Called by Name. John 10:1-18

Transcription

1 Called by Name John 10:1-18

2 Chevy Cruze Commercial STAN!

3 Names are Important Do we really want a life where nobody knows our name? I don t think so. I think MOST of us like to be recognized by name. The GOOD NEWS this morning is that Christ knows everyone here by name.

4 Names God Knows Gen 17:5 God said- "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations." Exod. 3:4 - "When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses, Moses!"

5 Names God Knows Lk. 19:5 In Jericho, Jesus "looked up [into the Sycamore Tree] and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." And on the road to Damascus- Acts 9:4 Jesus said; "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

6 John 10:1-10 In John 10, Jesus describes Himself as our Shepherd, the Shepherd of the flock, the Shepherd of His church. And again, that we are not just anonymous numbers, but specific individuals whom Christ knows and loves.

7 O.T. Allusions He leads us to green pastures and still waters. (Ps. 23) He feeds His flock and leads us to rest," declares the Lord GOD. (Ezek, 34:15) adding in verse 30 "Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord GOD.

8 Ps. 100:3 Know that the LORD himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; {we are} His people and the sheep of His pasture.

9 Shepherds vrs. Hired Hands In Jn. 10:11-13 The Good Shepherd lays down his life for His sheep. But a hired hand abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

10 Jesus, Our Shepherd But Jesus is our protector, our defender our Savior. With his rod and his staff (PS 23), his tools of discipline and guidance, He Shepherds us through life s challenges, through adversity and trial, all the way through the valley of the shadow of death.

11 Jesus, Our Shepherd Jesus is the Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) The chief Shepherd in (1 Pet. 5:4) In Rev. 7:17 He is even the Lamb... (which) will be their Shepherd.

12 He Knows My Name Of the billions of people on earth, Jesus owns me but it is only those who answer His calling in faith, who are baptized into His name, who will be saved.

13 John 10:1-6 1 Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. (That would be the Pharisees and all those who seek to interject their own teachings over the simple Gospel)

14 John 10:1-6 2 The one who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep. (That s Jesus. He is saying that He is the One Shepherd of the One flock that God counts as His own. The only One who can rightfully and faithfully open the door into Heaven and be the mediator between God and man.)

15 John 10: The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all his own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.

16 John 10: But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger s voice. Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

17 The Good News today Jesus is the Shepherd of the New Testament Church. We are His sheep. He knows us. We can know Him. And if we know Him, we must obey His voice. He is our Shepherd, the One source or Way into Heaven, (Jn. 14:6 & Matt 7:13).

18 John 10:14-18 I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father THAT S INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE!

19 John 10:14-18 To say that God knows a person in this way refers to His unique knowledge of them as an individual soul.

20 John 10:14-18 It is abundantly clear that know here, as so often in Scripture, means more than a general understanding of them; it includes a deeply personal understanding of that person s faith and the commitment behind it.

21 John 10:14-18 And I lay down my life for the sheep. The Pharisees thought Jesus was crazy (vrs.19)

22 In John 12:27 Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

23 In John 15:13-14 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. "You are My friends, if you do what I command you.

24 RE. The Gentiles 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. It s a ref. to the prophecy of Ezek. 34:11-13

25 RE. The Gentiles Ezek. 34: For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a Shepherd cares for His herd in the day when He is among His scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

26 RE. The Gentiles Ezek. 34: And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

27 The Jewish Hirelings In Ezek. 34:11-13 Israel shepherds, their leaders, were not leading men to God. They were not feeding them. They were FLEECING them.

28 John 10:17-18 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

29 One True Mediator It is a marvelous thing to be known by the Shepherd, known by name. But it also means we must know Him. We must live for Him.

30 Matt. 25:31-33 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; (*judgment scene)

31 Matt. 25:31-33 [Then] He will separate them from one another, as the Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right hand (Heaven), and the goats on the left hand (Hell).

32 Rev. 3:1-5 1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.

33 Rev. 3:1-5 3 'Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep {it,} and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. 4 'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy.

34 Rev. 3:1-5 5 'He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. Names are important!

35 The Good Shepherd When Christ calls all the faithful into His Eternal home, will he call your name? Are YOU one of His Sheep? Come Follow Him today!