The Journey Home (4/21/19 Easter Message)
ATTN: I’m Pastor Hong, one of the four pastors here at As One Community Church. I was born and raised in South Korea. I immigrated to this country when I was 14 years old. I had to learn English and adapt to the new culture. Ever since then, I felt like a alien, never really fully accepted by the dominant culture because of the way I look and the way I talk, even though I’ve been living in this country now for 34 years. Several years ago, I had a chance to visit Korea, the land of my birth, and I thought I would feel at home, but I didn’t! The Korean culture has moved on and I have also changed, and even though I looked and talked like they did, I didn’t feel quite at home! So, I don’t feel quite at home here in the United States, and I don’t feel quite at home in the land of my birth. What do I do?
Many of you were borned and raised in this place. And you still don’t feel quite at home. You daydream about being somewhere else. But the darnedest thing is even when you get there, you will eventually get tired of it and will want to be somewhere else. In other words, we are longing for a permanent home. Here’s my take on why that is: We were made for the paradise but we have been shut out of it. Ever since then, we’ve been wanting to get back. The emptiness left by the paradise, or the desire for what we had in paradise is still with us.
How do we get back? How do we get to our home for the final and permanent rest? We follow the Shepherd that will get us there.
- Christian life is walking with Him home.
Psalm 23: The most famous psalm.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters…. He grestores my soul.
He hleads me in ipaths of righteousness2
for his jname’s sake.
4 Even though I kwalk through the valley of lthe shadow of death,3
I will mfear no evil, for nyou are with me;
your orod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You pprepare a table before me in qthe presence of my enemies;
you ranoint my head with oil; my scup overflows.
6 Surely4 goodness and mercy5 shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall tdwell6 in the house of the LORD uforever.7
Have you noticed the changing of scenes in this psalm? There is movement. They start out in green pastures, then they go by still waters, and then through the valley of the shadow of death, then through the enemy territory, and then finally arriving at the house of the Lord. They are on a journey. The shepherd is leading his sheep on a journey to His home. That’s what Christian life is about. It is a journey. It is walking with God, doing life with Him through good times and not so good times. Through trying times and fun times.
Christian life is not about do’s and don’ts. It’s not about attending church, giving money, and doing good. It’s about walking with the person named Jesus, who is our Shepherd as He leads us home.
ILL: The best metaphor for this is marriage. Marriage is not about do’s and don’ts, is it? It’s about getting to know one another, loving another, growing with each other, and creating a safe home. Yes, sometimes there are fights and conflicts, but we work through them all as we stay committed to each other through thick and thin.
So the Christian life is doing life with Jesus. We get to know Him, to love Him, to struggle with Him at times, but working through them as we stay committed to Him for what He has done for us – mainly that He loved us so much that He died for us. If I were to use the metaphor of the shepherd, when wolves came, He fended them off and He was so severely injured that He died from it but He saved us.
Notice 3 thing about this journey though:
1) It goes through valleys (dark places)
- 4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” Why is the sheep going through the valley of the shadow of death when they are following the good shepherd? Just like Jesus led his disciples to the stormy water to teach them to trust in Him, the good shepherd will lead his sheep through the valley of the shadow of death to teach them to trust him. This means Christians are not immune to tragedies, losses, failures at times. ILL: We have a lady from Mexico named, Lidia, who had a beautiful son. But the day before his 18th birthday, he got into a motorcycle accident and died. He was the only son she had. He was a believer. I baptized him myself. Why would God do that? Two reasons: 1) to protect that boy from harm in this world. 2) So that we will learn to trust Him. So that we will learn to find comfort in Him and not in our circumstances. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I know that soon there will a great reuniting between Lidia and her son when she gets to her final home.
2) Rod and staff are for our protection, and not for our punishment.
God is a fearful being! He can make the earth open up and swallow 200,000 people in one day with tsunami. He’s a terrifying God. But what makes this good is that He’s on our side. ILL: If I am a criminal, then seeing a police officer will make me nervous. But if that police officer is my father, then I do not need to fear him. He is their to protect me. And his big guns are there to protect me from the bad guys. My shepherd’s rod and staff are for my protection. So, it’s a good thing that God is so big and terrifying. That’s for my enemies.
3) Enemies are present.
Even though the psalmist is walking with the Lord, his enemies are still around him. “you prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” God has not gotten rid of our enemies. But what is this business of spreading a table in the presence of enemies?
Commentary: In the Orient the host was obligated not only to entertain the guest but to protect him from his enemies, and when once the meal of hospitality had been partaken all the power and strength of the host became assured to the guest. He was now safe and secure, and his enemies were powerless to injure him, for from this time forth he was the guest and friend of the host and would be protected and defended by him. Thus the idea is not of a hasty meal upon a battle-field, after which the fight was to be renewed, but of a calm and secure repose at the table of the host, with the assurance that all danger was past and the enemies were no longer to be regarded or feared.—C. A. B.]
So, yes, as Christians, we will have enemies swirling about us, but we need not fear them because we have God who is protecting us from them. Sometimes that enemy is bad economy. Sometimes it’s sickness and injuries. Sometimes it’s evil people around us that want to hurt us. Sometimes it’s the government. But God is protecting those who would put their faith in Him.
Jesus, our good shepherd, is leading us through the green pasture, dark valleys, and enemies, all to get us home. V. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
CONC: Jesus said elsewhere, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 That is exactly what He did for his sheep, for us. Only the shadow of death fall on us, but that’s because death fell on Him. The only reason why we need not fear the valley of the shadow of death is because Jesus has gone through it Himself first and He inoculated it. Like dumb sheep who would’ve never come out alive from the dangerous valley full of cliffs, darkness, poison, and thorns, we would’ve never made it out alive, but our Shepherd has gone through it Himself, taking the fall, taking the poison, so that when you and I walk by it, it’s lost its power since Jesus has absorbed in His body. And now this resurrected Son of God, our good Shepherding is leading, guiding, and driving us through life to get home. Would you put your faith and trust in this Jesus?
If you don’t have a church home, consider making this church your home. Let’s journey together until our Good Shepherd takes us home.
0 Comments