The Shepherd & The Sheep 1 Of 6 Series

The Shepherd & The Sheep

The Promise For His Sheep

John 10:1-11

Recognizing Yvonne’s voice… I can hear her call me “Charless” and I don’t need to see her, I don’t need to be looking at her to know without any doubt that its Yvonne…

Jesus calls us to a similarly close relationship with Him where we instantly recognize His voice (and it doesn’t take 25 years either)

Can you imagine how great that is? The God of the universe invites us to enjoy a FAMILIAR relationship where we pray to Him…

And He listens to us; and where He speaks and we listen to Him… it’s a true dialogue…

Dialogue = a conversation between two or more people, that consists of listening and speaking by all parties involved.

We need to grab hold of this foundational truth – God wants to talk to you and to me…

John 10:1-11 – Stand and Read

I. God wants us to live by HIS VOICE

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

HE humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Dueteronomy 8:3

Did you catch that? We are to live on the words that come out of Gods mouth…

God wants us to live – not by our conscience, not by our pastors teachings…

But He wants us to live by the words that come out of God’s mouth.

A personal relationship must involve communication – it must. If true dialogue doesn’t take place,

…then its a one sided attempt at conversation, with us looking up into the sky, talking to God but hearing nothing in return.

God speaks, that’s a biblical fact. Its been established all throughout scripture… God spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden.

He spoke to Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel and to all the Prophets.

He spoke to men and women, to Deborah and to Ruth.

In the New Testament He spoke to Mary, Peter, Paul, Jude, James and John on the Island of Patmos.

In the time since God has not gotten laryngitis. He has not decided to change his nature and become mute.

GOD STILL SPEAKS and this can give us great confidence in life.

When someone comes to me now with advice on a major decision that they are making, my response is Get all the info you need in this…

…you can weigh the pros and the cons, talk to your most trusted advisors but in the end, YOU JUST NEED TO HEAR FROM GOD.

I absolutely need to hear from God. There is no way I can fulfill the responsibility of leading this church unless God is leading me.

The only way I can lead is by having a daily, personal, intimate walk with God. I need to listen to hear God. He leads, I follow. I’m a Sheep

a) Who are you at your core? I am a SHEEP

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:7-11 (NIV)

Hearing from God is about someone we are. Hearing from God is not a Primary behavior in other words, not because we are human...

We hear His Voice because it’s a reflection of our identity.

We hear God because of who we are and because of whose we are. We are the sheep in the John 10 passage.

b) We were designed to hear from God.

10 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” John 10:2-4 (NKJV)

Sheep by their very nature, need a guide. Its not that we hear from God because of some action we take. We hear because we are designed to hear from God.