts 2:47 “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Christ is building His church.
This is God’s doing.

No shepherd is the owner of the church, he is only a steward.
He has been enlisted or recruited to care for that which belongs to God And he will one day answer to God for how He cared for the flock.

Peter said it like this:
1 Peter 5:2 “shepherd the flock of God among you…”

• This isn’t the entire flock, but it is a portion of the flock.
• And God is entrusting this portion of the flock to your care.

GET THAT REALITY STRAIGHT IN YOUR MIND FIRST.
Overseers are but enlisted men to care for that which belongs to God.

And to further enlighten you to THE WEIGHT of this responsibility…

Paul calls the church, “the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

God didn’t inherit the church, He purchased the church.
• The church represents those whom God chose.
• The church represents those whom God foreknew.
• The church represents those whom God predestined to the adoption as sons.
• The church represents those whom God redeemed.

He purchased them.
“with His own blood”

This of course is the blood of Christ.
1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

Far more valuable than gold or silver.
God paid the price of the blood of His own spotless Son for the church.

THE CHURCH IS FILLED WITH
• Men and women who had been lost in sin.
• They were totally estranged from God and destined for wrath.
• They were helpless to ever change their sinful condition.

The only hope of their salvation is
If God would send His Son into the world
To both fulfill their righteous requirement by obeying the Law
And then to die on a cross to pay off the debt for all their sin.

AND GOD PAID THIS PRICE.
• He bought us back.
• He redeemed us from sin.
• He justified us through His sacrifice.

AND EVERY SHEPHERD NEEDS TO GRASP THIS.

This is actually one of my most favorite parts of when we participate in the Lord’s Supper.
• I love to watch the plates pass and watch you take the bread and take the juice.
• I remind myself that Christ lived and died for you.

You are more than a church member.
You are more than a fellow servant.

I remind myself that you are so precious in the sight of God
That He gave His Son to redeem you.

EVERY SHEPHERD MUST LIVE IN THE UNDERSTANDING
OF HOW MUCH GOD LOVES HIS CHURCH.

We are told in Scripture
That the love God has for His church is the greatest love conceivable.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

That this love which God has for the church knows absolutely no limits.
John 13:1 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

The church is Hosea’s Gomer.
The church is Jesus’ bride.
She is infinitely precious to Him.

Every shepherd must keep this perspective at the forefront of his mind.
HE IS CALLED TO CARE FOR THAT WHICH GOD INFINITELY LOVES.

Paul had this perspective:
2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.”

He was charged with delivering Christ’s bride safely to the wedding hall.
• Far be it from him to let her get away.
• Far be it from him to let her fall in with another man.
• Far be it from him to let her be abducted or maligned or kidnapped.
• His duty was to bring her to Christ and it was a serious duty.

SO WE GRASP THAT FIRST AND FOREMOST.
• We are dealing here with Christ’s bride.
• We are dealing here with God’s flock.
• The flock He purchased.
• And He paid a very high price for her.

These men are called to “shepherd the church of God”

And what does this mean?

Well now we look at the FIRST PART of the verse.
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock”

CONTEXT alone here teaches us that “shepherding involves guarding”.

The word “shepherd” here translates (POY-MY-NO)
7 times it is translated “feed” and 4 times it is translated “rule”

It encompasses all that a shepherd does for the flock.
“He leads them, he feeds them, and he protects them.”

We are all familiar with the stories of David who said when a lion or a bear approached the flock he sprang into action and killed the predator.

There is a guarding mentality here.

But what we notice in verse 28 is that BEFORE the flock is guarded Paul first says:
“Be on guard for yourselves”

What we learn is that a shepherd first guards himself.
That doesn’t meant he makes sure he is safe from the lion before he defends the sheep.
This is not a selfish mandate.

Rather, Paul is talking here about the shepherds responsibility
TO BE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE FLOCK.

A simple fact is that sheep follow their shepherd.
• They go where the shepherd goes.
• They do as the shepherd does.

One of the most important things a shepherd must do
Is examine and guard himself from deception and sinful living.

A shepherd understands that he is a role model.
A shepherd understands that he is an example.

Did you catch Paul reminding these Ephesian elders of his example?

• (READ 18-21) – Do you see how he reminded them of his example to teach flock?
• (READ 33-35) – There is his example of contentment and how he didn’t serve for sordid gain.

He understood he was an example.

How many times do we read statements like this from Paul?
1 Corinthians 4:16
“Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.”

1 Corinthians 11:1
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”

Philippians 4:9
“The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

And a shepherd understands that this is his calling as well.
So the first person he must routinely examine is himself.
Like it or not you will be an example, and one that is rightly scrutinized by all.

1 Peter 5:2-3 “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.”

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”

One of the things you’re going to be asked to do
Is to put your life out for an example to the flock.

This is why the qualifications are so important.
1 Timothy 3:1-7 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

You must start by guarding yourself.

And then you “guard…all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”

IT IS A SPIRITUAL PROTECTION.

It entails all of that which was spoken of in Ezekiel 34.
• It is feeding the flock
• It is healing the spiritually sick
• It is strengthening the spiritually weak
• It is restoring the spiritually broken
• It is gathering the spiritually scattered
• It is searching for the lost

It is a life devoted to the protection of God’s sheep
So that when He comes not one of them is missing.

That is what is meant when we say: YOU HAVE BEEN ORDAINED BY GOD TO SHEPHERD HIS FLOCK.

But there’s a second question:
#2 WHY DOES THE FLOCK NEED A SHEPHERD?
Acts 20:29-30

And the simple reason given here by Paul is this: “savage wolves”
• We are aware of the lion who prowls around seeking whom he may devour.
• The fact is that God’s flock is under attack because they are God’s flock.

And while the physical attack gets most of the attention,
The most dangerous attack is the spiritual one.

Incidentally you see Paul in this role all the time.
• Listen to him write to the Galatians about those Judaizers who wanted them to get circumcised.
• Listen to him write to Timothy about Hymenaeus and Philetus who were teaching that the resurrection already took place.
• Listen to him write to the Corinthians because someone told them there was no resurrection.
• Listen to him write to the Thessalonians because someone told them the day of the Lord had already come.
• Listen to him write to the Philippians to urge Euodia and Syntyche to get along.

• Here him confront Peter for being in the wrong…
• Here him encourage Timothy to straighten out the church at Ephesus…

It is the role of the shepherd.
There are deceptions and someone must expose them and stand against them so that the flock is not led astray.

When Paul wrote to Titus about elders he said:
Titus 1:7-11 “For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

This is the calling.
To spot danger and deliver the flock from it.

And we also see here why a PLURALITY of elders is so important.
Because sometimes the threat comes from a pastor.

Paul said, “from among your own selves men will rise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”

The fact is even elders need elders.
Even shepherds need shepherds.
Even overseers need overseers.

And it is NOT the flock who is primarily called to this task, but rather it is the other elders or shepherds or overseers who are called to it.

But God’s flock is under constant attack and this is why they need a shepherd.

And then one final question:
#3 HOW DO I GUARD THE FLOCK?
Acts 20:31

Very simply, “be on the alert”
The sheep may sleep, but not the shepherd.
The sheep may be naïve, but not the shepherd.

Ezekiel wasn’t actually referred to as a shepherd.
God chose the name “watchman” for him, but the job was the same.

Ezekiel 3:16-21 “At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. “Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. “Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. “However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”

THIS IS THE JOB.

A shepherd must know true doctrine.
• He has to have a grasp of what is true and what is false.
• He has to be willing to apply that to the lives of his flock.

Paul was a good example:
“night and day for a period of three years [he] did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”

Paul was alert to the flock.
• When a sheep went astray, he admonished it.
• That is what being a shepherd meant.

AND NOW HE WAS LEAVING THIS TASK TO THESE MEN.

And THIS MORNING, I am calling out men who will do that for our church.

Now, that is a rapid fire look at a passage that will be studied much deeper by those who answer the call, but you get at least a quick look at what is being asked.

And so this morning I’m simply initiating the call to shepherds.

It starts with a desire.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 3:1 “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”

This is not a job that men naturally want to do.
• It is a hard job.
• But, if there is a desire in you to do this job, that could be evidence of a calling of God on your life.
• It could be that God is asking you to shepherd His flock and that He has given you that desire.

And so, I’m simply going to give a few weeks, maybe even a month
For you to pray and see if that is you.

Go read these passages more carefully
And see if this is something you desire.
(I’ve got some small books for anyone who would like to read them in the foyer)

IF YOU VOLUNTEER, WE’LL START THE TRAINING.
There is NO GUARANTEE that every man who volunteers will eventually be an elder, indeed some may not.

Some may not fit the qualifications.
Some may not be up to the training.

This isn’t an award for being a good man in the church.
This is a calling of God to shepherd His flock
And He gets to choose whom He wants.

But if you volunteer we’ll go through the training
• And at the end we’ll ordain some men as overseers of this flock
• And I will gladly submit myself to this group of leaders
• So that we can shepherd God’s flock together.

You may never get recognized.
You may never get a title.
But Peter laid out the reward.

1 Peter 5:4 “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

There is an eternal glory that awaits those
Who faithfully care for Christ’s flock until He returns.

There is an eternal crown for those who faithfully shepherd.

And this is what we labor for.

SO I’M CALLING MEN TO VOLUNTEER AS A SHEPHERD OF HIS FLOCK.

What I Know About Worship – Part 2 (Psalms 135:5-21)

August 16, 2022 By bro.rory

Download Here:

What I Know About Worship – Part 2
Psalms 135 (5-21)
August 7, 2022

Last Sunday night we began our study of this great Psalm.
And the issue of course is that of praise to God.

I would remind you again that this Psalm is often referred to as a mosaic.
• It is a conglomeration of other passages of Scripture.

I called this Psalm “What I Know About Worship”
Based largely off of verse 5 where the Psalmist says,
“For I know that the LORD is great and that our LORD is above all gods.”

But as I thought about it more this week,
Perhaps I should have entitled this Psalm
“What the Bible Says About Worship” for that is really what the Psalm is.

The Psalmist has merely compiled a group of texts
Which illustrate why our God must be praised.

We looked at the first point last week.
#1 GOD EXPECTS IT
Psalms 135:1-4

Drawing from both Psalms 113 and Psalms 119
The Psalmist reminds the congregation that
We have a great duty to fulfill and it is the duty of praise.

“Praise the LORD!”

We get specific by praising “the name of the LORD” which is a reference to His nature.

Certainly it is required of the “servants of the LORD…who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God!”

Surely those who attend worship must understand that praise is required.
Why else have we come?

And we even remember the manner in which God is to be worshiped.
“Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely”

OUR GOD EXPECTS SINGING.
Our God expects us to ponder the majesty of who He is
And boast in Him accordingly.

• Everyone likes to bragged on when they do well.
• And most of the time we aren’t deserving of the amount of praise that may get heaped upon us.

But God is worthy and He expects us to sing His praise.

Which was the Psalmist’s point in verse 4
“For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.”

• God chose Jacob who did not deserve it.
• God chose Israel who was totally unworthy.

Just as God chose us before the foundation of the world
When we had done nothing to deserve it.

And just as God maintained that choice even after we have lived
And proven ourselves unworthy of salvation.

YET GOD STILL CHOSE US.
GOD STILL REDEEMED US.

AND WE ASK WHY?
• “for Himself”
• “for His own possession”

WE WERE SAVED FOR GOD.

And I’ll read it again for Peter made it clear.
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

• We were chosen by God that we might praise God.
• We were chosen by God that we might boast in God.

We didn’t read it last week, but consider this passage
That links sovereign election with the expectation of praise.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

You were saved according to the sovereign prerogative of God
And you were saved that you might boast in Him.

GOD EXPECTS WORSHIP.

Well, that is where we ended last week.
Tonight let’s move forward.

Here is what the Psalmist knows about worship:
God expects it
#2 GOD DESERVES IT
Psalms 135:5-14

Right off the bat the Psalmists hits us with TWO overpowering reasons
As to why God deserves worship.

(5) “For I know that the LORD is great And that our LORD is above all gods.”

That speaks of HIS PREEMINENT RANK
• He is the highest.
• He is the biggest.
• He is the best.
• He is the greatest.

If you follow sports at all you know that a popular word to throw out these days regarding an athlete is “G.O.A.T.” (greatest of all time)

But none is even in the same category as God.
He is above them all.
He outranks them all.

Names like Allah and Buddha don’t even belong in the same sentence.
Yahweh alone is great.
AND HE IS ABOVE THEM ALL.

As the highest ranking and most supreme certainly He deserves worship.
• Does such a great King not deserve more than a broken lamb or a half-hearted song?
• Does such a great King not deserve more than a disgruntled man who begrudgingly enters a service and sighs when called upon to sing?
• Does such a great King not deserve something more than a sermon thrown together at the last minute?

God deserves great worship!
• Worship for Abraham was to give his only son!
• David refused to give God that which cost him nothing.
• The sinful woman wet Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

Would we really come and make a mockery of worship
By sighing and refusing to participate?

A great God deserves worship, and He is a great God!

We see something else about Him.
(6) “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the deeps.”

This speaks of His OMNIPOTENT POWER

There are many things that you or I might do if we could.
There are indeed many things Satan would do if he could.
And yet we are restrained from all that we wish.

BUT NOT GOD.
“Whatever the LORD pleases, He does”

No one and nothing can tell Him “No”
No obstacle can keep Him from His plans.
• He never lacks for funding…
• He never lacks for permission…
• He never lacks for resources…
• He never lacks for ability…
• He never lacks for knowledge…
• He never lacks for location…

He has total power over every circumstance.

And unlike the false gods of the world, HE IS NOT REGIONAL.
“He does, In heaven and in earth, in the sea and in all the deeps.”

He is the supreme God of all the universe.
Certainly He deserves worship.

And then the Psalmist begins to ponder the work of God.

FIRST IS HIS CURRENT WORK (providence)
(7) “He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.”

The Psalmist speaks of EVAPORATION which is a great work of God.
“He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth”

• God takes the water on earth,
• Removes the salt,
• Changes it’s form so that it will rise into the clouds,
• Condensate,
• And then fall back upon the earth again.

Man might be able to explain what is happening, but no man can do it.
You might stick water in a bucket and wait for it to evaporate,
But you can’t cause it to evaporate.

God does that. It is one of His providential laws.
He makes the lightning…
He commands the wind…

You can GOOGLE LIGHTNING and you can GOOGLE WIND
And science can tell you what it is.

Science can tell you that lightning is the result of positive and negative charges in the cloud which eventually overpower the insulator of the air and discharge an electrical current to the ground.
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/#:~:text=In%20the%20early%20stages%20of,that%20we%20know%20as%20lightning.

Science can tell you that wind is the result of dropping air pressure and air molecules on the move from higher pressure locations to lower pressure locations.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=what+causes+wind&view=detail&mid=D38CE6D747AA3CBB10C1D38CE6D747AA3CBB10C1&FORM=VIRE

But that is just explaining how it works.

Where does it come from?
Who made those electrical charges?
Who created the molecules in the air?
Who made the shift in pressure?

God did all of that.
All weather and thus providence is in His hands.
It is His continual and current work on a daily basis.

• It is He who sends rain on the just and the unjust.
• It is He who causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good.
• It is He who gives the horse his strength.
• It is He who cares for the mountain goats.
• It is He who waters the plants of the forest.

It all comes from Him and He deserves worship for this work.

SECOND IS HIS PAST WORK (redemption)

Certainly God still redeems today, but the Psalmist speaks specifically of ISRAEL’S REDEMPTION FROM EGYPT.

Do you remember what He did?
(8-9) “He smote the firstborn of Egypt, Both of man and beast. He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.”

Do you remember all the plagues?
Do you remember that each of those plagues was meant to humiliate the false Egyptian gods?

• Egypt had Hapi or Apis who was the god of the Nile – God turned it to blood.
• Egypt had Heqet who was goddess of birth and had a frogs head – God sent a plague of frogs throughout Egypt.
• Egypt had Set, the god of the desert – God sent gnats up from the desert.
• Egypt had Uatchit who was represented by the fly – God sent a plague of flies.
• Egypt had Hathor, a goddess with a cow’s head – God killed their livestock.
• Egypt had Sekhmet, goddess with power over disease and Isis the goddess of healing – God sent boils.
• Egypt had Nut the sky goddess and Set the god of storms – God sent hail.
• Egypt had Osiris the god of crops – God sent locusts
• Egypt had Re the sun god – God sent darkness
• Egypt had Min the god of reproduction and Isis the goddess who protected children, even Pharaoh’s son who was supposedly a god – God killed the firstborn of Egypt.
(Walvoord, John F.; Zuck, Roy B. [The Bible Knowledge Commentary; Old Testament; Chariot Victor Publishing; Colorado Springs, CO; 1998] pg. 120)

Those plagues obliterated every so-called god of Egypt.

“He smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast. He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.”

• God delivered Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
• He totally annihilated their false gods.
• He drowned Pharaoh and his army in the sea.

The Psalmist asked should God be worshiped for such a deliverance?
Of course He should.

We enjoy the benefit of the cross
• Where God delivered His people from their sin.
• He crushed sin and obliterated death.
• He set us free from our sin, from the Law, and from condemnation.

Should we not worship Him for this?

Isaac Watts said, “Were all the realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

And that is not all of God’s deliverance

(10-12) “He smote many nations And slew mighty kings, Sihon, king of the Amorites, And Og, king of Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan; And He gave their land as a heritage, A heritage to Israel His people.”

Remember Numbers 21 and how these pagan kings refused to allow God’s people to pass through their land.
• So God destroyed them.
• God also destroyed the Canaanites living in Canaan.
• And God gave all their land to Israel.

It was a future they could not have hoped for.
It was an inheritance they could not have earned.
It was all given to them by the God who delivered them from Egypt.

Should they not worship Him for such care?

And you,
• Who provides you with every good thing to enjoy?
• Who has given you a future and a hope?
• Who intercedes on your behalf?
• Who rescues you from the temptations of the enemy?

Should we not worship Him for such redemption?

And then Psalmist references HIS FUTURE WORK (judgment)

(13-14) “Your name, O LORD, is everlasting, Your remembrance, O LORD, throughout all generations. For the LORD will judge His people And will have compassion on His servants.”

The Psalmist knows that God will always be.
• His name “is everlasting”
• He will always be known and remembered.

No one will ever be able to eradicate or remove our great God.
He has always been and He always will be.

I read you many of those Egyptian gods a moment ago
And most of them you’ve likely never heard of.
THEIR TIME IS OVER.

But our God stands forever and throughout all eternity.

And here the Psalmist remembers that “the LORD will judge His people and will have compassion on His servants”

“Judge” there speaks more of vindication than it does punishment.

• We have a God who will one day cause our enemies to bow at our feet.
• We have a God who has said we will reign upon the earth.
• We have a God who will reward every trial and compensate every loss.
• We have a God who has promised that when Christ appears we will appear with Him.

Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

God will reveal us to the world.

Should He not be worshiped for such as this?

And when you consider all of this together a remarkable reality emerges.
WE HAVE HERE A GOD WHO DOES WHATEVER HE PLEASES.

He can do whatever He wants and yet it is apparent
That what He wants to do is save His people.

This is the very epitome of the love of God.
• No one coerced Him.
• No one forced Him.

• He loved because it pleased Him to love.
• He saved because it pleased Him to save.
He cares for us because it pleases Him to care for us.

And perhaps that reinforces for you
What the Psalmist taught us at the very beginning of this Psalm;
Namely that “the LORD is good”.

If He were not good we would be in very great danger for He can do whatever He pleases.
• If He were a tyrant we would only suffer.
• If He were lazy we would be on our own.
• If He were indifferent we would be sunk.

BUT HE IS GOOD.
And goodness mixed with sovereign authority
Is a beautiful combination for us.

And thus we understand again why we are called to worship.

God can do whatever He wants and He chose to save.
In a sense we do what we want, may we choose to worship.

What manner of cold-hearted or spiritually dead individual
Can contemplate the providence of God
Or the redemption of God or the judgment of God
And feel no need to respond to God in worship?

What man can ponder God’s greatness and still be too proud to sing?
What man can consider God’s power and have the audacity to not give Him what He expects or what He deserves?

Worship is not optional.
Singing is not optional.
God expects it and God deserves it.

There’s a third thing the Psalmist knows about worship.
#3 IT IS A PRIVILEGE
Psalms 135:15-18

Here we get a contrast.
God is contrasted from the pathetic and useless false gods of the nations.

We have a good God, they do not.
We have a powerful God, they do not.

BUT ALSO:
WE HAVE A LIVING GOD, THEY DO NOT.
(15-17) “The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.”

FIRST
I would have you contemplate
• What it would be like to pray to a god who cannot hear you.
• What it would be like to suffer when your god can’t see it.
• What it would be like to try and get counsel from a god who cannot speak.
• What it would be like to hope for life from a god who doesn’t even breathe.

How futile to be as the prophets of Baal who leap upon the altar
And cut themselves and cry out over and over “O Baal answer us!”

• What a sad scene to watch millions of Muslims bow daily to a god who doesn’t even see their faithfulness.

• What a broken picture to watch a Hindu woman cram rice into the mouth of some Hindu statue who can’t even taste it or eat it or benefit from it.

• What a horrible moment to see a parent cry out to a god who cannot hear that their child might be delivered.

These are people who day after day worship gods who do not deserve it.
• They worship gods who are not powerful.
• They worship gods who are not good.
• They worship gods who cannot help.

Isaiah gave a very fitting description of such a worship.
Isaiah 46:5-7 “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? “Those who lavish gold from the purse And weigh silver on the scale Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; They bow down, indeed they worship it. “They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it; They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer; It cannot deliver him from his distress.

The key idea there is that of burden.
False gods are nothing but a burden to their worshipers.

It is the worshiper who must do all the heavy lifting.
They must “lift it upon the shoulder and carry it”

It is their god who needs them not the other way around.

We however are called to worship a good and powerful God.
One who has chosen to demonstrate His goodness by saving us.
And our God is NOT a burden.

In fact Jesus said:
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Our God doesn’t cast His burden on us, we cast ours on Him.
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Peter actually told us to cast our cares on Him.

Worship of Him is not a burden, it is a privilege.

Before you see worship of God as a burden
You need to take inventory of people all over this world
Who don’t have the privilege of worshiping the true and living God.

And aside from the immediate heartache of receiving absolutely no help,
There is a GREATER CURSE for those who worship these false gods.

(18) “Those who make them will be like them, Yes, everyone who trusts in them.”

What does he mean?
• Well they can’t speak…
• They can’t see…
• They can’t hear…
• They can’t breathe…

And God will make their worshipers like them.

Isaiah 44 speaks of a man who chops down a tree.
Isaiah 44:16-20 “Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Did you catch how God made them like their false god?
• “He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend…”
• God made fools of them.
• He made them where they couldn’t even see the insanity of their worship…
• “Professing to be wise they became fools”, Paul said.

It is no privilege to worship Allah
It is no privilege to worship Buddha
It is no privilege to worship one of the thousands of Hindu gods
THEY CAUSE YOU TO END UP DECEIVED AND LOST

But we are called to worship the God who hears.
• How many times have the Psalmists cried out “Hear my prayer!”

We are called to worship the God who sees.
• When God spared Hagar and her son Ishmael she called Him the “God who sees” for He saw her affliction.

We are called to worship the God who speaks.
• The God who gave the Law and the prophets and the incarnate word of Jesus Christ. (Psalms 19)

We are called to worship the God who gives life.
• Over and over Jesus promised life to those who believe.

We worship a living, seeing, hearing, speaking God.
And that is a privilege!
FOR HE GIVES LIFE TO THOSE WHO SEEK HIM

How could it be that God’s people would fail to worship Him?
• He hears when you sing and when you don’t.
• He sees when you worship and when you don’t.
• He knows when you honor Him and when you don’t.

And He rewards His faithful.
We have the tremendous privilege of worship.

One more thing the Psalmist knows about worship.
#4 THE PURPOSE IS TO PLEASE GOD
Psalms 135:19-21

See the phrase that is applied over and over to every group and every man?

“bless the LORD”

“bless” means “to make happy”

Are you Israel?
Are you Aaron?
Are you a Levite?
Do you fear God?
Then “bless the LORD”

And bless Him from this place.
“Blessed the LORD from Zion, whoever dwells in Jerusalem, Praise the LORD!”

• Let God look down upon Spur because He hears a holy roar coming from His people!
• Let God look down upon this church because He sees a people who have gathered to worship!

And the whole objective is to make Him happy!
We have discussed it so many times, but human nature will require us to discuss it forever.

We don’t enter this place to be entertained or even for our enjoyment (though we do enjoy the worship of God)
• The songs we sing…
• The instruments we use…
• The sermons we preach…
• The times of prayer…

Everything we do is that God might be pleased.

As the Psalmist said:
Psalms 115:1 “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.”

May God be pleased!

• He alone redeems…
• He alone provides…
• He alone rewards…
• He alone delivers…
• He alone hears…
• He alone sees…
• He alone speaks…
• He alone gives life…
• He alone is good…

And He expects and deserves worship.
It is our privilege and joy to give it to Him!

IT IS A SINFUL MAN
• Who attends a worship service and expects to be praised.
• Who attends a worship service and finds God unworthy of it.
• Who attends a worship service with the intent that he should be made happy.
• Who attends a worship service and thinks it is too tiresome.

I don’t know all there is to know about worship, but I do know that.
We were redeemed that we might praise the LORD.
God certainly expects it and He certainly deserves it.

When you enter this place with the redeemed;
Enter with a focus on worshiping God with all your heart.

And may God be blessed with what ascends from this place.

Follow Me (Matthew 16:24-27) 2022 Back To School Commissioning Service

August 16, 2022 By bro.rory

Download Here:

Follow Me
2022 Back To School Commissioning Service
Matthew 16:24-27
August 14, 2022

This morning we come to our annual school commissioning service.

I find it very important each year to take this opportunity TO PRAY for our students and teachers as they go to school
And TO REMIND each of us that whether in school or work we are called to serve the kingdom of Christ.

This year I want to piggy back off of a truth that our kids
Received at Camp REGEN and carry it on to you this morning.

The kids studied Mark’s version of this text,
But we’re looking to Matthew’s recording of it, and then I want to expand it bigger.

The passage you are likely familiar with (Matthew 16:24-27).

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

It is the simple call of Jesus.
“follow Me”

And of course we see the reality of following.
• Namely that it will require that you deny yourself
• It will require you to take up your cross
• It will require you to follow Him

As the youth learned at REGEN
This isn’t symbolic of just facing hardship in life.

It is NOT like when you have an illness or a setback and you say, “Well it’s just the cross I have to bear.”

No, the cross Jesus spoke of here was literal.
The disciples had seen them lining the roads.
The cross was the Roman form of execution.

When Jesus told them to take up their cross they knew what He meant.
You see a man walking by with a cross on his shoulder to go and be crucified, then you pick one up and join the line.

IT WAS A CALL TO DEATH.
Make no mistake about it.
Jesus called men to die.

Much is said today about
• Living your best life or abundant life
• Or being blessed
• And many other things such as that.

People have sought to turn the promises of Christ
Into some sort of comfort here on earth.

Many have actually distorted the words of Christ
To make it seem as though He is offering
The very thing He commanded you to lose.

JESUS CALLED MEN TO DEATH.

That becomes even more clear by what He said next.
(25) “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Jesus was very clear there.
It’s this life or the next.

As a kid we used to say, “Finders keepers losers weepers”
Jesus said, “Losers finders keepers weepers”

You must lose this life.
And if you do, you’ll gain eternal life.

There was always a trade off.
He called you to follow Him and die as a result
But promised that if you did you’d gain eternal life.

And He knows this is a DIFFICULT PROPOSITION so He introduced some LOGIC into the equation saying:
(26) “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

That is logic and it comes in the form of 2 questions.

The first is easy to answer:
“How much would you take to go to hell?” (and of course you deny all offers)

The second question is the difficult one:
“How much would you give to stay out of hell?”

THE REAL QUESTION IS: “Would you give this life to gain the next?”
See the calling is to die.

Would you die if you gained eternal life?
Or would you choose to live now and die for eternity?

And I realize that this is a tough proposition,
But SIN has caused this tough proposition.
• Because we sinned and offended God
• The only way to redemption is to follow Jesus.
• And if you follow Jesus this world which still loves sin will hate you
• And treat you like it treated Jesus.

So, follow Jesus, be killed in the world, but gain eternal life.
Or, reject Jesus, be loved in the world, but go to hell when you die.

This is precisely the reality.
(27) “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Judgment is real.
It will happen.

Now that’s a real QUICK EXPLANATION of that verse.
That is what the youth learned at REGEN

THIS MORNING I want to build on that
And sort of give you an exploded view of this idea.

• I want to talk to you about being a follower of Jesus.
• I want you to ponder what it means to follow Jesus.
• I want you to ponder what it means to follow Jesus at school this year.
• I want you to ponder what it means to follow Jesus at work.

And by the end of this we’re all going to ask ourselves
Whether or not we are following Jesus.

That is a fair question for the church to ask.
That is a fair question for those who claim to be followers of Christ.

This is a bit of a topical approach this morning,
• But I want you to limber up your fingers
• I want us to walk through several passages of Scripture
• And see if we can’t get a comprehensive look at what it means to follow Jesus.

#1 THE CALL TO FOLLOW

LET’S START THERE.

I would simply say to you at the outset that
You will be hard pressed to find in Scripture where
Jesus ever asked men to go to heaven or even to go to church.

The call of Jesus was simple: FOLLOW ME

And in case that is too cryptic,
IT SIMPLY MEANT, leave what you are doing and come with Me.

It was a recruitment.
It was an enlistment.
I’m going to that city over there and I want you to come with Me.

There was NO misconception that
• Following Jesus meant staying where you are.
• Following Jesus meant a life that was virtually unchanged.

You don’t stay where you are if you are following.

John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;”

SO FIRST
• Let’s clear our minds of this sort of metaphorical understanding of following.
• Let’s clear our minds of this symbolic following.

What Jesus asked for when He was on earth was a literal following.
You get up and come with me.

I want you to grasp that.
I want you to think about the ramifications of that.

• What did that mean for your current occupation? (well you left it)
• What did that mean for your relationships? (well you left them)
• What did that mean for your projects? (well you stopped them)
• What did that mean for your plans? (well you scrapped them)

Do you understand that?
When Jesus came by and said, “Follow Me”
It meant “leave your old life behind and come do what I’m doing.”

I hope that makes sense.
And this was the call.

And though He quite often used the words “follow Me”
There were other invitations that meant the same thing.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

That is the same thing.
• If you take Jesus’ yoke on your neck believe me you’re going where He goes.
• You’re going to do what He does.

THIS IS THE CALL.
It was never for you to stay in your old manner of life….NEVER

Now, what we see in Scripture is that
THE INITIAL CALL TO FOLLOW JESUS WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
Jesus said to follow Him and people pretty much did it.

MOST INITIALLY FOLLOWED OUT OF CURIOSITY

What do I mean?

TURN TO: JOHN 1:35-42

• There you have men who were learning from John the Baptist
• When Jesus walks by John says “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
• And John and Andrew immediately begin to follow Jesus.
• They didn’t really even know what they were looking for, though it is obvious they thought Him to be the Messiah.

Jesus gives them the response, “Come, and you will see.”

So it’s really a curiosity driven following.
Come take a taste.
Come see what I’m about.
Come hang out with Me and see who I am.

And that will hold true for Philip and Nathanael as well:
TURN TO: JOHN 1:43-51

• You see it again.
• Jesus told Philip “Follow Me”
• Philip found Nathanael and old him to follow too.
• Nathanael was skeptical to which Philip said, “Come and see”

It’s just that curious type of following
Where we are trying to find out who this guy is.

And in Scripture we see that most people who followed Jesus
Never moved past this step.

For there were always crowds of curious followers.

Matthew 9:27 “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Matthew 12:15 “But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all,”

Matthew 14:13 “Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.”

Matthew 19:2 “and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.”

Matthew 20:29 “As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.”

Matthew 20:34 “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.”

Matthew 21:9 “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”

THESE WEREN’T SAVED PEOPLE.
The last reference is even to the triumphal entry
That crowd would yell “Crucify!” in just a few days.

These were just people who had a novel curiosity in Jesus.
• He could work miracles…
• He could feed the hungry…
• He could heal diseases…
• He spoke with authority…

They followed Him because they were curious about Him
And because they hoped to gain some temporal benefit from Him.

John 6:26 “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

And I hate to tell you but what was true then remains true even today
And that is that most men are only interested in Jesus
For the temporal benefit they can gain from Him.

Most men never follow more than the crowds followed in Jesus’ day.

It is just this superficial following out of nothing more than curiosity
And the hope of some temporal benefit.

But that is where the call to follow STARTED.
It is likely that this is where it started with you just as this is where it started with the disciples.

But the calling of Jesus to follow was never just about
Being healed or gaining some temporal benefit.

When Jesus called men to follow
The intention was ALWAYS OCCUPATIONAL.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 4:18-22

Now there you already begin to see some of the cost involved.
• Peter and Andrew are going to have to leave their nets.
• James and John are going to have to leave their father.

You can’t move on to a new job if you never leave the old one.

And what was this new occupation?
“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

There is kingdom work there.
Do you see that?

Following Jesus meant: YOU COME DO WHAT I DO.
He wasn’t just walking around for their entertainment.
They were being recruited to join Him in His task.

Following wasn’t symbolic it was real, it was occupational.
There was labor involved.

We’ll talk more about this guy in a second, but:
Luke 9:60 “But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

That was following.
• In that case it wasn’t come do what I do, it was GO DO what I do.
• But you see still that following was all about the occupational work of the
kingdom.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 9:9

There it is again.
• Matthew is leaving one job to start a new one.

Do you see that?

The call to follow Jesus was not symbolic
And it wasn’t to be a mere spectator.
Jesus called men to leave their life and come join Him in His mission.

HE WAS RECRUITING LABORERS.
HE WAS RECRUITING HELPERS.

Now, I want you to stop and ponder this for a moment
As you prepare to go to school.

If Jesus were to physically attend your school Wednesday morning, what sort of things might He be doing there?

And, if He called you to follow Him down the hall, what sort of things do you think you might be asked to do?

DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?

This reality was very convicting to me as we sat in that service at REGEN.

Can you imagine what it must have been like following Jesus through Judea and Galilee?

EXHAUSTING!
The guy was a machine.
• He never got off task
• He was tireless
• Moved with compassion
• He never sent them away
• He always had somewhere else to go

He was on mission and if you followed Him you were on mission.
I just want you to think about what it meant to follow Him.

Did He go somewhere dangerous?
Did He cut through Samaria?
Did He offend the Pharisees?
Was He scrutinized?

Your life was linked to His and if you were following Him
You were a sharer in His fate.

Don’t allegorize what it means to follow.
The call was to LITERALLY follow Him.

That is the call to follow.
#2 THE COST TO FOLLOW

Now, you already saw that some felt some of that cost pretty early on.
• We see Matthew leave that tax booth.
• We see Peter and Andrew leave their nets.
• We see James and John leave their father.

The cost of following was seen pretty quickly.
But even that was only a partial cost.

That was just a COST OF CONVENIENCE.

But even so, that cost alone weeded out plenty.

TURN TO: LUKE 9:57-62

The first guy wants to follow because he thinks following Jesus is the path to riches and fame.
• Jesus sets him straight. “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
• If you follow Me you will be homeless.
• Get all those notions of riches out of your head.
• The implication is that this man decided not to follow.

So Jesus looked at the next guy and said, “What about you?”
“And He said to another, “Follow Me.”
• But that guy was already crunching the numbers.
• If Jesus had no riches for His followers then the wise move would be
• To wait until you are financially secure before you start to follow.
• So this guy wanted to wait for his dad to die first so he could collect his inheritance.
• Jesus told him to leave it. “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”

And then there was a 3rd guy
• Who saw the first two decline for love of money.
• He was willing to leave his wealth behind, but he had a different hang-up.
• He was worried about what people at home would think if he left everything.
• He wanted to go see what his family thought about it.
• Jesus told him that being worried about his reputation would make him unfit for this occupation.

You can’t do kingdom work
If you’re only concerned about what people think.

I think pretty much every one of us at camp this year sat in that small group circle and lamented this reality.
We could all see where fear of what people think had hindered our gospel service in one way or another.

YOU CAN’T FOLLOW JESUS IF YOU LOVE THIS WORLD.
These men chose to keep their life and let Jesus go His own way.

MANY MEN DO THIS TODAY.
• They are certainly enamored with Jesus.
• They certainly know who He is.
• The problem is that they are unwilling to let Jesus put their life in jeopardy.

Matthew 19:21-22 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”

There are many who balk at even that initial cost of following Jesus.
They want Jesus but they want all that the world has to offer too
And for that reason they never follow.

BUT THAT IS JUST THE INITIAL COST.

The cost of following Jesus would be even greater
Than simply leaving your job or you inheritance behind.

As I said:
Jesus called men to follow Him to death.

Certainly following Jesus would require the loss of your idols,
But it would also require the loss of your life.

Now, EVEN THE DISCIPLES were NOT QUITE READY for this.

Oh, Jesus alluded to it from time to time.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 10

• This is of course when Jesus first sent them out in twos to go and preach the kingdom.
• Now, He told them pretty quickly that it would NOT be all sunshine and roses.
• He told them that there would be some who would NOT LIKE what they were preaching.

(READ 14-15) – some won’t accept you.

(READ 16-25) – there is going to be some scorn and hatred involved if you go out doing My work in the world.

And Jesus BEGAN TO REVEAL to the disciples that the cost involved in following Him might be more than even they had anticipated.

READ MATTHEW 10:34-39

So you see again the call to follow
But also that the call is a call to death.

“I am asking you to do what I do in the world
And for this the world will hate you
And will do to you what they will do to Me.”

Now, it is also clear that the disciples didn’t really grasp this.
It is clear that this reality sort of slipped right over their heads.

For later Jesus would announce again what was coming
And the disciples balked at it.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 16:21-23

Jesus announced that He was going to Jerusalem to die
AND THIS UNNERVED THE DISCIPLES.

If the guy you are following is headed to death
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU?
You see why Peter was frustrated.

And to that Jesus gave the truth that we looked at to open the sermon.
READ MATTHEW 16:24-27

This is a call to follow Jesus to death.
• This is not a symbolic cross this is a literal one.
• This is not a symbolic journey this is a real one.

I fear that the modern day church has lost sight of this.

That somehow we have grown to think that following Jesus
Simply means to go to church periodically.

I’m afraid that we have begun to overlook the simple calling of Jesus.
HE HAS CALLED US TO DEATH.
HE HAS CALLED US TO GIVE UP OUR LIFE.

And you say, “WHY WOULD I DO THAT?”
And the answer is because Jesus will give you eternal life.

It is very much a proposition
To lose this life so that you might be saved for all eternity.

It is NOT that Jesus wishes to kill you in one place or the other.
It is NOT that Jesus wants to make sure you die somewhere.

No, Jesus simply wants you to follow Him
And if you do, He’ll give you eternal life.

THE PROBLEM IS that if you follow Jesus, this world will kill you.

And so the choice must be made.
• This life or the next one?
• Your reputation or your soul?
• Your comfort or forgiveness?

THERE IS A REAL COST TO FOLLOWING.

And the disciples BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND that.

Remember when Jesus wanted to go back to Judea because Lazarus was dead?
John 11:16 “Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

Perhaps that is the verse I should have put on the T-shirts for this morning.

Thomas knew what it meant if he followed Jesus back to Judea.
(Now, mercifully Jesus did not allow that to happen during that trip,
But Thomas was well-aware that it sure could have)

But you see, those men knew the cost.

In the upper room what did Peter say that He was prepared to do with the Lord?
“I will die with You”

They knew what was at stake.

I don’t know if the modern day American church realizes that anymore.

Sometimes I think we are only following Jesus to still waters
And green pastures and healing and prosperity and blessing.
And have forgotten about the valley of the shadow of death.

The call was to follow Him and to be about His business
Which would most certainly result in death.

Even look at the end of John’s gospel.
TURN TO: JOHN 21:18-22

• Even after the death and resurrection of Jesus.
• Even after Jesus reinstated Peter.
• What did He ask Peter to do?

“Follow Me” (even to death)

Do you understand that?

And this is our mandate in the world.
We are called to follow Jesus into this world
And be about His business knowing what the world will think of it.

• When you go into that school…
• When you go into your workplace…
• When you talk to that stranger…

Jesus is well-aware that you might be hated for it.
Jesus is well-aware that you might be killed for it.
BUT STILL HE ASKS US TO GO.

You say, “THAT’S A HIGH COST!”
Yes it is.

But let me remind you of one more thing.
#3 THE COMPENSATION TO FOLLOWING

One verse here.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 19:27-30

This was when the Rich Young Ruler departed and the disciples did some real soul-searching.

The question is quite possibly the one you are considering:
IS IT WORTH IT?

And Jesus was totally honest that it is more than worth it!

John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Jesus promised life!

It was this life and glory that gave Him motivation to go forward:
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus thought the scorn of the cross
Was of little comparison to the glory that awaited.

Do you remember what Paul said?
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Now hopefully at this point you are getting it.

LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT PREACHER.
• You’re asking me to go into that school or that workplace and preach the kingdom of heaven
• Knowing full well that it might get me killed,
• But you’re promising me that if I do it will be worth it.

IS THAT WHAT YOU’RE ASKING?
NO – THAT’S WHAT JESUS IS ASKING.

That is what it means to follow Him.
Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

Luke recorded it a bit differently.
Luke 9:23 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

• Luke included the word “daily” there which rings volumes to us.
• It is not a one time request.
• We are called to daily go and follow Jesus through this life.

So then, we all get to ask ourselves then a very important question.

AM I FOLLOWING JESUS?
• Am I a curious follower?
• Or am I a committed follower?

• Am I actually leaving anything behind?
• Am I focused at all on His mission and occupation?

• Am I following Jesus?
• And if I am not, am I willing to?

That is the request.
WILL YOU FOLLOW JESUS?