GENTLE SHEPHERD, COME & LEAD US - ISAISH 40:6-11

091226: “Gentle Shepherd”: Isaiah 40:6-11 (11)

A famous actor was once the guest of honor at a social gathering where he received many requests to recite favorite excerpts from various literary works. An elderly preacher who was also there asked the actor to recite the 23rdPsalm. The actor agreed on the condition that the preacher would also recite it. Now the actor’s recitation was beautifully and powerfully given, with perfect diction and dramatic emphasis. He received a hearty applause. The preacher’s voice was rough and broken and his diction

was far from polished. But when he finished, there was not a dry eye in the room. When someone asked the actor what made the difference, he replied, “I knew the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”

Do you know the GOOD SHEPHERD? The final verse in our next section of Isaiah 40 paints an extraordinary picture of WHO CHRIST IS....... let’s read Isaiah 40:6-11....

The enduring Word of God does not fade: I recently saw an ad for artificial mums:  they stay vibrant for an entire season even though they are not seasonal here, but they eternal bloom. BEHOLD YOUR GOD: take a moment: step away from the business of life and focus; ever notice how we tend to look at everything else BUT Christ:  LOOK AT HIM.

Imagine two different images of Christ: in one, a strong hand/mighty arm, ruling in power: this is the Christ who deals with all of our enemies: He defeated the Despondency (guilt)...the Devil...Death itself.... He has VANQUISHED them all and saved us: the all conquering warrior: the King of kings and Lord of lords; we will not face  anyone or anything more powerful than Jesus: PHILIPPIANS 4:13. In the second image, a very different picture: the picture of tenderness,  gentleness, patience, longsuffering understanding. These are 2 different pictures, but not 2 different people: they are  2 sides of the same coin: 2 witnesses of the same essence: & that’s good: because WE NEED BOTH: sometimes we need the power, and sometimes we need the tenderness.

So, let’s camp out for a moment at this second picture, this final verse of the passage and think about Christ as the GOOD AND GENTLE SHEPHERD (as we do, we will also look to a New Testament passage, John 10, where Jesus Himself further expounds & explains   who He is as the GOOD SHEPHERD.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SHEPHERD

HIS FLOCK: what is a Christian? someone in particular relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ: part of HIS flock: not everyone is: Jesus said: my sheep & not my sheep: everyone not in that relationship; everyone is not a Christian. & what decides that is NOT what country you are in (CHRISTIAN NATION VERSUS THE CHRISTIAN PEOPLE IN THAT NATION).  & what decides that is NOT what church you are in: & what decides that is NOT what family you are a part of or what line of work you are in or how popular, rich, smart you are..... WHAT DECIDES IS HAVE YOU BELIEVED.....; AT THIS MOMENT, you are either saved or lost, Christian/or not/HIS SHEEP/OR NOT HIS SHEEP... & He cares for them.... LIKE A SHEPHERD: a personal concern, individually, one by one.

He sees me even from Heaven; HE has a special interest in me, HE knows me by name, HE knows how many hairs are on my head (HE knows me better than I know myself: and my sins, and IN SPITE OF: Romans 5:8.

Back to HIS FLOCK: we are HIS FLOCK, because He bought us.... Jesus said: John 10:11-14: our shepherd is not a paid hireling: HE BOUGHT US

-Paul: you have been bought with a price: 1 Cor. 6:20

-Peter: bought not with silver/gold but with precious blood of Christ

-1 Peter 1:18-19: we belong to Him, so we have NO RIGHT to go out and do what we   want to.......

Invictus: I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul

Christian’s answer: I have no fear though straight the gate

He cleared from punishment the scroll

Christ is the Master of my fate

Christ is the captain of my soul

WE ARE HIS FLOCK: WE HAVE A PARTICULAR, CARING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SHEPHERD, WHO BOUGHT US

THE BENEFITS OF THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SHEPHERD

There are many, but Isaiah lists 3, still using the sheep/ shepherd metaphor... 3 that are further echoed in Jesus’  more detailed explanation of this concept in John 10

THE GIVER: SHALL FEED HIS FLOCK: FEED: tend them, give them what they need: John 10:9: find pasture (green pastures). What has God given? salvation, promises,  forgiveness: the list could go on: GOD IS A GIVING GOD: John 3:16: “the gift goes on”: so we can give the gift of love...

THE GUARD: GATHER & CARRY: them close to Himself: John 10:10: not a hired hand that does not care and will leave them at the  mercy of enemies: even to eternity: I keep watch over them forever: John 10:27-29

THE GUIDE: GENTLY LEADS: the most vulnerable: the expectant ewes, A guide told his tour group all he knew about the shepherds I the field. The shepherd coming toward them was behind the sheep pushing them forward. He told the shepherd “ I always thought shepherds led their flock: I even told my group a good shepherd never chases/drives the sheep”  THAT’S VERY TRUE, BUT I’M NOT THE SHEPHERD LEADING THEM TO PASTURE AND DRINK: I’M THE BUTCHER DRIVING THEM TO THEIR DEATH.

A shepherd uses the staff: the crook, because they get off course and need correcting.

WHAT A SHEPHERD: HE PROMISES TO GIVE, TO GUARD, AND TO GUIDE: think I will follow.....HE IS MY SHEPHERD, A GENTLE SHEPHERD

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us

For we need you to help us find our way

Gentle Shepherd, come and feed us

For we need your strength from day to day.

There’s no other we can turn to

Who can help us face another day

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us

For we need you to help us find our way

9/6/26: TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY: Isaiah 40:1-5

Title of this sermon: TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY: I’ve heard that before (The Christmas Carol): indeed you have, from a carol that we sing: GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN: written by an unknown author from the 15th-16thcenturies: sung by street people as a more happy alternative to some of the more somber Latin hymns... It appears in Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL . A young caroler stops at the door to Scrooge’s counting house and begins to sing that song: Scrooge hears, takes a ruler and attacks the door with such fury that the child runs away into the fog... WE ACTUALLY MIS-SING (misunderstand) the first line: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: The comma comes after merry, not gentlemen: the song is not talking about happy merry people: merry strong

SO, May God keep you strong and prosperous..... gentlemen, let nothing you dismay; in a world often challenging to live in.... remember Christ, who helps us: REMEMBER CHRIST OUR SAVIOR  BORN ON CHRISTMAS DAY..... CHORUS: THIS IS: TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY***

Well, if anyone needed some COMFORT and JOY, it was God’s people when Isaiah 40 was penned... CONTEXT: God’s people were isolated, depressed, insecure, uncertain: many had given up on God (where is He...why would He)... but GOD HAD NOT GIVEN UP ON THEM......

God had some TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY that His people needed to hear.... that we need to hear (for things do not always go right/well with us, either).... 4 thoughts from this passage:

PROCLAMATION....PREPARATION....TRANSFORMATION..... REVELATION

PROCLAMATION (1-2) God gives an assignment to His messengers for His people: while the real  speaker is God (3,6.9), He chooses to send His message through human instruments.

WHAT? message of good news: COMFORT (emphasized twice): there, there now, now or my, my; comfort when warfare is ended, iniquity pardoned, when they had received all  punishment necessary: God said: THAT’S ENOUGH: they brought it on themselves by not listening/obeying, they started it, but God in mercy ends it: Eudora Henderson: and it came to pass: not forever....some things are forever: but suffering and punishment is not forever for God’s people.  GOD FORGIVES SIN: Isaiah 43:25

HOW? SPEAK TENDERLY to the city (people): & these despondent down and out people needed to hear words of tender comfort: & GOD GAVE THEM WHAT THEY NEEDED, EVEN DOWN TO THE WAY THEY NEEDED TO HEAR IT O for the wonderful love He has promised, promised for you and for me....

GOD GIVES TO US WHAT WE NEED IN THE WAY WE NEED IT: what do you need today? comfort/challenge/love/patience/guidance/strength

PREPARATION (3)

They were in a barren place and they had barren lives: & God was going to enter where they were in order to change where they were; to understand that this road, this highway was not for them to go out, but for God to come in: to enter into their sadness/loneliness and make it better. It would be echoed years later in ultimate fulfillment: JOHN THE BAPTIST: also in a  barren land (600 feet below sea level): God is coming to deal with  barren empty sinful lives: until one day: THERE HE IS. We are all in the line of John The Baptist: for we preach a message of PREPARATION:  IN THE WORDS OF AMOS: prepare to meet thy God...ARE YOU PREPARED? He has done His part.... built the road to come to you.... meet Him... PREPARE.

TRANSFORMATION (4)

First- the messenger: proclaim the message of comfort and preparation: but beginning with #3: GOD: some things only God can do. Valleys lifted up and mountains made low: God deals with the obstacles in our lives: He levels it out, makes it bearable (Psalm 23:4); ISAIAH 45:2: HE CAN MAKE THE ROUGH WAY SMOOTH. Only God can do that: transform a life: ROMANS 12:1-2: THE STORY OF PARCHMAN PENITENTIARY: Starting church plant: asking to be  relocated to start churches in other facilities.

It is time to listen to what God is saying; see what God is doing: our part is to ALLOW, and then God does the rest: He does the saving; I do the letting.

REVELATION (5)

GLORY: who He is: His character: love, light, merciful, forgiving, holy, gracious, redeemer. Some people see God as a vending machine: They only come when they need: give me what I want. GOD IS PERSONAL, LOVING, PATIENT, FORGIVING, GRACIOUS.

THE CHALLENGE: to bring His reputation up to His character: THROUGH OUR LIVES: Matthew 5:16: 2 Corinthians: YOU ARE OUR LETTERS. SOMETIMES IT IS POOR WRITING: well if that’s what a Christian is like.....

we are the only Bible the careless world will read

we are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffer’s creed

we are the Lord’s last message, given in world and deed

what if the type is crooked, what if the print is blurred

what if our hands are busy with other work than His?

what if our feet are walking where sin’s allurement is?

what if our tongue is speaking of things His lips would spurn?

how can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?

Let’s do our part to make Christ known: so that his REPUTATION AND CHARACTER are the same!

Well, Scrooge did finally realize the “tidings of comfort and joy” about Christmas: he awoke from his final dream and immediately showed his changed heart by purchasing a turkey for the Cratchitt family, giving an enormous anonymous sum of money to charity, and promising medical care for Tiny Tim; it was said in the end that “he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge”

BUT DON’T MISS THIS: it all began when he encountered Jacob Marley: a ghost, a man come back from the dead, who warned him of his need to change....and challenged him to learn the lessons from the 3 spirits of Christmas past, present, and future

That’s how change comes for us as well: when we encounter one come back from the dead: not a disembodied ghost but a resurrected Lord Jesus: CHANGE CAN HAPPEN: life can be better, more positive, and productive in Jesus: John 10:10: why He came... what He can do

for us and in us......

This truly is: TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY

8/23/26: I AM: Sustenance: John 15:1-8

I AM: 2 words that describe who Jesus is: I cannot be contained in a box or an idol or even a Temple: I will BE whatever I will be.... 2 words that meet our deepest needs: if you’re hungry: He is the Bread of Life, if you’re frightened, He is the Door to safety/security; if you’re wandering,  I AM the true and living way.... & TODAY: IF YOU’RE WEAK, I AM the source of strength.....

A circus strongman offered $200 to anyone who could squeeze another drop from a lemon that had already been wrung out. Several tried unsuccessfully. Then, to the snickering of the crowd, a frail older lady stepped up, clamped it in her hands, and, to the amazement of all, squeezed out not a drop, but a tablespoon of juice. When the strongman paid her, he asked her secret: PRACTICE, she said.... I HAVE BEEN 

TREASURER OF THE LOCAL BAPTIST CHURCH FOR 42 YEARS, AND I AM QUITE USED TO SQUEEZING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM RELUCTANT GIVERS.

There are different kinds of strength: physical: World Record for deadlift is 1124 in Iceland, emotional: getting through the valley of the shadow as your loved one transitions to the final phase of life; and spiritual: dealing with habits that are non-God honoring or resisting temptations thrown at us from an unbelieving world or from Satan himself..... and, when WE are spiritually weak, the great I AM has a word for US: I am THE VINE; you are THE BRANCHES.....

As we unpack that phrase today from John 15:5 and the surrounding verses, may we learn that its meaning and application has something to do with 

*CONNECTING

*ABIDING

*PRUNING

*BEARING

CONNECTING (1,5)

The metaphor of the vine or vineyard appears over 200 times in the Bible: Israel called God’s vineyard in Isaiah 5: some Jewish coinage during IB period had a vine  inscribed: a golden vine adorned the door to the Holy Palace. Jesus said: but I AM THE TRUE VINE: I am the true representative of where you have fallen short. Speaking of the GRAPEVINE: Father is husbandman (owner); Jesus is the vine, we are the branches: vine/branches: sustenance flows from vine to the branches: what do they call a disengaged branch? DEAD. ONCE WE CONNECT: we are connected forever: John 10:27-29; 3:16 Are you connected?

ABIDING (4)

Meaning: staying, remain, keeping in close contact. What is the KEY to living the Christian life? MATTHEW EMMONS lost a certain Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games when he fired his final shot into the target of the competitor in the next lane. Sometimes we hit wrong target: We can read the Bible, we can pray, we can tithe, go to church memorize scripture 18x a day, give exorbitant amounts, be always in the temple: BUT ALL OF THESE ARE RELIGIOUS DEEDS, WHILE NOT BAD, THEY ARE NOT THE END: MEANS TO AN END: THE KEY IS TO ABIDE: stay/remain/be so close, not move away. It is not about WHAT WE DO, but about WHO WE KNOW: Matthew 7:21-23

Not a ritual, but a relationship. How much do you think like Jesus, act like Jesus? HOW LONG DO PEOPLE HAVE TO LOOK AT YOU BEFORE THEY THINK OF HIM? Matthew 5:16: Yes, shine your light: see your good works so that they see HIM: a means to an end.

PRUNING (2)

It’s hard to grow grapes: it’s a year round commitment: in the winter you must cut plants back/repair trellis; In the spring: get vines off ground and onto trellis; In the summer: water: There is the constant challenge of disease/insects: if want to enjoy grapes at harvest season, you must work all other seasons. The Father prunes: not to hurt the plant but to give it better chance of productivity. GRAPES: TOO CONNECTED TO EARTH: grow roots, not fruit: cut them off, put them on trellis: WE GET TOO ONNECTED TO THE WORLD: what habits do we have, what friends do we have?: how do we use our time/talents? WE NEED PRUNING: If you could kick someone for causing most of your troubles, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week. Another word for pruning: catharsis: where we get the term cath lab: A MODERN DAY MRI: WHAT A WONDERFUL TOOL, one saved my life in 2005.

BEARING (8)

The purpose of the vine is to BEAR FRUIT: YOUR FATHER’S WILL: how you please Him:

how you know if you’re saved: You have to be a fruit inspector. There are 2 types of fruit: one is fruit of spirit in Galatians 5; the other is related to GIFT: what can I do: answer is YES

HOW DO YOU DO IT? CONNECT....ABIDE....PRUNED: and you WILL bear

Don’t say I can’t: I will say: God can... and if He wants you to do it, He will supply the strength and ability to do it

Philippians 4:13: not mean you will, but you CAN

8/30/26: I AM: COMPLETION: Revelation 22:13

Centrum Silver is more complete than any other vitamin from A to Zinc (and every vitamin/mineral you need in between): a reference on the use of the first and last letters of the alphabet to show COMPLETENESS.

But long before Centrum, Jesus did the same thing: in the last book of the New Testament, He calls attention to the COMPLETENESS of His power and person by using the first and last letters of the GREEK ALPHABET: in the Gentile world, those who spoke Greek would have understood this as a reference to the eternal nature of Jesus.

Revelation 1:8 – I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,  which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 21:6 – And he said unto mem It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athrist of the fountain of he water of life freely,

Revelation 22:13 – I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

What does this say to us?  As we unpack this final Scriptural I AM saying this morning, 

let us see it as a reminder of HE IS

*WHO He is

*WHEN He is

*WHAT He does

WHO He is 

I AM: back to Exodus 3: YAHWEH: the eternal being, the one who exists: into perpetuity: He has always been, He will always be. He said unto Moses, this is how you are to introduce me to my People: what I want them to know and remember: WHO I AM by using that same name in Greek: ego eimi: Jesus is claiming the same existence as God: the (enemies) knew exactly what He was saying/implying: Isaiah 41:4, 43:10, 44:6: greater than any man/angel/martyr/philosopher: HE IS GOD: nothing is hidden  from Him; He is never surprised by anything; no one can overcome Him; HE IS in sovereign control. So, in this last chapter of the last book, before you have that final great invitation (22:17), John says: pause and realize WHO IT IS that is giving the invitation (WHEN WE GET AN INVITATION: whether or not we respond may well depend on who it is)  consider WHO IS OFFERING: when HE INVITES YOU, YOU SHOULD RESPOND.

WHEN He Is

Three descriptors that speak to time: Always/Often, First/Last, Beginning/End: that Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem, that He existed before Creation: 

Genesis 1:1,26: LET US; the majesty of the Godhead:  one essence, 3 persons.

Paul delved into this: Colossians 1:16-19: He encompasses all:  He started before and will be when all that we know here ends. In Hebrew, ETERNAL LIFE lasts to the vanishing point: how far is our Vanishing Point? Man has discovered galaxies 13 billion light years away (Imagine jumping on av ray of light going 186k miles a second: go past the moon in 1.25 minutes and the sun in 8.20 minutes: & this is 13 billion light years, AND THIS IS WHAT WE SEE: what beyond that: In Hebrew: ETERNITY is beyond the vanishing point: as far as you go back and as far as you go forward, JESUS EXISTS.

WHAT HE DOES

HE LOVES ME: this eternal, everlasting, all powerful God: loves us: not because but in spite of who we are: enough to send Jesus: John 3:16: this Jesus =loves me before and after I was born, I was only a blip on the radar, but for reasons I will never understand, he wants me to spend ETERNITY with Him and be with Him even beyond the Vanishing Point. 

HE OFFERS ME: 1 John 5:11-13: Eternal Life in Jesus, eternity with Jesus. How long will we live? 79 is the median age now. On the internet, there is a countdown clock: you enter some info about yourself.  I should live until October 2039. 13years, 1 month, 

3 days, I was told when considering heart surgery in 2005, that my life expectancy without surgery was 3 years. I LOVE LIFE: I want to stay as long as I’m not a burden, not beyond body’s usefulness. BUT I LOVE ETERNAL LIFE EVEN MORE: so when this heart wears out, and this heart stops beating: I WILL NOT STOP. HE COMPLETES ME: He finishes what He begins: Philippians 1:6: He does not give up or let go: HE LOVES ME, OFFERS ME, COMPLETES ME.

Alfred Nobel: best known for Nobel Peace Prize: a lessor known is fact is that he also invented dynamite: he was a chemist, an engineer, innovator and a weapon’s manufacturer. In 1888, his brother Ludvig died. A French newspaper erroneously published Alfred’s obituary instead and condemned him for his invention of dynamite, stating: “the merchant of death is dead”. “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding

ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday”. Nobel was devastated by the foretaste of how he would be remembered. His last will and testament set aside the bulk of his estate to establish the NOBEL PRIZES. He gave the equivalent of a quarter of a billion dollars to fund such prizes. Alfred Nobel had the rare opportunity to evaluate his life and live long enough to change that assessment. And so can we: may we be remembered that we connected with Jesus, & in so doing, received His offer of Eternal Life: so that now, or into the future, we are with Him, as far as the eye can see, and even beyond the Vanishing Point.

Forever I’ll sing of His great love for me

Forever I’ll tell it on land or on sea

I’ll stay be His side, contented I’ll be

For all of my life, it’s Jesus & me