Knowing the shepherd’s Voice
1. 1 Samuel. 3: 1-3
2. John 10: 1-10
3. Ps: 23
Illustration
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Apparently, sometime after being president for a very long time, he got tired of smiling that trade-mark Roosevelt smile and saying the trade-mark Roosevelt things at all those White House receptions. So, one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was really listening to anything he was saying. As each person came up to him and extended his hand, he would flash that big smile and said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." People would automatically respond with comments like "How lovely!" or "Just continue your great work!"
Illustration
Nobody listened to what he was actually saying, except for one foreign diplomat. When the president said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning," the diplomat responded softly, "I’m SURE she had it coming
A father was reading the paper and decided to share what he'd been reading with his teenage son. The article claimed that children today suffered from a lack of attention and which caused low educational achievements at school. Furthermore, the article said that children today are lazy, have little concentration and barely possess any listening skills at all. When he was finished the father asked, "Well, son what do you think about that study."
The boy halfheartedly lifted his head and said, "What was that again, Dad?" (1)
Sometimes we don't listen, do we? We do that with our parents and our spouse and our children. Sometimes we do that to God and Jesus, our Shepherd, too. Sometimes we're just content to be in the presence of the Shepherd. And that's OK. Sometimes. But sometimes we get so absorbed in what we're doing, what we're thinking, with ourselves, that we don't listen.
Who is a good Shepard?
I. The Voice of the Shepherd Goes Before Us. (Ps 23:1-2)
"The Lord is my Shepherd."
I personally find great comfort in that idea. The Good Shepherd goes before us to prepare the way, which means there is no place that we go that the Shepherd hasn't already been. He's already made sure the path is clear and safe. There may be hardships, there may be mishaps, there may be struggles but The Good Shepherd has already seen those and knows how to help us negotiate through the treacherous territory. He has already prepared a way for us to get through. All we have to do is continue to listen to His Voice.
II. The Voice of the Shepherd Guides Us: ( John 10 – 4-5)
And when we prepare our hearts through prayer and worship we are able to more fully and more clearly listen to the The Voice of the Shepherd. And when we listen, The Voice of the Shepherd Guides Us.
Illustration
At the age of forty-seven, Nick Thomas found himself unemployed and under tremendous financial pressure. He had had a successful career in the Air Force and the insurance business, but a series of financial reversals had set him back and the failure of his own consulting business had left him with no place to turn. He didn't know what to do.
Frustrated and seeing no way out, Nick's wife, Liz turned to prayer. Every morning she'd be in church praying that something good would happen to change their fortune. She was in church one morning, praying about their dilemma, when she thought she could almost hear the words, "Make the mustard." Her family had a mustard recipe from Russia, and every Christmas she made this special mustard and gave it to her family and friends as a special gift. At first she ignored the words. But they kept coming more and more persistent.
Reluctantly she told Nick. Who, of course, thought she had gone mad. Liz had no idea from where or whom the voice came. But after considerable discussion and prayer Nick and Liz decided to listen to the voice. She prepared a substantial amount of the mustard. They packaged it and then called on a local cheese shop. The manager tasted it and immediately bought out their entire inventory. Within three months they had cracked the highly competitive New York major deli market. (3)
I believe that because the Thomases committed their troubles to prayer and looked expectantly to God for guidance, and listened for the Voice of the Shepherd, God gave them the direction they needed.
You see, The Voice of the Shepherd Guides Us.
III. The Voice of the Shepherd Protects Us: (John 10. 27)
Not only that, but The Voice of the Shepherd Protects Us. I say that because you have to make sure that the voice you are listening is the right voice. You see there are a lot of voices out there vying for your attention and loyalty. There are a lot of voices that want you to think they are The Voice of the Shepherd.
Vs. 10
“When in reality, they are the voice of the thief Jesus describes”.
Illustration
There was a famous Ice Cream Parlor was robbed, but manager Nathan Peabody was warned in time. Moments before the robbery he was contacted by telephone. The voice said, "Are you the manager? Listen carefully; don't panic. This is the police. You are going to be robbed. Do NOT resist. Let the robber have your money. We will be waiting right outside your store and we need to catch him with the money on him. Thank you for your cooperation."
Sure enough, a man with a scruffy beard and a knife came in demanding money. Mr. Peabody took all of his cash out of the drawer and gave it to him. Peabody watched as the robber left the store, waiting for the cops to close in. Instead, the robber just got in his car and drove away. And as he saw the taillights disappear in the distance he realized what had just happened. He realized that the call hadn't come from police headquarters after all. But from the thief.
The Voice of the Shepherd helps us in making hard choices, choices about who we are and what we believe and what is really important to us. The Voice of the Shepherd Protects Us. And by listening to The Voice of the Shepherd.
CONCLUSION:
Jesus said: [3] "the sheep hear [the Shepherd's] voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."
All we have to do is tune our hearts and souls and ears to The Voice of the Shepherd.
Jesus calls but he's not as annoying as the Verizon guy, you won't hear, "Can you hear me now?" But if your heart and soul and ears are tuned to Christ you will hear The Voice of the Shepherd. Are you listening?
