Hearing the Shepherd
Notes
Transcript
ILLUST: Funny selective hearing?
My wife keeps telling me I have selective hearing. I told her I wouldn’t need selective hearing if she practiced selective talking. In hindsight she may be right. I certainly heard a whistling noise when that pan flew by my head.
READ: John 10:22-42
Intro/Background - Festival of Dedication
Jesus at this portion of the temple, there were always people around there, so He went to try to reach them
Hanukhah - celebrating the Maccabean revolt, defeat of the Greeks, or Hellenistic Syrians
(168 B.C.?) Antiochus Epiphanes - Greek/Syrian king, slaughtered a pig/sow on the altar in the temple, sprinkled the blood on the sacred scrolls
Jews, led by Judas Maccabeus, revolted and defeated the Greeks
Temple was cleansed, purified, re-dedicated - December 25, 165 B.C.
Celebration was what is now Hanukkah - the Festival of Dedication
Jesus gets surrounded - pressed for an answer
“Are You the Christ?” (Meaning, are you the one who will give us the national freedom we demand?)
They don’t want spiritual leadership
They want a free nation
Sounds a lot like the church in the US today…
If you had to pick…free nation or strong church?
He continues on with the Good Shepherd illustration
Too many people look at this passage, try to decide who is and who is not saved, why that is, and miss the true intent of the passage:
Encourage us to follow the Shepherd
Actions of the followers, and lost, speak for themselves
Hearing the Shepherd
Hearing the Shepherd
vv. 1-18 - What the Shepherd does for the sheep
Now, how/why the sheep respond
1) Hearing the voice
1) Hearing the voice
Define “hear” = more than just noticing some sound
Hearing implies action and following
This passage is NOT
About why some get saved and some do not - some imply that God does not give some people to the Shepherd because they are not chosen
True salvation understanding
With all the competing voices out there
Some choose to trust and follow Jesus after hearing the Word - then they hear the Shepherd’s voice
It’s like this:
God offers salvation to EVERYone, through Jesus (3:16) - “whosoever”
Some people ask forgiveness, place their trust in Jesus
The Father says, “OK, Shepherd, here is another one.”
That sheep hears His voice
Other sheep lost, are still aware of this Shepherd voice out there, but they do not hear it, not tuned in to it, they have chosen to NOT hear it
What does it take to be a true follower, one who hears His voice?
Romans 10:9-13 is a good example
2) Beyond a “Decision”
2) Beyond a “Decision”
Remaining faithful
Letting the voice of the Shepherd drown out the competing voices attempting to lure sheep away
So then what? What does a life of following bring the sheep who hear His voice?
ACCESS - to the Shepherd, the Father
PROTECTION - spiritually
PEACE - that assuring sound from the Shepherd
GROWTH - the Shepherd continually corrects (staff?) - not just soothing and warm and fuzzy
Think of the voice of a loving parent
Stern, alerting, warning
The Shepherd keeps the sheep in line, on HIS terms
So correction IS loving
Loud warning IS comforting
ASSURANCE - the worst possible evil there is, CANNOT snatch the sheep from the Father
Jesus and the Father are one
So the sheep cannot be snatched from the Son, the Shepherd
Salvation is permanent
So…what about those people who claim to be true believers and live just the opposite?
Let’s leave that to the Shepherd
Focus on YOUR walk with Him
A sheep of the Shepherd will NOT “hear” false voices, as in, those voices will not be what the true sheep follow
The Shepherd always speaks truth
Temptation still lurks
Sin will ALWAYS bother a true believer
Assurance does not give us license to liver however we want
The true sheep WON’T want to do that
AGAIN, warning, is a comfort - We accept ALL of God’s Word, not just what “feels” good
READ - See 1 Cor 10:6-12
3) Inviting the Lost
3) Inviting the Lost
Yeah, So…what about those people who claim to be true believers and live just the opposite?
We invite them into the sheepfold, treat them as though they are lost and need Jesus
True sheep are so joyful about being in the sheepfold, they can’t HELP but affect others!
John’s Gospel shows how Jesus is moving from action (miracles) to Words (hearing the Word) in order to believe
The miracles of Jesus - to be replaced by His Word
And the lives of the sheep
He illustrated this in Matthew 5:16
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus came to glorify the Father - His mission pointed to the Father
Jesus’ followers, by their actions, point to the same Father - that’s where glory is directed
Saved and living for Him
Actions - how we live, how we respond to the evil we encounter, how we maintain our marriages, how we raise Godly children - and it’s not a show
The world expects us to just blend in with them, and we too often go along with that - we live like they do, raise kids like they do, set priorities like they do
We are deceived into thinking that it’s good to fit in - it’s NOT
We are sheep of the Great Shepherd!
It’s GOOD to stand out from the world!
People listened to Jesus, but also watched him
People will hear us talk, but also watch us
Jesus said the goal is to believe without seeing - we have not seen HIM, but we can believe
John 20:29 (NASB95)
“…Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
So, we invite the world to follow Jesus
Many do not want to hear Him
30+ visitors last week
One came forward, deciding to hear
And others came forward to acknowledge the walk they already have
But…what about this passage? Didn’t God already decide who are and who are not sheep?
If you stop at verse 27, you might think so
But look how Jesus continues with these people in vv. 37-38!
Back up to vv 35-36, Psalm 82 explanation
“God allowed people to be called “gods” and “sons of the most high?” - and YOU are OK with that, then why the fuss over ME saying I am the Son of God?”
No point to be made, just Him asking a question He knows they can’t answer?
Anyway, vv. 37-38
“IF I do them, then believe!”
Jesus is still inviting them to be His sheep
The invitation continues
What can we do - with our frustration?
Watching people live as they do, not knowing God or as if they do not know God
There are people around us who are not His sheep
Two action steps we can take
1 - Live our lives like the sheep we are
2 - Tell them; tell them
Let them hear the Shepherd’s voice through our words and lives
Yahweh has an amazing way of using our testimonies, past and present
Along with new encounters with His Word
To bring about believing
See v. 42
So
Live your life as the sheep you say you are
Tell others why you do
Then let Yahweh bring them into the sheepfold!
There are people who will hear; we are here to help them
And…we get to enjoy being sheep of the Shepherd!