Jesus, the Faithful Shepherd
John 10:25-30
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/FaithfulShepherd.html
The Bible is like a gold mine, and the deeper you dig the more rich gems you find. This shepherd chapter is like a crown jewel, and it is difficult to look away from its radiance.
Many in our lost world like to think of God as a mean ogre who laughingly enjoys striking with lightning bolts those who get out of line. But God is love, so much so that He wants to save us from wrath. And what a good shepherd is to his sheep is what Jesus is to us.
"Security"
Everyone wants security.
We want job security and a bank account securing us. We want 'social security' but many of us may never see it.
We want national security. Thank God for our military who are out there every day keeping us safe so we can pillow our heads with our security blanket and without fear of what may come in the night.
We want relationship security - the concept of being loved unconditionally and knowing our loved ones will be forever at our side.
But there's a type of security much more important than all of these: spiritual security. We each have a never dying soul, and we need to know it is secure. We don't want to leave anything to chance. Hell is a fear we want to put away once and for all, while we rest in soul security.
Psalm 23 says the Lord is our shepherd...[quote] The entire psalm is about security. The sheep in that psalm brags about the security he has in his shepherd. He needs rest, and is made to lie down. He needs food, and is led to green pastures. He needs water, and is brought beside still waters. He needs to be able to find shelter in the fold, and though he is defenseless, a sitting duck, and walks thru the valley of the shadow of death, he doesn't have to fear. The wolves are all around, but he eats at a table in the presence of his enemies with no worries. He is bothered by pests buzzing around his head, and has the risk of nasal flies laying larvae that can drive him to butt his head against a wall until he dies, but the Lord anoints his head with oil to protect him. His cup runs over with good things every day, and forevermore!
The sheep has a security outside of himself. And we want that too. We need to know what happens to our soul after this body quits working! You know, your 'soul holder' can't hold out forever. Your soul will exist somewhere forever, and you want to know 100% for sure it will be in the fold of heaven, safe and secure.
Our Good Shepherd, our True Shepherd, is the Faithful Shepherd!
v. 28 'never' is a double negative in the Greek. "Not never." In English it's bad grammar, but in the Greek it's just a stronger, more emphatic way of making clear the point that it ain't never gonna happen, nuh-uh! It's like: "Perish? No way, never no never!"
Eternal security, soul security, sometimes called once saved-always saved. It's a clear and comforting doctrine. This is a major truth in God's Word, and it's always been amazing to me that some people debate it.
It's not even a gray area in my mind, and if it were a gray area, wouldn't God be wise to be careful not to accidentally deceive us on something so critical...if He really loves us? People err in gray areas. And if so, they could argue with God in heaven [if they found out they had salvation and lost it], and they could present mountains of Bible evidence, and would have a strong case against God! Do you think that's gonna happen?
If you are saved, then you are safe and secure! I guess it is debated by some because of how so many professing Christians seem to 'take advantage' of their soul security. I remind you that the Bible assures you that if that is your attitude, you've never been truly saved!
But remember, this chapter is all about the Shepherd and His abilities, not the sheep and anything of themselves. This doctrine of the Faithful Shepherd who secures us is all about His integrity and faithfulness, not ours.
In and of ourselves, we are insecure. Our security is provided by the Faithful Shepherd. He that saved us is the one who is faithful to keep us saved. Salvation: How did we get it? By grace, as a gift, and not of ourselves. How do we stay saved? The same way!
We are secure because:
1. We are in His possession.
v. 27 First 2 words. "My sheep". It's possessive.
v. 29 'gave them me'. It's possessive.
v. 14 'my sheep.'
Here's what everyone is saying these days: "We're all God's sheep...all God's children, even if wayward." That is simply not the case.
v. 26 'ye are not of my sheep' He says to the unbelievers.
Actually, the Bible divides us into 2 categories: sheep and goats.
Matthew 25:31-33
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Don't believe the false doctrine of universalism, which says, We're all going to heaven regardless of the differences in our beliefs.
How many here are one of God's sheep? If so, you are in His possession. And why so?
a. Because He sought you.
Luke 15 is God's lost and found department. Lost silver, lost son, lost sheep. In the latter, a shepherd had 100 sheep, and lost one of them. In business, that would be just a 1% loss...very acceptable.
ill.--Wal-Mart's loss rate is 1.6%, based on shoplifting, employee theft, and other factors. Poor little company!
In God's economy, we're not talking about jewelry, DVDs, or flatscreens. We're not even talking about sheep! Sheep in the parable is a picture of people! No shrinkage is acceptable to the shepherd. Even if you were the only lost soul on earth, Jesus would have come down to seek and find you! And even a saved soul sometimes wanders astray, but the shepherd goes out and brings him back in, no exceptions. It's the mark of a true believer, they may wander for a while, but God will bring them back around if they are truly His child, His sheep!
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer: “One of Mine
Has wandered away from Me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.”
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry,
Sick and helpless and ready to die.
“Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way
That mark out the mountain’s track?”
“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?”
“They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.”
And all through the mountains, thunder riven
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of Heaven,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”
If you are a wandering sheep, know this: The Lord is more committed to you that you are to Him! He's more faithful to you than you are to Him. He loves you where you are, but loves you too much to leave you there! He'll do what it takes to bring you home.
Ever been lost? In the woods maybe? It's an empty feeling. I took the kids on a long trail last month in Tennessee and this sorta happened. The sun starts to set. Every direction looks the same, and you don't know where to go? You look at nothing but acreage all around you, and you think about how long you could be lost, and the dangers all around you, and how hungry you could get, and which of the kids would I eat first? The girl is easier to catch, but squeals a lot. Red heads are a sweeter meat.
Far worse than being physically lost is being spiritually lost. Think of that word "Lost". It's God's word for an unsaved person. What would it be like to be lost forever? Hell is real, and forever, and those who are there are lost to that place forever. But also lost from God, the Father, the faithful Shepherd. Separated from Him, from everyone, from any light, from all hope...all is lost!
I'm so glad the shepherd sought me.
Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
a. He sought you.
b. He bought you.
vv. 11-13 A hireling is a hired hand...not a real shepherd. He doesn't care...he just wants a paycheck. He has no special relationship with the sheep like the shepherd does. The hireling doesn't risk his life [v. 13]
If you aren't saved, you don't have a shepherd, you have a hireling named Satan. He doesn't care about you, and will dump you in an instant in the gutter. Don't think the devil is your fun friend and then treat God like your enemy who wants to spoil your fun...you've got it all backwards.
*He died voluntarily.
v. 15, vv. 17-18a 'laid down his life' = a voluntary death.
When humans die, they raise their heads for one last gasp of air. When Jesus died, He bowed His head and surrendered his life away willingly.
ill.--Movie makers in Hollyweird always get it wrong when depicting the death of Jesus. They show Him as a victim...a revolutionary who went to far and dog gone it, went and got Himself killed. Nope! He predicted how He would die, when, and where, and why. Soldiers didn't keep Him on that cross, nor nails. It was love! And His soul didn't leave His body until He was ready to 'give up' the ghost!
*He died vicariously. [in the place of another]
v. 15b 'for the sheep'. 'For' is the Greek [huper] = in the place of.
Why do we go to heaven when we die in Christ? It's not because God overlooks our sin, but because He took our place, and gives us His place...trading spots with us!
How foolish to go to hell and pay for your own sins when Christ already paid for them!
*He died victoriously.
v. 18 'power to take it again'. Resurrection!
Buddha died, and is in the grave. [Confucius, Mohammed, and you too, unless saved!] But Jesus proved He is God in defeating death.
Now, back to v. 3 'by name'
ill.--ever got an offer in the mail: "Dear customer #45970.3--we are personally interested in you!
In the tribulation, the antichrist gives you a number. Jesus Christ knows you by name!
The point: The security of the sheep is a reflection on the shepherd. If He sought us, and bought us, and then lost us, it wouldn't look too good on Him. But what Jesus does He does right! He had already promised the Father that every one of them would safely arrive. And He's not about to let the Father down!
When something belongs to God, it belongs to Him forever!
We are secure because:
1. We are in His possession.
2. We are in His power. [next time!]
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/FaithfulShepherd.html
