1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,280 Well, once again, we're glad you're here today and thank you for your patience and bearing 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:13,320 with us as we do the best we can under the limited circumstances allowed by the amount 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:19,400 of power we're able to get into our building. Would you open your Bible, please, to John 4 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:32,160 chapter 10 as we think together regarding the majesty of Jesus Christ as our shepherd. 5 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:35,200 We'll read the words of our Lord in the first half of the chapter. 6 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:42,960 Truly, truly I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, 7 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:50,200 which climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door 8 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:56,080 is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he 9 00:00:56,080 --> 00:01:04,020 calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes 10 00:01:04,020 --> 00:01:11,320 before them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. And a stranger they simply 11 00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:17,680 will not follow but will flee from him because they do not know the voice of strangers. This 12 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,760 figure of speech, Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things 13 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:29,380 were which he had been saying to them. Jesus therefore said to them again, truly, truly 14 00:01:29,380 --> 00:01:36,680 I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, 15 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:43,440 but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall 16 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:51,160 be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and 17 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:57,560 kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. I am the good 18 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:04,480 shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and 19 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:10,180 not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming and leaves 20 00:02:10,180 --> 00:02:16,640 the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he 21 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:22,720 is a hireling and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd. And I know 22 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:30,120 my own and my own know me, even as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay 23 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:37,040 down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring 24 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:43,740 them also and they shall hear my voice, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. 25 00:02:43,740 --> 00:02:50,120 For this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. 26 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:56,620 No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority 27 00:02:56,620 --> 00:03:03,360 to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from 28 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:09,340 my Father. As I thought about this passage of scripture, I thought it was remarkable 29 00:03:09,340 --> 00:03:17,480 in one sense that Jesus compares himself here to a shepherd. We tend to romanticize the 30 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:23,240 life of a shepherd, perhaps because of the Sunday School stories that all of us are familiar 31 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:31,500 with concerning David, the shepherd boy with his sling and the giant that he brought down. 32 00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:37,560 But despite the honorable people who are mentioned in the Bible as shepherds, and those would 33 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:50,040 include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the prophet Amos, despite them, in Jesus' day 34 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:57,360 the occupation of a shepherd was considered a lowly one. It was the bottom rung of the 35 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:06,200 ladder of vocations, we might say. Shepherds were known as tough and rugged men. They were 36 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:14,060 typically not very clean, nor were they at all refined. And so I say that in one sense 37 00:04:14,060 --> 00:04:20,820 it's surprising that Jesus would identify himself as a shepherd. But on the other hand 38 00:04:20,820 --> 00:04:28,680 it's not surprising at all because Jesus always went out of his way to identify with the outcasts 39 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:38,420 of society. Why did he do that? Well, perhaps it was because often those who are the outcasts 40 00:04:38,420 --> 00:04:48,840 of society are more sensitive to their spiritual needs and seek hope beyond the world that 41 00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:54,980 they're living in. As you look at those who are receiving the gospel in the context of 42 00:04:54,980 --> 00:05:00,800 the whole world, you find what has always been true, that those who are the poorest 43 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:07,240 are those who are most receptive to the Savior. They have less that they have hope in in this 44 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:15,640 world, less that they can depend upon. And so they are more open to the Savior. Jesus 45 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:23,060 elevated and dignified the role of a shepherd by identifying himself as the good shepherd. 46 00:05:23,060 --> 00:05:29,280 And as you may know, the New Testament builds upon this concept calling him the chief shepherd, 47 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:36,540 as we read in 1 Peter 5 together, and also the great shepherd, as the writer of Hebrews 48 00:05:36,540 --> 00:05:46,220 calls him. The majesty of Jesus Christ is to be found in this role as the shepherd of 49 00:05:46,220 --> 00:05:54,000 the soul. It was Isaiah who declared that we are all like sheep who have gone astray. 50 00:05:54,000 --> 00:06:02,500 He says each one of us has turned to his own way. Jesus himself, observing the multitudes 51 00:06:02,500 --> 00:06:11,760 that were seeking him, compared them to distressed and downcast sheep who were lacking a shepherd. 52 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:19,580 And the apostle Peter reflected that you and I were like sheep, continually going astray, 53 00:06:19,580 --> 00:06:27,860 but we have now returned to the shepherd and the guardian of our souls. The most important 54 00:06:27,860 --> 00:06:38,460 need of every human is to realize that truth. That is, one's own true lostness, one's helplessness 55 00:06:38,460 --> 00:06:49,580 as though a sheep, our inability to help ourselves, to save ourselves, to come into a right relationship 56 00:06:49,580 --> 00:06:57,760 with God by our own efforts. That is the most important need we have to realize that. Because 57 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:06,700 that will bring us to see that we need the good shepherd. Jesus is like the shepherd 58 00:07:06,700 --> 00:07:12,220 in the parable that he told of the one shepherd who had a hundred sheep, but who, finding 59 00:07:12,220 --> 00:07:18,020 that he had lost one, went back out into the night there to search for the one that was 60 00:07:18,020 --> 00:07:25,940 lost. Jesus came into the world to seek lost ones. To seek and to save that which is lost 61 00:07:25,940 --> 00:07:33,380 is the way that he put it. As we think about his majesty as the shepherd of our souls, 62 00:07:33,380 --> 00:07:38,980 I'd like for us to think of three aspects of it. These arise out of our text in John 63 00:07:38,980 --> 00:07:48,380 chapter 10. The first is the wonder of his majesty as our shepherd, the wonder of it. 64 00:07:48,380 --> 00:07:55,700 The wonder might be capsulated in this word, that he truly loves his sheep. That stands 65 00:07:55,700 --> 00:08:02,460 in contrast to the thief and the robber that Jesus mentions in our text. Thieves and robbers 66 00:08:02,460 --> 00:08:10,620 come only to exploit. Their only desire is to achieve their own ends. That's all they're 67 00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:19,940 interested in. They care not for those that they rob. They come to kill, to steal, to 68 00:08:19,940 --> 00:08:27,820 destroy, says Jesus in verse 10. But the good shepherd is not like that. Nor is the good 69 00:08:27,820 --> 00:08:35,260 shepherd like the hireling that Jesus speaks about. The hireling has no sense of responsibility 70 00:08:35,260 --> 00:08:42,180 or ownership for that matter. In verses 12 and 13, Jesus talks about the hired man as 71 00:08:42,180 --> 00:08:49,500 being one who runs when he sees the pack of wild dogs approaching. His response says, 72 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:56,780 hey I'm hired to feed the sheep, I'm not hired to fend off the dogs, and he runs. He 73 00:08:56,780 --> 00:09:07,020 sees himself as but rented out to care for these sheep. It reminds me that it's important 74 00:09:07,020 --> 00:09:15,820 how we view the jobs that we have. Hopefully none of us are like thieves and robbers who 75 00:09:15,820 --> 00:09:21,300 are only interested in exploiting the company that we work for or the person that we are 76 00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:28,320 employed by so that we can achieve our own selfish ends. Hopefully we would never be 77 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:35,060 like that and hopefully too we would be more than mere hirelings. People who are hired 78 00:09:35,060 --> 00:09:44,900 to do the basic minimal job and that's it. But we see ourselves there to be a good testimony. 79 00:09:44,900 --> 00:09:50,420 We see ourselves there to get the job done that we've been hired to do and then more. 80 00:09:50,420 --> 00:10:00,020 That whatever we do, we do it as unto the Lord and not just our employer or the boss. 81 00:10:00,020 --> 00:10:07,980 Well Jesus says that he loves his sheep. Unlike the thieves, the robbers, the hirelings, as 82 00:10:07,980 --> 00:10:15,660 the good shepherd, he loves his sheep. May I say that if you serve Jesus Christ as a 83 00:10:15,660 --> 00:10:26,540 shepherd of other people, beware of falling into the trap of exploitation of them. Or 84 00:10:26,540 --> 00:10:33,620 doing only the basics that you have to do to get by. But those of us who are the teachers 85 00:10:33,620 --> 00:10:39,860 of Sunday school classes or the ministry pastors of small churches or the leaders of discipleship 86 00:10:39,860 --> 00:10:49,040 groups or elders or pastors, we who have some responsibility of shepherding, let's see ourselves 87 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:58,660 as Jesus saw himself as a good shepherd who loves his sheep. That he loved his sheep was 88 00:10:58,660 --> 00:11:07,820 made clear by what he did on our behalf. He says, I came that they might have life. He 89 00:11:07,820 --> 00:11:15,860 is the shepherd of love. He came to seek our good and our benefit. That's what real love 90 00:11:15,860 --> 00:11:25,620 does. Love does not seek its own selfish fulfillment. Jesus didn't say, I came that I might gain 91 00:11:25,620 --> 00:11:34,820 something. But he says in verse 10, I came that they might have life. That's the way 92 00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:40,380 real love is. I'd like to stop there for just a moment and pull out that thought to 93 00:11:40,380 --> 00:11:49,700 apply to relationships that we can sometimes get into. Romantic relationships, for example. 94 00:11:49,700 --> 00:11:55,140 Young ladies sometimes hear young men say, look, if you loved me, you would do this because 95 00:11:55,140 --> 00:12:03,580 I have this need to be fulfilled. When there is that kind of statement, you can mark it 96 00:12:03,580 --> 00:12:13,180 down immediately that that is not love. That is lust. Because you see, love does not seek 97 00:12:13,180 --> 00:12:25,340 its own fulfillment. It seeks the benefit and the good of the other party. Some of you 98 00:12:25,340 --> 00:12:32,680 men may work in offices where you have ladies, perhaps co-workers, who come to you and begin 99 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:40,620 to pour out their story of woe about the way things are at home. And you sense that there 100 00:12:40,620 --> 00:12:44,900 is a bit of a snare being thrown out there to see if you might step into it. And indeed, 101 00:12:44,900 --> 00:12:50,500 you know that you could exploit that if you desired to, because here is a vulnerable and 102 00:12:50,500 --> 00:13:01,700 hurting person. Love does not seek its own fulfillment. Love does what is truly best 103 00:13:01,700 --> 00:13:12,420 for the other. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. I love my sheep. I came that they might have 104 00:13:12,420 --> 00:13:22,020 life. Love does not consider the cost that must be paid, but the value of the one who 105 00:13:22,020 --> 00:13:27,980 is loved. That is how Jesus looked at us. He did not shirk the cross, though that was 106 00:13:27,980 --> 00:13:36,940 the price of his love. But he looked at us and considered us valuable. So that while 107 00:13:36,940 --> 00:13:44,460 we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The songwriter has captured it with the words, 108 00:13:44,460 --> 00:13:54,380 the wonder of it all, oh the wonder of it all, just to think that God loves me. You 109 00:13:54,380 --> 00:14:04,220 see, we were not sheep that were obedient, content, and peaceful. But we were lost sheep, 110 00:14:04,220 --> 00:14:12,580 hostile, wild, and rebellious sheep, undeserving of that love. Nonetheless, the good shepherd 111 00:14:12,580 --> 00:14:19,020 came. Oh, the wonder that he should love us enough to do that. 112 00:14:19,020 --> 00:14:25,100 So that brings us to the second aspect of the majesty of him as shepherd. It is his 113 00:14:25,100 --> 00:14:34,220 will as the shepherd. It's what he chose to do on our behalf, his willingness to sacrifice 114 00:14:34,220 --> 00:14:42,700 on our behalf, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He willfully took two 115 00:14:42,700 --> 00:14:52,220 actions. Deeds were not forced upon him. He was not coerced by man or by God, his father. 116 00:14:52,220 --> 00:14:58,480 But he willingly, of his own initiative, took two actions on our behalf. By his own will, 117 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:05,380 first of all, he laid down his life. At least three times in our text we see him saying 118 00:15:05,380 --> 00:15:13,500 that, I lay down my life for the sheep. You see, that's what was necessary, that his 119 00:15:13,500 --> 00:15:21,300 sheep might be delivered from a certain enemy that would destroy them, the enemy of sin 120 00:15:21,300 --> 00:15:30,180 and death. Make no mistake about it, his sheep were in eternal danger. And because of the 121 00:15:30,180 --> 00:15:36,100 great love that filled his heart, he willfully took the action of laying down his life on 122 00:15:36,100 --> 00:15:41,460 behalf of the sheep. A hireling will never do that. We cannot even speak of a thief 123 00:15:41,460 --> 00:15:48,660 or a robber. But here is a good shepherd, a shepherd who is so committed to his sheep 124 00:15:48,660 --> 00:15:57,540 that he is willing to die so that they might escape. And that's exactly what Jesus did. 125 00:15:57,540 --> 00:16:04,860 God majesty in this shepherd, this good shepherd who laid down his life. But there's a second 126 00:16:04,860 --> 00:16:11,420 action that he took. He says that he will take it up again, verse 18. I lay it down, 127 00:16:11,420 --> 00:16:18,860 I have authority to do that, and I have authority to take it up again, talking about his resurrection 128 00:16:18,860 --> 00:16:25,620 from the dead. He did what was essential that we might be delivered. For he had to die, 129 00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:32,980 but he also had to be alive to save us. And so he did both. He laid down his life to pay 130 00:16:32,980 --> 00:16:39,740 the price that we might be delivered from our sins, condemnation and death. And then 131 00:16:39,740 --> 00:16:47,180 he raised himself from the dead by his own authority. And in raising himself from the 132 00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:56,220 dead, he now lives forever to save those that come to God by him. So here is a shepherd 133 00:16:56,220 --> 00:17:05,740 who was willing to lay himself down, not merely in principle, but in point of action, to lay 134 00:17:05,740 --> 00:17:14,220 himself down on behalf of the sheep and to be raised again on their behalf from the dead. 135 00:17:14,220 --> 00:17:19,200 So we've looked at the wonder of this shepherd and the will of the shepherd. Let's close 136 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:25,900 by looking at the work of the shepherd. It's threefold, as Jesus explains it to us in the 137 00:17:25,900 --> 00:17:34,100 larger context. Moving ahead to the latter part of the chapter, verses 27 and following. 138 00:17:34,100 --> 00:17:39,620 The work of the shepherd. I did not read these verses because we covered them in some detail 139 00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:45,300 a few weeks ago on a Sunday evening. But let's recapture some of the thoughts. The work of 140 00:17:45,300 --> 00:17:51,940 the shepherd in the first place, he describes as calling out his sheep. Look at verse 27. 141 00:17:51,940 --> 00:18:01,900 My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. He calls out his sheep. Jesus 142 00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:07,980 is drawing upon a very common picture from that day. When shepherds would bring their 143 00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:17,420 various flocks together for their overnight keeping. They would come together to a cave 144 00:18:17,420 --> 00:18:24,220 or perhaps to a sheep fold, either a permanent one or a temporary one made of bushes out 145 00:18:24,220 --> 00:18:29,860 in the fields. They would allow their flocks to mingle for the evening and they would rest 146 00:18:29,860 --> 00:18:35,620 that night. And then in the morning they had to separate the sheep again. And so one by 147 00:18:35,620 --> 00:18:42,980 one the shepherds would come to the gate of the fold. And there each one would yell with 148 00:18:42,980 --> 00:18:52,060 a particular call that the sheep would recognize. It would be distinct of that shepherd. They 149 00:18:52,060 --> 00:18:59,340 would recognize not only the call itself but the tone of the voice of their shepherd. And 150 00:18:59,340 --> 00:19:04,180 the shepherd's sheep would get up and come out from the other sheep to where he was at 151 00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:11,300 the gate. And he would put them out. He would even call many of them by name. Whatever the 152 00:19:11,300 --> 00:19:21,500 names may have been. Whitey. Come on Blacky. Let's go Spotted. Come on Aloysius. Whatever 153 00:19:21,500 --> 00:19:30,900 he called them. And as they came recognizing his voice they would follow him. Now Jesus 154 00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:38,780 applies that to himself. Who are these that he calls my sheep? Well as we look at the 155 00:19:38,780 --> 00:19:45,500 fuller context they are those who are given to him by the Father. They are those sheep 156 00:19:45,500 --> 00:19:53,020 that the Father has chosen to give to the Son. Those are Jesus' sheep. And he says, 157 00:19:53,020 --> 00:20:05,060 my sheep have an ear for my voice. They know me. And I know them. And they follow me. You 158 00:20:05,060 --> 00:20:12,500 see the proof that they are his sheep is the fact that they follow. The proof that one 159 00:20:12,500 --> 00:20:17,980 is a genuine Christian is not found in the fact that he can look back to a time when 160 00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:24,060 a prayer was prayed or he went forward in an invitation. Although I'm not knocking that. 161 00:20:24,060 --> 00:20:30,820 But the real proof that one is a genuine Christian is found in the fact that he follows the shepherd. 162 00:20:30,820 --> 00:20:36,940 That there's a pattern of continuance in his life. That's the real proof. Jesus says, my 163 00:20:36,940 --> 00:20:42,800 sheep hear my voice and they follow me. His work is to call out his sheep. Secondly it 164 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:49,260 is to keep the sheep. Verses 28 and 29. I give eternal life to them. They shall never 165 00:20:49,260 --> 00:20:55,820 perish. And no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me 166 00:20:55,820 --> 00:21:02,260 is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. We have 167 00:21:02,260 --> 00:21:08,060 here the protection that the shepherd gives for his sheep. This was a primary responsibility 168 00:21:08,060 --> 00:21:14,260 for a shepherd. To that end he had some equipment with him. He carried in the first place the 169 00:21:14,260 --> 00:21:21,180 shepherd's rod, a stick of some kind of hard wood that was about yay long. About the same 170 00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:29,220 size as the policeman's night stick. And often on the end of it there would be nails that 171 00:21:29,220 --> 00:21:34,380 had been driven through so that there was a sharp head to it. It was a club that could 172 00:21:34,380 --> 00:21:42,140 be used to strike a wolf or some other predator. Or actually it could be thrown some distance 173 00:21:42,140 --> 00:21:50,340 with accuracy by a good shepherd to protect his flock. He also had a staff with him. That's 174 00:21:50,340 --> 00:21:56,300 the traditional staff we think of. A long piece of cane perhaps that had a crook in 175 00:21:56,300 --> 00:22:03,220 it. And with that he was able to guide the sheep. He was able to snatch them from danger. 176 00:22:03,220 --> 00:22:10,420 It was part of his equipment. And then a shepherd often carried with him a sling with which 177 00:22:10,420 --> 00:22:16,700 he became quite skilled. David of course carried a sling. And he had with him a little bag, 178 00:22:16,700 --> 00:22:23,920 a scrip, which was on his side. A bag in which shepherds often carried dried fruit or cheese 179 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:32,700 or bread or perhaps olives which they ate. It was their lunch bag. In David's case he 180 00:22:32,700 --> 00:22:38,140 put five smooth stones in there before he went out to meet Goliath. And he picked up 181 00:22:38,140 --> 00:22:45,220 his sling shot and went out there and powerfully slung it. And God directed that stone right 182 00:22:45,220 --> 00:22:52,060 to the most vulnerable spot on the giant he fell dead. Well shepherds were able to use 183 00:22:52,060 --> 00:23:00,180 stones with wolves, wild dogs and bears and panthers and other kinds of animals that were 184 00:23:00,180 --> 00:23:06,820 the natural predators. They were able to use them with thieves as well. A stone well slung 185 00:23:06,820 --> 00:23:13,940 could kill a person. So these were powerful weapons. Now Jesus draws upon that whole picture 186 00:23:13,940 --> 00:23:21,280 and he says, I give life to them, my kind of life, eternal life. And they shall never 187 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:28,520 by any means perish and no one is able to snatch them away from me. And no one is able 188 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:36,380 to snatch them out of my Father's hand either. He is talking about the security of the believer. 189 00:23:36,380 --> 00:23:46,700 That one who is a sheep of this good shepherd is eternally kept saved and kept safe from 190 00:23:46,700 --> 00:23:53,980 all of his enemies. So the work of the shepherd is that he calls his sheep and keeps his sheep 191 00:23:53,980 --> 00:24:04,140 and finally that he consolidates his sheep. Going back to verse 16, Jesus says prophetically, 192 00:24:04,140 --> 00:24:10,660 I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also and they shall hear 193 00:24:10,660 --> 00:24:20,940 my voice. Our Lord was undoubtedly speaking of sheep that were his from among the Gentiles. 194 00:24:20,940 --> 00:24:27,900 He came of course to his people, the Jews, and his primary ministry was to them. But 195 00:24:27,900 --> 00:24:35,460 later his apostles would go to the Gentiles as well. Jesus is saying there are other sheep 196 00:24:35,460 --> 00:24:41,220 that will someday hear my voice that are not a part of this fold and I will consolidate 197 00:24:41,220 --> 00:24:52,380 them. He says there will be one flock and one shepherd. That of course became spiritually 198 00:24:52,380 --> 00:24:58,700 true on the day of Pentecost when there was a oneness that was created by the coming of 199 00:24:58,700 --> 00:25:05,100 the Spirit of God and then eventually Gentiles were added to that, Cornelius and his household 200 00:25:05,100 --> 00:25:10,500 and then others under the ministry of the apostle Paul. Paul in fact elaborates on this 201 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:15,100 whole idea in Ephesians 2 and he says no more is there a difference between Jew and Gentile. 202 00:25:15,100 --> 00:25:22,820 There's not anymore two different foals. It's just one flock now that God's calling together. 203 00:25:22,820 --> 00:25:29,460 Today God is still in the work of calling out people from Jew and Gentile alike to be 204 00:25:29,460 --> 00:25:37,380 a part of this one flock under the one good shepherd. There is an important application 205 00:25:37,380 --> 00:25:45,340 to this and it is that among those of us who genuinely know and trust the Lord Jesus Christ 206 00:25:45,340 --> 00:25:54,820 there is no place for factionalism. For a party spirit that creates divisiveness it 207 00:25:54,820 --> 00:26:02,520 may be that there are some who do not worship exactly as we do or who have different traditions 208 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:09,300 but if they know and love our Lord Jesus Christ and are a part of God's flock then let's 209 00:26:09,300 --> 00:26:15,300 not create divisions with them. Let's not declare them the enemy. But let's understand 210 00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:22,380 that we are a part of the same flock under the one shepherd. Neither is there any place 211 00:26:22,380 --> 00:26:30,100 among God's people for any sense of racism. For if a man or woman of a different color 212 00:26:30,100 --> 00:26:35,780 or who speaks a different language knows the Lord Jesus Christ as I know the Lord Jesus 213 00:26:35,780 --> 00:26:45,820 Christ we are one in spirit. One flock and one shepherd. And one day we are told the 214 00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:51,660 chief shepherd is going to appear in glory and at that time he is going to unite the 215 00:26:51,660 --> 00:26:58,720 flock that part in heaven and that part which is on the earth together forever and never 216 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:06,940 will there be again any kind of separation among the Lord's sheep. The shepherd I think 217 00:27:06,940 --> 00:27:15,220 is a meaningful picture of Jesus Christ and it suggests to us the loving, tender care 218 00:27:15,220 --> 00:27:21,740 that he provides for those who belong to him. What majesty is his that he should do so? 219 00:27:21,740 --> 00:27:30,020 David, his grandfather, according to the flesh, penned that song that all of us love which 220 00:27:30,020 --> 00:27:37,540 says the Lord is my shepherd. It is a perfect song. Someone has written this based upon 221 00:27:37,540 --> 00:27:44,940 that thought. The Lord is my shepherd. That's perfect salvation. I shall not want perfect 222 00:27:44,940 --> 00:27:52,900 satisfaction. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Perfect rest. He leadeth me 223 00:27:52,900 --> 00:28:01,820 beside the still waters. Perfect refreshment. He restoreth my soul. Perfect restoration. 224 00:28:01,820 --> 00:28:09,740 He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. Perfect guidance. I will fear no evil. That's perfect 225 00:28:09,740 --> 00:28:18,940 protection. Thou art with me. Perfect company. Thy rod and thy staff comfort me. That's 226 00:28:18,940 --> 00:28:27,740 perfect comfort. Thou preparest a table before me. Perfect provision. Thou anointest my head 227 00:28:27,740 --> 00:28:37,020 with oil. Perfect consecration. My cup runneth over. Perfect joy. Goodness and mercy shall 228 00:28:37,020 --> 00:28:44,660 follow me. Perfect care. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's 229 00:28:44,660 --> 00:28:54,620 a perfect destiny. How wonderfully that psalm pictures the care of our good shepherd. Life 230 00:28:54,620 --> 00:29:02,260 cannot be more full and more rich than when one walks with the shepherd. But I cannot 231 00:29:02,260 --> 00:29:07,700 close the service without bringing to our attention one underlying thought that I have 232 00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:13,340 not brought out of this text. It is found, for example, in verse 9 where Jesus says, 233 00:29:13,340 --> 00:29:20,940 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he shall be saved. It's found again in verse 234 00:29:20,940 --> 00:29:27,420 28 where he says, I give eternal life to them and they shall never perish. Now Jesus is 235 00:29:27,420 --> 00:29:31,600 primarily talking about the way that he cares for his sheep, but there is an underlying 236 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:43,300 thought. The question arises, what about those sheep that don't belong to him? The answer 237 00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:53,900 is by implication they will not be saved. They will perish if they don't come to him 238 00:29:53,900 --> 00:30:02,540 in faith. And so if there be someone here today who is not trusted in Jesus Christ, 239 00:30:02,540 --> 00:30:10,420 and you can't honestly say that the Lord is my shepherd. If you've never placed your 240 00:30:10,420 --> 00:30:16,700 faith in him who came and laid down his life and took it up again, that you might have 241 00:30:16,700 --> 00:30:23,860 fullness of life, or that you might do that today. You say, but how can I know I'm one 242 00:30:23,860 --> 00:30:30,260 of his sheep? You said that the Father gives his sheep to him. How can I know if I'm one 243 00:30:30,260 --> 00:30:36,860 given to him by the Father? The answer is very simple to that. You can know that you're 244 00:30:36,860 --> 00:30:43,700 one of those sheep just by trusting him. For if you trust him, that's evidence that you're 245 00:30:43,700 --> 00:30:50,940 one of his sheep. Will you today? You see, the choice is thrown to you whether or not 246 00:30:50,940 --> 00:30:58,660 you will choose to place your faith in the shepherd. When he says they will perish, he 247 00:30:58,660 --> 00:31:07,700 is talking about being lost forever and separated from God in the frightening reality of hell. 248 00:31:07,700 --> 00:31:18,700 I got one of those phone calls this week that you don't like to get. And it was relating 249 00:31:18,700 --> 00:31:29,300 the news to me that an aunt of mine had died after a lengthy illness. I can remember on 250 00:31:29,300 --> 00:31:35,940 at least a couple of occasions, once before I was married and once after I was married, 251 00:31:35,940 --> 00:31:43,500 sitting with her and her husband, who was alive at that time, explaining to her what 252 00:31:43,500 --> 00:31:50,340 it meant to be a Christian. You see, she was raised in a religion of works. She didn't 253 00:31:50,340 --> 00:31:55,740 follow it in her life, but as a little girl she was raised in this religion with its rituals 254 00:31:55,740 --> 00:32:03,260 and then just kind of went her own way in her life. She wasn't a bad person. She certainly 255 00:32:03,260 --> 00:32:09,700 wasn't perfect and she would admit that. But as far as I know, my aunt Marie never 256 00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:20,780 came to the point of trusting in the good shepherd. My friend, don't follow her, assuming 257 00:32:20,780 --> 00:32:28,620 that that was her case. But listen to the voice of the good shepherd, who promises you 258 00:32:28,620 --> 00:32:36,060 that if you will come to him, he will give you eternal life and you will never perish. 259 00:32:36,060 --> 00:32:48,980 That's his promise. And the good shepherd makes his promises good. Let's pray. 260 00:32:48,980 --> 00:32:57,580 I hope you might do that today, dear friend. That if you have no hope of sins forgiven, 261 00:32:57,580 --> 00:33:06,300 of eternal life, that you would trust in this Savior, this shepherd, who loves you. Right 262 00:33:06,300 --> 00:33:13,620 where you're seated, you can do that. You can open your heart and say to him, Lord Jesus, 263 00:33:13,620 --> 00:33:18,700 I understand that you're the shepherd who died for me and rose again. And I recognize 264 00:33:18,700 --> 00:33:27,140 my own inability to save myself. You save me. You come into my heart, my life, and save 265 00:33:27,140 --> 00:33:37,580 me now. And dear friend, as you depend upon him alone, he will do that. 266 00:33:37,580 --> 00:33:41,060 Let's all sing together this chorus that we know. 267 00:33:41,060 --> 00:34:09,020 I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning 268 00:34:09,020 --> 00:34:20,400 back. Dear Christian friend, are you following the shepherd today? Are those paths of righteousness 269 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:28,220 in which he would lead you the ones that you're following? Or have you strayed from him? Peter 270 00:34:28,220 --> 00:34:35,140 tells us that we need to return to the shepherd of our souls. And that may be your need today 271 00:34:35,140 --> 00:34:44,140 as a Christian. The shepherd is seeking you to come back. Will you do that? 272 00:34:44,140 --> 00:35:05,140 The world behind me, the cross before me. The world behind me, the cross before me. The 273 00:35:05,140 --> 00:35:24,020 world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back. No turning back. 274 00:35:24,020 --> 00:35:30,020 Would you stand together with me please? And if today you have a need to talk with someone 275 00:35:30,020 --> 00:35:35,340 about your relationship to God, I'll be here in the front shaking hands afterward. There 276 00:35:35,340 --> 00:35:40,860 will be others around. Please seek us out and let us know that you have a personal need. 277 00:35:40,860 --> 00:35:46,020 You'd like some help. We'll be glad to spend some time with you. 278 00:35:46,020 --> 00:35:52,420 And now our great shepherd of the sheep, we bless you for the blood of the everlasting 279 00:35:52,420 --> 00:36:01,300 covenant. Work in us today and this week to equip us to do that which is well pleasing 280 00:36:01,300 --> 00:36:12,640 in your sight. And may we follow you, recognizing our dependence upon you as finite creatures. 281 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:22,140 May we rejoice and draw upon you, our great, our chief, and our good shepherd. Amen.