What Good Sheep Do Series

• Right after Jesus’ healing a man born blind on the Sabbath and the heated encounter with the Pharisees over breaking the Sabbath Jesus points out that He is only doing what any shepherd would do for his sheep.

• One of the most intimate pictures of Jesus we find in Scripture is that of His being the GOOD SHEPHERD who loves and cares for His sheep.

There was a shepherd tending his sheep at the edge of a country road. A brand new Jeep screeches to a halt next to him. The driver dressed in a fancy suit, tie, shoes, sunglasses, and a Swiss wrist watch gets out and asks the shepherd, “If I can guess how many sheep you have, will you give me one of them?” The shepherd looks at the young man, then looks at the sprawling field of sheep and says, “Okay.”

The young man parks the SUV, connects his notebook and wireless modem, enters a NASA site, scans the ground using his GPS, opens a database and then prints a 150 page report on his high tech mini printer. He then turns to the shepherd and says, “You have exactly 1,586 sheep here.” The shepherd answers, “That’s correct! You can have your sheep.” The young man takes one of the animals and puts it in the back of his vehicle. The shepherd looks at him and asks, “Now, if I guess your profession, will you pay me back in kind?” The young man answers, “Sure.” The shepherd says, “You are a consultant.” “Exactly! How did you know?” asks the young man. “Very simple,” answers the shepherd. “First, you came here without being called. Second, you charged me a fee to tell me something I already knew. Third, you don’t understand anything about my business - and I’d really like to have my dog back.”

• The image of God being our shepherd is a continuation from the OT.

Ezekiel 34:31 "You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God," says the Lord.”

Psalm100:3b “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

Psalm 95:7 “For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.”

Isaiah 40:11 “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”

• Why are we so like sheep? Why not dogs or cats? God’s horses?

1. We are prone to wander (All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way)

2. We need a Shepherd to guide us (like sheep do)

3. Sheep flock together, so should we (should be no lone wolves!)

1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 "But he who enters by the door is a 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 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 "A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

• The problem today is not that we don’t have a Good Shepherd but that we don’t know have to be good sheep. Three truths about what it means to be good sheep.

GOOD SHEEP KNOW THE SHEPHERD: 1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 "But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

• We live in a world that has a lot of false shepherd knocking at the door of the sheep fold. People are being misled, confused and wasting their lives without ever truly understanding Who God is and what He wants for their lives.

• What can I know for sure about the true Shepherd?

1. The False Shepherd avoids the proper way. he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

a. Does not enter by the door. The purpose of the sheepfold was to provide protection during the night.