3-13-24 Sermon "Blessings Along the Way" 20 Minutes

John 10:1-18

This evening I'll be reading John chapter 10 verses 1 through 18. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. John 10:1–18 (HCSB) — 1 “I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand what He was telling them. 7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, 15 as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.” The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and also open our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ When I was young,,, around 10 years old,,, 2 friends of mine and I were playing in the woods behind our house. As we walked through the woods,,, we went further and further into the woods. Now,,, where we lived,,, there was a creek that divided the property between Guthrie-Carter Road,,, that we lived on,,, and Monroe Road on the other side. So when we went into the woods behind the house,,, we were going towards the creek,,, even though at that time,,, I had never seen it behind the house since I had never been that deep into the woods. But I knew that it was there. So,,, as I said,,, we kept going further into the woods and after awhile we decided that we had better turn around and go back home. Well,,, after heading in the direction we thought we needed to be going,,, it didn't take long to realize that we were lost. I had attended a cub scout program,,, where we had learned that when you are lost,,, the easiest way to keep yourself from going around in circles,,, was to align trees in a straight line,,, choose a tree and then walk towards it,,, while at the same time staying focused on the direction that you are traveling so that you can choose another set of trees once you got to that one. If you do this correctly,,, you will walk in a straight line! Well,,, that got us going in a straight direction,,, but we were headed towards the creek,,, not home. Now,,, when we came to the creek,,, my friends wanted to turn around and go back the way that we had just come. Which really made the most sense,,, but I was afraid that would take longer than continuing in the direction we were going since we could possibly go north instead of west like we needed to,,, so I finally convinced them to cross the creek with me. After crossing the creek,,, just like the cub scout master stated,,, we came to civilization,,, at least it was a house and yard instead of swamp! The problem was,,, that we still had to travel down their long driveway,,, about 1/4 mile,,, to Monroe Road,,, then follow that to Vernon Rainey Road back to Guthrie Carter Road that we lived on. About 2 hours or so of walking,,, at least the best I remember,,, of walking to be done still,,, but we knew where we were,,, and the way home! What made me think of this escapade was the entry in the little booklet that everyone received about getting lost on day 2! It said: "To keep from getting lost in the wilderness, one must focus on something in the distance and walk toward it. Focusing on a particular tree on the horizon, for example, keeps you on course. Jesus focused his ministry on the cross. The love that Jesus has for you moved him to set his sights on that Golgotha tree. As you face each new day, focus on Jesus and his cross. In the certainty of the empty tomb, he has provided a new life for you. Step in his steps. Today, reflect on ways you can keep your focus on Jesus." This made me remember this and share it tonight. You see,,, I used this to get back home,,, but where I went wrong,,, was focusing on what I was afraid of,,, instead of focusing on what was important.

___________________________________ We made it home,,, that's true!

But we would have made it home much faster if I wouldn't have become stuck on following the advice about getting lost,,, and listened to my friends who tried to convince me to turn around at the creek!

You see,,, we are guilty of this many times in our walk with God.

We become so focused on the problem that we can miss the easiest way home,,, and as a result,,, we miss those,,, "blessings along the way"!

___________________________________ Verses 1–5 that we read earlier,,, describe a morning shepherding scene.

A shepherd enters through a gate into a walled enclosure which has several flocks in one sheep pen.

The enclosure,,, with stone walls,,, is guarded at night by a doorkeeper to prevent thieves and beasts of prey from entering.

Anyone who would climb the wall,,, would do it for the wrong reasons.

By contrast,,, the shepherd has a right to enter the sheep pen.

The watchman opens the gate,,, and the shepherd comes in to call his own sheep by name,,, (out from the other flocks).

Shepherds knew their sheep well and gave them names.

As sheep hear the sound of their owner’s familiar voice,,, they go to him.

He leads them out of the pen till his flock is formed.

Then he goes out toward the fields with the sheep following him.

___________________________________ But if a stranger enters the pen,,, the sheep run away from him because his voice is not familiar.

The shepherd is able to form his flock because the flock knows his voice.

People come to God because He calls them (cf. vv. 16, 27; Rom. 8:28, 30).

Their proper response to His call is to follow Him (cf. John 1:43; 8:12; 12:26; 21:19, 22).

But this spiritual lesson was missed by those who heard Jesus,,, even though they certainly understood the local shepherd/sheep relationship.

In their blindness,,, they could not make the connection.

___________________________________ Jesus then developed the shepherd/sheep figure of speech in another way.

After a shepherd’s flock has been separated from the other sheep,,, he takes them to pasture.

Near the pasture is an enclosure for the sheep.

The shepherd takes his place in the doorway or entrance,,, and functions as a door or gate.

The sheep can go out to the pasture in front of the enclosure,,, or if afraid,,, they can retreat into the security of the enclosure.

The spiritual meaning is that Jesus is the only Gate by which people can enter into God’s provision for them.

When Jesus said,,, All who came before Me are thieves and robbers,,, He referred to those leaders of the nation who cared not for the spiritual good of the people but only for themselves.

Jesus the Shepherd,,, provides security for His flock from enemies,,, (whoever enters through Me will be saved, or “kept safe”).

He also provides for their daily needs,,, (the sheep come in and go out, and find pasture).

The thief,,, that is,,, a false shepherd,,, cares only about feeding himself,,, not building up the flock.

He steals sheep in order to kill them,,, thus destroying part of the flock.

But Christ has come to benefit the sheep.

He gives life which is not constricted but overflowing.

The thief takes life; --- Christ gives it,,, in abundance.

___________________________________ Jesus then developed the sheep/shepherd figure in a third way.

When evening settled over the land of Palestine,,, danger lurked.

In Bible times lions,,, wolves,,, jackals,,, panthers,,, leopards,,, bears,,, and hyenas,,, all types of dangers,,, were common in the countryside.

The life of a shepherd could be dangerous as illustrated by David’s fights with at least one lion and one bear (1 Sam. 17:34–35, 37).

___________________________________ In contrast with the Good Shepherd,,, who owns,,, cares,,, feeds,,, protects,,, and dies,,, for His sheep,,, the one who works for wages — the hired hand — does not have the same commitment.

He is interested in making money and in self-preservation.

If a wolf attacks,,, he runs away and his selfishness causes the flock to be scattered.

Obviously,,, he cares nothing for the sheep.

Israel had many false prophets,,, selfish kings,,, and imitation messiahs.

The flock of God suffered constantly from their abuse (Jer. 10:21–22; 12:10; Zech. 11:4–17).

___________________________________ In contrast with a hired workman,,, the Good Shepherd knows them very well,,, and has a,,, personal interest,,, in the sheep (cf. vv. 3, 27).

I know My sheep,,, stresses His ownership and watchful oversight.

My sheep know Me,,, shows their knowledge of and intimacy with Him.

This intimacy is modeled on the loving and trusting mutual relationship of the Father and the Son.

Jesus’ care and concern is shown by His prediction of His coming death for the flock.

Some shepherds have willingly died while protecting their sheep from danger.

Jesus willingly gave His life for His sheep(vv. 11, 15, 17–18) — on their behalf as their Substitute (Rom. 5:8, 10; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18).

His death gives them life.

___________________________________ The other sheep,,, that are not of this fold;,,, refers to Gentiles who would believe.

His coming death would bring them also to the Father.

they will listen to My voice.

Jesus continues to save people as they hear His voice in the Scriptures.

Acts 18:9–11 illustrates how this works out in the history of the church. “I have many people in this city” (i.e., Corinth), the Lord told Paul.

One flock and one Shepherd speaks of the church with believers from Jewish and Gentile “sheep pens” in one body with Christ as Head (cf. Eph. 2:11–22; 3:6).

Again Jesus predicted His death,,, saying four times that He would voluntarily lay down His life (vv. 11, 15, 17–18).

The Father has a special love for Jesus because of His sacrificial obedience to the will of God.

Jesus predicted His resurrection twice (He would take … up His life again [vv. 17–18]) and His sovereignty (authority) over His own destiny.

His death was wholly voluntary: No one takes it from Me.

Jesus was not a helpless pawn on history’s chessboard.

___________________________________ We can see that the people that were listening to Jesus didn't make the connection that Jesus was showing them.

They were focused on what they were expecting,,, not what Jesus was telling them,,, what He was showing them.

They were focused on the wrong thing!

When we were lost in the woods that day,,, I focused on staying in a straight line getting out of the woods instead of paying attention to the information in front of me,,, the creek,,, and that kept us from getting out quicker.

___________________________________ When we don't focus on Christ the way that we should,,, we are not able to see the blessings along the way!

They are always there,,, but we blind ourselves with worldly problems,,, worldly desires and expectations!

That's what happened with the people that day during the talk that Jesus had with them.

We need to be sure that this doesn't happen to us.

___________________________________ Pay attention to what God is telling you each and every day.

Be sure that you are listening to what He's saying,,, truly listening,,, without allowing distractions to get in the way.

It was those kinds of distractions that kept them from hearing Jesus that day.

They couldn't understand because of their preconceived thoughts,,, or expectations!

As Christians today,,, we must always be open to the words of Christ,,, and we can only hear them when we focus completely on Him and not the world around us.

That gets us home much easier,,, just like we would have gotten home quicker when I should have paid attention to my friends that day.

So as we continue our Lenten journey,,, don't let worldly distractions,,,, keep you from receiving,,, your,,, "blessings,,, along the way"!

___________________________________ Prayer: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------