Safely Home

The Lord is the Lord used to be the Lord might one day be once was the Lord is present, the Lord is my shepherd, Rhoda.the Lord is my mother's shepherd the Lord is my grandfather shepherd.

I met a lot of you with all my grandfather. Many walk with God. What about you. This works when you can say with him.

The Lord is my we would rather avoid. But for all of us trials and difficulties are unavoidable. So what we do in order to face this world successfully and deal with all of the uncertainty that comes with life. We need to entrust ourselves fully to God.

We need the good Shepherd to guide and guard every aspect of our lives until we arrive at heaven.

That's our theme today here on wisdom for the heart here Stephen with today's lesson called safely home. I came across this article I recently entitled how to stay safe in the world. The day avoid writing in automobiles, planes both are trains there responsible for 36% of all fatal accidents don't travel anywhere. I suppose don't walk either because 14% of all fatal accidents occur to pedestrians symbolizing go anywhere now stay home 17% of all fatal accidents occur in the home, 20 go to the hospital.

32% of all deaths occur, there.

That all adds up to 99% and that remaining 1%. Research shows that really it's one half of 1% of fatalities occur on Sunday in sure. So the safest place to be. The truth is still obvious. Life is filled with risks and hazards and in injuries part of the problem is that we depend on so many other people and Idaho's stuff on scene things that we can't control. Your health is tied to the skill of that surgeon or the carefulness of that pharmacist to Numbers out the prescription safety tomorrow is tied to the alertness of the bus driver taking it a score or the alertness of all the commuters who are heading in your direction and I miss you. Bye-bye 3 feet life is one calculated risk after another question you might be asking is that I get out of bed in the morning. So much of life is entrusting yourself into the hands of mortal fallible distracted, dishonest creatures, and then you became a Christian then and I got worse because now sin is a danger to you and it really never was before. Temptation procedure you never really noticed because you never resisted there is now culture that might mock your values family that might misunderstand or misrepresent you applying pressure to you. Now you're facing pressured school you never faced before I got student sucking students, parents, and then the challenge of this young lady in college to go entirely openly totally against her professor and the assignment on that research paper related to gender which he totally disagreed with because her gender beliefs are tied to Scripture. Now you face the risk of being overlooked or ridiculed or ignored or demoted work or maybe failed at school. All of that adds all the more reasons to maybe just stay in bed hide under the covers. That's not really safe either. The light of the world are you face the world with anything.

I hope really got a sure drink and enjoy. Beyond that purpose. When I would be the question swirling around in the minds of the first century believers who were facing unjust suffering who were facing financial loss at the writers schedule say of them. You. You had your property seized with yet with joy. Imagine that the body of a large following Christ is facing here the first century and in any century around our world government in a culture that is growing more and more hostile to concepts like objective truth that concept of defined justice.

Ethical principles moral boundaries mean how do you live in a world like that like this world well that is started going to the hearts and minds as we studied these early Christians when the apostle Peter was moved by the Holy Spirit to write to them a letter it would circulate among the churches scattered throughout the Roman Empire is been informing us that we really gotta look beyond this stuff. See beyond all of that. If you want to face your world with purpose and hope and joy were coming to the conclusion of his thoughts to go back with me to first Peter were in chapter 2 and verse 25 verse 25 up into our study last Thursday. Verse 24 but I thought it might be a good idea so that for a lot of reasons, one of them struck me was that in chapter 3 verse one, which will be the next verse, and it would've been for today lives be submissive to your husbands about others.

A good Mother's Day text for you that you know whenever you study the Bible you see these names of God. The names of our Lord did not throw away.

They're not well-liked and I say now about him. All I know I'll come up with this title. They are rich, meaningful, true as he is self disclosing through these apostles. His character, it's no surprise beloved the Peterson wrap up his thoughts on the response of believers.

The government and culture and unfair masters and uncontrollable situations. It's no surprise that Peter and his this thought with verse 25 for you were continually straying like she but now you've returned to the shepherd and Guardian of your soul. Before we get to where Peter talks about who God is, he reminds us of who we were. But stop there for a moment. We were continually straying like she did.

Again, I think it is mine is going back.

This is an obvious paraphrase of Isaiah chapter 53 where we read of the suffering savior where Isaiah describes us in verse six of that classic chapter all of us like sheep have gone astray.

Peter: that right in this context throughout the Bible, Christians are most often identified as as sheep for good reason. Sheep are the brightest creatures on the planet.

They need constant attention from their shepherds what Peter highlights. Here is the nature of sheep to stray any speaking categorically at this moment of the unbeliever, but it is the nature of the believer as well. Maybe you've come in here today and you know in your heart, your straying from your Lord. Maybe you've come in here today and you've never come to him to become your Savior and Lord, and you're still wondering is the nature of sheep to wander. So you see it appearing over and over again in the Scriptures and God referred to and leaders referred to as as shepherds. They seem intent on destroying one news article I came across reported on this very problem it reads for centuries shepherds of trying to keep sheep from straying which is their nature. Everything from additional staff to trained dogs in more recent times, shepherds have have turned to a more sophisticated method. One of them is a metal grid 8 feet wide, built into the ground on ground level around the edge of a passenger sheep can't walk across the grid without their hooves slipping through so they stay in her past, except this news reporter said in one county. One of the sheep figured out that he could lie down and roll over the grid and what it did all the other sheep in the fog watched and then they all rolled over the grid scampered away the bigger problem. I'm never raising some reading and researching for benefit. Some of you may have part of the bigger problem. I've learned with. She is they can't find their way home first sheep to wander or to stray is the same thing as saying that a sheep has come and will remain loss lost unless something happened that Peter is drawing the analogy of the straying of an unbeliever whose return. Now it might at first glance sound like the sheep actually did come back with a verb translated returned is a word that refers to salvation most often conversion you can render to turnabout they encounter the shepherd in turn, this doesn't mean that the sheep were once walking with Christ and they wandered away another back that can happen by the waiter plenty passages to talk about that in. I know for me that the problem about you what Peter, though, is drawing out here is he's not describing that the life of a disobedient lawyer.

He's describing the life of an unbeliever and and what is their life like it is constant, never ending, wondering, straying with a purpose, hope, joy. That's the description, beloved of the world you're going to face tomorrow that the Lord Jesus saw huge crowd of people coming toward him and Mark recorded in his gospel. His perspective the perspective of Jesus.

He writes that Jesus seeing them, seeing the multitude was moved with compassion. Why because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

That's about the most pitiful state you could be Mark chapter 6 verse 34 wandering so it in Peter's mind the idea of returning back here in the air stands as a reference to a decisive moment in life that mom and perhaps where you understood the gospel in the spirit of God. Open your eyes. The shepherd drew you, you believed this is the same verb Peter uses. By the way, in acts chapter 3 verse 19 where he preaches. Therefore, repentance and return same word so that your sins may be wiped away same verb appears again in acts nine verse 35 of people are watching the healing of this paralyzed man and it's as all those people who saw all that turned to the Lord and others they became believers in the gospel of Christ. Paul uses the same verb over this letter. The Thessalonian believers.

He writes how you speaking of them how you turned to God away from idols to serve the living and true God. First Thessalonians chapter 1 verse like this is who you were.

As an unbeliever wandering like sheep that went astray.

You've turned your follower of Jesus, Peter says now I don't want to just a reminder of who you were. Now I want to focus on who he is noticing now you've returned to the shepherd is our shepherd. Here we need to rehearse the truth of who he is but also how we need him again. Reason the believer, you and me were one of China's Scriptures being out galloping stallions. Even though converted we have that tendency wander prone to wander, Lord, I feel it the hymn writer interesting as you study this particular animal that sheep are anatomically we are unable to bear burdens you will see what the saddler sack week. That's why the shepherd is needed there. Their burden sheep are too timid to drink from running water is why David boasted that his shepherd leads him to still watery steak and his staff and is done a little inlet next of a rushing stream and so now will pool in the sheep can safely drain sheep can grow their own food they've taken Jason down by David again praises the shepherd for preparing the Spanish renters at all of that Mesa table for you without a shepherd sheep are in deep trouble.

Fact I could never go back in my mind that description were David is boasting as it were, in his shepherd the Lord is my shepherd, because the Lord is my shepherd, there's nothing that I want every good gift comes from him so there's something that I want that I don't have. It's not good in his eyes for me. The Lord is my shepherd, by the way, the Lord. I think he emphasizes her and anybody else I can pull off the rest of the tech all those things that only a good Shepherd can do. The Lord is it to say everybody will do my shepherd is it's the Lord's the Lord. He says the Lord is my shepherd the Lord is not the Lord used to be the Lord might one day be. I like the Lord to be once was.

Know the Lord is present, the Lord is my shepherd, personal pronoun that the Lord is my mother's shepherd the Lord is my grandfather shepherd. I met a lot of you know my grandfather. Many walk with God. What about you see this works when you can say with him. Hey look I want you to know my shepherd is. It is the Lord is mine and I'm occurs to me that the first century to the 21st century. The problem with the world and can be summarized in the one sentence we tend to get sidetracked all the symptoms of the disease but the real disease is simply this world is following the wrong shepherd. All you have to do is Google like I did preparation for this just of the top news stories of the past 12 months.

Talk about wandering confusion Russian aggression North Korean threats failed peace talks, nuclear ambitions and rogue countries economic crises in several countries, trillion dollar deficits here at home potential shutdown of governments failing educational system drug cartels and human trafficking, and on and on and on and on and on that since last 12 months, the world is also wandering morally and staggering around in more and more confusion. If you look for moral and ethical consistency. The highest levels in our culture and in our country discover those pedestals are virtually empty. Frankly, our country is in desperate need of the right shepherd. Jesus Christ issues an invitation by the way through you satisfied sheep. A well fed sheep look, I know you're following that shepherd that'll never work. Follow my never told anybody that at your workplace or your school, your neighborhood, well fed, satisfied sheep saying I know shepherd you are to follow you speaking with shepherding terminology. He's the one who knows how to navigate you through life and he's the one who knows the path to heaven, and will take you there. I commend this shepherd to you as a reason he's called the good Shepherd. What an understatement.

Good Shepherd. John 10 verse 11, Peter look there in verse 25 in the rights only truth of the Lord is our shepherd. He's noticed the guardian of your souls. The Guardian, the sort of test composites is used for the elder of the church we get the word Episcopal Bishop overseer. The verb form means to look after to administrate the care for.

Again, the analogy of the believers. It is really perfect here. We need something to administrate our lives, how you doing on your own.

By the way, how did you do on your own.

Many of you came to Christ because you did it on your mucin really want to go be something better than the Timothy Laney I command him. Perhaps not as familiar with, but he also wrote a wonderful book on on shepherding the analogy to believers. He spent several years living among Middle Eastern shepherds wrote in his journal how trouble prone sheep were he writes even the Hardy Mountain breed are susceptible to Breck C have no idea what that means but it sounds awfully horrible to pulpy kidney.

Again, I don't staggers pneumonia Pascarella hypothermia in the winter scab and scrape the they push their heads through fences and get cut or stop.

They tumble in the ponds and can't get out the gorge themselves on fallen ash leaves and swell up like balloons. They poison themselves on the rag workday starve easily freeze easily fall ill easily.

He writes, but every affliction they face can be countered by a good Shepherd see it matters who your shepherd Peter is effectively reminding the believer that we have been rescued from a world that's wandering and staggering and falling and hungry and thirsty and drowning deeply needy, hungry, afraid fact in the text word David right you prepare a table of Mesa before me.

I love the fact that he adds the last phrase you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemy my friends is implying another was that following the Lord means you can end up surrounded by enemies he hasn't promised you and me. That is good leaders. Their lives were always surrounded by friends prepared table for us in the presence of a world that is that entity with the gospel hostile to the objective claim of Christ, that we are sinners and must be saved. That is not happy news to our world culture grows more and more hostile to this. The Lord is not guaranteeing the absence of danger or difficulty or risk.

He is simply guaranteeing his presence in the middle of it again. Laney Eck writes in his journal. While shepherds watched their flocks at night so the wolves it's a nightly match of watching and outwitting. He wrote I've said I've been with Middle Eastern shepherds who spent all night shouting, whistling, throwing stones in the darkness in all directions with their slings. They knew the wolves were there. They couldn't see them. Peter writes to these believers who, in this culture had nowhere to run, had nowhere to hide. It won't be long before their dying for their faith. And he says to them you're following a shepherd was also a guardian of your souls don't miss that Peter is implying to these believers in the believers in every generation, you may be ruled by tyrants. You might be suffering bodily harm and mistreatment and abuse.

Peter reminds them that that inner being that immaterial part of who we are, which is the real us inside this play vehicle to get us around. That is safe, no matter what happens to the outer shell so to speak is no way a believer can be taken away from the Lord is no know anybody can snatch you out of his hand. You. You can be ripped away from the flock which you belong to.

That's how you enter the world surrounded by hazards and risks and endangers. This is how you enter it with joy. Nothing occurs to you other than that which is slipped through by his design is your shepherd and your guardian, but in the midst of it all the matter helpmate how badly it may be for you how difficult it may be how deep your suffering, your soul, it's going to arrive safely home that you can be given a new body in your nature will no longer be one room stray. This is how you handle this is how you see past all the stuff cultural issues, and you get up with joy, purpose, because you see beyond all this.

You're looking to the one who authored and has shown us how to complete the faith you belong to the shepherd and the one who is the guardian who will lead you through life and bring you safely home and let me say this hello there are a lot more people out there who would love to have written on their tombstone. The Lord is my shepherd a lot more people want that written on their tombstone than they would ever want written on their lives. Write it on your life. It doesn't do any good on a tombstone, it wasn't true in life. A lot of people want to die with him as their shepherd would have no desire to live with him as their shepherd. You're one of those turn by the grace of God to the Savior make him your shepherd in this present our make him yours by possessions so you can say the Lord is my shepherd live with that kind of perspective will be beaten down was of the world might be looking at you with your guardian is looking out for you is never surprised keep following him, the world might be watching you your shepherd is watching over none of us will fail to arrive safely home and with joy and confidence. We go through the day because we know the path is marked by his divine purpose. See his eye isn't just on the sparrow, it's on his sheet to this text and context reminded me of the lyrics to a song by Don Woodson written a number of years ago. Three combined all of it together and with this I close the rights when alarmed by the fury of the restless sea towering waves before you roll at the end of doubt, peril is eternity, though, fearing conflict sees your soul but just thing of stepping on finding touching a hand in finding God's breathing new Erin finding it's Celeste steel of waking in glory and find home some can you see that there according to his perfect timing is faithful shepherd and guardian of your soul will land you without accident, without casual without any risks safely, safely. The title of this message today here on wisdom for the hearts and with this message. Stephen concludes a series entitled above politics and parliaments. This series helps believers live like citizens of heaven while were still citizens of the if you missed any of the lessons in this series we posted all of them online. If you go online to wisdom online.org you'll find them there next time.

Stephen begins a series from Romans join us here on wisdom