Tasting the Gruel of Love

The Sheep Won’t Follow a Stranger

Dr. Larry Thorson
February 14, 2010

John 10:5

But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

So today is Valentine’s Day. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend on average twice as much money as women for this day. In Japan, according to a recent NPR story, women spend $200 buying men candy and additional $300 for candy for themselves.

Valentine’s Day is a romantic event. Strangely it’s named after three different Catholic saints all named Valentine and all who died for the faith. But none of them had anything to do with hearts, cards or candy. Legend has it that one of the Valentines defied a king who forbid young men from marrying because he thought marriage would hinder their soldiering ability. That Valentine, it was believed, defied the king and took a wife and was killed for it. Unfortunately that is only legend that can’t be confirmed.

Regardless of its background, Valentine’s Day gives us a nice excuse to say “I love you” to those close to us. Happy Valentine’s Day, God loves you and so do I.

With that we transition into my “Valentine’s Sermon” which has about as much connection to Valentine’s Day as the original St. Valentine and hearts, cards and candy. In other words, nothing. Since the beginning of the year we’ve been looking at the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John where Jesus describes a good shepherd and why we need one. Since today is our last week in this study I want to summarize what we talked about.

In the first and second week we read in Ezekiel how the Old Testament kings were considered shepherds. Some of those shepherds led God’s people astray. But that didn’t mean God’s people didn’t need a shepherd. As humans, all of us need a shepherd to guide us. Somewhere in our life one or more people have been spiritual shepherds to us. Never forget them and if they’re still alive make a point of thanking them from time to time. But also make yourself available to be someone else’s spiritual shepherd. Ask God to give you that privilege.

In the third week we looked at the sheep pen gate. The larger sheep pens had a gatekeeper who watched over the sheep while the shepherds took a break in the evening. The gatekeeper never let strangers into the pen, only the owners of the sheep. We’re the gatekeeper in our life. Christ the Good Shepherd comes up to the gate of our life but we’re the one who has to open that gate. The question for the day was, who are you opening the gate of your life to? Sometimes we open the gate to Christ but other times we open the gate to a pleasure pursuit or to someone who doesn’t want to follow our Lord. Who did you open the gate of your life to this morning?

The fourth week we looked at how sheep can discern voices and follow only the voice of their shepherd. Jesus knows you and is calling your name. But what voice are you hearing? My voice? The voice of your mother? A friend? How do you discern one voice from the other? The same way you get to know anyone’s voice; by spending time together. Jesus’ voice can be heard in reading God’s Word. How often do you read the Bible?

The fifth week was about being a good follower. It doesn’t matter whether a sheep has the best good shepherd in the world if it doesn’t follow her. Our society puts a higher value on being a leader rather than being a follower. So when we say that we want to be a follower of Christ the Good Shepherd it’s difficult because we’ve been taught that we always have to be in charge and in control. Check what kind of a follower you are and let go of always having to have your way.

Last week we looked at how change is possible. Change starts with wanting to change and then making decisions based on where the Good Shepherd leads us. Be open to new things in your life.

Today we wrap up the series by looking at what Jesus meant by “…a stranger they will not follow.” We always told our kids when they were young “don’t talk to strangers.” We knew what strangers did to little children, they lured them into their cars with candy and we’d never see them again. In the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard who as a child was whisked away by a stranger in northern California, her parents never saw her again for 18 years. But at least they were able to see her again unlike many families.

When I was growing up in the 60’s we knew who the strangers were. For us they were the homeless guys who sometimes wandered from the Guadalupe River where some of them had makeshift encampments. I was taught to stay away from them and it wasn’t hard to do.

When my kids were coming up in the 90’s, strangers looked different than when I was growing up. They drove nice, clean cars and wore nice clothes luring kids with all sorts of traps. Then we started hearing about Catholic priests and ministers doing inappropriate things with kids and the word stranger took on a new meaning.

It’s always sad to me to see young kids just roaming the streets at night. At times I’ve been critical of parents who don’t keep better track of their kids and plan activities for them. But since coming to work in this area I’ve met a lot of single parents and even dual parent families who just don’t the have the resources or the time for their children because they’re just trying to survive the best they can. One of our newer middle school girls told me a week ago that she can’t come on Wednesday nights anymore because her mom was going to school in the evenings and she can’t get home. We’re working on getting her a ride. Two of our middle school students walked home at night to the other side of the hospital with their dad because their family didn’t have a car.

The worst weeks for these families are the weeks when the schools are out for vacation as they are this coming week. That’s why every week when school is on vacation including summer break Coach Carter and his team open the Family Center for fun all day activities for children. This week they’re premiering a new Christian Veggie Tales movie that the movie studio sent us and invited us to use free of charge. Today’s Valentine’s Day lunch is a fundraiser to help keep that outreach to these families open.

Phillip Keller in A Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd and his Sheep says sheep are among the most timid and helpless of all livestock. They will run in panic from the least threat of unknown danger. He says he has seen them rush away in blind fear simply because one of them was startled by a rabbit bursting out from beneath a bush.

Yet, he says, they will sometimes stand still and stare blankly when a powerful predator comes among them. They will huddle up in tight, frightened little knots, watching dumbly while one after another of the flock is torn to pieces by a wolf. The only sheep that have any chance to escape are those that flee for their lives. There is simply no other hope of survival. Somehow they have to separate themselves from the attacker who would destroy them.

Jesus knew that for a flock of sheep to thrive and flourish, the sheep have to always be under the sound of that familiar, friendly voice of their shepherd. To be lured away or distracted by any other voice is to face utter destruction or complete loss. It’s not that different for us humans.

When we started a new church in Chino Hills we discovered quickly that if people weren’t steadily in worship listening to our sermons they would eventually be led off by strangers. That included some of our best, most mature people. For example we had children’s classes during the worship service and the teachers would be with the children instead of in worship. I’m not saying that our sermons were so provocative or meaty that someone couldn’t spiritually survive without them. Not all. What we discovered is that not being in worship isolated the workers from the church body. It was that isolation from our voices that opened them up to the voices of strangers who didn’t always have their best interest in mind.

We have that same problem here. Susan Gray is one of our elders but because of the shortage of Sunday school teachers she’s rarely in our service. Annie Weems, our student intern from Cal Baptist University and Robin Monroe one of our new members is also never in worship with us. Susan faithfully attends our 9:00 Heritage Service, while Annie attends chapel at school during the week. Robin is planning to join my Sunday night discipleship small group. It’s important for all of us to be in worship together, preferably on Sunday mornings and if you have to work then, to join one of our other small groups during week.

Believe it or not, children on vacation from school riding their bikes in the dark on the streets of Hemet are not the only ones susceptible to the voices of strangers. Anyone of us can fall prey to all sorts of teachings and attitudes. We become somewhat like those we’re around. A mother of a teenager will call me and say that she’s worried about her son’s new friends whom she suspects of doing drugs. Does that mean her son will start doing drugs just because his friends are doing it? There’s a chance he will. My advice to her son would be to flee from those “friends.” But if that son doesn’t know my voice and trust me he won’t listen to my advice.

In the same way if your new friends want you to play golf on Sunday morning or go to brunch with them every Sunday morning they don’t have your best interest in mind. My advice to you would be to invite those friends to join you for worship on Sunday and say you’ll join them on Monday or Saturday or any other day but not on Sunday. You need to hear the voice of the shepherd on Sunday mornings.

Sure you can stay home and listen to great preaching on television or the radio or on cd’s. Those voices will then become your shepherd. Which could be fine but I’ve never heard a voice on a television, radio or a cd call and pray specifically for me. I’ve never heard them know me well enough to be able to gently correct me when I’m off.

I urge you to make Sunday attendance a priority in your life. We need the voice of the shepherd more than we need the voice of the stranger.