First Presbyterian Church                                               Rev. Jim Teall

Salt Lake City, Utah                                        March 13, 2005

"What More in the Name of Love?"

LENT - THE LIFE OF JESUS

John 10:7-18

What More in the Name of Love

When I was in Houston selling software systems back in the early 1990’s my boss was fond of saying, “What have you done for me lately?”  Every Monday morning at our sales meeting, all of us sales reps would go up to the dreaded white board in front of the conference room and write down the sales we had for the previous week and the sales we predicted would come in the week ahead.  Talk about pressure!  What made it so stressful was the attitude of our boss.  No matter how well we might have preformed the in the prior week, his attitude was, “What have you done for me lately?”  I might have been a success last month but if I didn’t perform this month then I knew I better start packing my things up and start looking for a new job. 

You know we live in a ‘what have you done for me lately society’ don’t we?  A CEO is fired because profits are down for the past three quarters.  A pop star is washed up at age 22 for the next teenage idol.  Our culture is a culture of what have you done for me lately?  Yesterday we were revered by others but today because we are not as cute, productive, strong, or intelligent we have been cast aside for the next wave of pretty, efficient, powerful and brilliant.  

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

The culture and attitude of the what have you done for me lately society has crept its way into the church.  In our struggles and frustrations in life we in the church often think to ourselves, “God, what have you done for me lately?”  Most of us do not voice this feeling publicly out of fear of being rejected by others in the church, so we keep this feeling inside and carry around a dull but real resentment towards God. 

Carla had been a Christian all of her life.  She never knew a time when she did not believe in Christ.  Her memories of her younger years were good ones and she knew as a child that God had a wonderful plan for her life.  But after the death of her brother, her divorce, and being let go by her company the hard hits of life left Carla with spiritual and emotional bruises that caused her to doubt God.  Carla dreamed that God would grant her every wish in life but when her life did work out according to her plan, Carla found herself shouting out, “God, what have you done for me lately?” 

Many of us feel just like Carla.  The hard knocks of this life have bruised our eyes so badly that we can no longer see God.  We have been beaten up for so long we have forgotten what God has done for us.  In the culture of immediate results in which we live, it is easy to forget what God has done for us, especially when times are tough.  In this morning’s text, we are indeed reminded of what God has done for us. 

The Ultimate Shift

God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him- John 3:16.  God loves His world and in particular He loves the most precious part of His creation; the part that was made in His image- YOU and me.  God so loves YOU so much that He sent His Son to reveal His love to YOU and to save YOU from YOUR sin.  In order to save YOU from YOUR sin the Son of God who lived in perfect harmony with His Father accepted the task to become a human being and come to earth to save YOU!

Stephanie was a beautiful and very wealthy woman.  Growing up in Dallas she was known as the little princess.  She lacked for nothing in her life.  Whatever Stephanie wanted Stephanie had.  The one thing she couldn’t find was love.  None of the rich enquirers of the Dallas socialite scene ever caught her fancy.  It wasn’t until later in life by sheer chance that she met a boy from the country, a simple farm boy that she fell in love with.  By this time in her life however, Stephanie had inherited the family business and was worth millions.  The millions did not satisfy her and her heart was restless.  She knew that the man she loved was on a farm 100 of miles away in rural west Texas in a very desolate place that had no malls, no Mercedes car lots, and no spas in which to have her pedicures.  In order to be with the one she loved she knew she had to give it all up.  So in the name of love she left her comfortable life behind to go and struggle to make a living with the man she loved. Stephanie has never regretted her decision.

God is so madly in love with you. He would do anything to be with you even if it meant giving up everything.  God in the person of Jesus gave up His power and His glory to become a mere man in order to be with you.  He could not stand to see you lost and lonely so He left the glory of heaven for the slums of earth to be with you.  Christ can empathize with you and me because Christ chose to leave the glory of heaven to come and suffer on earth just like we do.  We do not have a God who is unable to sympathize with our sufferings, but we have a God who has suffered just as we have.  God became less because He loves you the most.   

Jesus’ Labor of Love

When Christ came to earth he wept over His precious city of Jerusalem.  He wept because those who were placed in positions of power were not interested in serving God or God’s children. They were only interested in how to hold on to their powerful titles.  When Christ came the religious leaders in that day had no idea what the common person was going through because they lived in the palaces hiding behind their appearance of morality and façade of authority.  Jesus called these people hired hands. The hired hands did not love the sheep they had authority over.  They cared nothing for them and would leave them to fend for themselves in times of trouble, but not Jesus.

Jesus was the good shepherd.  He cared for the sheep because he loved the sheep.  The good shepherd did not do his job for money but he did it out of love for the sheep he was called to serve.  Jesus loves you not because He has to; Jesus loves you because He longs to be in relationship with you.  Jesus left the glory of heaven for the ghetto of this fallen world so he could be with you. What more could God have done for you in the name of love than to give up his power and glory?

The Ultimate Service

Jesus not only shed his robe of glory but he then put on the garments of a servant.  Jesus cares for the sheep he was sent to love and serve by protecting them from harm.  Jesus is the good shepherd, and if one of his sheep wanders off he will go after him to bring him back.  Jesus not only cares for one kind of sheep but all the sheep of the world and wants all sheep to live under his care and protection.  Jesus is the good shepherd who loves and serves his sheep. 

Today, modern day shepherds lead their sheep by actually pushing them.  Riding around in air-conditioned pickup trucks, modern day cowboys shepherd the flock by pushing them from behind.  This was not the case in Jesus’ day.  Shepherds on foot led the sheep out front by calling out to them and the sheep would listen to the distinct voice, calls and sounds of their shepherd.  Jesus is the good shepherd that leads his sheep to green pastures and still waters.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd 

The prophet Ezekiel one thousand years before Christ spoke of Christ when speaking on behalf of God said, “I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down.  I will search the lost and bring back the strays.  I will bind up the the injured and strengthen the weak.”  Thus when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd,” everyone who heard him say this would have known he was referring to this prophecy in Ezekiel proclaiming himself to be God by calling himself the good shepherd. 

Jesus indeed was the good shepherd who came to seek and save the lost.  Jesus is the good shepherd and the good shepherd loves and serves his flock.  Today you might be feeling a bit lost.  You might feel like God is nowhere in sight.  You might feel as though you have sinned against God so much and for so long that God has given up on you.  Let me tell you, God loves you and He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He will never give up on you.

 

Jesus tells us a story in the gospel of Luke in which he says that even when one of his sheep strays from his flock he will go into the dangerous wilderness to find him and when He finds him all of heaven rejoices.  Nothing pleases God more when one of his lost sheep is found.  My friends, God is looking for you, won’t you stop running.  Let God find you so he can love you and serve you.  Jesus said, “I have come not to be served but to serve.”

The Son of Man Came to Serve Not to Be Served

This point is made clear when the Apostle John tells the story of how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet.  On the night that he was betrayed, Jesus, the Lord of the Universe, picked up a towel and a bowl and washed his disciples’ dirty and smelly feet as was the custom in his day.  However, the custom was for the servant of the house to wash the guest’s feet, but on this night, there was no servant.  I am sure all the disciples looked at each other and began to wonder which one of them would stoop so low as to wash feet.  What a surprise to them when their Lord Jesus was the one who humbled himself to kneel on the ground and to wash grimy feet.  He would even wash the feet of Judas, the one who would in a matter of minutes leave that super to go and betray Jesus.  Jesus served not only his friends but also his enemies.  Jesus was the servant of all men and woman.  Jesus came to serve you.  No matter what you have done in your past, no matter how far away you feel from God this morning know that the angels in heaven are looking down just hoping and praying that you will stop running away from God and allow Jesus to find you so he can serve you and love.  This is God’s greatest desire for you.    

Audrey had Alzheimer’s.  For ten years her husband Jack would show up at the skilled nursing home every morning at 9:00 a.m. and stay until 8:00 p.m.  For ten years, 365 days a year Jack would sit along side his beloved wife and read to her, comb her hair, paint her pictures, and massage her shoulders.  Jack’s children begged their father to take a break, to go on vacation, to go out and find a new life.  Jack would just smile and say, “50 years ago I made a promise to your mom to love her when she was healthy and when she was sick.  Your mother is sick and I will never leave her alone.  I will be with her always and I want to be with her when she takes her last breath.  This is the promise I made to her and because I love her I take joy in serving her.  I would be miserable on a vacation without her.  You kids go along now, it’s time for me to wash your mother’s hair.”

What more in the name of love could Jack have done for his beautiful bride Audrey?  What more in the name of love could Christ have done for you then to leave the throne of heaven and come to you in your time of need.  You were once lost and now you are found.  You were broken and Christ came to heal.  You were lonely and Christ came to sit beside you and to serve you.  What more could Christ have done for you? 

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Well, Jesus not only gave up his power when he left heaven to come to earth to seek and save his lost sheep and not only did Jesus give up his own needs in life to love and serve his sheep, but in the end he would even give up his life for his sheep.

Jesus the good shepherd was also a strong shepherd.  Jesus was not led away to the slaughter against his will but he willfully went to the cross with joy because he knew that only by his sacrificial death would he accomplish the redemption for all of his sheep.  Jesus was given the authority by His heavenly father to lay down his life and then to take it back up again. 

Jesus knew that only by his death and resurrection would his flock gain access into his fold so he could love them for eternity.  Jesus went to the cross with joy because he thought of how by his sacrifice he would be able to spend eternity with you, loving you.

By His Wounds We are Healed

The prophet Isaiah a thousand of years before Christ spoke of Christ’s redeeming work when God inspired him to write, “Surly he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Jenny, a single mom, works two jobs to provide food, clothes and a home for her child.  At the end of the day she feels like a worn out old shoe.  The thought that gets her out of bed each morning is her child.  Jenny’s heart is full of love each morning as she makes breakfast for her little one.  On this morning the child swipes the bowl of cereal onto the ground and says, “I want hot pancakes with maple syrup like the other boys and girls get at school!”  The mother’s heart sinks as she thinks to herself, “What more can I do so she understands my love?”  I wonder is God in heaven asking the same question of us.  What more in the name of love can God do to prove His love for us? Nothing - because in Christ He has done it all.