We Are His People

THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE

May 2, 1993

John 10:1-10 - I Peter 2:19-25 - Nehemiah 9:6-15

The prayer from the book of Nehemiah, which we used for a call to worship today, is a powerful statement all by itself. But when we know the story of where it was prayed, and why, and by whom, it takes on an even deeper significance.

I. THE PRAYER AT THE SQUARE BEFORE THE WATER GATE

1. Context of the Prayer

   When this prayer was first prayed, there were thousands of people, all the Jewish inhabitants of the Holy Land, standing in the open square which stood just inside the Water Gate to the City of Jerusalem.

   Ezra the priest and scribe, and Zerubbabel the governor, in the years just before had rebuilt the temple, but the walls remained down, and the people had been at the mercy of very unfriendly neighbors.

   But now Nehemiah has led them in rebuilding the wall around the Holy City. It is a miracle! And now they have been called together to worship.

   For this gathering a high platform had been built. From early morning light until noon for one entire week the people stood, attentive, as the Word of God was read in their hearing.

   And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. ... And they read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. (8:6 - 8) The people wept when they heard the law. Ezra said, "This day is holy to the LORD your God, do not mourn nor weep." Then he said, Go, eat of the fat, and drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (8:9,10)

   And after the seven days of reading of the word the people went home. But they returned three weeks later with the express purpose of renewing their covenant with God. This is the context of this prayer, a part of which was our call to worship this morning.

2. Content of the Prayer
   1. This is a wonderful prayer. It is strikingly like our lesson from last Sunday morning, from Isaiah 43, for it recognizes God as
      1. Great/Almighty
      2. Creator of heaven and earth
      3. The One who CHOOSES His people— He chose Abram;
      4. The One who NAMES His people: changes their character (He changed Abram to Abraham!
      5. The Redeeming God, who brought His people OUT (Exodus)
      6. A Shepherding God— who led His people by a pillar of cloud/ a pillar of FIRE!
   2. 2. This prayer recognized God's willingness to lead His people:
      1. The pillar of fire in the past, but also
      2. The very walls that surrounded them were evidence of God's leading to the very present!

         Nehemiah's "Miracle"

         At a seemingly trivial moment Nehemiah's "opportunity" came.

         (This is where we usually begin his story.) He was serving Ataxerxes, the most powerful king in the world, and the king simply mentioned that his face was downcast and sad. Nehemiah prayed a split-second prayer for guidance (2:4,5) "So I prayed to the God of heaven, and I said to the king:

         "Send me to Jerusalem to rebuild the city of my fathers." It is important to see that this split-second prayer had been preceded by earnest and sincere intercession for genuine revival.

         The king granted Nehemiah all he asked, because (2:8) "The good hand of my God was upon me."

         Nehemiah went immediately to Jerusalem with authority from the king. With great wisdom from God Nehemiah faced ridicule, and anger and hatred and contempt and evil conspiracy and treachery and discouragement from 'friends.'

         He rebuked profit at the expense of love and friendship, and he denounced greed... and he persisted and the wall was completed.

3. SO NOW THE PEOPLE WERE GATHERED TOGETHER, THEY STOOD THERE AT THE WATERGATE BETWEEN THE MIRACLE OF GOD'S LEADING IN THE PAST — AND DECIDING IF THEY WOULD PUT GOD FIRST FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR CHILDREN!

II. THE DISCLOSURE OF THE GATE OF LIFE

1. It seems quite a leap from the prayer in Nehemiah, recalling God's leading in the ancient past, to the words of Jesus to His disciples, and to us:

   I AM the way to God! I AM the door for the sheep of God's pasture! I AM the Good Shepherd!"

   The common thread in these passages is God's leading— His willingness to guide us.

   The people who heard Jesus say these words: "I am the DOOR! I AM the Good Shepherd!" knew those same stories of the Exodus, and they believed them. They also had seen Jesus at work, and had come to know His spirit, and His Presence among them.

   Now Jesus was saying to them:

   "God still wants to lead people! He wants to lead YOU! And I AM the way God leads! I AM the doorway into life! I AM the Good Shepherd!"

2. The comfort and the provision and the love of the Shepherd are directly connected with the willingness of the God's people to follow the Good Shepherd. The Psalmist says,

   "We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture! Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise! Be thankful unto Him and bless His name! For the Lord is GOOD! (from Psalm 100)

   Don't make any mistake— there were decisions being made that day as Jesus spoke!

   And every time these words really "come alive" decisions are made!

III. DECISION TIME AT THE GATE OF LIFE

1. The people who stood near the Water Gate responded to the Word! They literally signed a renewed covenant that they would be God's people! That day they changed the way they were living to agree with God's revealed will to them:
   1. They sought to put God at the center of their lives, by seeking to DO God's will. This is symbolized particularly in the matter of how they observed the Sabbath. They had been conducting business on the Lord's Day. Nehemiah shut the gates of the city at sundown on Friday evening. The caravans simply had to wait until Shabbat was over.
   2. How do we translate this to our specific, present situation?

      We simply ask ourselves this question: Who is really on the throne of our everyday living? Comfort? Ease? He that seeks to save his life will lose it, the Master has said!

   3. These people also sought to put God at the center of their lives by refusing to serve idols. Serving God is not all "positive thinking!" There are times when we need to declare war on evil! It is not enough to do good things, and give good testimonies. This turning away from evil was represented by the people rejecting compromising relationships. They quit trying to worship both God and the gods of their neighboring cultures. They put away pagan partners who refused to worship Jehovah God.
   4. Once again, how do we translate this to where we live just now?
2. We are afraid to take a stand against anything for fear of offending! "Pluralism" and "tolerance" have become such shibboleths for virtue in our society that we have almost come to believe that Christians are their own Masters, that we do not have a LORD!

   No question about it— we must renounce all sin in our lives! We cannot simply "add Jesus" to the life we choose to live! The idea that we can be Christian, God's children, and live exactly as we please, without regard to God's will, is abomination, and God cannot bless it!

   There was a time when Nazarenes were almost "plain people;" they had rules and regulations that probably were, in many cases, a little bit of scripture and a lot of human scruples.

   But it seems so much that we have swung way over through freedom, and I wonder if we have taught our young people and children to have no fear at all of displeasing God!

   We now have people who claim to be serious about their relationship with God who are impure in their sexual lives; people who talk about loving Jesus, and yet who buy and sell and copy schoolwork that is supposed to be their own; people who are Christian who can pad accounts and steal from employers.

   Nehemiah and Ezra called for a reform based on the revealed will of God! Not only these people, but their children's lives, hung in the balance of how they would respond!

Conclusion

Our generation stands between a past of grace— unmistakably God has brought us to this hour— and a future of choice!

God stands ready to lead us!

The Gate of LIFE stands open before us!

The Shepherd of our souls is ready to guide us with His rod and His staff.

But we must decide whom we shall worship— and whom we shall obey!

Prayer O Great God Who formed us And redeemed us And who has called us by name and said, "You are mine!" We truly want to belong to You! We want You to lead us! Help us to be like You! In Jesus' Name. Amen

Hymn #161 Children of the Heavenly Father