Being a Good Shepherd John 10/ I Peter 5

 The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Good Shepherd Acts 13:14b-16, 26-39 or Num 27:12-23 Ps 100 Rev 7:9-17 John 10:22-30

---As we begin, we celebrate our mothers.....

Today is Mother's Day, a day when we honor our Moms. We learn many things from our Moms.

My mother taught me religion. She used to say things like, "You better pray that comes out of the carpet."

My mother taught me medicine: "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they're going to freeze that way."

My mother taught me how to be a contortionist: "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done: "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me about genetics: "You are just like your father!"

My mother taught me logic: "Because I said so, that's why." (1)

I don't know if any of you had mothers like that. Maybe we all had a mother like that. But here's a more profound question: Do you know anyone whose mother prays for them daily? Several of us are in that category..." from sermons@sermons.com

Today is also Good Shepherd Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Easter. "

John 10:14: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine."

1 Peter 5:4: "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

Titus 1:3: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind "

I desire to look at Good Shepherd Sunday in its practical application today.

Perhaps it helps to look at the context of I Peter:" 

1 Peter 5:6 Context

3Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 5Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time"

1.  Be examples to the flock , not being lords over others in other words.

In vs 1 he exhorts the Elders as a fellow Elder.  

The word exhort is in the original not as we would think.  It is to come alongside , and call close up and personal.  Encourage would be a better thought here, not exhort as we think of it in condemning others.

"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away"

 We too should feed, guide and shepherd 5:2 meaning to care for /protect.

This is an important point .  We may say that our mothers were such.  They did discipline us,  but with love being the emphasis we may say.  

Pastors and people should do this as well, not being lords but examples and encouragers.  

Who can you think of that has done this in your life? I have several that have done that for me.  They had views and were strict about some things , but were able to overlook my immaturity and helped me to grow.

2.  Be a Shepherd for the sheep.  What do Shepherds do?

It is somewhat difficult for us to understand as we do not have sheep in our pastures so to speak or yards. Peter reminds us what that looks like:"

 2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."

" A shepherd must watch the environment closely and keep his sheep from wandering into unsafe places. Shepherds must also know how to recognize poisonous plants and shrubs so they can redirect their flock away from them. Whether by using a border collie to manage the flock or by training the flock to follow their lead, shepherds can guide sheep toward safety and away from danger."  sheepcaretaker.com

Sheep are intelligent and can remember up to 50 faces. And more, " Sheep have an incredibly wide field of vision and can see behind themselves without moving their heads, yet have terrible depth perception and may not see something immediately in front of them."  from sheepcaretaker.com

3. And perhaps the hard part as sheep and Shepherds or Undershepherds, " 5Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time""I Peter 5

Have an open mind as we deal with others in other words. Take off our shades .  I have a strong pair of shades from specsforvets that allow me to drive in a sunny day but indoors they are horrible, as well on a shady day.

Can we meet in the middle when we have differences.?  It seems unlikely with our current I am right all the time, and do it my way or else thinking.

"We look to Christ, the chief Shepherd, to teach us what it means to shepherd the flock that He has paid for with His blood. This is not just a light responsibility, and on our own, we do not have the capacity to carry this out, but through His power, He gives us the ability and the strength to do what He has called us to do – being an undershepherd, under Christ, among the flock." christianexplorer.org on the role of an undershepherd.

So as we remember our mothers, Happy Mother's Day to all of them.  We thank them for their nurture of us through all the years of joy, happiness and  some heartache.  Happy Good Shepherd Sunday too!