Scripture Passage
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Sermon Text
John 10: 9-13
I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
Weekly Reflection
It is great that, once a week we gather together like this and ask ourselves the fundamental question of life. We don’t always do that. We will not be able to answer all the questions about the fundamental things of life, but at least once a week we need to reflect upon that and see where our lives are going. What is the purpose of my life? It’s a very, very big question, but it is still very important for us to continuously ask this question. You will reflect on that when you come to church, but you will forget it too. You can hear it today and then tomorrow you will forget it. That’s okay. That’s a part of life— you understand, learn, and forget but forgetting doesn’t mean that it disappears. It remains in you. When some critical moment of life comes, all of a sudden, all those things that are within you that you didn’t even know were there will come out. So whatever you hear, whatever you understand, whatever you realize, it will not disappear. You may forget it in your consciousness, but it will always be there in your heart. When the right time comes, you’ll be surprised and think ‘I didn’t know that I have this insight, or this understanding, or this attitude’. It is great that once a week at least, we come to church and reflect on the fundamental questions of life.
Life’s Calling
Sunflowers move towards the sun. That’s natural. You don’t have to tell them to do so. Similarly, roots of the tree by the river reach out to where the water is. Automatically roots will go down to the stream of water. Salmon make an incredible upstream journey to spawn, to lay eggs in the same places that they were hatched. These are natural things. Those who want to be actors and actresses dream to move to Hollywood. They hope that some day they will be picked someday someone will recognize their talents and ability. Our life is like that. Whatever we desire, we move towards. Sometimes we realize there is strong force that a guides us, moves us and leads us to a certain direction. That’s what our life is like. I’ll call that life’s calling. It calls you to certain things in life. Life’s calling does not have to be your job or career. For some people it is, but it doesn’t have to be. A job is a job to some people, it does not necessarily define their life’s calling. But to some people, life’s calling so strong they even give up their old job and then change it to live out their life’s calling.
I think that’s quite courageous to give up all your things and do whatever life calls you to do. We all have life’s calling and our life moves towards that. Think about it. Why are you doing certain things? Why are you attracted to certain things? Why is your life moving towards a certain direction? I believe that there is a life’s calling. Oprah Winfrey said, “there’s no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling, it is why you’re born and how you become truly alive”. She’s not even a minister. She has wisdom. Yes, we may live our life’s calling. That’s where we are the most happy. Then how do we find life’s calling? I’ve realized that it’s not just one decision that you’re making, sometimes when we do that you make a mistake. I think it’s a process, a slow process. Little by little you realize things about your life’s calling, rather than willfully deciding that ‘I make this decision, I’m going to live like this’. That’s not life’s calling. That’s your decision, but life’s calling is much bigger than your decision. There may be a series of events that may have awakened you. There may be one or two instances that made you seriously think about what you want to do with the rest of your life.
Maybe sometimes you experience or discovered a very strong force that forces, guides and leads you in a certain direction. For me, it was a book that finally, I mean before the book there were lots of other things that happened, but in the end it was a book that finally convinced me to go into ministry. So everybody has a different experience of finding life’s calling. Ask yourself a big question: why do you live? Why do you exist? Why did I come to this world? Was I just a product of my parents’ decision and will? Is is as simple as that? Or was I just born with no meaning attached to it? I was born and because I was born, I just live?
Your Life’s Calling
Jesus was very clear about why he came to this world. I think that’s the difference between great people and mediocre people. Mediocre people don’t know why they came to the world, but all the great people know clearly why they came to the world, why they live. That’s what I discovered. Jesus said this, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”. That was why Jesus Christ came. He came to this world so that we, not him, may have life and have it abundantly. What a noble thing to say. He was only a 30 year old young man. How could a young man have such a noble idea about life. He came so the other people may have life abundantly. I respect that. That is awesome to have that kind of idea about life.
The other day I was thinking about what my message is to the world. What is my message to the world? You all have a message to the world, whether you verbally articulate it or not, through your life, you’re living out your message. You show what you want to speak and what you want to say to the world. This is what life is all about. Your message to the world reflects what your philosophy of life is and also that will point to the direction of your life. Depending on what message you have to share with the world. I can see your philosophy and I can see where your life is heading to.
Jesus’ message to the world was ‘live life abundantly’. That was Jesus’ message to the world. What was Paul’s message to the world? It was that you must live your life always joyfully. Rejoice your life always. That was Paul’s message to the world. What was Bobby Mcferrin’s message? Don’t worry. Be Happy. That was his message to the world. That’s a good message. Nelson Mandela’s message was that everyone is equal and can have their say, and he lived and died for that message. Martin Martin Luther King Jr’s message was that one day all people will be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. That was his message to the world. The message of Mother Teresa was that, your life is supposed to take to take care of weak, vulnerable, poor children. That’s the right thing to do. Take care of the poor children around you. All these people had messages to the world and they tried to live out that message. That his life’s calling.
A Good Message
I hope, my friends, that our message to the world may not be as follows: Be selfish. Life is meaningless, and the future is hopeless. Don’t think too much. Just live. Do whatever you want. Pain is useless. Suffering only destroys us. All people are bad. I hope that that is not our message to the world, but sometimes, unfortunately we deliver these toxic messages unintentionally through our behaviour, through our actions, through the words that we speak and through the attitudes we have. Yes, I know life is hard. Living almost 60 years, I know that much. Life is hard and life can be quite gloomy sometimes. There is so much suffering in our lives and in the world. Just last week, all 66 members of Egypt Air, thought they were going to work. They all got killed. All 66 people.And we were very saddened by the news of the aboriginal young people committing suicide, one after another. A mass suicide. Why? Young people are supposed to live with excitement and for a bright future. But they felt so helpless and hopeless and they killed themselves. Why? And we just prayed his afternoon about a Bangladesh. So many people lost their homes and families. Life can be gloomy.
The world needs the message of hope, courage, strength and belief. And who will speak the message to the world? You. That’s why the world needs you. The world needs your message. You are the prophet. Each one of you is the prophet. In every situation. We go there and we speak the message of hope, a message of love. You’re called to deliver that message. My friends, our life’s calling is to help people around us. It is simple as that. What’s more difficult? What more is there? Our life’s calling is to help people around us. Just as there are many different messages, there may be different ways of doing it. It may be as simple as to help people around you. When people fall, help them get up. If people are discouraged, be with them and encourage them. Life’s calling is to help people around us.
Live the Life of a Shepherd
Ultimately, we want people to live abundant life. That was Jesus’ message. As Jesus was a shepherd, you are also a shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jesus said, that is a good life to emulate.These days, so many people live with ‘hired hands’ mentality or ‘thieves’ mentality. They steal, kill and possess things from the world. “What profit can I get from this world?” That’s all they think about. They don’t think about taking care of the world. They are not good shepherds to the world. They are hired hands to the world. The only think about the profit they can get from this world rather than how they can make this world abundant. How can I make the lives of these people abundant? Doesn’t matter who they are, Christians or non Christians. We must ask “how can I help humanity live abundantly?” Sometimes as a good shepherd, you may even have to sacrifice what you have to do that. I think that’s a noble life. That’s the highest ethics and morality and that’s a good life. This is what I realized: when you have the mentality of a hired hands, the message does not come. That’s what I realized. If you have that attitude, the message doesn’t come. What is my message to the world? I’m not sure. What is my life’s calling? I don’t know.
But amazingly when we live a life of a shepherd, all the blessings come to us. We experience the abundance of life. When we live a life of good a shepherd. We realized that life is full, not empty. Life is meaningful, life’s joyful. It’s always full, not empty. That’s that was God’s message to Abraham, right from the beginning of Genesis. God called Abraham and said, “I will make of you a great nation and I’ll bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing”. God gave you blessing so that you may be a blessing to other people around you. So you are a prophet, you are a good shepherd and you are a blessing. Don’t ever forget that. I hope that all of you may be a blessing to others and that you discover a message for your life.
{Reflection Song: Knowing You Jesus by Graham Kendrick}
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