Last week we talked about our dependence on God as He is the One with our future in his hands. We made a Declaration of Dependence on him that read; “We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal in sin, that through grace, they have been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Abundant Life, Liberty in Christ, and the Pursuit of Peace beyond understanding. --- that to secure these rights, our Savior died and rose again-- so that we would no longer walk the path of destruction.”
Today I want to discuss the Abundant Life, or as the New Living Translation reads; “a rich and satisfying life”
What is the definition of abundant? According to the dictionary it means present in great quantity; more than adequate; over sufficient, well and richly supplied.
What did Jesus say about this abundant life? Let’s look at John 10:10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
Now here is where I struggle. If Jesus came to give us a satisfying life, why is our life filled with hardships? Why is it that the stealing, killing, and destruction of the thief seem to succeed more than the rich and satisfying life promised to us?
I have pondered this topic all week. I have read other people’s thoughts on John 10:10. Nothing I read or studied satisfied my question; “What is considered a rich and satisfying life?”
King Solomon didn’t have the answer. He wrote “I said to myself, ‘Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.’ But I found that this, too, was meaningless.” (Ecc 2:1)
Job said of life “How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither.
Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. (Job 14:1-2)
James, the brother of Jesus, writes “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” (James 4:14)
Life is meaningless, full of trouble, and short. That doesn’t sound rich and satisfying, now does it? Are you ready to jump off a bridge yet? Well, hold on.
I made the mistake of not looking at the audience and the context. Let’s read John 10:1-5 I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Jesus is speaking in Jerusalem, a city used to having shepherds bring their flocks into the walls at night. Inside the city would be a common pen where the sheep would be kept. This common pen is called a “sheepfold”. It would be surrounded by a large wall with a single gated entrance. A gatekeeper would be on guard to be sure no thief scaled over the wall and only the shepherds were allowed inside. Several flocks would be housed together and when the shepherd came for his flock he would call them by a certain name or whistle in a certain manner. Only those sheep that belonged to him would respond. The others would remain in the pen. Rather remarkable, right. But is it fact?
Let me read an excerpt from the book “Orientalisms in Bible Lands. “The modern shepherd . . . has a wonderful memory, which retains the name of every sheep. The flocks sometimes contain several hundred, and yet each one has a name and the shepherd knows it, and calls every sheep by its proper name. . . . [One observer] tells of watching shepherds with flocks upon the slopes of Mount Hermon: ‘Each shepherd . . . trains his sheep to come at his call, to go in order, in twos or fours, in squares and circles; one from the outer circle in a flock of a thousand will come when its name is called.’ It is the voice of the shepherd that the sheep recognizes.
“A stranger once declared to a Syrian shepherd that the sheep knew the dress and not the voice of their master. The shepherd said it was the voice they knew. To prove this, he exchanged dresses with the stranger, who went among the sheep in the shepherd’s dress, calling the sheep in imitation of the shepherd’s voice, and tried to lead them. They knew not his voice, but when the shepherd called them, though he was disguised, the sheep ran at once at his call.”—Orientalisms in Bible Lands, by E. W. Rice, pp. 159-161.
Let’s continue on; John 10:6-8 “Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, so he explained it to them: ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them‘.”
Jesus compares himself to the gate protecting the sheepfold. He also states that “all who came before me were thieves and robbers” climbing over the wall.
So who were these thieves and robbers? There is no indication that He is referring to satan. He is referring to those who would use deception to lead the sheep that belonged to Jesus astray. He is referring to the false messiahs and the teachers of the law. But He makes the claim that those selected to be his sheep did not listen to this deception.
Then He gives us the finishing touch. “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:9-10)
Here it is the rich and satisfying life. , a life where we are safe, free, and blessed. A rich and satisfying life is one free of worry.
Wow! It’s just that easy. Doesn’t worry be happy? I wish. But we can do is condition ourselves to listen to the voice of our Shepherd who calls us each by name.
A poll was taken at the beginning of 2012 about the worries of 2011. Let’s look at some of these worries and listen to the voice of our Shepherd.
(1 Society. We worry that we may not be important enough. We worry we may not be well off, or be social enough, or have a large circle of friends. Perhaps we don't have enough people in our lives to actively get together with. Perhaps we don't know how to get into other societies. Or maybe we are in the wrong society, full of people who are drug addicts, alcoholics, lazy, abusive, and negative - and we just can't get out of this. We worry about how society will judge us, and how we live. As human beings, we often put our worries in how others perceive us. Our Shepherd says;
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
2) Death: Passing away is a natural part of life. We worry who will guide our children, and how will they live? What will happen to our property, assets, and savings? How will the funeral expenses be covered? Will anyone be there for the funeral and to bury us? How will my property be divided amongst remaining family members? Some people are frightened by the idea of death. Will it be slow and painful, or peaceful in our sleep? What will happen after death - life in heaven or existence in hell?
Our Shepherd says; “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2)
3) Relationships/Partner: Did I marry the right person? Am I with the person that will love me and take care of me? Why do they always do this to me? Why am I still here? Will I ever find a partner/soul mate? We worry about our partner (good or bad) and how they are with us. If we have a great partner, we worry about losing them. We worry if there is a future with them, or if there is any hope for a future. What has changed them or us? Are they loyal, faithful, honest, sincere, loving, caring, protective, or a cheater, liar, deceitful, angry, or other?
Our Shepherd says; “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” (John 15:15)
4) Appearance Whether we are obese, short, has acne or a disability, skinny, not muscular, whatever - we worry about how we look. Even if you are extremely attractive, you may be worrying about your appearance because you feel everyone will be looking at you. How we look at work, to our partner, on a first date, at church, in the mall - we look at ourselves often sometimes being pleased and other times not. We believe that society judges us based on our appearance, and sometimes that results in spending excessive time making ourselves presentable.
Our Shepherd says; For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Eph 2:10)
5) Environment There are earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters occurring. People have drawn away from religion. There is a great deal of violence in today's society. We have been polluting our skies for decades. What is the impact of global warming, and how will it hurt our children… We turn on the news or listen to the radio in our cars - and most of the topics are negative (shooting, murder, robbery, disease, disasters, bombings, suicide, etc...).
Our Shepherd says; “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
6) Economy unless you inherited a fortune, to get money you need a job. In the current economy (as it is these days) people worry about 1) looking for a job 2) getting a job 3) retaining the job 4) internal and external competition at work 5) downsizing/layoffs/getting fired 6) collecting unemployment 7) starting the cycle all over again. Not having a job or stressful job can have serious health and mental issues. Not everyone is so fortunate to have a dream job, and we must retain what we do have - as it is better than having nothing at all.
Our Shepherd says; “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (Matt 6:30)
7) Tomorrow
The unknown is a scary place. What will tomorrow hold for us? Will there be a tomorrow for us or is today it. Will we be in a life changing accident or win the lotto? Will we lose our job or get a promotion. Will our child get into any more trouble? Will that one bill finally come in the mail that we are not wanting but anticipating? That is often our number one worry: What will tomorrow hold, if anything!
Our Shepherd says; “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matt 6:27)
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (Matt 6:25)
Listen. When you are listening to the voice of worry, you are not listening to the voice of the Shepherd. David put it this way in Psalm 37:25 "Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread."
We don’t have to worry because his sheep are taken care of. And the reason is because we belong to the flock. A shepherd does not have just one sheep but several. We are the flock of the Good Shepherd and we must depend on each other.
My daughter Crystal has been mending for 4 weeks now from her broken leg and ankle. Being in a boot has made it impossible for her to do even simple housework or child care. But not one day has she been abandoned or her daughter gone hungry. She has been surrounded by family and friends that have rallied around her needs.
Hebrews 10:25 "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
This is the reason we establish our church family, to care for each other. When you have a need, let it be known. There are no reasons for worry when you are surrounded by those who love you.
Jesus said He was the gate through which we could go freely into good pastures. Jesus said that his purpose was to give us a rich and satisfying life, worry free. But we must recognize his voice. If not we will listen to the thief and robber who will burden you with worry.
He calls you by name, if you are his. Do you recognize his voice? If not than today is the day to ask him to be your Good Shepherd.
