I AM the Shepherd Blake Jennings April 17, 2016 John 10:118,2730 Turn to John 10 Would you rather be called a Leader or a Follower? We all follow someone, and nowhere in the Bible is that more clear than when God calls us SHEEP Read 10:11 o Jesus = good shepherd; People = sheep o Those of us who know Jesus who believe are His sheep A common way that God describes humans in the Bible, but NEVER a COMPLIMENT! o Defenseless small, no fangs or claws fuzzy marshmallow easy lunch for any predator lions, bears, dogs, even large birds! even insects flies bother a sheep so badly that it will ram its head into a tree o Foolish sheep will wander away from the shepherd and fall down a ravine they ll drink from polluted puddles, and eat poisonous plants don t think for themselves; follow each other right into the road Sheep must follow a shepherd b/c they are helpless on their own just like us! o that s the first thing God wants to teach us about ourselves we are sheep o we act like we are competent, wise, selfsufficient but we aren t o we may fool others into believing we re more than sheep may even fool ourselves o but we don t fool God He knows are weak and foolish sheep who need a shepherd We WILL all follow someone it s in our genes. Key to life = choosing the right person to follow! 1
In this passage, we are told to follow Jesus. But why should we? Read 10:115,2730 Gives us 3 answers to the question. Why follow Jesus? Because He is a 1. SELFLESS Shepherd Story includes 4 types of people: shepherd, sheep, thief, hired hand o Thieves are actively selfish: take from others, sheep suffer o Hired hands are passively selfish: don t try to hurt sheep but care more about themselves than sheep We ve just described 90% of the people in leadership in this country! o Some are thieves: break laws, bend rules, hurt people to get ahead o Most are hired hands: not trying to hurt people just don t care much about them Care more about themselves than about the people they lead = bosses who care more about their bonuses than about their employees = politicians more about electability than about good of the governed = professors who care more about their reputations than about their students o Most of our leaders are more focused on their needs than on our good Jesus is exactly the opposite He is utterly selfless He always seeks the good of His sheep o v3 leads them out When we think of shepherds from Western world drive their sheep Pig Eastern world shepherds lead their sheep Walk in front, lead them to pasture, protect, scout, take the risk o Furthermore: in ancient world shepherding was not 95 shepherds lived with sheep Watered by hand Carried injured or sick sheep over their shoulders At night slept lying across opening of sheep corral to keep and protect Part of what Jesus means by calling Himself the door of the sheep o Jesus is the kind of shepherd who ALWAYS seeks the good of those He leads On the job 24/7 not to enrich Himself, gain votes, enlarge bonus He genuinely cares for all those who follow Him 2
o Constantly anticipating & providing our every need Ezekiel 34:1115 Jesus cares for our every need just like God promised If you follow Jesus and don t have something you think you need It s because you must not really need it at least not this moment He cares for us but not in a generic sense we re not just one big flock to Jesus He knows every sheep by name and cares for each of us individually o V3 He calls His own sheep by name o Ancient shepherds spent so much time w/ sheep had a name for each one could tell them apart at a distance o Jesus doesn t know you in a generic sense as a man or woman who attends Grace o He knows you personally, by name He knows everything about you Psalm 139:14 Jesus knows everything about you past, present, future Your deeds, public, private; your words; your thoughts; your motives He knows you better than you know yourself o Amazing: knows everything about us, even shameful stuff, still serves us every day! He is the selfless Shepherd the only consistently selfless leader you will find in this life! o That s the 1 st reason He is worthy of us following Him. Here s the 2 nd 3
2. SACRIFICIAL Shepherd Read v11 Lays down His life for His sheep o for = on behalf of or for the sake of o The sheep are in mortal danger about to die o Good shepherd steps in front of them and suffers the danger for them o That s the cross: Jesus suffered the punishment of sin so that we don t have to o Isa 53:56 o He took our place and died for us Why? Why would a shepherd be willing to lay down His life for sheep? o we re so far below Him worth infinitely less than Jesus why would He die for us? Because He treasures us! o Dt 26:18a o Earthly shepherd treasured his sheep all his wealth was wrapped up in his sheep o Jesus looks at us that way we are His treasure = what He values most in this world not gold, stocks, bonds, nice cars, fancy houses, real estate us! o Jesus loves us above all else in this world that s why He was willing to die for us Love motivates sacrifice o I m a parent there s much I have sacrificed for children $, time, emotional health But I m happy to make that sacrifice b/c I love them I treasure my kids even when they disobey, whine, fight, run headfirst into my groin I would lay down my life for my kids because I treasure them That is how Jesus feels about you He died for you b/c He treasures you! Didn t do it out of obligation or guilt He did it out of love o A good shepherd loves his sheep and no shepherd ever loved his sheep more than Jesus loves us! That s the good news we call the GOSPEL o Jesus was willing to take the punishment of sin in our place die rise o Why He s better than all other leaders: willing to sacrifice self for foolish sheep like us 4
3. SOVEREIGN Shepherd Read 10:12 Hired hands cut and run when danger approaches they re worthless shepherds o Zach 11:17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! Good shepherds don t run when it gets dangerous they fight! o Look at this shepherd long staff is a weapon rods, clubs w/ nails, slings Jesus is the kind of Shepherd who stays and fights But more than that He s the kind who ALWAYS WINS! o Read 10:2830 o No one can steal a sheep from Jesus hands o Why? Because Jesus and the Father are ONE = of one essence what God is, Jesus is A Trinity verse Jesus is equal to the Father in Divinity o Jesus is an invincible shepherd b/c He is Almighty / Sovereign / Creator / King This is another reason why Jesus calls Himself the door in v9 no one can get by Jesus o We re in the sheep fold; our enemies are outside Jesus is the impregnable door Not a promise of PHYSICAL protection from car accidents, cancer, violence About SPIRITUAL protection no one can steal eternal life from us This is a promise of eternal security = once saved, always saved o Jesus hands are so strong that nothing can pull us away from Him including us!! o Lots of people are confused about that Sure, Satan bad people death can t steal my salvation But if I walk away if I stop obeying or believing I ll lose eternal life o No!! You re a sheep! Sheep don t get to choose to just leave the flock! You belong to Jesus and He will keep you in His flock forever no matter what o Proof: Rom 8:3839 What can separate us from saving love of God in Jesus = Salvation, eternal life? A: no created thing that s you! You do not have the power or authority to forfeit eternal life Salvation is a gift you can t return; no exchanges! o Once saved, always saved b/c you don t have authority to lose or give back salvation If you believed in Jesus at some point in the past you have eternal life and can never lose it o no matter what you say or do or think or believe o once in the flock, always in the flock in this life and the next! 5
So let me ask you a few questions Are you part of His flock? o John 20:31 o Jesus offers eternal life as a free gift with no strings attached will never take back o All you must do is choose to believe that He is God s Son who died and rose Are you following Him? o If you have believed, then you are His sheep but sheep can be stubborn! Wander from the shepherd; resist the shepherd Never works out well for sheep! Hurt falling down ravine; sick from poison plants, dirty water The shepherd always knows best sheep are foolish to resist! o But we re pretty foolish a lot of the time! Like a sheep that thinks it knows better than the shepherd We make foolish decisions that can bring us pain o In the last few months where have you not followed Jesus? Doing something sinful He doesn t want you to do anger, lust, drinking much Avoiding something good He wants you to do serving, working hard, giving o I want you to think for a moment about WHY you rebel why are you disobeying? I think Oswald Chambers had the answer Why do I get angry when my kids make me late? I don t trust Jesus to work the situation out for my good I need to be in charge, make my life work you kids got in my way! Same reason a married man struggles with lust We don t trust that we already have all we need No! Life is not fair! I deserve more! I deserve an escape! The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good can t be trusted o So spend some time TODAY thinking about that area of rebellion in your life 1) Identify the lie: What lie is leading you to give in to this sin? That He s not good to you, doesn t love you? That He doesn t care about this sin? That He can t or won t provide for your legitimate needs? That you know better than Him? 2) Confess the lie to Jesus name it, admit it, no excuses for it 3) Ask Jesus to help you believe truth and trust Him 6
Are you shepherding others? o Jesus has a fascinating conversation with Peter after the resurrection o Read John 21:16 o Jesus had a job for Peter; has same job for us: become shepherds like Him care for those who are spiritually younger serve the flock like Jesus did o I ve asked Trey to share a few ways you can get connected and serve 7