Today, we conclude our week of praying for missions by fasting and praying.
If your personal priorities were like favorites on your phone, what would be included? Like the saved numbers you place in your cell phone, what priorities would be included among your favorites? The care of your family, a job and a career, and time to relax and enjoy yourselves. Social media time, Netflix, and “me time” – would they be in your favorites? Some of you give time to the community because you are officers, firemen, social workers, and teachers. Would you include reaching the nations for the gospel in your favorites? Do missions and evangelism rise to make it in your top five or your top ten?
As you ponder this, consider Paul, who wrote about half of your New Testament. For the apostle Paul, he wished he would go to hell if it meant the Jewish people could know Christ (Romans 9:1-3). Paul had this burning desire to share the gospel where people had never heard the name of Jesus (Romans 15:20).
Again, I ask you: Do missions and evangelism rise to make it in your top five or your top ten?
Find John 10 with me, if you will.
Before our nation was formed, a young man spent much of his adult life spreading the gospel to the Native Americans in the New England area. He said, “I exceedingly longed, that God would get to himself a name among the heathen … I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardship I went through, so that I could but gain souls to Christ.”1 That young man was David Brainard, who died at just 29 years of age from tuberculosis. His diary would inspire thousands over the next few centuries to go into the mission field. “I declare, now I am dying, I would not have spent my life otherwise for the whole world.”
Today’s Scripture
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:1-18).
During this week, where our focus is on missions, I want you to focus on Jesus’ words: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also.”
Sermon Preview
1. Nine Facts About Jesus and Us
2. I Have Other Sheep
3. Where Do I Start?
1. Nine Facts About Jesus and Us
There’s a lot going on here. Since I doubt any of you raise sheep for a living, and probably none of us even knows a shepherd. Let me offer you nine facts that come straight from Jesus’ words.
1.1 Fact #1 Jesus Tells Us the Solemn Truth
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).
If our passage was a movie, then the background music would have grown serious and tense. Jesus begins by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you” in verse 1. This is the double amen formula Jesus uses. This is a solemn truth. Even though John tells us the Shepherd and Sheep thing is a figure of speech, this is graveyard serious. Jesus takes missions and reaching the nations among His favorites.
1.2 Fact #2 Jesus, Our Shepherd, Knows His Sheep
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14). Verse 6 tells us that Jesus is a “figure of speech.” Jesus, the Messiah, is our True Shepherd. We are His followers, His sheep.
1.2.1 What’s a Sheepfold
When Jesus speaks of a “sheepfold” in verse 1, you need to picture a place where several families would keep their sheep. Picture the “sheepfold” surrounded by stone walls and maybe topped by briars. So, the “sheepfold” is not a public place but it’s private property. Imagine shepherds calling their sheep in the morning as each shepherd assembled his own flock from the larger herd in the fold.2 Again, in many villages, there was an independent enclosure where several families kept their sheep who were watched over, then, especially at night, by a watchman.
1.2.2 The Care of a Shepherd
The Shepherd cares for His flock. A shepherd is somebody who takes care of you. A shepherd does everything for His sheep. A shepherd is somebody who you put yourself in his arms, and he says, “Don’t think about another thing. I have everything under control. Relax. No worries.” One of the reasons Jesus values missions is because He wants to care for all of His followers scattered all over the globe.
1.3 Fact #3 Jesus Calls and We Follow
“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4).
1.3.1 Quickly Forgotten
Pause and ask yourself, “Do I know my great-grandparents’ names?” Most of us are forgotten quickly after we die. Rejoice in the fact that the Creator of the world knows your name. Jesus is the Ancient of Days, and yes, He knows your name, Christ follower. Be excited when I tell you that in your future: “To the one who conquers … I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17b). Your teacher may know your name, but Almighty God knows your name. Your Congressman may not take your call, but Almighty God knows your name.
1.3.2 Follow Him
Sheep recognize the Shepherd’s voice. There’s even evidence that ancient shepherds gave nicknames to their sheep. In a world full of noise and voices, listen to the voice of your Shepherd. Follow His voice. Give thanks for the voice of Jesus in your life.
1.4 Fact #4 Jesus Warns Us About Thieves
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).
Jesus compares the True Shepherd to thieves and a “hired hand” in verse 12. Thieves would climb over the enclosure or the fence, but only the Shepherd goes through the door.
Various families would bring their sheep into the enclosure at night and hire a watchman, or a “hired hand” to keep out intruders or wild animals. The next morning, the individual shepherds would come back to their sheep pen, where the watchman would allow only the shepherds to go in.
Jesus is warning about “shepherds,” such as Pharisees, who refused to believe that a born blind could now see by the miraculous healing power of Jesus just one chapter earlier. Jesus said shepherds like these are really thieves. Here is Jesus’ warning: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Thieves still come to destroy God’s people after all these years.
After over a decade of working in a Buddhist area, a small church of two believers was finally formed in SE Asia country. Yet, in just a few months, the new church was destroyed by those teaching the prosperity gospel, and they went so far as to even pay people to believe in Jesus. As I speak to you this morning, these missionaries continue to share. You are invited to pray for them on Tuesday as these missionaries are members of our church.
1.5 Fact #5 Jesus Is Our Only Door
“So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture’” (John 10:7,9).
The sheepfold would have had only one point on entry. Picture a doorkeeper (verse 3) who opens the locked gate only for the True Shepherd.3 Jesus says, “I am the door of the sheep,” at the end of verse 8. And then again, at the beginning of verse 9, Jesus says, “I am the door.” Jesus says it a 3rd time in the middle of verse 9, “If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.”
“I am the door.”
“I am the door.”
“[Enter] by me [to] be saved.”
He could not have been more clear. Not one single time did Jesus say, “I’m one good option among many.” He says, “I am the door.” For you to become one of God’s children, you must come through the one and only door. Jesus is the one and only door for His followers scattered all over what the CIA calls 265 world entities.4
1.6 Fact #6 Jesus Lays His Life Down for Us
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15). The Lord Jesus shows His love for us by laying down His life for us. He not only is the door, Jesus says, “I also lay my life for those who follow me.”
1.6.1 Four Times
Marvel with me that Jesus tells us He lays down His life for us four times. The last part of verse 11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). The last part of verse 15, “I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15b). The last part of verse 17, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again” (John 10:17b). And verse 18, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18a). Four times, Jesus tells us. “I lay down my life for the sheep.” If Jesus were singing a song, every stanza would end the same, “I lay down my life for my sheep.”
1.6.2 The Dignity of Humans
If you’re struggling today with your worth and your self-esteem, know this. There has never been a stronger affirmation of any person’s value than this: Jesus Christ looks at us and says I am willing to die for you. Jesus looks into our hearts all the way to the bottom, and He says, “I see something so infinitely precious that I’m going to die for you.”5 You are more sinful than you could ever dare imagine, and you are more loved and accepted than you could ever dare hope.
1.7 Fact #7 Jesus Takes Up His Life
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:18).
Jesus is in a category by Himself. He says, “I die when I say I die and not one minute before.” But, He also says, “and I have authority to take it up again.” Who but Jesus has the ability to resurrect His life? Anyone can take their lives. Only Jesus has the power to resume His life after His death.
Again, Jesus is in a category by Himself. It’s just as someone emailed me this week when she said: “Jesus is the ultimate of all ultimates. He is the superior of all superiors! There is nothing else, and no one else left above Him.” A double amen!
1.8 Fact #8 Jesus Gives Us Eternal Life
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).
Not only can we know God personally (we hear His voice), but we can know God eternally, too. Jesus saves His Sheep by His own death on the cross. Knowing Jesus personally determines your eternal destiny. Jesus is the door between heaven and hell. This is why missions is the tip of the spear for us because it is eternal life. It’s not 1,000 years of life. Or a million years of life. It’s eternal life.
1.8.1 You Can Know for Sure
If you had 100% of the answers to 100% of your questions, you would never need faith. Hear my next statement: We don't have to know everything to know some things for certain. We know what we need to know. God has given us exactly what we need to know. Based on what God has given us and what we can know, we can follow Jesus Christ and have 100% confidence that our eternity is going to be spent with Him in Heaven.6
1.8.2 An “I Do” Moment
Everyone needs an “I Do” moment with Jesus. A moment where you say, “I do believe.” A moment where you say, “I do follow you.” A moment where you say, “I do repent, turn from my sins.” Do you have an “I Do” moment with Jesus?
1.9 Fact #9 Jesus Has Other Sheep
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16). When Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold,” He tells us that He has other followers who have yet to be converted. The death of Jesus makes it possible for other sheep to come into His fold.
1. Nine Facts About Jesus and Us
2. I Have Other Sheep
“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16). Jesus is a missionary like no other.
2.1 This Fold
“This fold” refers to the fold of Israel. Jesus is saying that He has sheep that are among the Gentiles, or the nations. Jesus is telling us that the “other sheep” are not Jews. Remember, the gospel of John teaches us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Christ has people besides those that He loves and will be His followers.
2.2 Scattered
Evidently, these followers were scattered someplace else other than the “sheepfold.” They are scattered all over Fort Worth. Jesus’ followers are scattered all over Texas. And they are scattered all over the world. It’s not a small thing for Jesus’ followers to be scattered. He needs to gather them, so they hear His voice. He needs to gather us “so there will be one flock,” and even so there is “one shepherd.” Jesus cares for people all over the world. As one of His followers, do you care for people all over the world? Is missions in your favorites?
2.3 They Will Listen to His Voice
How will we know they are Jesus’ followers? Jesus tells us that “they will listen to my voice” in verse 16. Isn’t that fascinating? When Jesus calls, His people respond to His voice. We will know them when they respond to the voice of Jesus, to the Bible. It’s not a matter of if these followers listen. No, they will indeed, and for certain, listen to the voice of the Shepherd.
2.4 I Must Bring Them Also
“I must bring them also … So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16b). This is why we do missions because Jesus says, “I must bring them also … So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
What is a missionary? Webster’s dictionary defines a missionary as “a person sent on a mission, especially on a religious mission.” For those of you wondering, evangelism can be thought of as when I tell someone about Jesus in my culture and heart language. Missions is when I must cross cultures to tell someone about Jesus in their heart language. Jesus says, “I must bring them also.”
1. Nine Facts About Jesus and Us
2. I Have Other Sheep
3. Where Do I Start?
“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’” (Revelation 5:9).
3.1 Start by Caring
Let me ask you a personal question, “Do you care that Jesus has other sheep?” Does that matter to you to join Him in His quest for followers? Are you simply content that He found you and included you in His fold? Does it matter to you that scattered all over the globe are people who have yet to hear the saving message of Jesus in their heart language? Does missions rise to make into your favorites? Is reaching the nations more important than your political candidate winning in the election? Is reaching the nations as crucial as the zeroes in your paycheck? Is reaching the nations personally as important to you as finding your meal. Believers, we must start by caring.
3.2 Engage Intelligently
John wrote Revelation just as he did the gospel of John. He repeatedly tells of a vision God gave him where people of all kinds were around the throne room of heaven. He says, “and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’” (Revelation 5:9b). The Bible says only the blood of Christ, or the cross of Jesus allows people to go to heaven. Can you imagine that scene? Can you imagine you having a small part in ensuring a tribe or a language of people or a nation were there at the throne room of God? Can you think of any greater purpose in living than this?
3.2.1 Unreached People Groups
All over the globe are what is known as Unreached People Groups. This is a block of people who have a shared language and culture but have little Christian witness present.7 Today, it’s estimated that 4.8 billion people are unreached.8
Let that sink in. For this group to be considered unreached, it’s estimated that less than two percent of them know Christ. Imagine how different DFW would be if just two percent of the population knew Christ. That’s around 162,000 people of the 8.1 million who call DFW home.
3.2.2 Unengaged Unreached People Groups
This is a block of people where there is no known witness of the gospel whatsoever. Today, it’s an estimated 284 million people. People who have no church, no Bible, and no Christian in their heart language. These Unengaged, Unreached People Groups will live and die with little or no gospel witness whatsoever. Does that matter more to you than the Rangers winning the World Series?
3.4 Short Term Trips
Our church is taking mission trips to Brownsville, Farmington, South Africa, Portugal, Vancouver, and a Compassion trip to Ecuador. The NFW meeting is on Sunday, December 8, immediately after the worship service. Another meeting for NRH is planned for Sunday, January 19, at noon. You can attend either. Plus, you can log onto IMB.org, which you see here, to see a wide variety of opportunities.
3.4 Seek Opportunities
Our church partners with the International Mission Board, the largest missions-sending agency of its kind on earth. You don’t have to go for a lifetime when doing missions. The International Mission Board has all kinds of opportunities from summer long to two to three years. There are special opportunities for people of all ages, including those who may have retired early.
3.5 Journeyman
IMB offers a unique, fully-funded, two-year missions opportunity for young adults between the ages of 21 and 29. As a Journeyman, you can be sent by your church through IMB to join an international missionary team to share the gospel, make disciples, and help plant churches. For those who are 55 plus, there are so many opportunities to go for one year or two years.
Conclusion
I want to ask a question: How many of you here are Christians? What I mean by that is not that you have joined the church, not that you have been baptized, not that you try to live a good life; but you have repented of your sins, by faith acknowledged Jesus Christ as God's Son, accepted His death on the cross as payment for your sins, and totally committed your life to Him as your Lord and Savior. Now, my second question is this: How many of you are missionaries? Now be very careful, because if you responded to the first question, but not to the second question, then you ought to be embarrassed. Because a Christian and a missionary are really the same thing.9
The famed Charles Spurgeon said, “Every Christian … is either a missionary or an imposter.”10
EndNotes
1 David Brainerd, Memoirs of Rev. David Brainerd: Missionary to the Indians of North America, ed. J. M. Sherwood (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1884), 111.
2 Bruce Milne, The Message of John: Here Is Your King!: With Study Guide, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 145.
3 Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 300.
4 https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/; accessed November 10, 2024.
5 Timothy J. Keller, “I Am the True Shepherd,” The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).
6 I am thankful to James Merritt for this, “Are You in the Know?” https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-outlines/25232/are-you-in-the-know-7-of-7/#; accessed November 3, 2024.
7 Ralph D. Winter, and Bruce A. Koch, “Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, Fourth Edition, (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009), 536.
8 https://www.peoplegroups.org/; accessed October 31, 2024.
9 I am thankful to James Merritt for this, “Are You in the Know?” https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-outlines/25232/are-you-in-the-know-7-of-7/#; accessed November 3, 2024.
10 C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 54 (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1978), 476.
