Gathering The Scattered
Summary
Ps Fua shares with us one of the most comforting, powerful images in the Bible, the image of God as our shepherd.
Transcript
Who's ready for the Word this morning? I feel like I'm always hosting when like Fua's preaching. I don't know if they do that strategically or what the deal is with that. But I would love just to introduce your new lead pastor, Fua, aka chef, aka husband for me.
Thank you, Pastor Alex. Loving, caring wife of mine. What did you do wrong this morning, Fua? Nothing.
Church, good morning. I just want to say I'm looking across this room and see new people. We see people here have been for many years. Those just visiting for the first time. I'll say welcome. Make sure you grab one of Trevor's welcome bags of his hidden chocolates in there. I just want to say welcome. If you're watching online, welcome. Yes, my name is Fua, Pastor Fua, and officially the lead pastor of Frankston.
Honored, humbled, thank you for the messages of love and support. But you know what, Church? I didn't walk in here as lead pastor. I didn't walk in here with the confidence that I have now. For eight years, I served in this church as a volunteer, served, growing the way. Through that, through those seasons of serving as a volunteer and doing life and all these things in that, I got closer to Christ. The more and more I did it, and I realized that there is a great shepherd in our lives. Do you believe that, Church? We have a good shepherd.
'Therefore, as surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord , I will pay back your angry deeds with my own. I will punish you for all your acts of anger, envy, and hatred. And I will make myself known to Israel by what I do to you. Then you will know that I, the Lord , have heard every contemptuous word you spoke against the mountains of Israel. For you said, ‘They are desolate; they have been given to us as food to eat!’ In saying that, you boasted proudly against me, and I have heard it all! “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The whole world will rejoice when I make you desolate. ' Ezekiel 35:11-14 (NLT)
So I want to share with you this morning passage from Ezekiel. Chapter 35, verses 11 to 14, and it says this, I myself, the Lord says, I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel, from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and all the places where people live. Yes, I, I will give them good pasture land on the high hills of Israel. They will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.
How about that? In this passage here, God speaks to his people Israel through the prophet Ezekiel, declaring his intention to personally care for his scattered and broken sheep. This is a time when Israel experienced both physical and spiritual exile, a time when the people were dispersed, lost, forgotten, and longing for restoration.
Today, I want to share with you, church, what I believe is the most comforting, powerful images in the Bible, the image of God as our shepherd. Amen. Title of my message, Gathering the Scattered. That's a mouthful, isn't it? That's why I only say it once and then move on before you stuff it up.Those that know me, you guys, good work for it, good on you.
But why does God liken us to sheep? Apparently, we're very similar. We've been doing a lot of research this week, church. We're very similar. Just like sheep, we like community, right? We never want to be alone. We like community. We like to be together in the flock. We, we like to be cared for. Alex cares for four. Yep, we're this, we're not, you don't not do this, right? Cared for, we're fed, right? We're safe, right? We have a place of refuge, place of love, right?
But there is one similarity, which really, which I believe is every single one of us here. Sheep have lack of direction. They will follow whoever's leading them, even if it leads them off the cliff. We've heard this, if your friend jumps off the cliff, would you do it too? The sheep would. The sheep would. Oh, where are you guys going? Oh, we're just jumping off the cliff. Okay, I'm coming. I'm coming. Where are you going? Oh, just walking on the Monash freeway at peak hour traffic. Oh, I'm coming too. There's no one leading. Who's leading who?
My dear wife, where is she? She's still a runner. My darling wife, lack of direction. She cannot do the GPS, read a map, all those things. So whenever we drive to a new place, we've never been to, maybe in the city or whatever, I say to her, okay, I'm driving, you are the navigator. In our roles as I drive, you tell me where to drive. Without fail, we're lost every single time. And we have instances where she's like, oh, turn left, honey. Turn left, honey. Oh, no, I mean the right. Turn right. And she goes, oh, actually we're on the wrong road. And the whole time she's going like this with the phone. Okay, what are you doing? Oh, the map keeps on moving. And in my head, I'm thinking, you know what, I realised the phone's probably actually confused as well, right? And I remember one time, we got lost in a state. And we get into a little argument, disagreement, she grabs the phone, she goes, that's it, I've had enough. And she put it down. And she goes, just follow that car. We don't even know them. You want us to follow a stranger? And she goes, no, I'm not going to do it anymore. No one is leading. Who is leading who?
Isn't this our lives, church? We can live a life of just going, ah, a bit all over the place, man. A lot happening. My life feels scattered. I don't know where to start. I don't even know who's leading who. And we can have moments of feeling lost and separated. But this morning, church, I want to tell you that there is a good shepherd who wants to lead you. There is a good shepherd that you serve, who wants to lead in your life.
I want to show you how God cares for his sheep, how he cares for you and I. This is the type of God we serve. This is the good shepherd. And he has promises in the book of Ezekiel.
He Searches For Us
And he's the first one. He searches for us. He searches for us. He doesn't wait. He doesn't have moments of, give me six months. I'm just going to reflect. I'm going to fast. I'm just going to sit there. He steps in. He searches for you. He searches for the lost flock. He finds them. He brings them home. He acts, declaring that he himself will take responsibility for the care of his people. This is the heart of the shepherd.
In verse 11, I myself will search and find my sheep. I myself. Not Pastor Alex, not Pastor Fua, not Jenny, not Russell back there. I myself, the Lord, the shepherd, will find his sheep. When his sheep are in danger, when his sheep are separated, lost, without a leader, he doesn't delegate. He doesn't delegate. He takes it on himself to go out in the wilderness, to go out to all these nations and find his flock. The leaders, the leaders, the so-called shepherds and priests and leaders that were supposed to shepherd these people failed them, corrupt and selfish. And you see in the beginning of chapter 34 in Ezekiel, it was very detailed how he felt about those leaders.
So then he goes on to say, I will, I will search. He takes, he personally takes on the responsibility. He actively seeks and cares for his people. He is present, committed, and involved in the lives of the flock.
In verse 12, it says this, I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. Rescue from all the places. If I look around this room, each and every single one of us has had a moment where God's come in and searched and rescued you. Amen. And I look across the room and the diversity of people from all over the world. God searched you, found you, brought you together for purpose. When a sheep sways from the flock, the flock keep going. But the shepherd finds the one that sways away, sways aside. The shepherd is the one that brings everything in alignment. The shepherd is the one that brings the loss, but the rest of the flock, they're still going.
Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep, which directly echoes Ezekiel's message. And Luke, if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? When he leave the 99 others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it. And when he has found it, he would joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. This illustrates Jesus' mission to seek out and rescue the lost, just as promised in Ezekiel.
Are you living out your life to shepherd others, church? Are you prepared to leave your 99 to search for the one you're called to shepherd? We can do family, we can do free coffee, we can do morning tea, but the purpose of God searching you and searching your heart every time is there is a greater purpose for you. There is a greater purpose of the gathering. There's a greater purpose for you to be a part of the flock. It's not just to follow wherever they go. It's to go, I'm going to follow my purpose. I'm going to follow this big vision. I'm going to follow Christ himself. Is that the shepherd you follow, church? That's the shepherd I follow.
Time and time again in my lives in the past, in that sway, left, right, and center, all over the place. This is not the pastor Fua that the shepherd found many years ago. This is not him. I was drunk on the sidewalk at Cranbourne. He found me there. Where has he found you? What has he called you for? What is your purpose? When he searches you and he brings you back to the flock, do you know why? In your heart, do you know why? It's not to do just, you're just hanging out, just enjoying life. It's for a greater purpose. Amen.
That's the first thing. He never stops searching.
He Gathers And Provides For Us
The next thing we see here, he gathers and provides for us. Not only does God search, but he gathers his flock all together. He brings them back to the heart of their shepherd, because gathering is not just a physical thing, but it's leading people together in a place of belonging, identity, and purpose. Isn't that something we crave? To be together. I've never met someone to say, Pastor Fua, I'm fired up for Jesus by myself. Have you met anyone like that? I'm starting a connect group because I'm fired up for Jesus by myself. We're not called to do by ourselves. We're called to gather together.
Verse 13, I will bring them back home. He's searched them, found them. He's bringing them back home to their own land of Israel from among the nations, peoples and nations. The NIV version, I love this part, how they use the word gather. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries and I will bring them into their own land. Their own land, a place of peace and security, a place of belonging.
He will bring you home. When you're scattered, when you're lost, when you feel like, what is my purpose? He will bring you home. He will care for you. He will love you, care for you, feed you, give you grace, all these wonderful things when he cares about his flock.
Pastor Narelle, my sister in Christ. This is Pastor Narelle, everyone. We give a hand, Pastor Narelle. She's doing a great job with her kids' ministry and her worship teams and they get connected. I've known her for many years, but I found out something about Pastor Narelle this week. She used to work with sheep. That's right. So I thought to myself, look, if I'm going to preach this message, I got to get my research on point, right? Because I look like someone that does research, right? Message Narelle. I said, Narelle, how do you work with sheep? So she sends me all the material and we're on the phone talking. And she goes, yeah, I used to care for them and feed them and make sure this, you know, they're safe, you know, give them shelter, give them food, you know, give them all the things you would do to care for sheep. And then she goes, then I'll eat them. And then she paused for a couple of seconds and she goes, oh, I don't eat the same one. I eat a different one. And it made me think, what if Pastor Fua was in Pastor Narelle's shoes? Fua, what are you doing? What are you rubbing on the sheep? I'm just caring for it. It's just a bit of rosemary, garlic, a hint of lemon, nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about. What are you doing that for? Because look, I like to marinate meat early in advance. In case there is a bushfire or something, I'm prepared, right? So there's no, I mean, this morning I said to Alex in the car, and it was a song, Lamb of God, Lamb of God. And she turns around, she goes, are you hungry? Yes, I am. Right. So I got an insight on what people do when they actually care for sheep. It is absolutely amazing. And she sends me all this material, sends me a video. And I think, and I think I know this video is a prime example of what God wants to do in our lives and what he does for everyone. And it was a story of a young man who moves to the country. He's got a farm, sheep, and that, and then he goes to buy more sheep. And he goes to the market, he goes to the shops and that. And it's what he says. He says this, I buy the skinny and weak ones. I look after them. I bring them home and I make them strong. Isn't that all of us? Weren't we weak, malnourished, with nothing? God searches us. He gathers us. Doesn't he make us strong in his presence? Isn't that true? That he doesn't just take you along the ride and go, enjoy the scenery. Here you go. He's like, nah, there's more to you, more to your life than just watching from the sidelines. There's more to your life than just going, happy scenery. I'm feeding you. I'm giving you something so you can boost your energy so your spiritual levels is ready to find the sheep outside the sheepfold.
And Ezekiel, after bringing his people home, he provides for them. The promise here is, it's not just for material provision, but for spiritual nourishment. God will provide his people with everything they need to thrive. He says this in verse 13, I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and all the places where people live. Yes, I will give them good pasture land on the high hills of Israel. They will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.
Something beautiful when you're gathered, isn't there church? Our growth nights, our last one this Wednesday. You know what I love about those growth nights? Every single one, every single person that comes, they're gathering in community. They're breaking bread. They're praying. They do it not only because they love to be a part of something greater, be a part of community. They do it because there is a purpose in the gathering. They are gathered for a purpose. That's why people come to growth nights. What is my purpose? I remember times in my life, man, before the Lord grabbed me, man, it's like, what is my purpose? What is my purpose? I, as a chef and did all the things that a chef does and achieved my goal of being an exec chef and running restaurants and catering places and all those types of things. I even cooked for Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, the movie, many years ago. If you don't know who the movie is, it's about a lion, witch and the wardrobe. So all those things there and I'm doing it for life, but financially I was fulfilled. I had friends. I had people reaching out, for you're awesome, man. You're really good at cooking. For you're awesome, man. You're great on the keys, all these things, but I was never really fulfilled. I never really had a purpose in my life. Surely it's more than just doing life. Is that you this morning, church? You feel like your life's scattered. You feel like that you're doing all the great things on the world and achieving your goals, go achieve them.
But the treasures of this world would never give you what the shepherd will. The dreams and aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder will never give you what the shepherd will give you. The shepherd searches your heart daily. He gathers you. He provides for you. Feeding, feeding, feeding. I will give them good pasture land. Feed in the lush pastures of the hills. Church, I want to ask you this morning, are you gathering for comfort or gathering for purpose? Are you gathering because your best friend is there? Are you gathering because all your family are just there and it's like, yep, we can do happy family? Or are you gathering because there is something deeper in your heart and there is a good shepherd that wants to do a work in you and lead you and bring you back to the flock?
Jesus will leave the 99 to find the one. Our heavenly father, our shepherd would always search for you, would never neglect you, would care and love for you. And if you're here right now and you're feeling, I'm here because I actually don't feel loved. I'm here because I actually don't have it all together. I'm here because I've lived such a heavy life and burdened by the weight of it and who could possibly love me? Because we can hide behind the facade church. I'm from the streets. I can see a facade. We can hide behind that. But the Lord wants to break through. He's searching to break through that, to say, I've gathered you. I'm providing for you. There is a greater purpose than you just being part of the flock. He wants that for you church. Do you want that?
He Restores Us
And my third thing is this. He has searched us, gathered, provided for us. He restores us, restores us, restores us from the brokenness, the stress, the separation we had from love made whole and complete. He restores a new spirit that reflects the loving heart of the shepherd.
'The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. ' Psalms 23:1-3 (NLT)
Psalms 23. Psalms 23, I believe, man. Who's here heard of Psalms 23 verses 1 to 3? The Lord is my shepherd. Raise your hands. Keep him there. You know what I love about this picture here? You're all in different stages. You're all in different stages, but each and every one of you are here going, I want to know the good shepherd. There is something powerful about knowing the good shepherd. Psalms 23, it says this, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness.
There is something beautiful when he restores your soul. Physical act of someone that's with a restored soul. It's like, it's like, there you are. It's like, yeah, you got me there. It's like, yep, yep, I'm coming back. Maybe you're here and you've swayed away a bit and you want to come back to the Father. There is a beautiful image of a restored soul. And many of our people here, you will see it on their lives. People with restored souls.
There was a story I came across about an actor and a priest, and they're in the classroom and the teacher goes to the actor, can you recite Psalms 23 for me? And the actor comes up all cheerful, a bit of razzle-dazzle, a bit of sidestep, a bit of all of this jazz. And he goes, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And everyone is up and everyone's cheering for him. And there is a vibe in the room and he's just passionate and a bit of this, a bit of that. The teacher goes to the old man at the back, to the priest. He says, sir, can you recite Psalms 23 for me, please? Comes up. And he goes this, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Teacher goes to the actor, what's the difference between you reciting Psalms 23 and the priest? The actor goes, oh, that's easy. I know Psalms 23, but he knows the shepherd. I know Psalms 23, but he knows the shepherd. There is something powerful about knowing the shepherd. Knowing the shepherd takes time. It takes patience. It takes humility. It takes love and grace. It takes a humble heart, not just to serve, but to keep serving. It's a process. It's a process that happens again and again and again. That's why some people fall short, backslidden. This process is not easy. It requires all of you to continue to go through it to know the shepherd. It's an ongoing process. You spiritually mature through your years of going through the process.
I look around this room and there's something beautiful about knowing the shepherd. And there's this idea of keep coming back, keep coming back. Pastor Trevor will say this pretty much every week, bring it back, bring it back to Jesus. Pastor Frank, lead pastor Casey, that guy is hitting on 60, 70, whatever he is, man. But he's got a heart of a 16 year old, right? Like this guy is on fire, man, at the men's breakfast. You know what I saw him doing? He's carting tables and chairs by himself, by himself. And then I see my nephew. He's about 15, 16, whatever he is. He goes to Frank and they both do it. Very different, different age, different personality. Frank smiles, my nephew just looks at me, right? But they're both on the process of knowing the father. There's something beautiful about our connect together. Helena, Marcus, the team, the scones. See, straight away to food. What is it? Scones. It's good scones though.
You know the thing about our elders? You know why they're here? They're not here because they got nothing to do. You know why they continue to serve today? It's because of the ongoing process of knowing the father. There is something special about going through resilience and perseverance and having courage in your down moments. There's something beautiful about it when the shepherd comes through. When the shepherd comes through, he comes through. There is no second then. I myself will search is the Lord's word. I myself. Do you know the good shepherd? The good shepherd I'm talking about here, the good shepherd in Ezekiel, the good shepherd in Luke and the good shepherd in John. Is that the same shepherd moving in your life today?
Our faithful servants across the board, not just here, in all our locations. Faithful. They want to serve. But not just serve because their leaders ask them to. Not just serve because their lead pastor's asked them or whatever the story is. They serve because again, there's an ongoing process. They want to know the father again and again and again. They want to have courage and strength to know if I go through my tough time, I know where the shepherd is. When I go through my tough time, I know my shepherd's voice. You try and do life alone and all these things and then you go for your tough times and go, oh, someone's trying to, I don't know. I can't, I don't know what the shepherd's voice sounds like.
Ella, Ella, she's not here this morning. She got replaced of her dad back there. If you can, everyone turn around. So we've got our newbie on the media. Have grace for him, guys, all right? Just have, he's serving God. Ella, Ella goes to me, she's playing keys at Hastings, a young girl. So our family at Hastings could have live worship. Every time I ask her, without fail, whatever you need. She texts me and says, she goes, hey, Fua, how am I getting to Hastings? I respond back, as a leader would, the Holy Spirit of God will take you. And I can picture her, because she knows me really well, and my niece and nephew are like, oh man, this guy cannot just give a straight answer for once. Well, his presence takes you. But what I love about Ella is that just because her parents are lead pastors, senior pastors, she has to journey and go through the process herself of knowing who the shepherd is.
Well, look at our young people. They don't just serve here. Our worship team, there's many of you guys that know about our worship team. Many of them, every single month, they go out to other locations so our brothers and sisters can have live worship. They're not here just to worship and bring the atmosphere to this building. What they want to do, they want to be a vessel so the presence of God travels. They want to be a vessel. Use me, here I am, send me.
The sheep know their shepherd. The sheep, even sheep, when they sway, the shepherd comes through. And the sheep are like, oh yeah, bring me back, bring me back. Is this you here right now? You just want to cry to the Father and go, man, I'm at church every week. I'm serving everywhere, but there's something deep in my soul that I need restored. And I need to know that there is a shepherd.
' “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. ' John 10:14-16 (NLT)
In John 10, I believe Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God's heart to be shepherd. And Jesus says this in John 10, for I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me. Just as my Father knows me, I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep too. They are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice and there will be one flock with one shepherd. Isn't that the truth? That Jesus Christ is your shepherd, your Lord and Savior. The place of rest, the place of peace, the place of comfort. And your place of hardships and your grief and whatever it is you're going through, isn't the good shepherd a place of refuge, a safe haven?
This is the Father's heart for all His sheep to be part of His sheepfold. When He restores our soul, He brings us back to Him so we can be one flock with one shepherd. You feeling separated this morning, church? In your life right now, in the business of your life, do you feel separated from Christ? I see some of you here and the tears are falling. Can I tell you now that we have a good shepherd that will comfort you. We have a good shepherd in Jesus Christ that will love you, that will care for you and that will bring you into His sheepfold. He searches you for purpose, He gathers you for greater purpose, He provides for you to give you strength so you're able to go out and shepherd those and bring them to the sheepfold. Isn't that our calling, our mission? To make disciples, to find the lost. It's not for us, it's not for me to say to Trevor, Trevor, look, I've got 20 people I saved, how many you got this week? It's none of that, it's an ongoing process. The glory and praise is the Father, not yours.
But there is something beautiful about being part of His flock, is that you get to do it together. One flock, one shepherd. Isn't this what you desire, church? Deep down in your heart to be part of something greater than yourself. Are you willing to sacrifice your own needs for the needs of the shepherd? It's a big one here. Are you willing to sacrifice your own needs for the needs of the shepherd? Being part of the sheepfold is just one thing. But if you can't sacrifice the things in your life to pursue the call on yours for Jesus, are you really part of the sheepfold? We're not gathered for comfort. We're not in the sheepfold just because we can say, oh yeah, we know Jesus, that's it. It's an ongoing process of seeing lives change. It's an ongoing process of seeing God work in your life. He's worked through my life. This is not. This is an ongoing process. I'm an ongoing process. So are you, church.
Do you have a good shepherd leading your life this morning? Do you have a good shepherd that makes you smile in the morning? Even in your hurt, do you have a good shepherd which makes you reflect and go, I have a heart of gratitude. I don't have much, but I have my hallelujah. Do you have that shepherd, church?
The team behind me are going to finish off the service with a song. But before that, I want everyone to close their eyes to me, please. Each and every one of you. Is called for something greater. There is a good shepherd that searches for you. Even when you forget about him. Even when you sway from the flock, there is a good shepherd. And he calls you. He calls you, come, come to me. Keep coming back to me. In your heart, like I'm here. That's my burden to carry, not yours. I, myself, will search your heart daily. You're not called to carry this burden alone, church. And I see some of you here and the tears are coming down. I can see it on you. And I want to ask you this morning, church, if there's anyone here and you go, you know what, I don't know this Jesus, but I want to find out who he is. I want to know who this good shepherd is. I want to ask you, can you please raise your hand? No one's looking. Raise your hand. I see you, brother. I see you, sister. I see you, sister, at the back. I see you there. I see you there, sister. There is a beautiful father that loves you, cares for you, that has grace for you. That covers everything in your life. There is a good father that awaits. He knows you. He knows you by name and he wants you to know him this morning, church. Let this be your prayer. When you live your lives and you live your lives for Jesus, is that you are never alone. You have a shepherd that searches for you. You have a shepherd that gathers you, brings you in community, united. He feeds you. He gives you good pastures. And then once you get that within your heart, there is a, my soul is restored.
So this morning, father, I pray that you would just have your way and continue to have your way, that you are the good shepherd, that you would continue to lead everyone in this place. That you would continue to build shepherds in this place, father, to seek out others that are not in your sheepfold. For your word says, I am the good shepherd. And I pray that you will continue to give us a resilient heart, a heart to keep going, a heart to keep coming back to Christ. I pray this over your people, father, your flock this morning. I pray that you would have your way. I pray that you will continue to search their hearts daily, Lord God. And I pray, and I pray, father, you will continue to put in their hearts something greater than what they see right now. For there is a greatness ahead of us, Lord. And may your love, your grace, and the care that you have for your flock continue, even when our lives are scattered, father. You would bring us home to your own land, a place of love, a refuge, and a shelter, Lord. Jesus' name we pray, church.Amen.
Why don't we stand? The team are going to sing this song before we finish up. Who else? If there's no one else but Jesus. Let this be your prayer this morning, church.
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