"Called Out To Serve”

Summary: To challenge the hearers to identify themselves not always as the lost sheep but to see themselves as "lead sheep" or shepherds by caring and loving God’s "sheep", using Jesus Christ as their example. To speak to a congregation a message of hope, restoration, and growth in the local church,

Introduction

We have many professional pastors, preachers, and teachers leading the churches of Christ. However, we have very few prophets. A prophet is "called by God to speak for God." The prophet speaks what God gives without regard for the likes and dislikes of the people. The prophet speaks out of a sense of calling and purpose. The prophet is called out to serve God on behalf of his people.

Today’s Word comes from the book of Jeremiah, and although we need a little history lesson to help us understand the context of Jeremiah’s message, I’m going to start with the text. It comes from the 23rd chapter, and we will look at verses 1-6. (Read Text) – The Word of God for the people of God – Thanks be to God. I must admit that reading this text made me question my desire to go into ministry. I mean it starts right off by saying, “Woe to the shepherds”. And as some of us may know, the Latin word for shepherd is “pastor”. As I read this passage, I was getting the idea that the “shepherds” were getting blamed for all that was going wrong and that the people seemed to be “let off the hook.” God is going to “attend to” the shepherds for their evil doings. I don’t know about you but “attend to” used in this manner doesn’t strike me as spending five minutes in the “time-out” chair. It sounds like serious business. And while the shepherd is being attended to, God will bring the sheep back into the fold where they will fear no longer.

By itself, this passage seems to me like a congregation’s dream passage. If any problems arise in the church and outsiders come in to help, all the community has to do is quote this passage, then point to the pastor and say, “It is the shepherd you must attend to. We are but sheep. Please help bring us back into the fold so we may fear no more.” Now I’m not trying to take away from the shepherd's responsibility. Church leaders can and will be held more accountable if their teachings lead their followers away from God, and the penalties will be severe, as quoted from Jeremiah 23:15, “I am going to make them eat wormwood, and give them poisoned water.” Now that’s what I call being “attended to.” But if we make a deeper investigation of this passage, it shows us that, yes, the leadership during the time of Jeremiah rebelled against God’s will, but we will also see that the sheep were not so innocent. But regardless of who was at fault for the nation's condition, more importantly, we need to see that Jeremiah’s message tells us that finger-pointing is useless. To God, it does not matter who is at fault. We will find a God that reprimands the sheep (and shepherds) but never stops loving them. No matter how the sheep and shepherds try to turn away from God’s covenants, they are reminded that God made the covenants and that we cannot break them.

We are also assured that the remnant of the flock will be gathered personally by God and that shepherds will be made to rise over us, who will follow God’s commands of righteousness and justice. And at the end of this passage, Jeremiah shares God’s promise to raise a righteous branch of David to reign as king and who shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

Recognizing that hired help would not have the same dedication to the flock (would maybe run from a wolf instead of saving the sheep), the shepherd would look to family for help. A family member would have a stake in caring for the sheep and could be seen as more reliable and trustworthy. The same goes for God. Although we all know that God can care for the whole flock without help, God constantly tries to partner with humankind (His family) to help care for and nurture His creation. You see, God lets some of the sheep go out in front of the others and even lets some of them lead, but God always remains close by. This can be seen most dramatically in Exodus. God chooses Moses (His lead sheep) to lead the chosen people out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt. But remember that on the wilderness journey, represented by the smoke during the day and fire at night, God was always close by. And one of the reasons God stays close is so that the sheep and shepherds that get out of line can be “attended to.” There’s that “attended to” statement we heard in today’s Scripture. So how will God attend to the “bad” sheep and shepherds? Let’s look at what shepherds do to sheep that keep leaving the flock. I came across a story about a traveler in Syria who saw a shepherd carrying food to a sheep that had a broken leg. The traveler asked how it happened. “Did it fall into a hole, or did some other animal break the leg?” he asked. “No,” said the shepherd, “I broke it.” “You broke it?” asked the surprised traveler. “Yes. This is a wayward sheep. It wouldn’t stay with the flock and would lead some sheep astray. It wouldn’t let me near it, so I had to break its leg to allow me to feed it. In doing this, it will get to know me as its shepherd, trust me as its guide, and keep with the flock.” So let's take a look and see how God, like the shepherd in Syria, had to do some “leg breaking” during the time of Jeremiah.