The Believers Connection To God

Sermon Text - John 10:27 My sheep Listen to my voice; and I know them and they follow me.

PRAYER - Heavenly Father, I thank you for another day to serve you. Please bless my efforts to speak today. Please forgive me of sin, clear my heart and mind to make way for the HolySpirit to speak through me. I pray for the congregation, those participating via social media platforms, and anyone who may be blessed by this message at a later date. IJN, amen.

INTRO - Good morning! In my brief time before you today, I want to bless the Believers, and encourage the non-believer. I want the Believers to reconsider what it means to be a living example of one of God’s sheep.

Let’s look at our sermon text for today - John 10:27 NLT My sheep Listen to my voice; and I Know them and they follow me.

My - shows ownership

Sheep - domesticated for the last 10,000 years, “Sheep can hear sounds four times better than the average human being (Cosgrove, 2023).” Since they have large ears, they need to have the optimum hearing ability.

Listen - to hear with intentionality . The versions of the Bible say My sheep hear my voice, but I want to focus on the practice of listening to Jesus, our Good Shepard.

Voice - the sound produced in a person's larynx and uttered through the mouth, as speech or song.

BODY -

The Holy sheep that hear his voice, listen to his voice, acknowledge that God knows them and then follow God in obedience.

The Heavenly Father’s sheep - While natural sheep go from wild to domesticated, Jesus’ payment of his life for our sin allows God’s sheep to transition from sinful and separate from God to Holy and connected to God and able to commune with him.

(1) GOD’S LOVE

(1) Are becoming more hungry for God’s love every day.

a)Psalm 42:1 (NLT)

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

b) John 3:16

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

(2)ENGAGE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

(2) God’s sheep desire a maturing relationship with the HolySpirit.

(Ephesians 4:30 (NLT)

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

John 14:16 (NLT)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, in order that he may be with you forever—

(2) We don’t want to bring grieve or place woe before the Holy Spirit by the way we live. We are HIS sheep. we can be obedient because we can spiritually hear his voice. He knows us and has named us as his own - bought with a price that only He could pay. The Holy Spirit is precious to his sheep because he is our comforter, counselor, and Holy power source. The Holy Spirit connects us to other believers, gives us the right words and actions at the right time. No! We want to grow as believers and sensitive to actions that grieve the Holy Spirit.

(3) Faith

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

(3) God’s sheep desire to live a faith-growing life. We may start out as a little mustard seed able to move mountains, but we want bigger mustard seed faith 20 to 40 years later. Our faith should show evidence of maturing. God’s sheep are growing in faith. We can count it all joy when face trials because trials strengthen our faith in God. The faith that lead us to Jesus, made healing, and deliverance possible in our lives, and is alive and well! Prayers -

(4) Prayer

1 Timothy 2:1 (NLT) I you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

Ephesians 6:18 NLT

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

(5) Bible Readers

2 Timothy 2:15 LEB

Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, a worker having no need to be ashamed, guiding the word of truth along a straight path.

We want favor with God and man so we study to show ourselves approved. We are bold in or fervor for God’s word. We stay on the right path because God’s word guides us.

6 Keep short accounts - we must be forgiving.

Colossians 3:13 NLT

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

We have to make allowance for each others faults.

(7) Witness and share the gospel. Share God’s good news with others.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 NLT

We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

We should desire the share not only the word but our lives as well.

God’s love in real time -

1 Corinthians 13:3 LEB

And if I parcel out all my possessions, and if I hand over my body in order that I will be burned, but do not have love, it benefits me nothing.

God’s sheep listen when Holy Spirit calls and pray for the heart to be patient and kind, happy when others are blessed, respectful in work and action, willing to entertain the views of others, willing to self evaluate when they feel irritable, a supporter of justice, fighter for truth.

With hard relationships - we don’t give up, we give it to God. When people let us down never give up on God’s ability to make change for the better. When we want to give up on our precious dreams - a spouse, a baby or family, to go to college, own a house or business - we talk to God about it in prayer and keep the faith, are always hopeful and able to endure all circumstances.

How do we know we need to brush up on the areas we mentioned today?

(1) Lost your first Love - what does it look like? What kind of fruit are you producing?

Opposite of Love: cold, emotionless, uncaring, unkind, aloof, antisocial, unsociable, distant,

indifferent, cruel, disloyal, inconsiderate, unenthusiastic, jealous, unsympathetic, callous,

contemptuous, reserved, unbending, unsociable, apathetic, hating, unloving, unwelcoming,

detached, disliking, spiritless, unfriendly, thoughtless or unthoughtful, haughty, negligent,

unconcerned, unfeeling, disagreeable, dispassionate, mean, neglectful, unfaithful,

antagonistic, hateful, inattentive, unresponsive, cool, icy, distasteful, inhospitable,

stand-offish, stony or hard-hearted, uncommunicative, hostile, scornful, standoffish,

cold, cold-blooded, vicious

Insensitivity to the HolySpirit rt

The Holy Spirit is our teacher and we all remember what happened or happens when we fail to listen to the teacher. Directions that the Holy Spirit gave me, not all were followed to the letter :

Pray now, not later 2. Fill you gas tank before you go home. 3) Call Eric and tell him you’re going to be late. 4) You don’t need that second serving of _____, 5) Close your mouth and keep it shut. 6) Apologize. 7) I know you’re hurting. Le me comfort you. 9) That was awesome! 10) Look at what can happen when you are forgiving!

Next let’s look at opportunities to exercise your faith rt

Yesterday I ran into a church member who due to health concerns joins our broadcast on line since COVID. Prior to the pandemic we prayed continually for her to have an estranged family member back in her life. After 10 years that prayer was answered. In this church God has healed illness, provided - jobs, homes, education opportunities, and the list goes on and on.

Galatians 5:22 (NLT)

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self control.

James 1:2–6 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Faith and prayer go hand and hand.

Most things worth having require faith

Maintaining a relationship, having an raising children, school, having a job, remaining hopeful through illness

4. Prayers require faith rt

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

5. Bible Study rt

Find a Bible that you like. Any Harry Potter fans, but Harry has to find just the right wand.

First Harry had to find a wand that fit him,

Then he has practice with it.

Next rule - It was on him at all time and could be a source of support whenever needed.

Pray for a mentor to help when you need help.

Attend a Bible study.

6. Forgiveness rt

Dr. Martin Luther King had much to say about loving your enemies.

1. Your enemy is anyone who’s plan for you it anything other that what God has for you. This is why Jesus had cause to say to Peter, get thee behind me Satan.

Mark 8:33 NLT

Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Do you have any people in your life who say they love you, but are seeing issues in your life from a human point of view and not God’s?

7. Witnessing rt

Witnesses come in 3 categories

New : First Love Honeymoon phase- New Believers are on fire, and want every one to know. Prayers are getting answered, Bible reading is a fantastic journey in God’s word, and you want everyone to know. After Baptism, there was a new sense of belonging to something bigger than you.

Transition phase - New people, places, and activities. The choice about who to serve - the old or new man was rocky because God the Holy Spirit would teach, be silent and then test a previous lesson.

Would I trust the Holy Spirit when Sunday’s sermon on forgiveness was put to the test at work on Wednesday? Could I implement the 70xs 7 rule? Not sure what that is? Read Matthew 18:22 “Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven!”

Could maintain composure when someone cut me off on the Parkway?

When I was asked for help, could I give it without judgement?

Seasoned witnesses have prayed up, loving, faithful, and Holy Ghost filled. There is a natural eb and flow to being a light in the world that no-one can ignore. You’ll know you’ve arrive when people who meet you an early on in your connection to them, they say, “there was something about you! I knew you were a Christian.” New car analogy .

Conclusion

Ok. Let’s go back to the sermon text for today: John 10 27 “My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Are you God’s sheep?

Is your heart, soul, and life full of God’s love?

Is the Holy Spirit welcomed into the most messy and complex issues of your life?

Has your faith been encouraged today?

Has the content in this word today sharpened your ability to connect with God’s voice?

Can you commit to being a forgiving witness for God.

It’s time to pray.

Lord thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross. Thank you for fighting for your sheep. Lord, I pray for anyone any sheep outside of your fold. Since Jesus bought us with his life, we can be sheep that hear your voice. Is there anyone with us today either present in our service or joining us through a media platform that would like a relationship, or a deeper relationship with God? Please come to the front of the church or join prayer on line immediately after the service.