Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

It’s kind of a comforting thought, really …

To think that, if we are Jesus’ sheep,

we do recognize his voice.

Kind of like a mom or a dad

recognizes their child’s voice

out of all those wailing in the church nursery.

And not only that, but he knows us.

He recognizes us out of all those fuzzy faces.

Now, this is not going to be one of those sermons

in which I make all kinds of comparisons

between us and sheep.

We know sheep are not the most intelligent creatures

the good Lord ever invented.

I doubt that Jesus meant for us

to take that image as literally

as I’ve heard it done in some sermons!

And yet, wouldn’t it be nice sometimes,

if life were as simple and as quiet

as the 23^rd Psalm?

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside still waters,

he restores my soul.

We all need that, now and then,

and most of us don’t get anywhere near enough of it!

Sometimes we may really wish

for the stress-free life of a sheep

with a strong and caring shepherd.

And yet, really,

that is what the Christian life offers us.

Most of us are just too busy running around all the time

ever to realize it.

I don’t mean to suggest

that being a follower of Christ is a free ride.

Discipleship does carry with it responsibilities,

as you have heard me say to you

time and again, through the years.

But that’s only half the story.

The other half is,

the joy of discipleship.

The "fringe benefits," as I suggested in the sermon title.

You don’t hear me preach about this as often,

because I feel it already has more than its fair share of exposure

from some of the TV preachers,

and the market-driven kind of churches we see

mushrooming all around us.

The Robert Schuller kind of message,

"God loves you, and so do I."

It’s very true, and very necessary for us to hear.

But only half the story.

It is, however,

the half that I want us to look at today.

So, pretend you’re in the crystal cathedral, if you like …

And let’s look at the joys and benefits

of being a follower of Jesus Christ.

There are, of course, many.

And we could spend all day making a list of them

and discussing how they have been part of our lives.

But I want to look at just three of them today.

Three fringe benefits that are mentioned

just in the eight-verse passage from John that I read.

The first one is, leadership.

That is, God’s leadership in our lives.

We find this in the verse,

"My sheep hear my voice,

and I know them, and they follow me."

God offers to lead us through life.

And yet, how often we wish God would disappear

and let us do things our own way.

God might lead us to make a change,

to do something different,

or, heaven forbid, make a sacrifice.

I knew on December 22, 1978

that God was leading me into the ministry.

But it wasn’t until a year and a half or two years later

that I started to like the idea!

God not only had to lead me;

God sometimes had to drag me kicking and screaming!

What is fascinating to me is that in all the years since that time,

I’ve talked dozens of other clergypeople

who have said exactly the same thing.

They knew that God was leading them into the ministry

long before they liked the idea!

But all of us would affirm this:

Anywhere that God leads you …

God will, in the process,

teach you to love where you’re going.

Have you read the book In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon?

It was written in the late 19^th century,

but it’s undergone a new wave of popularity recently.

It’s about a small group of people within a church

who decide that they are going to try very hard

to follow the Lord’s leading in their lives.

Every time they are faced with a decision,

they ask themselves the question,

"What would Jesus do?"

They didn’t have bracelets or bumper stickers or anything,

but they asked the question and tried to consider it seriously.

Some of the decisions they made

may seem rather quaint and old-fashioned to us today …

like deciding not to print a newspaper on the Sabbath.

But others, like ministering to alcoholics and prostitutes,

and trying to help them turn their lives around,

are every bit as necessary and as radical today

as they were a hundred years ago.

God does offer us leadership and guidance

for our daily lives.

Usually it won’t come as a booming voice from heaven

giving us detailed instructions.

Which is too bad, ‘cause for some of us

that’s about what it takes!

But most often we discern God’s leading

as we study scripture together,

as we pray and meditate,

and as we worship.

Really, we ought to find the notion of God’s leadership

comforting instead of frightening!

It means that we don’t have to flounder around blindly,

like sheep without a shepherd.

It means that the fate of the world –

and other large decisions! –

aren’t entirely up to us.

God will show us;

God wants to show us, the right paths,

if we will only follow.

The second fringe benefit that the passage mentions

is eternal life.

Jesus says "I give them [the flock] eternal life,

and they shall never perish."

Eternal life is a hard one to talk about,

because none of us knows for sure

what it’s going to be like.

And those who do know,

can’t come back and tell us!

Some of us may picture heaven

much as it’s described in the book of Revelation:

pearly gates, golden streets, singing angels in white robes.

Others of us may have doubts

about whether heaven exists at all.

For me, paradise would be a lot like the Rocky Mountains …

only warmer.

We don’t know what lies beyond …

we only know that something does.

Some kind of life with God

for us and for all of the flock.

That means two different things:

For those of us who are growing older,

or for any of us who have lost someone special,

it means that death is not the end.

It is only a doorway, a passage.

It is separation, for a time,

from those we love.

But only for a time.

Eternal life may mean something a little different

to those of us who are younger,

with hectic schedules and heavy responsibilities.

It means that this life is not all there is.

We don’t have to do everything here and now.

And if you’re at all like me,

idealistic and energetic,

sure that you have to save the world singlehandedly

or be a total failure …

It is somehow comforting to know

that threescore years and ten

isn’t going to be the end.

Life, in some form or another,

goes on.

The third and final "fringe benefit" Jesus mentions

is protection.

"No one will snatch them out of my hand."

That’s such a loving and tender image,

being held in the palm of God’s hand.

If any danger comes along,

the hand just closes,

and we’re safe inside!

This is not the kind of protection that says,

"God will keep me from having an accident," or,

"God will prevent me from getting cancer."

We all know it doesn’t quite work that way.

I’m talking about protection in our relationship with God.

God holds us, shelters us, keeps us near.

It’s like Paul says in the epistle to the Romans (8:38-39):

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,

nor angels, nor principalities,

nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height, nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation

will be able to separate us from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Nothing will be able to separate us.

No one can snatch us from God’s hand.

Oh, we may get rained on in the hand occasionally.

Sometimes we may get bruised a bit.

But nothing and no one can separate us from God.

God will see to that.

What amazes me the most

is that God continues to offer all these gifts

even though we frequently abuse them.

God continues to lead,

even though we often drag our feet,

or even turn around and head in the opposite direction!

God continues to offer eternal life,

even though we can’t even get things right in this life!

And God continues to protect us,

even though at times it’s protection from ourselves

that we really need.

Let us go forth from this place

celebrating God’s blessings for us,

and enjoying our discipleship more every day.

Alleluia! Amen.