I AM - I AM the Good Shepherd
June 3, 2018
John 10:11 (p. 748)
Introduction:
I love animals…They are delicious! No, listen, I really do love animals…Until the Lord got ahold of my future I was going to be a Veterinarian. Milligan for my undergrad work then Auburn, which is the best Veterinarian school in the nation. I was going to major in Equine (horses) Medicine and make a ton of money. A summer as lifeguard at BGCC and then Johnson Bible College changed my trajectory…Presently in my house are 3 dogs (a pit bull, and 2 labs) and a parrot named Ping…They all have distinct personalities and they all listen to me with different levels of obedience.
Buck, my year and a half old yellow lab is still kind of a puppy. He’s much better than he used to be, but this sweet little guy (100 lbs.) is the destroyer of coat hangers and pillows. He will sneak into the living room, get a pillow…and then come to the door and show it to you…and then begins the real fun as you chase him around the house yelling “NO BUCK…NO!!!” until you finally catch him…take the pillow out of his mouth…and fuss at him…He’s learning, but still every once in awhile he still does this. he wants my attention…even if it’s bad attention. And he doesn’t want to give that pillow up.
I’m not sure how much time Jesus spent with animals growing up as a carpenter’s son…but every Jewish boy knew about sheep and sacrifices…sheep, goats, heifers and bulls…as well as doves and pigeons were part of the Jewish culture…They knew about clean and unclean animals…They knew about how different each of them were.
When Jesus says “I AM” the Good Shepherd in John 10 I believe He understood how sheep operate…How they relate to their Master…what their needs are and what their personalities were like…He believes people are a lot like sheep…and they need love and protection.
READ JOHN 10:11 (p. 748)
“I Am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
You see sometimes you and I are a lot like my dog Buck…We grab what we were not intended to have…We run from our master with it firmly clinched in our teeth…and we only release it when we’re exhausted and caught.
Frances Thompson, a one time opium addict who died of Tuberculosis in 1907 wrote one of the most profound Christian poems of all time called “The Hound of Heaven.” It’s written in old English and hard to read but the truth it shares is absolutely “soul shattering.” Here’s just the first stanza of this lengthy poem…I’m sure I won’t do it justice in my Kentucky dialect…but here goes:
I fled Him down the nights and down the days
I fled Him down the arches of the years
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind, and in the midst of tears
I hid from him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hope I sped and shot precipitated
Adown titanic glooms of chasmed fears
From those strong feet that followed, followed after
But with unhurrying chase and unperturbed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat, and a Voice beat,
More instant than the feet:
All things betray thee who betrayest me.
What this redeemed man is saying is…I ran from you Jesus…I tried to get away from You for years…I went into the very depths of sin and despair…but You chased after me…You would not give up on me…You kept calling my name…You know the life you had for me…and would not let me settle for something else.
Isaiah 53:6 records these words: “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way. And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Every one of us have run away from Jesus…“The Hound of Heaven.” Every one of us have chase after things we shouldn’t have and hold onto them for far too long. But the Good Shepherd comes searching for us. He will not give up…and when the time comes for it,
I. HE WILL DIE TO SAVE US!
I’ve got a question for you…Have you ever tried to help someone who didn’t want to be helped? Maybe a son or daughter or grandchild who was hellbent on destruction…or a mate that continually chased after things that ripped the family apart? Or your mom or dad that continually chose a path that was destroying them?
I know the answer to my question…all of us have…and many of us were the ones running head long into that destruction.
In your hearts did you ever give up? Did you ever give up chasing them…praying for them, loving them? NOPE. Not if you really loved them.
Here’s my insight…God loves us more!!!
He chases every single one of us down a path of rebellion, sin, and self sufficiency.
When Jesus says, “I AM the Good Shepherd, I know my sheep,” He’s saying more than I know their names, or I know their personalities…He’s saying…I know what it’s like to be one of them.
The writer of Hebrews said, “Jesus is able to sympathize with every one of our weaknesses because He was tempted in every way, just as we are - yet did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
He felt the same pull to turn away…to give in…he understands that temptation…He knows His sheep.
Like Paul who said, “I know what’s right and don’t do it and I know what’s wrong, and despite myself end up doing it…What a wretched man that I am, who will rescue me from this. (Romans 7:15; 7:24)
I fight this “going my own way often and fail…often…I thought about my selfishness the other day.
[There is a stoplight near CVS on Clays Mill that I hate. You have a lane right next to you that can go straight for about 100 yards but then it’s supposed to turn into Home Depot…I hate this light because inevitably there’s someone who pulls up next to you…that doesn’t want to wait in line…they want to beat you to that turning point and dash over in front of you…because after all the rules don’t apply to them and they’re more important than you (probably not the most Godly thoughts I have). If I’m in the Challenger…no problem…see you buddy…and wave at them…but I was in Red, my truck, the other day and a Mercedes pulled up next to me…I floored Red…but the Mercedes was too quick…so I got right on his bumper as he waved to me…the bad news is his was only half a peace sign.
Why did I do that? We all know why…I want my own way…I want to be first…I’m prone to sin.]
Jesus knows that temptation…He felt it…The difference between Jesus and me is He never floored it…EVER.
So what hope do those of us who floor it all the time have…Just after the writer of Hebrews says Jesus knows our temptations, he writes:
HEBREWS 5:7-9 (p. 840)
How did He become this source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him?
Listen to Jesus’ own words: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. (John 10:17-18)
God the Father had a plan to save His wayward sheep, even before Adam & Eve turned aside and floored it.
I want to read a section of scripture to you from the New Living Translation of scripture. It’s helpful for us to understand God’s plan through the death of Jesus…
Long ago, even before he made the world,
God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy
and without fault in his eyes.
His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into
his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.
And this gave him great pleasure.
So we praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured
out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son.
He is so rich in kindness that we purchased our freedom
through the blood of his Son,
and our sins are forgiven…
God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us;
it is a plan centered on Christ,
designed long ago according to his good pleasure.
And this is his plan:
At the right time he will bring everything together
under the authority of Chris - everything in heaven and on earth.
Furthermore, because of Christ,
we have received an inheritance from God,
for he chose us from the beginning,
and all things happen just as he decided long ago.
-Ephesians 1:4-7; 9-11 NLT
God’s secret plan became a public display as His Son purchased our freedom through the death of His Son on a cross.
The Good Shepherd opened the gate for all His wayward sheep to come home. No wonder He said, “I AM the gate…I AM the Good Shepherd…He is the shepherd and the door which leads us home.
Let me end today with an important truth.
II. SHEPHERD VALUE SHEEP. BUTCHERS DON’T
Lynn Anderson in the book, “They Smell Like Sheep,” relates this story:
Several years ago in Palestine, Carolyn and I rode a tour bus through Israel’s countryside nearly mesmerized as the tour guide explained the scenery, the history, and the lifestyle. In his description he included a heart-warming portrayal of the ancient shepherd/sheep relationship. He expounded on how the shepherd builds a relationship with his sheep - how he feeds them and gently cares for them. He pointed out that the shepherd doesn’t drive the sheep but leads them, and that the shepherd does not need to be harsh with them, because they hear his voice and follow. And so on…
He then explained how on a previous tour things had backfired for him as he was giving this same speech about sheep and shepherds. In the midst of spinning his pastoral tale, he suddenly realized he had lost his audience. They were all staring out the bus window at a guy chasing a “herd” of sheep. He was throwing rocks at them, whacking them with sticks, and sicking the sheep dog on them. The sheep-driving man in the field had torpedoes the guide’s enchanting narrative.
The guide told us that he had been so agitated that he jumped off the bus, ran into the field and accosted the man, “Do you understand what you have just done to me?” he asked. “I was spinning a charming story about the gentle ways of shepherds, and here you are mistreating, hazing, and assaulting these sheep! What is going on?”
For a moment, a bewildered look froze on the face of the poor sheep-chaser, then the light dawned and he blurted out, “Man. You’ve got me all wrong. I’m not a shepherd. I’m a butcher!”
This poor, unwitting fellow had just provided the tour guide and all of us with a perfect example of what a “good shepherd” is not.
To the shepherd the sheep is named “Floppy” or “Fluff” or “Cotton.” He knows them…He loves them…He protects them…Feeds them and waters them…He carries them when they’re hurt and puts balm on their wounds when they’re hurt.
The Butcher slits it’s throat…bleeds it out, roasts it over a fire and sells it. He takes it’s life and pockets the money he got for it’s life.
Satan is worse than a butcher…He’s a thief. He steals sheep from the shepherd so he can kill them…Jesus knew this truth.
“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy…The Good Shepherd comes to give real, abundant life.”
Have you ever had something stolen from you…something you value that cannot be replaced? I have…and I bet you have too…Thieves could care less that it’s your grandfather’s watch or that it was your mother’s necklace…They could care less how valuable and important it is to you…or how hard you worked to get it…or what you paid for it…All that makes no difference to the thief.
That’s exactly how Satan feels about you and me according to Jesus…Satan’s a thief that butchers sheep for His own benefit.
And Jesus, The Good Shepherd died to save us…
Which voice do you listen to when he calls you? Do you recognize His voice calling to you this morning?
