St John's - The Word

April 13, 2008
Pastor David Kuhnle

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
One of the great books I have read is one by Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 [Grand Rapids Zonderman 1976]. Keller is a lay minister and was for many years a shepherd in Montana. He knows sheep and he knows the job of a shepherd. He relates that because of the way sheep are wired, it is almost impossible for them to lie down and rest unless four requirements are met: 1) They must be free from all fear; 2) they must (since they are very social animals) be free from all friction with other sheep; 3) they must be free from pests such as fleas and ticks; and 4) they must be free from hunger (hungry sheep cannot lie down). This is Good Shepherd Sunday when we remember that Jesus, as our Good Shepherd, provides us with all of this and much more so that we, the sheep of his pasture, may lie down and rest in his care - free from fear and anxiety in this dangerous world.
Paul is making the same point in Romans 8:28-30. We are secure in his care. The Savior, like a shepherd, stands guard over you and even works all things together for good. That is good news for us. I have heard this more than once from people - something that boils down to: "I'm afraid I will lose my faith." When we fear that our faith may not be able to stand up in the heat of trials, we need to go to Romans 8:28-30 and meditate on what God says to us: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."
God has an eternal plan for you. He will carry it out. Our security comes from staying close to the shepherd. If we remain close to the shepherd, we will have no need to fear. The Good Shepherd promises to care for us.
This is a dangerous world. Jesus acknowledges that in our Gospel lesson when he says: "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy" [John 10:10]. It is not the Lord's choice to remove us from that danger. Instead he leads us into the valley of the shadow of death. Why is that? It is in the valley of death where we learn to stay near the shepherd who in all things works these things together for the good of those who love him [vs. 28].
This verse is often misunderstood. We often reduce it to an "It'll all work out" philosophy. But Paul makes it clear that it is God who works all things for the good. God uses all things. He takes everything in the world - in history and every circumstance in our life - and makes them work together for our good, to perfectly serve the best interest of us, his children. He uses our suffering, our grief, our pain, in ways that we can't even imagine to work out his purposes on our behalf.
The thief intends to use these things for evil, to discourage you, to fill you with bitterness and cause you to give up. You will hear that a lot in the news - the media will talk to a Christian who is going through a difficult time and they will ask, "How does this affect your faith?" as if to say, "How can you still trust God after all this?"
In his book Quiet Strength Tony Dungy, the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, tells of the worst time in his life - the death of his 17-year-old son, Jamie. Dungy wrote, "It wasn't until days later, when I was standing over Jamie's casket and preparing for the visitation, that is really started to sink in and become real. (In this life), I'm never going to see him again." (Dungy, Quiet Strength, 249) Two years earlier, Dungy's quarterback, Trent Dilfer, lost his 5-year-old son. When Dungy, at that time, told Dilfer that he didn't know if he could handle such a tragedy, Dilfer told him, "You could, Coach, if you had to. The Lord will give you the strength at that time, because you can't do it alone." Dungy then writes, "Now facing my own tragedy, I knew I needed to accept the truth that God's love and power were sufficient. If I really believed it, I needed to use this personal and painful time to validate that belief. God would work for the good of those who love him, even if we didn't understand how he was going to do it…Why do bad things happen? I don't know. Why did Jamie die? I don't know. But I do know that God has the answers, I know he loves me and I know he has a plan - whether it makes sense to me or not." (ibid. 261) At the funeral service, Tony Dungy stood before a crowd of people and said, "What's kept our family going these last couple of days is what we believe, and we believe God when He says that he works all things for the good of those who love the Lord. It's hard to accept because we can't see it, but we have to believe it." (ibid. 254)
But this is not a promise that is universal to all mankind - it is clearly made to those who are called according to his purpose - those whom God foreknew and predestined. The devil likes to confuse us on this so we do not receive the real benefit of this doctrine. To put it in the most simple terms, "predestination" means God has an eternal plan for you. It is personal. God set his affection on you before you were born and even before the world was made. This is by grace, and it proves that our works are not the cause of our salvation. God loved you before you were even born. For what is that purpose? That you be conformed into the likeness of Jesus; that like Jesus, our elder brother, we too may rise from the dead and have eternal life. According to his purpose, we are justified, declared not guilty through faith in the shed blood of Jesus. This purpose is revealed to us in our baptism and through his word and the sacrament. Through these, we become his sheep and he feeds us through the gospel. Being well fed, we can rest in his eternal love for us. His purpose is that we be glorified. That is really amazing because glory is the last thing we deserve; but out of his undying love for us, God seats us in the heavenly places, and we sinners that we are share in his glory. As we wait for that glory to be revealed, we are under the Good Shepherd's care: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-28)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 The Good Shepherd Promises To Care For Us April 13, 2008 Pastor David Kuhnle Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! One of the great books I have read is one by Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 [Grand Rapids Zonderman 1976]. Keller is a lay minister and was for many years a shepherd in Montana. He knows sheep and he knows the job of a shepherd. He relates that because of the way sheep are wired, it is almost impossible for them to lie down and rest unless four requirements are met: 1) They must be free from all fear; 2) they must (since they are very social animals) be free from all friction with other sheep; 3) they must be free from pests such as fleas and ticks; and 4) they must be free from hunger (hungry sheep cannot lie down). This is Good Shepherd Sunday when we remember that Jesus, as our Good Shepherd, provides us with all of this and much more so that we, the sheep of his pasture, may lie down and rest in his care - free from fear and anxiety in this dangerous world. Paul is making the same point in Romans 8:28-30. We are secure in his care. The Savior, like a shepherd, stands guard over you and even works all things together for good. That is good news for us. I have heard this more than once from people - something that boils down to: "I'm afraid I will lose my faith." When we fear that our faith may not be able to stand up in the heat of trials, we need to go to Romans 8:28-30 and meditate on what God says to us: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." God has an eternal plan for you. He will carry it out. Our security comes from staying close to the shepherd. If we remain close to the shepherd, we will have no need to fear. The Good Shepherd promises to care for us. This is a dangerous world. Jesus acknowledges that in our Gospel lesson when he says: "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy" [John 10:10]. It is not the Lord's choice to remove us from that danger. Instead he leads us into the valley of the shadow of death. Why is that? It is in the valley of death where we learn to stay near the shepherd who in all things works these things together for the good of those who love him [vs. 28]. This verse is often misunderstood. We often reduce it to an "It'll all work out" philosophy. But Paul makes it clear that it is God who works all things for the good. God uses all things. He takes everything in the world - in history and every circumstance in our life - and makes them work together for our good, to perfectly serve the best interest of us, his children. He uses our suffering, our grief, our pain, in ways that we can't even imagine to work out his purposes on our behalf. The thief intends to use these things for evil, to discourage you, to fill you with bitterness and cause you to give up. You will hear that a lot in the news - the media will talk to a Christian who is going through a difficult time and they will ask, "How does this affect your faith?" as if to say, "How can you still trust God after all this?" In his book Quiet Strength Tony Dungy, the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, tells of the worst time in his life - the death of his 17-year-old son, Jamie. Dungy wrote, "It wasn't until days later, when I was standing over Jamie's casket and preparing for the visitation, that is really started to sink in and become real. (In this life), I'm never going to see him again." (Dungy, Quiet Strength, 249) Two years earlier, Dungy's quarterback, Trent Dilfer, lost his 5-year-old son. When Dungy, at that time, told Dilfer that he didn't know if he could handle such a tragedy, Dilfer told him, "You could, Coach, if you had to. The Lord will give you the strength at that time, because you can't do it alone." Dungy then writes, "Now facing my own tragedy, I knew I needed to accept the truth that God's love and power were sufficient. If I really believed it, I needed to use this personal and painful time to validate that belief. God would work for the good of those who love him, even if we didn't understand how he was going to do it…Why do bad things happen? I don't know. Why did Jamie die? I don't know. But I do know that God has the answers, I know he loves me and I know he has a plan - whether it makes sense to me or not." (ibid. 261) At the funeral service, Tony Dungy stood before a crowd of people and said, "What's kept our family going these last couple of days is what we believe, and we believe God when He says that he works all things for the good of those who love the Lord. It's hard to accept because we can't see it, but we have to believe it." (ibid. 254) But this is not a promise that is universal to all mankind - it is clearly made to those who are called according to his purpose - those whom God foreknew and predestined. The devil likes to confuse us on this so we do not receive the real benefit of this doctrine. To put it in the most simple terms, "predestination" means God has an eternal plan for you. It is personal. God set his affection on you before you were born and even before the world was made. This is by grace, and it proves that our works are not the cause of our salvation. God loved you before you were even born. For what is that purpose? That you be conformed into the likeness of Jesus; that like Jesus, our elder brother, we too may rise from the dead and have eternal life. According to his purpose, we are justified, declared not guilty through faith in the shed blood of Jesus. This purpose is revealed to us in our baptism and through his word and the sacrament. Through these, we become his sheep and he feeds us through the gospel. Being well fed, we can rest in his eternal love for us. His purpose is that we be glorified. That is really amazing because glory is the last thing we deserve; but out of his undying love for us, God seats us in the heavenly places, and we sinners that we are share in his glory. As we wait for that glory to be revealed, we are under the Good Shepherd's care: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-28)
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