{"id":470,"date":"2014-03-05T18:41:14","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T18:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/?p=470"},"modified":"2014-10-21T13:15:42","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T13:15:42","slug":"the-church-as-the-flock-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/the-church-as-the-flock-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church as the Flock of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cook\"<\/a>Gordon Cook<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lightly edited sermon transcript:<\/i><\/p>\n

Good evening, it\u2019s always a delight to be here. I was trying to think back to how long I\u2019ve been coming and seeing you folk here. We started with that family conference, what, that was fifteen years ago? I remember Pastor Barker taking everybody for a walk in the woods, but it was always a joy to be with you folk and hear you sing and see you face-to-face and it\u2019s a joy to be with you again today. Well, I\u2019ve been asked to address the subject of the church, that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been focusing upon at the pastor\u2019s conference, and I\u2019ve taken four pictures of the church, or four graphic images. We\u2019re going to consider another one of them today.
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\nSo, if you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20, this is one of the texts that has been used throughout the conference. I believe Doctor Bob Martin has used this text every time he stood before the men, and this is a text I want to consider as we set the place for where we want to start. Acts chapter 20, Paul has called the Ephesian elders, he\u2019s exhorting them, you notice that in verse 17, and he sets before them his own example, verse 27, \u201cFor I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.\u201d So, again, let\u2019s look to the Lord by way of prayer. <\/p>\n

Father in Heaven, we, again, look to You afresh by faith, by prayer, conscious that we are always dependant upon You. We cannot breathe, we cannot live upon this earth apart from Your common grace and mercies. We thank You even for the daily food You\u2019ve given us today, but now we pray, Lord, that You would grant to us the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to help us, to guide us, to illumine our minds and our hearts. Write these things so that they might, indeed, impact our lives. We don\u2019t want to be people who simply hear Your Word, we want to be people who also put it into practice. So, again, we make this our plea: Lord, grace us with Your presence, be present here, even as You have promised, and we pray this in Christ\u2019s name, amen. <\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard it said, \u201cImage is everything,\u201d we, certainly, see that in today\u2019s fashions and movies. The commercial culture of Hollywood and corporate America put a great emphasis on image. Movie stars, musicians, today\u2019s sports heroes, try to project a certain kind of image, but oftentimes the images they project are very different from the reality of their lives. The images are shallow and hollow, sort of like the Pharisees. Remember they projected a certain image? They wanted people to think that they were holy, that they were men of piety, but it was external, lacking reality. So, there can be a negative sense of image. It can be associated with falsehood, deception, lies, but an image can also be associated with truth and reality. The Bible is full of images, pictures, metaphorical expressions. For example, God Himself puts Himself under images like a rock, a refuge, those images tell us that God can be trusted, that our safety is found in God Almighty. There are also images that are used in our Bible to describe the wicked, they are likened to shaff in Psalm 1. What does that tell us? Well, it tells us that the wicked are unstable, they are unreliable, they will also suffer ruin and disaster. It has forever consequences, but in that same Psalm, Psalm 1 you might recall that the blessed man is put under the figure of \u201ca fruitful tree planted by streams of water, his leaf shall not wither,\u201d again, that points to something that\u2019s true, it\u2019s a picture of stability, vitality, and durability. <\/p>\n

Christians are put under several corporate images, as well. Think of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes God\u2019s people, those who belong to His kingdom, as the \u201csalt of the earth\u201d or as \u201cthe light of the world.\u201d Those images tell us that Christians have a useful function in this world, no matter how bad this world gets. The Christian is vital to its preservation, and even to the holding back of sin, the restraint of evil. But there are more corporate images used in our Bibles to describe God\u2019s people or the church of Jesus Christ. One hardly knows where to begin, because there are so many. A professor of Yale University, a man by the name of Paul Miner, says, \u201cThe New Testament, just the New Testament, has over 90 figures and symbols to depict the church.\u201d Over 90 pictures or symbols to depict the church! Just the sheer volume, that many pictures or images, tells us that the church is multi-faceted, that it is complex in its function and its service. Think of a beautiful diamond, many facets, they reflect something of the beauty and the glory of that jewel or that gem. Well, God wants us to see the beauty, the glory of His church by way of these figures, or these graphic pictures, and, as I mentioned in the pastors conference, we have considered two of the pictures, two of the ninety, or two of the hundred pictures. <\/p>\n

We considered the bride of Christ, the church is likened to a bride, we considered that from Ephesians chapter 5. Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Jesus put Himself under that image of a bridegroom, speaking, you might recall, to the Pharisees. A husband, or a bridegroom, has a particular love for his wife, for his bride, and so Christ has a particular love, a particular concern, a special interest in His bride, the church. It underscores the intimacy and the fidelity and the loyalty that Christ shows to His church. <\/p>\n

Another picture, the picture that we considered with the men at the conference was the picture of the body, the church is likened to a body: the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. That is a distinctively New Testament picture, you don\u2019t find it in the Old Testament, but it\u2019s one that the Apostle Paul used. It was, we might say, his favorite picture of the church, and when you think of a body, you should think of something that\u2019s a marvelous instrument. Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made! Think of all the things that you can do with your body: drive a car, play a game of tennis or ping pong, and think of all the various body parts that are functioning and coordinating to play a game of tennis or ping pong or drive a car. And, likewise, the church, with its various members, can do wonderful things serving the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture of a bride, the picture of a body, both of them tell us the church is significant, right? It\u2019s not optional, it\u2019s not a passing fad, it\u2019s not something that\u2019s going to be here and gone tomorrow. <\/p>\n

Those pictures tell us the church is important, far more important than any of the symbols that represent corporate America: Apple computer, Starbucks coffee; you can exist, can\u2019t you, and function without Starbucks coffee? I hope you can. You can function without Apple computer, but can you function without your body? No. Most husbands, if they\u2019re honest, would have to admit they can\u2019t function very well without their wives, without their brides. Well, we want to come and study a third image, a third picture of the church. Again, it will underscore the importance of the church. This image is a pastoral image, it\u2019s that of sheep and shepherd. That\u2019s the metaphor, or the graphic picture, that we want to consider: the church is graphically pictured as a flock of sheep, and I want us to consider it in a twofold way; simple, two perspectives. Number one we want to consider from the Word of God: the prevalent use of the shepherd\/sheep analogy or metaphor. The prevalent use. Secondly: the spiritual truths gleaned from this shepherd\/sheep metaphor or analogy. <\/p>\n

First of all: the prevalent use of the sheep\/shepherd analogy or metaphor. If we were to step back in time 100 years ago, just 100 years ago, how different would America be? Pretty different. Let me give you some of the particulars. Most people only lived to about the age of 47, 100 or so years ago. There were no bathrooms in 95 percent of the homes, 100 or so years ago. There would have been an automobile, but probably not one in your driveway; 100 years ago they were invented, but very few people could afford an automobile. 95 percent of people, 100 or so years ago, didn\u2019t graduate from highschool, and here\u2019s a real shocker: you washed your hair once a month! There was no shampoo 100 years ago! The world has changed! Now go back 2,000 years, 3,000 years, 4,000 years, 5,000 years, we go back to the times of the Bible, and we\u2019re coming face-to-face with a world very different than the one in which we live in. It was a world that was ruled by pharaohs, it was ruled by kings. It was a world where most occupations were manual: fishermen, vinedressers, tentmakers, and shepherds. And it\u2019s the vocation of shepherding, that we will consider. <\/p>\n

Shepherding was a very common, ordinary vocation, very similar to a blue-collar worker, and we find shepherds very early in our Bible. They\u2019re mentioned almost on the front page of the Bible: Genesis chapter 4, verse 20. The man Abel is described as a \u201cKeeper of Sheep.\u201d Think of the patriarchs, many of them were shepherd, weren\u2019t they? Moses was a shepherd, Jacob was a shepherd, David was a shepherd. Probably David, when he wrote Psalm 23, he gleaned from his own shepherding experiences. And when we open up the New Testament, at least the gospel of Luke, the first birth announcement that was made public was made to a group of shepherds, remember that? Luke chapter 2, he announces to shepherds in a field that Jesus Christ has been born in Bethlehem, but the whole Bible\u2014Old Testament, New Testament\u2014is submerged into what you would call \u201can agrarian shepherd\/sheep culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children, you couldn\u2019t go to school, walk to school, without seeing a sheep or a shepherd! When I visited Pastor Bala a couple of years ago in Auckland, New Zealand, that was one of the things that struck me. We drove around different parts of New Zealand, and everywhere you went you couldn\u2019t get away from sheep! They were almost everywhere. You know there\u2019s more sheep in New Zealand than people? There are 4.4 million people, and guess how many sheep in New Zealand? Forty million sheep! So, that means ten sheep to every person. Probably no better place in all the world to raise sheep than New Zealand. You know why that is? Grass is always green, it never gets brown in New Zealand, that\u2019s because it\u2019s always raining, at least it rains quite a bit of the time, mild, constant temperature. Now, here\u2019s the great thing about New Zealand: sheep love New Zealand because there\u2019s no danger, no dangerous animals, no predator animals that can get rid of them all. There\u2019s no wolves, there\u2019s no bears, there\u2019s no foxes, but if you were living in Palestine, total different situation. You didn\u2019t have that kind of environmental, quality control. In Palestine the summers were very long, hot, the grass not only got brown, but often withered away. Sometimes it was difficult to find water, especially during those summer months, and then there was the constant threat of animals, wild animals: lions, bears. <\/p>\n

You remember Davis when he stood before King Saul, and King Saul was having questions whether Davis was the right man to take on Goliath? David says, \u201cI can do the job,\u201d and King Saul kind of thinks, \u201cWell, yeah, how can you do it? You just take care of sheep!\u201d And David says, \u201cWell, let me tell you what kind of resume I have,\u201d and he says, \u201cYour servant used to keep his father\u2019s sheep, and when a lion or bear came and took the lamb from the flock, I went out, I struck it, and I delivered the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose up against me, I caught it by the beard and I killed it.\u201d David gives King Saul Shepherding 101 lessons, it\u2019s dangerous business. He lets King Saul know there were significant dangers and threats when it came to shepherding. The vocation of a shepherd was not an easy thing due to the harsh climate and also the hostile environment, and we need to factor all of that in when we think of the church. Paul does, doesn\u2019t he? Acts chapter 20. When he starts thinking about the church here in Acts chapter 20, notice he likens the church to a flock of sheep, verse 28, \u201cTherefore take heed to yourselves.\u201d He\u2019s warning these Ephesian elders, \u201cTake care of yourselves, take heed to yourselves and all the flock,\u201d and then he goes on to warn them of wolves. Wolves! Acts 20, verse 29, \u201cAfter my departure savage wolves will come in amongst you, not sparing the flock.\u201d Paul takes this figure, this image, and wants us to understand that the church is like a flock of sheep, and there are dangers, there are threats to the church. <\/p>\n

Now, something we need to remember when we think of the analogy of shepherd and sheep, the most important thing to remember is this: that it\u2019s not primarily the picture of human shepherds that comes into sharp focus and profile in the Bible, but it\u2019s a picture of God Himself. God Himself, Jesus Himself! One of the most common pictures in the Bible to describe God and Jesus is that of a shepherd. For example: Ezekiel chapter 34, here God, speaking says, \u201cI, Myself, will search for My sheep and look after them.\u201d You might want to turn to the Old Testament passage, Isaiah chapter 40, I want you to see this for yourself. Isaiah chapter 40, a great picture of God here, and what makes this so interesting and so intriguing is that this picture of God the Shepherd is juxtaposed, that it\u2019s set side-by-side, several other pictures of God that extol His majesty, His supremacy. Isaiah 40 wants us to know how great God is! Isaiah 40 is a chapter that lets us know how great God is by comparing God to the great things of the earth, the things that we often look at and feel very small up against. The inhabitants of the earth, we are told, are like grasshoppers, that\u2019s pretty small, eh? We\u2019re like grasshoppers, the inhabitants of the earth are like grasshoppers compared to God. So, God\u2019s set over and against the inhabitants of the earth, and then Isaiah says, \u201cI want you to look at the stars of the sky.\u201d Again, when we look at the stars, we feel very small, don\u2019t we, very insignificant? But compared to God, \u201cHe knows them all by name.\u201d He knows every one by name, and there are billions and billions and billions of stars! <\/p>\n

The point that the prophet wants us to understand and make here is that God is greater than all of those things, those things that make us feel so small, but they are so small compared to God! That\u2019s how great God is, but then he goes on to say to us, \u201cAs great as God is, I don\u2019t want you to think that God is a remote, distant deity, who doesn\u2019t really care about you or concern Himself about human affairs.\u201d No, this God is incredibly sensitive, and keenly aware of your life and my life, and he picks up this shepherd metaphor. Notice Isaiah 40, verse 11, \u201cHe will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.\u201d You see what he\u2019s doing? This great God, this infinite, transcendent Being, this holy, holy, holy God, the God who\u2019s so great that we really can\u2019t figure him out; He\u2019s incomprehensible, He\u2019s so, so big, this God who brings princes to not and makes the judges of the earth useless or as nothing, this God who knows every star in the sky; this is a caring, shepherd God! He picks up lambs in His arms, and He carries them. He\u2019s that tender, that tender: He holds the little lambs like a shepherd. Even the big sheep who sometimes stumble and go off the edge of a cliff, or are caught in the thicket of thorns, this Shepherd who picks up the small lambs will go after the sheep and bring them back to the fold. What a picture of God! What a picture, God\u2019s that tender, God\u2019s that gentle. <\/p>\n

Now, that picture of a shepherd, God as the Shepherd, gets high definition, high definition, in Psalm 23. That\u2019s where I would turn your attention to now: Psalm 23. As I said, this picture of a shepherd doesn\u2019t give high profile to human shepherds, but ultimately to God Himself. Here in Psalm 23, David fleshes out this shepherd\/sheep metaphor, and, again, remember, David had his own experiences as a shepherd, this comes out of the matrix of his own life experiences. In all likelihood\u2014I couldn\u2019t probably prove it\u2014but in all likelihood Psalm 23 was written at the backend of his life. This Psalm is written by a man who understands the dangers and the threats to living a Christian life, or the life of a believer. He knows from his own, bitter experience what it was like to go astray. He knows what it means, not only to be a shepherd, but to be a sheep! He knows what it means for a good shepherd to find him and bring him back, carrying David in his arms. Psalm 23, verse 3, \u201cHe restores my soul.\u201d \u201cHe restores my soul,\u201d you think David might be thinking about his own stumble and fall into sin? Remember with Bathsheba, Uriah\u2019s wife, and then the murder of Uriah? David knows that God the Shepherd restored his soul. <\/p>\n

Now, this same shepherd\/sheep picture\/metaphor is picked up by the Lord Jesus, isn\u2019t it? Jesus in the New Testament often uses this metaphor, speaking to His own disciples. He could say to them in Luke chapter 12, \u201cDo not be afraid little flock.\u201d He uses this image, that of a shepherd, to describe Himself in John chapter 10, in John, verse 11, in John chapter 10, verse 14, \u201cI am the good shepherd.\u201d It\u2019s one of those great I Am statements, and the apostles, those who heard the teaching of Jesus, those who understood who He was as the Good Shepherd, they also pick up this image of shepherd and sheep to describe the church. Acts chapter 20, we have that very colorful snapshot of the church here in the New Testament, and, again, Paul is speaking to Ephesian pastors, or elders, and he applies this shepherd concept to them. He views them as shepherds or under shepherds. They are shepherd leaders in the church, and he tells them they are to be vigilant, they are to watch over\u2014it\u2019s the Greek word prosecho\u2014not only themselves, but also the believers, the church in Ephesus. Verse 28, \u201cTherefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

I do believe this becomes a favorite image by leaders, the apostles, to teach men, pastors, what the responsibilities are in the church, because Peter picks up that same image, doesn\u2019t he? Peter, in 1 Peter 5, addresses elders like Paul addressed elders there at Ephesus, and Peter also stresses this matter of shepherding the flock. 1 Peter 5:2, \u201cShepherd the flock which is among you.\u201d Peter uses a play on words, a literal translation would be, \u201cShepherd my sheep,\u201d and I can\u2019t help but think that when Peter wrote those words \u201cshepherd my sheep\u201d or \u201cshepherd the flock which is among you,\u201d 1 Peter 5:2, that Peter was remembering the conversation he had with Jesus. Remember what Jesus said to Peter? John chapter 21, after Peter, remember, had stumbled and denied the Lord Jesus three times? Jesus has a one-on-one counseling session with Peter, and he asked Peter three times, \u201cPeter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me?\u201d And after questioning Peter about his love, Peter comes back with an affirmative, \u201cYes, Lord, you know I love you.\u201d And after those three question\/answer counseling sessions, Jesus gives this assignment to Peter: \u201cPeter, feed my sheep; Peter, feed my sheep.\u201d Twice Jesus says, \u201cPeter, feed my sheep.\u201d <\/p>\n

In 1 Peter 5, Peter is seeking to pass on that very wonderful truth and reality to these pastors. He\u2019s really taking what Jesus taught him, now he\u2019s teaching these men, \u201cThis is what Jesus wants you to do, He wants you to be engaged in taking care of the sheep.\u201d This is how important the church is to Jesus Christ, that He puts it under this kind of care: that of a shepherd taking care of sheep, and I believe both Peter and Paul felt compelled to describe a pastor’s responsibility and duty under this very simple graphic of a shepherd. I don\u2019t know of a better picture for pastors. What\u2019s a pastor supposed to do? What\u2019s his job description? Sometimes people come to a pastor and they try to tell them what his job description is. I remember when I first started out in the ministry, I wasn\u2019t there for more than two or three years, someone came and told me not very kindly, \u201cYou\u2019re not doing your job.\u201d I said, \u201cOh?\u201d He said, \u201cYeah, you\u2019re not taking care of my son, you\u2019re not pastoring my son.\u201d I said, \u201cThat\u2019s your job. You\u2019re the dad, I\u2019m not your son\u2019s dad.\u201d I said, \u201cI\u2019m supposed to pastor the sheep! That\u2019s my job, he\u2019s not one of the sheep.\u201d It\u2019s somewhat liberating when a pastor knows his job description, Jesus sets it for him. <\/p>\n

Again, I don\u2019t know a better picture for a pastor to take hold of than this: that he is a shepherd, he\u2019s an under shepherd, and what is the primary task of a shepherd? Well, Peter knew, Jesus told him, \u201cFeed the sheep.\u201d \u201cFeed the sheep,\u201d and Peter tells these elders there in 1 Peter, \u201cShepherd the flock,\u201d and then he says, \u201cFeed the sheep.\u201d There\u2019s nothing more important for pastors to do than feed the sheep. That\u2019s the most important task: feed the sheep, and if you have pastors that feed you, you should be very thankful to God that they understand what God has called them to do, to feed you. There\u2019s no better thing that you need than the food, the manna of Heaven, the Word of God, but they are responsible. That\u2019s the fundamental task of a shepherd, to feed the flock, and again, Jesus drove that home to Peter, did He not? Twice, there in John 21, verse 15, verse 17, \u201cPeter, feed my sheep,\u201d and if you go back to Psalm 23, isn\u2019t that what comes through loud and clear? We see that that is brought here very clearly, and I\u2019ll explain some of the more particulars later on, but I simply want to underscore that this analogy of shepherd and sheep is very pronounced, very pervasive in the Word of God. And I think if churches and pastors got ahold of this one graphic\u2014again, it\u2019s only one graphic, one picture\u2014but if we understood this as we should understand it, it would save us from a lot of problems and a bewildering array of activities in churches that have nothing to do with shepherding; pastors would spend more time in their studies, on their knees, seeking to feed the flock of God, preparing to feed the sheep. <\/p>\n

The pervasive use of the shepherd\/sheep analogy, but secondly: the spiritual truths gleaned from the shepherd\/sheep analogy. Now, I realize we could go back to any one of those passages that we\u2019ve already mentioned and spent a lot more time. I\u2019m giving more of a survey, I realize that this is a rich, rich concept, this concept of shepherd\/sheep, but here are at least three spiritual truths and realities I think that God wants us to understand and glean from this picture of sheep and shepherd. <\/p>\n

Number one, spiritual reality number one: the shepherd\/sheep analogy helps us to understand who God is, and how committed He is to taking care of His church. That\u2019s the first, this shepherd\/sheep analogy helps us to understand who God is, and how committed He is to taking care of His church. The shepherd analogy is really first and foremost about God, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s about God, it\u2019s what I said earlier, the shepherd is God, that\u2019s the main focus of the Bible. Psalm 23, \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd,\u201d He\u2019s the ultimate Shepherd, and what\u2019s the most obvious thing that we can say about a shepherd? He cares for his sheep, he takes care of the sheep. <\/p>\n

The sheep analogy tells us not just that God cares, but also how comprehensive His care is. Get that? Not only does God care, but how comprehensive His care is. The Psalmist could say, \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I shall not want\u201d God takes care of all of my needs, all of my needs, but to be able to do that, one thing the shepherd must know is the shepherd must know the sheep! \u201cHusbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge,\u201d right? You can\u2019t really dwell with your wife if you don\u2019t know her. You can\u2019t really nurture your wife and love your wife if you don\u2019t know her, know her particular strengths, weaknesses, know how to minister to her. Knowledge is crucial when it comes to taking care of someone. God takes care of His sheep, and God takes care of His sheep because God knows His sheep. Here\u2019s why God is such a Good Shepherd, and why every human shepherd, every pastor, doesn\u2019t matter, the best of pastors are but shadows of the ultimate Shepherd, because the Good Shepherd knows His sheep! John chapter 10, verse 14, and think about the knowledge that God, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, possesses about you, about me, about every sheep! He knows everything, right? He knows everything! David, who wrote Psalm 23, \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd,\u201d also wrote Psalm 139. Psalm 139 tells us how much God knows. How much does God know? Well, \u201cHe knows my thoughts afar off,\u201d Psalm 139, \u201cYou comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.\u201d <\/p>\n

This is why God is such a good shepherd: He knows the sheep, He knows everything about us, He knows us perfectly, He knows us intimately, He knows us individually, He knows us exhaustively, there\u2019s nothing that He doesn\u2019t know about His sheep! He knows when they\u2019re hungry, He knows when they\u2019re afraid, He knows when they\u2019re ill-fed, He knows when they are well-fed, He knows exactly what they need. He knows when they are infested with disease, He knows when they\u2019re caught in a tangle of thorns, He knows when they are surrounded by wolves, He knows when they go astray, He knows the sheep! He knows every fear you have, every danger you\u2019ve faced, He knows every worry, every anxiety, He knows the sheep! That\u2019s comforting, isn\u2019t it? Isn\u2019t it comforting? You can say amen!<\/p>\n

The Good Shepherd knows the sheep, but here\u2019s something else you need to know about the Good Shepherd, God: He feeds the sheep. Ezekiel 34, verse 14, \u201cI will feed them in a good pasture.\u201d Psalm 23, \u201cHe makes me to lie down in a green pasture,\u201d and we\u2019re not simply talking there about physical food, are we? The Good Shepherd provides spiritual food, again, this is what is emphasized more than anything else in the Bible about the Shepherd: it\u2019s that He feeds the sheep the truth of His Word. The Good Shepherd brings us into green pastures. Remember when Jesus looked out at the multitude? We are told He felt compassion. The Bible says He looked upon them as sheep without a shepherd, and what did Jesus do on at least two occasions? Well, He fed them physically by the multiplication of bread, He was acting like a shepherd. Even Mark tells us in his gospel that He had them sit on green grass to underscore this is the Shepherd. He was acting like a shepherd, and not only did He feed them physically, but He took care of them spiritually. <\/p>\n

Remember what Jesus did more than anything else? He fed people by His teaching and by His preaching, in Luke chapter 4 He said, \u201cI must preach the kingdom of God.\u201d Jesus was a Preacher, He was a Shepherd feeding the sheep! Sometimes we hear the terminology or the expression for the preacher C.H. Spurgeon \u201cThe Prince of Preachers,\u201d well, Jesus was the King of Preachers. The King of Preachers, no one like Jesus, no one spoke like Him. The Shepherd metaphor, why is it used? Why is it such a great picture for the church? Well, first and foremost, it helps us see who God is in His relationship to the church, it helps us see Christ who is the head of the church, but He is also the Good Shepherd who takes care of the flock. But something else we need to understand about the care of God or the care of the Lord Jesus with respect to the church, a good shepherd knows the sheep, a good shepherd feeds the sheep, but thirdly, according to the Word of God, Psalm 23: a shepherd guides the sheep.<\/p>\n

A shepherd guides the sheep. Again, Psalm 23, verse 6, David, who understood the task of a shepherd from firsthand experience, he understood what was required as a shepherd, and one thing was to lead them, twice in that Psalm he uses the word \u201clead,\u201d which underscores that this was a major feature of a shepherd\u2019s care. \u201cHe leads me beside the still waters,\u201d and that very first picture is meant to relieve us of our anxieties and our fears. Where does He lead us? \u201cBeside the still waters,\u201d it could be translated in the Hebrew \u201cwaters of rest.\u201d \u201cWaters of rest.\u201d David\u2019s own, personal life experience, as a man of God, wasn\u2019t an easy life, so, he\u2019s not saying here that once you become a believer that life becomes peaceful and restful, you never have any trouble anymore. No, David had a very difficult life, his life was constantly plagued with trials and afflictions. I don\u2019t know of anyone who suffers more in the Old Testament than Job, and then David. David probably suffered even more in terms of long-term suffering than Job, he suffered betrayals of friends, family. David had a very difficult life, but he could write that Psalm talking about God as the Shepherd bringing rest to his soul. I think that\u2019s what he has in mind here, God gives that peace of God which passes all understanding. In the midst of the most difficult of situations and trials in life, even when we are walking through those dark valleys, God can give peace to our souls. <\/p>\n

David goes on in that Psalm to describe how God quieted and calmed his heart, so much so that he wasn\u2019t afraid. God took care of him with his rod and his staff to comfort him, even in the worst of times! Even when the waters of life are quite turbulent, there can be a quietness, can\u2019t there? A peacefulness that marks a true believer. \u201cYea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.\u201d \u201cHe leads me beside the still waters, He leads me in paths of righteousness,\u201d that is to say, \u201cHe has me walking down those pathways that are in accord with holiness.\u201d Now, there\u2019s all different ways to go in life, isn\u2019t there? The devil and the world and sin, our own remaining sin, loves to pull us down ways that are contrary to God\u2019s way, the broad way, but the Shepherd leads us along the straight way, the right way, the holy way. How does He do that? Well, He does it with His Word the Bible, it\u2019s full of instruction, reproof, warning, teaching. God also leads us down straight pathways by His providence. I think that in Heaven we\u2019re going to know just how many situations God preserved us from in answer to that prayer, \u201cLord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.\u201d Jesus answers that prayer, and how many situations, how many potential falls or stumbles have we been preserved from by mere geographical distance? His providence made sure that you did not cross that path of a particular person at a particular time in a particular place. Five minutes would have been the difference, but God, who controls all circumstances even prevents us, brethren, restrains us, keeps us. He is the Keeper of Israel. <\/p>\n

The shepherd\/sheep metaphor teaches us spiritual truth about God Himself. God is the Shepherd, He knows the sheep, He feeds the sheep, He leads the sheep, but there\u2019s one more feature to God\u2019s shepherding care. We are talking about it being comprehensive, it\u2019s a comprehensive care, one more thing that we should say about the Shepherd-God: the Divine Shepherd protects and rescues His sheep. The Divine Shepherd, God the Shepherd, Jesus the Shepherd, protects and rescues His sheep; look, again, at Psalm 23. Notice what he says in verse 5 of Psalm 23, \u201cYou prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.\u201d Now, if you read some of the commentators, you\u2019ll find that some believe that at this point David changes his metaphor, he goes from the shepherd\/sheep metaphor to a host\/hostee metaphor, or analogy. The picture, they argue, is that this is a picture of a host preparing a meal. I don\u2019t think so<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think David has forgotten the picture of the shepherd and the sheep here. I don\u2019t think he suddenly displaced it with another figure or metaphor, and the reason I say that is because apparently the Palestinian shepherds did something along these very same lines, they would go looking for food and water. Remember the hot, Palestinian sun? During those very hot months of the year a shepherd had to be constantly on the move, sometimes moving to higher and higher regions, even mountainous regions, looking for a high plateau region where he could find green grass. Plateau, like a table, that\u2019s where grass was found, because the rain from the sky would hit that before it would dissipate or come down to lower regions. <\/p>\n

So, up in the higher regions you would find more grass, but up in those higher regions there was a greater danger, there was a greater threat, because that\u2019s where animals would go, as well. They were in search of water, they were in search of food, and so there was a greater danger, a potential of attack. Larger animal like wolves and bears and even large birds, like vultures, would attack the small sheep as they gazed on these high, plateau regions! That\u2019s why the shepherd was there, that\u2019s why the shepherd was there watching with his rod and his staff, to protect the sheep from the animals, from the birds of the air. He was constantly watching, carefully numbering the sheep, that\u2019s where his rod came in, that\u2019s where he would use a slingshot to protect the sheep, and if you look over the ministry of Jesus, the Shepherd, don\u2019t we see that: Jesus watching over His sheep, taking care of His disciples, protecting them from their enemies, enemies from without? The Pharisees, the scribes, were like wolves constantly on the prowl, seeking whom they may devour. Isn\u2019t the devil likened to a lion? And Jesus protects the sheep from the wolves, from the lion, sometimes He protects the sheep from themselves. Our pride can get us into trouble, can\u2019t it? Lust, wanting things that we shouldn\u2019t want, or wanting them inordinately. <\/p>\n

The Shepherd protects the sheep, He also rescues the sheep. Think of that parable of Luke chapter 15. Remember how Jesus uses that chapter to give us three parables? The parable of the Lost Son, the parable of Lost Coin, the parable of the Lost Sheep. In the parable in of the Lost Sheep he has 100 sheep and one of them goes off, goes astray, and the good shepherd goes after the one lost sheep. Remember, again, David? David had acted like a sheep that had gone astray. How did God find that lost sheep? How did God go after David? Well, He sent an under shepherd named Nathan! Nathan came with a rod, Nathan was sent by the Redeemer to retrieve the wandering sheep. Jesus rescues the sheep, not only does He rescue those sheep that go astray, but He came to rescue the lost sheep, didn\u2019t He, by laying down His life for the sheep? No greater love than that, than the love of the Shepherd laying down his life for the sheep. It\u2019s the supreme act of love and self-denial, but that\u2019s how much the Shepherd cares for the sheep. You see, the spiritual truths that we can glean from this shepherd\/sheep analogy? <\/p>\n

The first thing we learned, some of the wonderful things about God and about Jesus Christ, we learned how much God cares for His church, how much Jesus cares for His church; but secondly, the second truth that we can glean from this shepherd\/sheep analogy\u2014listen to this\u2014as Christians\u2014listen\u2014as Christians we can say that this shepherd\/sheep analogy teaches me about myself and everyone who\u2019s part of the church. It\u2019s a picture of the church, the church is the flock of God. Hold up the picture, it\u2019s not really flattering: sheep, big blobs of white wool. Sorry, that\u2019s the picture, I didn\u2019t invent it, that\u2019s it! That\u2019s the picture of the church. That\u2019s not the only picture, the church is likened to the army of God\u2014we\u2019ll see that tomorrow if you want to come back\u2014but the flock of God, sheep, that\u2019s the picture of the church! Sheep! From one perspective it\u2019s extremely comforting, isn\u2019t it? We just saw that God takes care of the sheep, God is my Shepherd, God\u2019s going to take care of the church! God\u2019s going to take care of us, but that\u2019s not all that picture says, that picture says something about you, it says something about me, it says something about fellow Christians. What does it say about us? Well, here\u2019s what it says: we are constantly in need of help. <\/p>\n

We are like sheep, He doesn\u2019t use the figure of we\u2019re bunch of lions. It\u2019d be nicer if He used even the picture of a bald eagle, you know, \u201cwe\u2019re a bunch of eagles,\u201d or \u201ca bunch of wolves,\u201d I don\u2019t know, or bears. That\u2019s not the picture. Sheep, sheep, sheep. Can I tell you a few things about sheep? They\u2019re defenseless animals, have you ever seen a sheep beat up a wolf? They don\u2019t stand a chance against a wolf, they don\u2019t stand a chance against a bear! Sheep are pretty dumb too, by the way, sorry. They say they\u2019re the dumbest animals around, sheep go astray. Sheep go astray! \u201cWe all like sheep have gone astray,\u201d there\u2019s probably few creatures as dependant, as helpless as sheep. Sheep need a shepherd, they need a shepherd to guide them, they need a shepherd to feed them, they need a shepherd to protect them. Sheep need a shepherd. Sometimes we forget how weak we are, how vulnerable we are. Pride doesn\u2019t like the sheep metaphor, I don\u2019t think. \u201cI\u2019m a sheep?\u201d Yes. \u201cDoes that mean I can\u2019t go it on my own?\u201d Yes. Sheep, you need a shepherd. Pride says, \u201cI can do it on my own, I don\u2019t need anybody!\u201d Sheep says you do, you need a shepherd. It\u2019s a good reality check. This isn\u2019t like the Fitness 19 club up the road, you know, I don\u2019t have a Fitness 19 around here. You know, everybody goes, and everybody\u2019s got a big build and strong build. They all go to the Fitness 19 and they look at themselves in the mirror and admire themselves how strong they are and how big they are, they\u2019ve got big muscles. Well, when you come into the church we\u2019re not holding up a picture like that, we’re holding up a picture of sheep, that\u2019s us. That\u2019s us, we\u2019re weak. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re weak, we need help, we\u2019re vulnerable, we\u2019re defenseless. It\u2019s a good reality check. Sheep need a shepherd to take care of them, and listen, this is the point: that\u2019s why God put you into a church, because God wants to take care of you. It\u2019s in the fellowship of a church that God the Shepherd, Christ the Shepherd, guides, feeds, protects, sometimes rescues us, and you know how the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd does that through the local church? He provides pastors, shepherds, under shepherds, it makes sense. He gives you pastors to take care of you. Acts chapter 20, \u201cShepherd the flock of God\u201d; 1 Peter 5, \u201cFeed the flock; shepherd the sheep.\u201d Both of those passages focus upon the church and tell us how God continuously shepherds His people, takes care of His people. He does by way of human instrumentality, shepherds, human shepherds! They have names. Pastor Pi\u00f1ero, isn\u2019t that someone you know? Pastor Martinez\u2014those are shepherds, those are under shepherds, human shepherds! They\u2019re to shepherd the flock, they\u2019re to take care of you. God uses little shepherds, He\u2019s the Big Shepherd. He uses little shepherds, small shepherds, human shepherds, to take care of the sheep under the lordship of the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd: Jesus Christ. By the Holy Spirit God makes overseers, elders, pastors, so they will take care of the sheep. Every Christian, every Christian, is to be under pastoral care. That\u2019s why God instituted the church, that\u2019s one of the reasons, so He could take care of His sheep.<\/p>\n

Now, I know some people are pretty frightened by the concept of shepherds. One thing: accountability, \u201cThey might get to know me,\u201d that\u2019s right. That\u2019s what shepherds do, they\u2019re supposed to know you. \u201cWell, if they know all my struggles\u2014\u201d yeah, that\u2019s right, they want to help you as a shepherd. A shepherd needs to know the sheep! You\u2019ve got to tell the shepherd, \u201cI\u2019ve got some problems.\u201d That\u2019s won\u2019t be great news to them, by the way, they know you\u2019ve got problems! We\u2019ve all got problems, but he has to know, you have to be honest with your shepherds! Don\u2019t be opaque, don\u2019t hide, don\u2019t pretend! Accountability, honesty, transparency, yes, because God has given shepherds to take care of you. Pastors need to know, you have to tell them, they\u2019re not omniscient. God has established the church, the pastor\u2019s office, not to hurt you, not to do damage to your psyche, but to help you, to protect you, to feed you. Think about it this way: God loves the church, God loves the sheep, so much, so much, that He\u2019s hired shepherds to take care of the sheep. They have a responsibility to shepherd you, and if you\u2019re thinking Biblically that shouldn\u2019t frighten you, that should comfort you. That should comfort you! \u201cThat God loves me that much?\u201d Yes, that much, that He has given under shepherds to His church to take care of the sheep, and we should realize this, should we not? Everyone should realize this, you wish more people did: how much you need the church! Do you really think you can get safely to Heaven without the church? If you saw a sheep go up this way all by himself, and you know there\u2019s ten wolves outside waiting for him, you say what? Disaster, right? He ain\u2019t gonna make it! He ain\u2019t gonna make it! He needs to be with the flock, He needs to be under the care of the shepherd, that\u2019s the only way he\u2019s going to survive! <\/p>\n

God has put you in a church so He can get you safely to Heaven. The reason why some people don\u2019t think they need the church is because they don\u2019t think they\u2019re sheep. If you realize you\u2019re a sheep, you know you need the church. If you realize you\u2019re a sheep, you realize you need a shepherd to take care of you. You need someone who loves you that much: someone who will go after you when you go astray, someone who will use the rod and the staff to rescue you, someone who will feed you, someone who will guide you, someone who will show that kind of loving care. As I said, the sheep metaphor is not flattering, but it\u2019s comforting, it\u2019s comforting. It reminds us of how vulnerable we are, and it reminds us of the propensity of the human heart. In the words of that hymn writer, \u201cWe are prone to wander,\u201d don\u2019t we? We have hearts that so easily go astray, but bless God, thank the Good Shepherd that He loves you so much, that He instituted the church so He could take care of you. In the words of one famous sheep, \u201cSurely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\u201d You see, David finishes that Psalm knowing that the Good Shepherd is going to take care of me and get me to Heaven. That\u2019s the one thing about this Shepherd you should know, as well: He\u2019s very successful when it comes to His sheep. Jesus said in John chapter 17, \u201cI will not lose one.\u201d Every true sheep will make it to Heaven! Let\u2019s pray. <\/p>\n

Father in Heaven, we, again, thank You for the church of Christ. We thank You, Lord, even for this picture we have considered. Help the dear people of God to realize the privilege they have to belong to the church. Help the pastors, the elders, the shepherds, to pastor the flock here. Give them wisdom, give them courage, give them that shepherding love and care. And we pray that everyone who sits here, who\u2019s a member of this church, would one day be able to stand in glory, and see the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd who has taken care of them by means of His under shepherds. We pray these things in Christ\u2019s name, amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a lightly edited transcript of a sermon. All rights reserved.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gordon Cook Lightly edited sermon transcript: Good evening, it\u2019s always a delight to be here. I was trying to think back to how long I\u2019ve been coming and seeing you folk here. We started with that family conference, what, that was fifteen years ago? I remember Pastor Barker taking everybody for a walk in the … Continue reading The Church as the Flock of God<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","tag-gordon-cook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}