Credit: The outline and some of the guts of the sermon are taken straight from Jeff Anselmi on sermoncentral. I have edited it enough that I think it is worth posting as my own work. Clearly Jeff built the frame of the sermon, however I did a lot of remodeling.
Listen up sheep!
part 2
John 10:22-30
A police officer pulled a man over and discovered a strange situation. The driver had a sheep in the back seat of the car.
What are you doing with that sheep? You should take it to the zoo,” the officer said. The following week, the same police officer sees the same man with the same sheep in the front seat, with both of them wearing sunglasses.
The police officer pulls him over. “I thought you were going to take that sheep to the zoo!” the officer said. The man replied, “I did. We had such a good time we are going to the beach this weekend!”
I guess this is one of those times:
- where a person hears what they want to hear
- and not really what the other person is saying
I think we all are periodically guilty of failing to listen to God…
Instead of listening to the voice of Jesus:
- we hear a mutation of God’s voice
- that voice says follow until it’s inconvenient
- that voice says follow unless it become difficult or
- until it requires personal sacrifice
Last week I raised the question:
? “Are we even trying to hear from God?”
? The answer to that question reveals a lot.
? It reveals our commitment to the “Good Shepherd.”
Can you imagine a world with no commitment?
How would you enjoy being married
to someone who is not committed to you?
How would you like employees who are
not committed to doing a great job, or
would you feel good working for an
employer who was not committed to you?
Not one thing about following Christ,
call for partial commitment…
Jesus said…
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 (NIV)
There is a story in Scrum about a chicken and a pig.
A Chicken and pig are friends:
One day the chicken decides that the two should start a restaurant.
The pig is intrigued by the idea and says:
? “That sounds great.
? I’m an entrepreneurial type of hog.
? I’m sick of working for the farmer.
But what are we going to call the restaurant?”
The chicken thinks:
? Then she scratches and
? pecks at the dirt and suggests,
? “Ham and Eggs!”
To which the pig replies,
“No thanks, I’d be committed. You’d only be involved.”
In our text today:
? a group of religious leaders have cornered Jesus,
? seeking an answer to a question.
The setting is Jerusalem at the Temple during the feast of Dedication.
- a celebration of the dedication of Temple
- after Epiphanes desecrated it
- also known as Hanukkah
So as Jesus is walking in Jerusalem:
? in the temple complex,
? He is surrounded by a bunch of Jewish leaders
? who asked Him a question.
Open your Bibles to John 10:24-26
“The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.”
1. Why listen to His voice? John 10:25-26
They ask Him how long is He going to keep them in suspense?
? tell us if you are the Anointed one
? tell us if you are here to save us
? tell us now!
“The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
John 10:24 (NIV)
They want to know when Jesus is:
? going to tell them if He is the Messiah.
? "Keep us in suspense" literally, "take away our life.”
Jesus replies in vs. 25:
? that He HAD told them,
? They just did not believe Him.
"Don’t believe" means continuing not to believe:
? they heard Jesus.
? they did not believe Him and
? they continue to not believe.
The reason these do not believe:
o is that they are listening and
o following other voices,
o not the voice of the good shepherd.
One of the reasons we should listen to Jesus:
? is because we are all seeking answers.
? Where are we seeking the answer,
? Who are we listening for?
These leaders were looking for answers:
? however, with the evidence starring them in the face,
? they were not willing to accept the answer.
? they were seeing but not believing
DO you know people still do this today?
Jeff Anselmi says…It is like asking a thief:
? who is holding your jewelry if they took it,
? you can see the evidence,
? You just refuse to accept it.
IF you are seeking:
? an answer to life’s questions,
? listen to Jesus’ voice.
? God is speaking through His word, OPEN IT UP
Jesus says in John 10:25 (NIV)
“The works that I do in My Father’s name testify about Me.”
Jesus has made Himself known:
? You see Jesus has told them who He is,
? He has also shown them.
Here is a list of the miracles Jesus performed so far in the book of JOHN:
1. Jesus turned water to wine at the wedding in Cana John 2
2. Jesus heals an official’s son at Capernaum John 4
3. Jesus heals a man at Bethesda John 5
4. Jesus heals 5000 John 6
5. Jesus walks on water John 6
6. Jesus heals a man born blind John 9
Jesus has not been hiding:
- He’s traveling about teaching and preaching
- performing miracles
- revealing who He was and why He came...
To understand the claims of Jesus being God:
- we must go back to Exodus 3
- when God spoke to Moses in a Bush
- when God sent Moses to deliver the people from Pharoah and Egypt
Moses raised a question to God:
“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God says:
- you need a name to call me?
- you can call me “I AM”
- this name “I AM” as used for God would be familiar to all real JEWS.
Now listen to JESUS in the book of John: (see if you notice anything)
1. “I am the bread of life.” John 6:35-40
2. “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12-20
3. “I am the gate for the sheep.” John 10:1-10
4. “I am the good shepherd.” John 10:11-18
5. “I am the resurrection and the life.” John 11:25-26
6. “I am the way and the truth.” John 14:6-14
7. “I am the true vine.” John 15:1-17
DO you see what I see?
- Jesus has consistently claimed to
- BE EQUAL WITH GOD THE FATHER
- Jesus has consistently done miracles and works in the name of God
And still, they don’t listen, see or understand…
In John 10:26:
? Jesus takes the leaders to the root of their problem,
? they do not hear Jesus because they are not His sheep!
? Their unbelief shows they do not belong to Jesus
For one to be one of Jesus’ sheep:
? they must begin with belief in Him,
? which would be followed up with confession, repentance, and baptism
? where at that point you clothe yourself with Christ! (Gal. 3:27)
In a way things are the same today:
? some will not listen to the voice of Jesus because
? they did not want Jesus to change things,
? They/we love life just the way it is…
If you don’t hear and follow:
- the voice of Jesus
- it means we are not His sheep
- and some are not even aware of their perilous situation.
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:22-23
The rarely quoted Merle Haggard sings:
“Stop rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell.”
With all the voices call out to you in this life:
? Jesus is the one to listen to,
? He has displayed the power to show you
? He is who He claims to be!
Next let us examine John 10:27 (NIV).
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
2. Who will follow His voice? John 10:27
The answer is God’s sheep will listen
In a world full of voices:
o crying out for you to follow them,
o those who have given their lives to Jesus
o will be the ones who will listen.
A man in Australia was: (ILLUSTRATION)
• arrested and charged with stealing a sheep.
• But he claimed emphatically that it was one of his own
• that had been missing for many days.
When the case went to court:
? the judge was puzzled,
? not knowing how to decide the matter.
At last, he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom:
Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call the animal.
The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened.
The judge then instructed the defendant:
to go to the courtyard and call the sheep.
When the accused man began to make his distinctive call,
the sheep bounded toward the door.
It was obvious that he recognized the familiar voice of his master.
In a world filled with voices calling you:
? when you belong to Jesus,
? You MUST follow His voice
If you belong to Jesus:
? you hear Him, and
? you will follow!
I cannot be a part of Jesus:
? if I refuse to follow Him,
? if I refuse to listen to His voice
? If we are listening, we are also supposed to obey.
Jesus said…
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
- John 10:28–30 (NIV)
3. Why follow His voice? John 10:27
Of course, the biggest blessing is ETERNAL LIFE
? This is a gift of God! It is not a paycheck earned.
If we fail to listen to God’s voice:
- how are we going to pay for our own sins?
- we would have to satisfy the debt
- by our own souls being cast into Hell
Thank God there is a better option:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
- Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV)
I watched a video recently:
- a man who went to a college campus
- and tried to give away 4 cars
He found students walking or biking:
- asked them if they had a car
- if they said yes, he let them continue
- if they said no, he would offer to give them a car.
3 out of 4 students he approached:
- ignored the offer
- or thought it was a joke and replied
- no, they didn’t want a free car.
Believe it or not:
- he did give the cars away
- he handed over the titles and
- even gave them money for gas, insurance, and taxes…
But most didn’t believe him….and were not rewarded…
That reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
Do you want to get to heaven?
? Follow the voice of Jesus,
? He will take you there!
Everyday we get closer to the end of this life:
- I wish I could describe how great heaven will be.
- The Biblical writers did the best they could!
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
- Revelation 21:3–4 (NIV)
Does anyone want to go to heaven?
- are we motivated by that future reward at all?
- do we think about that?
We’ve got to stop being so in love with this world:
- this is not our home
- we’re just passing through
- our home is of another world
We Christians are not to be:
- like the world,
- we are supposed to be distinct
- and all about the business of the LORD
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15 (KJV)
If we want to see Lord in heaven:
- we must fall out of love with the world
- and fall back in love with Jesus
April 15, 1912 surprised a lot of people:
- the unsinkable Titanic sank
- some people died because they didn’t want to get off the sinking ship
- many life boats had empty seats….
Many that died could have been saved:
- maybe they didn’t understand the situation
- maybe they thought they had better options
Many people were confused about where they should go after:
o the order to launch the lifeboats had been given.
o There should have been a lifeboat drill on 14th April, but
o the Captain canceled it
Why do we invest so much of this life:
- taking care of things of no eternal value?
- polishing the brass on the Titanic, instead
- of getting ourselves and others into the lifeboats
One could look back and say people died because:
- they didn’t understand the situation
- they didn’t know what to do
- they didn’t hear the orders…
The Titanic sank and this world is going to be burned up.
We can’t claim that:
- Jesus has made it plain that He is God
- That He is the Anointed one of God
- That He is the sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world.
We know we are guilty:
- that we have sinned and defied God’s Law
- that we need a savior, but
- Will we listen to the savior?
WE can all hear the voices calling:
? the voices of fear,
? the voices of sin,
? the voices of peer pressure,
? along with the voices of the world.
While there are many voices:
? Each of us must decide whose voice they are going to listen to.
? If one is to be committed to Jesus, there is but one decision.
? Don’t listen to all the conflicting voices, listen and follow Jesus!
Years ago, “Casting Crowns” the band put out this song:
“The voice of truth”
I want the last few lines to be our invitation…
I will choose to listen and believe
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the voice of truth
I will listen and believe
Because Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you
How about you, who will you listen to?
