May 07, 2000
Feed My Sheep - A Big Order

TEXT: John 21: 15-17
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"

He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

If you worshiped with us last Sunday, you will recall that in our text, which is the same one I am using today, the disciples were with Jesus on the shore of Lake Tiberias. Peter and six of the disciples had been fishing and when they returned to shore Jesus was there. They had breakfast together, and then it was time for the Lord to talk. After questioning Peter about his love for Him, Jesus commissioned the apostles to "feed his sheep." Those were Peter's marching order.

We can read over this word lightly and not catch the depth of its meaning. Even Peter, I am sure, did not realize the magnitude of that command from Jesus. He was to minister to all kinds of sheep. There were the awkward ones, those who were bedraggled and dirty, others who were butting, and some who wandered off for what to them seemed "greener pastures."

So it is with God's flock. The Good Shepherd loves them and makes no distinction among them, but they are different in many ways. People haven't changed in two thousand years. So let's take a look at some of these sheep that the Christian, individually, and the Church, collectively, are called to feed.

There are some we could label the seekers. Peter was in the middle of a large crowd in Jerusalem. It was Pentecost, one of the religious festivals of the Jewish religion. Their religion left them with many questions regarding their relationship with God. Therefore, they were spiritually hungry and longed to know God more intimately. In his sermon that day, Peter answered many of their questions. He first told them they were a part of a "corrupt generation who crucified Jesus." Even though many in the crowd had heard Jesus preach and had seen Him perform miracles, they still turned their backs on Him.
"This Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one who can help you. He alone can forgive your sins and bring you into a personal fellowship with Almighty God," was the heart of Peter's sermon. The sermon continued, "Yes, you crucified Jesus, but God raised Him from the dead. He is the living Lord."

Hearing this stirring message, the congregation rushed forward and asked, "What shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) That day 3,000 people responded and were baptized. That's the day the Church was born.

The seekers are still with us. In fact, all of us are seekers in one way or another. You might say, "This is preacher's talk. I don't find people that interested in religion. They might enjoy discussing religious subjects and even take a class in religion at the church or college, but they are not interested in letting spiritual matters be an integral part of their lives."

I challenge that statement. Take time to get into a meaningful discussion with your friends about life and see what comes to the surface. When I visit with our young people who are about to graduate from high school or college, there are some questions which are very important to them. Yes, they are interested in where they are going to live. They want to live in a nice climate where there is plenty to do. They are interested in a comfortable salary, but give them credit. Their questions go much deeper than these things. They have seen the restlessness of society and they are seeking answers to what will make life meaningful to them. The question of the people on that first Pentecost is what they are asking today, "What shall we do?"

These are some of the sheep Christ has told us to feed. Tell them the Gospel and challenge them with letting Christ be the Lord of their lives no matter what they do. This is for youth, middle age, and even old people who are sitting around with all kinds of questions in retirement years. There are some wonderful ministries going on in our day.

A few nights ago we had dinner in the home of a woman who was raised in Germany. Many Bosnians have come to our country and our hostess that evening told us she is helping these people with the English language, but she is using a Bible study to do it. Yes, they are learning English, but they are also learning about Jesus, who is a complete stranger to some of them who are Muslim.

Another group of sheep Jesus told us to feed are the unbelievers. In Peter's day, and in ours, there are those voices in important places who become irritated when the name of Jesus is heard in public. When the leaders of the Jewish religion heard Peter and John talking about Jesus, they reminded them that His name was off limits. "They called the apostles in and told them never again to speak or teach about Jesus. Peter and John replied, 'Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.'" (Acts 4:18-20)

You would think that this negative attitude towards Jesus would have changed in two thousand years, but it hasn't. There are many who feel that the public use of Jesus' name, except for profanity, is unacceptable where there is a mixed audience of Christians and unbelievers.

I recently heard a speaker at the National Conference on Preaching tell of a severe reprimand he got from a public leader for delivering a prayer in the name of Jesus. The pastor had been asked to speak at the local service club. Before the luncheon started, he was asked to deliver the invocation, which he willingly did, ending his prayer, "in Jesus' name." A few days later he received an irate e-mail letter from the leader of that service club telling how offensive he had been to those in the audience who were not Christians. The leader hoped that in the future the minister would be more sensitive to the feelings of the people in the audience by refraining from using Jesus' name. Not much change from the days of Peter, is it?

Does the believer adjust to this request to never again conclude his or her prayer in the name of Jesus in public? No, we must feed the angry unbelieving sheep and not give in to their demands. Even these unbelievers are a part of the sheep fold created by God and people for whom Christ died.

Still another group that Peter was commissioned to feed were those people who were different than he was. Peter would have been perfectly content to limit the feeding to his own people, the Jews. That was not God's will. One day a man by the name of Cornelius, who was not a Jew, was told in a vision to send for Peter that he might come and share the gospel with him. Cornelius was a good man. He was liberal with his wealth and prayed often. When Cornelius' servants got to Joppa where Peter was staying, they told him of their master's vision and requested that the Apostle accompany them back to Cornelius' home. After listening to the men, a reluctant Peter went to Cornelius. When he arrived at the house, Peter greeted the people by saying, "You are aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should call no man unclean or impure."

Peter saw this as a difficult assignment, but he shared Christ with one of God's sheep who was different than he was, but yet so precious to God that Jesus died for him. In the quietness of that leader's residence, Peter led Cornelius to Christ. Like Peter, Christians in every generation, including ours, have had difficulty in sharing Christ with those who were different than they were. How easy it is for us to look over the flock of humanity and choose those who are most appealing to us. With them we have a comfortable ministry. They have a similar background to ours. We think alike, talk alike, look alike.

From my childhood to old age, I have seen the Church fall into this practice of neglecting the “outsider,” which is not pleasing to God. These "outsiders" were not only people of another color, but folks with differences in family background, social status (either too elite or too crude), cultural differences, or in other ways different than we were. We were not too comfortable around them, so it used to be said that the Pentecostals got the poor, the Baptists got the emotionalists, the Episcopalians and Presbyterians got the educated and rich, the Methodists and Lutherans got the middle class, and the rest were up for grabs. Well, it wasn't quite that bad. It just makes a good story, but we did seem to gravitate to our own kind.

I conducted a workshop on church growth with a congregation that complained of having no field in their present location. They were thinking about moving to another site. When I asked them about their neighborhood and if they had surveyed the area, their answer came quickly, "No, we have not conducted a survey, but just from all appearances these people would not be interested in our congregation's ministry. They are not our kind." How did they know? This could just be the sheep that Jesus was telling that congregation to feed. Not all the sheep in the fold look and act the same, but God still wants them as a part of His flock.

Little did Peter realize all that was included in Jesus' orders, "Feed my lambs and sheep," but that command kept the Apostle going until he died as a martyr for Christ. Little do we know what the marching orders of Christ to His Church in our day include until we begin to move out with the Gospel to seekers, unbelievers, and those who are different than we are.

The orders are challenging, but they stand signed by Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. They have not changed for two thousand years.

Amen.

Rev. Homer Larsen
Christian Crusaders