Can You Hear the Good Shepherd?
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Do you remember those old Verizon commercials
with the guy walking around,
holding up a phone and asking,
“Can you hear me now? … Good!”
The whole idea was that if you had Verizon,
you could always hear the call, no matter where you were.
Reception mattered, because without it, the conversation was broken.
Transition to Title
In John 10, Jesus is essentially asking a similar kind of question—
not about cell phones, but about something much deeper:
“Can you hear Me?”
He says that His true sheep hear His voice, recognize it, and follow Him.
The tragedy in our passage is that many standing right in front of Him couldn’t hear—
not because His voice was unclear, but because their hearts weren’t tuned to Him.
So that’s the question we need to wrestle with this morning:
Can You Hear the Good Shepherd?
Can You Hear the Good Shepherd?
Not just do you know about Him,
but do you
recognize His voice,
trust His word,
and follow Him?
Prayer for Illumination
Prayer for Illumination
Lord…
Scripture
Scripture
Announce
Announce
John 10:22-42.
Introduce
Introduce
We have been going through the Gospel According to John,
and over the last few chapters,
going back to chapter 7,
Jesus was teaching over the week of the Feast of Booths,
which was in Autumn.
This morning, as we pick back up,
we begin a new conversation that takes place about 2 months later,
during the Feast of Dedication.
Let’s read…
Read
Read
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.
Context
Context
We are told in verse 22 that…
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem.
This feast is not mentioned in the OT,
because it was only instituted in between the time of the OT & NT.
In the year 170 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, attacked Jerusalem.
William Barclay writes of some of the horrors that took place.
Antiochus loved all things Greek, and wanted to eliminate the Jews once and for all.
It is said Antiochus:
killed 80,000 Jews, and sold 80,000 more into slavery…
stole millions in gold and silver…
He issued evil, horrific laws:
having a copy of the law was punishable by death…
circumcising a child was punishable by death,
and mothers who did were crucified with their children hanging around their necks.
the temple was turned into a house of prostitution…
the altar of burnt offering was turned into an altar to the Greek god Zeus…
and pigs were sacrificed on the altar, desecrating it!
After about 3 years, the Jews rallied under the leadership of Judas Macccabee, known as ‘the hammer’ (what a nickname!).
Even though they were outnumbered, they defeated the Assyrians,
and on the 25th of Kislev, 164 BC, they cleansed the temple.
They rededicated the temple, and there was great celebration for 8 days.
And they decreed that a similar festival should be held every year in remembrance.
Today the Feast of Dedication is still one of Judaism’s celebrations.
Jews still light lampstands with 8 lights, one on each day till all 8 are lit.
For this reason it is also referred to as “The Festival of Lights”,
or more commonly, “Hanukah”.
Summary
It is here, in the midst of remembering God’s deliverance from their enemies,
that Jesus is walking in the temple.
He has come as the ultimate Deliverer,
who will defeat sin and death,
and Shepherd His people into His presence!
The question is:
Can You Hear the Good Shepherd?
Transition
We should seek to listen and…
1. Follow His Voice
1. Follow His Voice
As Jesus is walking in the temple,
the Jews ambush Him…
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
This seems like a hostile situation,
and not a group of sincerely curious people.
They imply that Jesus has been unclear/vague about who He is.
At the heart, the religious leaders are trying to blame Jesus for their unbelief!
Jesus is not the problem… their own hard hearts are!
So Jesus responds…
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe.
Jesus had not explicitly told the Jews that He was the Christ.
To this point He has only told the Samaritan woman at the well.
Also, back in chapter 1, Andrew tells Simon Peter,
“We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
We don’t know exactly why Jesus didn’t use the term,
but this doesn’t mean He hasn’t been clear about who He is!
To this point Jesus has told them:
He came from heaven…
whoever believes on Him has eternal life...
He is the Son of God, worthy of the same honour as the Father…
He will judge all humanity…
the Scriptures speak of Him…
He perfectly reveals the Father…
He always pleases God and does not sin…
He was sent by God…
He was before Abraham…
He is the Son of man prophesied by Daniel…
He has authority to lay down His life and raise Himself from the dead…
He is the Bread of Life...
He is the Light of the World…
He is the Door…
He is the Good Shepherd…
The problem wasn’t that Jesus hadn’t given enough information…
the problem was their unbelieving hearts!
It’s interesting that Jesus says, “I told you”,
but then says “and you DO NOT BELIEVE” (present tense).
Even though He has been VERY clear,
but they still do not believe.
Not only has Jesus been clear that He is the Christ through what He has said,
but His miracles also point to the fact that He is the Christ.
He says next in…
The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
What works is Jesus referring to?
Up to this point in John He has:
Turned water into wine…
He Healed the royal official’s son… with His words… when He wasn’t even there!
He healed a man who had been lame man for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda…
He fed the 5,000 (more like around 20,000) with only 5 loaves and 2 fish…
He walked on water…
He healed the man who had been born blind…
All of these miracles prove that Jesus is the Christ,
and has been sent by God!
After the healing of the man born blind,
the religious leaders refuse to believe Jesus,
and say to the man…
29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
The man responds…
30 “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
This man could look at the evidence of Jesus’ works,
and conclude that He was sent by God,
and follow and worship Him!
The religious leaders refused to believe the evidence,
and kicked this man out of the synagogue,
and continued seeking an opportunity to kill or arrest Jesus.
Jesus then gives the reason they do not believe…
26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
You have to be a sheep in order to hear and obey Jesus’ words.
Those who are not Jesus’ sheep will not hear or follow His voice.
They are deaf to His voice!
They need their ears to be opened in order to hear Jesus!
This is what Jesus was talking about in His conversation with Nicodemus back in…
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We can’t even recognize who Jesus is,
until we are born again,
and our eyes are opened!
This does not remove their personal responsibility to believe!
Jesus is holding them responsible for their unbelief,
and has repeatedly called on people to believe in Him!
And those who do will become children, born again by God!
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Summary
Jesus has given sufficient evidence that He is the Christ,
God in the flesh!
His words and His works testify to that truth!
Therefore, we should:
FOLLOW HIS VOICE!
APPLY
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We must be careful we don’t fall into this false idea,
that God is withholding information from us,
and if He would only give us more,
THEN we will believe!
The problem is not with God…
the problem is WITH US!
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
When Jesus tells the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus,
the Rich Man, who was suffering torment in hell, says…
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
We see this same principle here in this story,
if the Rich Man’s brothers are not going to believe Moses and the Prophets,
they won’t believe even if someone rises from the dead!
The problem is not a lack of evidence…
it is the lack of a transformed heart!
Their hearts are hard, so they will refuse to believe no matter what!
APPLY CONT.
APPLY CONT.
Non-Believer
Maybe that’s you this morning…
You’re like the religious leaders who want Jesus to prove He is God.
Maybe you feel like God needs to prove Himself to you…
He needs to give you a sign,
and then you will believe Him!
NO YOU WON’T!
It isn’t for a lack of evidence that you don’t believe,
it’s because you have a hard heart!
Jesus has done enough for you to believe in Him!
All His words, and
All His miracles,
point to the fact that He was God in the flesh!
DON’T HARDEN YOUR HEARTS TO JESUS!
Turn to Him today and “Follow His Voice”…
repent of your sin and hard heart,
and ask Him to open your eyes and ears,
to see and understand who He truly is!
God promises that all who believe in Jesus,
will be born of God, and
become children of God!
But if you refuse to turn to Jesus,
you will die in your sin!
Stop blaming God for your unbelief!
Your unbelief is rooted in your own sinful, hard heart!
Turn to Jesus in humility,
and “Follow His Voice”!
Transition
For those who do,
“Follow His Voice”,
Jesus gives incredibly comforting promises!
So the next thing we should do is…
2. Rest in His Promise
2. Rest in His Promise
The Jewish leaders were trying to blame Jesus for their lack of belief,
but Jesus puts the blame back on them, where it belongs.
They are responsible for their own unbelief!
He tells them they don’t believe because they are not among His sheep.
It is evident they are not one of His sheep because Jesus says in…
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Now Jesus is going to give us one of the most comforting assurances in all of Scripture!
Eternal Security!
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Eternal Life
For all those who are Jesus’ sheep,
He gives them eternal life!
We know that we are not living eternally now.
We are reminded of the sureness of death every day.
But Jesus’ promise is that though His sheep will die,
they will live forever!
They will be given immortal bodies that are perfect,
They will be glorified with Jesus, and
They will live forever in the glory of His presence!
And they will…
Never Perish
Our earthly lives will come to an end,
but it is not the end!
It is only the beginning of our eternal lives!
We will live eternally in the presence of God,
with no more fear of death!
(None Will Snatch)
Not only is there no fear of death,
there is no fear that anyone can snatch us away from God!
Jesus had just mentioned earlier in chapter 10,
the thieves and robbers who come to try and steal the sheep.
But here Jesus wants them to know that He is the faithful, Good Shepherd,
and once His sheep come in to the fold through Him, the Door,
they are secure!
None can snatch them away!
Transition
Jesus tells them why in…
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
The reason Jesus is able to make this promise,
is because God the Father is greater than all!
God is all-powerful!
He is greater than all,
so He can make these promises,
knowing that He will be faithful to fulfill them!
And then Jesus says in verse 30…
30 I and the Father are one.”
God the Father and God the Son are two different persons,
and yet they are One!
They are unified in their desire to give the sheep eternal life…
They are unified in their desire to protect the sheep… AND
They are unified in their power to KEEP THE SHEEP!
Notice that Jesus said in verse 28…
“no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
And then in verse 29…
“no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
The eternal security of the sheep,
are in the two-fold grip of God the Father, and God the Son!
A.W. Tozer, in his book, ‘The Knowledge of the Holy’, says…
God’s gifts in nature have their limitations. They are finite because they have been created, but the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus is as limitless as God.
The Christian man possesses God’s own life and shares His infinitude with Him. In God there is life enough for all and time enough to enjoy it.
Whatever is possessed of natural life runs through its cycle from birth to death and ceases to be, but the life of God returns upon itself and ceases never.
And this is life eternal: to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3).
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What a wonderful promise for us to hang on to,
that we can have eternal life!
Who is it that has this promise?
Those who are Jesus’ sheep!
They hear His voice…
He knows them… and
they follow Him!
Since they hear and follow the the voice of their Shepherd,
it shows that they know Him,
and His promise to His sheep is that He will give them eternal life,
and no one will be able to snatch them away!
This is because He and the Father are One,
they are greater than all,
which is why they can keep the promises they make!
ILLUSTRATE - Empty Promises
ILLUSTRATE - Empty Promises
We try to make promises to others,
but we have no way of guaranteeing the outcome.
Maybe you mess up at work and you say it will never happen again…
Maybe your children are worried something bad is going to happen to you,
so you comfort them by saying you’ll always be there for them
Maybe you tell your spouse you’ll never fight again…
These are well-intentioned promises,
but we have no way of guaranteeing we will be able to keep them,
because we are not all-powerful!
APPLY CONT.
APPLY CONT.
But God is all-powerful,
so we can “Rest in His Promise of Eternal Security”.
Brothers and sisters,
you can know that you are saved,
and are secure in the hand of God!
Jesus’ promise to His sheep,
is that they are eternally secure in the hand…
of the Almighty, Triune God of the universe!
And this is why John wrote His account of Jesus’ life in the first place…
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John says this same thing in…
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
The problem is…
we don’t always believe it!
At times we lack assurance of that truth,
because we still struggle with sin,
and Satan uses our sin to cause us to doubt!
But we can see from this passage that Jesus doesn’t want us to doubt!
It’s clear that He intends this promise to be a blessing we hold on to!
I’m reminded of a something John MacArthur was well-known for saying…
“If I could lose my salvation, I would!”
If our salvation was based on my works,
or my ability to keep it,
we would fail!
Your salvation… your eternal security,
is not based on your own power/strength…
your eternal security comes from GOD’S STRENGTH!
This does not somehow give us a license to sin,
as if we should willingly give in to sin,
thinking that God is going to forgive us no matter what.
Jesus said this promise is for His sheep, who:
hear His voice… and
follow Him!
If you don’t hear His voice,
or care about following Him,
then you are NOT one of His sheep,
and you will perish,
and be eternally separated from God in hell!
But for the sheep of Jesus,
they long to hear the voice of their Shepherd, and follow Him.
And even though they stumble along the way,
and don’t follow Him perfectly,
their desire is to be faithful to Him.
This shows they are truly Jesus’ sheep,
and they can “Rest in His Promise of Eternal Security!”
So What to Do When Doubts/Insecurities Come?
Usually they come because of guilt over sin.
This can come from either:
The Holy Spirit; or
Satan.
How do we know the difference?
I read a quote this week that said…
“The Holy Spirit convicts to draw you to God. Satan condemns to push you away from God.”
Conviction of the Spirit
The Spirit gives conviction of sin,
and it comes with desires to confess that sin,
to overcome it and be obedient to Christ…
The Holy Spirit is from Jesus, who wants us to have life,
and have it abundantly!
Condemnation of Satan
Satan condemns our sin,
bringing shame and discouragement,
making you question your salvation,
giving you desires to give up the fight and just fully give in to sin, and turn away from God!
Remember, Satan is a liar and a murderer
who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy!
When the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin…
immediately turn to God in prayer,
confessing your sin,
and He will be faithful to cleanse you!
Remind yourself in that moment that your works don’t save you,
but only your faith in Jesus Christ!
Thank God for the Good Shepherd,
who willingly laid down His life for you!
This is preaching the Gospel to yourself…
reminding you that your eternal security depends on Jesus,
and not you!
Trust in Him!
When Satan seeks to tear you down with your sin…
You can’t deny your sin,
because you know you’re a sinner!
Kyle Idleman has said…
“The truth is I am worse that I ever wanted to admit, but God’s grace is greater than I ever could have imagined.”
Call out to God and ask for His help, and He will give you grace and strength,
and will Himself cause Satan to flee!
You cannot stand up to Satan yourself,
but God is greater than all,
and He will defend you!
Rest on the promise of God,
that no matter how hard Satan tries,
he will never be able to snatch you out of God’s hand!
Transition
So far this morning we’ve been encouraged to look to Jesus and:
Follow His Voice;
Rest in His Promise;
and now we’re going to be encouraged to…
3. Believe His Works
3. Believe His Works
The Jews have heard Jesus words,
they’ve seen His works,
yet they refuse to believe that He is the Messiah!
As Jesus has already showed,
this is because they are not His sheep.
Their hearts are hard,
and they are not looking objectively at the facts.
They have predetermined that Jesus is the enemy,
and nothing is going to change their mind!
And things are about to take a turn for the worse!
After Jesus said in verse 30,
“I and the Father are one.”
We read…
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
The Jews are about to kill Jesus by stoning Him,
but Jesus calmly continues the conversation.
He wants to know what He has done to deserve death…
All His works have been positive, restoring abundant life…
What has Jesus done to deserve death?
But the Jews clearly understand that Jesus is claiming to be God,
which is why they are trying to kill Him.
This is why they have already tried to kill Him a number of times already,
or tried to arrest Him on a number of other occasions…
because they claimed He was,
“making himself God.”
Jesus was not “making” Himself anything.
By His words and deeds He was,
PROVING WHO HE TRULY WAS!
“If they cannot answer holy arguments with fair reasonings, they can give hard answers with stones. If you cannot destroy the reasoning, you may, perhaps, destroy the reasoner.” (Spurgeon)
Jesus then shows the inconsistency of their argument…
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—
36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
Jesus is referring to Psalm 82,
where Israel’s judges are referred to as ‘gods’.
They are not gods in the sense of being divine or equal to God,
but it’s referring to the authority they had been given to judge God’s people,
which they were supposed to do in the fear of God,
and obedience to His Word.
Ironically, the judges of that day were being confronted because
they WERE NOT judging rightly!
It may have been that Jesus was making that connection here to the religious leaders,
who were not judging with right judgement.
Nevertheless, Jesus’ point is,
that if God’s Word refers to men as ‘gods’,
and the leaders don’t have an issue with that,
then why do they have an issue with Jesus referring to Himself as the “Son of God”?
Jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater…
if humans can be referred to as ‘gods’,
how much more Jesus,
whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world?!?
Jesus then continues his argument,
showing how ignorant they were being…
37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Jesus calls on them to use right judgement…
if my works don’t line up with my claim to be one with the Father…
don’t believe me!
But if they are the works of God…
then believe them!
If it looks like a duck…
walks like a duck…
quacks like a duck…
IT’S A DUCK!
This is what Jesus is saying…
If you look at my works,
and they point to my Father,
then believe in my works!
Nicodemus came to this conclusion and said…
2 “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
The Samaritan woman said…
29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
The Samaritans came out and said…
42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
After feeding the 5,000…
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
After the man born blind had been healed by Jesus,
he said…
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
All along the way we see those who saw the works of Jesus,
and it was clear that He was from God!
But many of the Jews and religious leaders
refused to believe in Jesus,
and sought to kill and arrest Him,
which is what happens next…
39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
Summary
These Jewish leaders were blinded by their own jealousy,
and refused to be honest in looking at the facts.
They heard Jesus’ words and saw His miraculous signs,
that proved He was God, sent from God,
and refused to believe in Him!
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How about you?
Do you believe Jesus’ works,
and thereby believe in Him as the Son of God?
There’s a sense in which it is more challenging for us to believe,
because we have not witnessed Jesus’ miracles first hand.
We know that after Jesus rose from the dead,
Thomas refused to believe unless he saw Jesus for himself,
and when he did, he worshiped Jesus!
Then Jesus said…
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus is looking ahead to all His future sheep,
who would believe by faith.
You don’t need to see to believe,
you can believe the eye-witness testimony of those who did!
They are trustworthy,
and were willing to die for their witness to Jesus!
This is why John wrote,
so that people would read his testimony and believe in Jesus!
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
This is not so hard for us to understand,
we do it all the time.
If I told you that on Friday night,
the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays: 4-2,
those of you who don’t care about the Blue Jays will just take my word for it.
You don’t need to see it for yourself.
If I told you that Elon Musk has about 8,460 starlink satellites in space right now,
none of you are going to feel the need to go and count them tonight.
This week Jonah texted me and told me of the passing of Voddie Baucham,
a great man of God, and a preacher.
And I didn’t feel the need to go and verify that it was true…
I didn’t need to see the hospital report…
or go to the coroner’s office and see his dead body…
I just believed Jonah.
Summary
If we are so willing to believe human testimony,
HOW MUCH MORE WILLING SHOULD WE BELIEVE GOD’S TESTIMONY ABOUT HIMSELF!
The Bible is God’s inspired Word,
and we should be willing to take Him at His Word,
believe His works…
and follow His voice...
and then we will have the incredible promise of eternal security with Him!
Closing
Closing
And there’s something at the end of this section that I don’t want us to miss.
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.
41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.
As great a man as John the Baptist was,
he didn’t perform ANY signs!
All he did was point people to Jesus,
and many believed in Him!
John the Baptist was a great man,
but it wasn’t because of any great signs he performed…
It was because he was faithful to God’s call on his life,
to simply point people to Jesus.
God is the One who brought the crowds to hear him!
I read a commentary that quoted George Morrison, who said…
“We are so apt to think that special service is only given to very special people, that great tasks are not for common folk but for men of wonder-working gifts.”
Isn’t this so true?
We look at
the Charlie Kirk’s,
the John MacArthur’s,
the Billy Graham’s,
and think only great, special, and gifted people can do great things!
We need to look to John the Baptist’s example.
All he did was point people to Jesus,
and God brought the crowds out into the wilderness to hear him.
God is not going to use all of us in the same way,
but He does want to use you where He has placed you,
to be shining the light of Jesus,
speaking the truth about Him to others,
so that they can,
“Hear the Good Shepherd”,
and believe in Him!
Point to Christ
Point to Christ
At the beginning of the sermon I mentioned The Feast of Dedication,
which is the festival the Jews were celebrating at the time of this interaction with Jesus.
It was a reminder of God’s deliverance from the hands of their enemies
who sought to destroy them.
But now, someone greater has come…
Jesus Christ…
The Son of God…
The Messiah…
The Light of the World…
The Great Deliverer,
who has conquered sin and death!
Amen?!?
We no longer need to celebrate the holy days and feasts of the OT,
because the God who instituted them came and fulfilled them!
We no longer need to go to the temple to worship God,
because when we come through Jesus, the Door,
His Spirit lives in us!
We no longer need to offer sacrifices to pay for our sin,
because Jesus made the once for all sacrifice for all mankind!
Lord’s Supper
Lord’s Supper
This morning we remember that sacrifice Jesus made for us.
If you have believed in Jesus,
repented of your sin;
put your faith in Him as your Saviour;
have been baptized on your profession of faith; and
are in good standing with the Lord…
we invite you to participate in the Lord’s Supper.
If you do not believe in Jesus,
maybe you’re not where you stand with Him,
or maybe you know you’re not living right before Him…
we ask you NOT to participate in the Lord’s Supper.
Scripture tells us that we are remembering Christ’s death,
and proclaiming it through faith until He returns.
For this reason, we are not to eat or drink in an unworthy manner,
or we will be guilty, and bring judgement on ourselves.
Therefore, we should examine ourselves.
I want to give a moment for us all to do that.
None of us is worthy to participate in this glorious remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice,
and yet, God freely gives us this joy and blessing through faith.
So take a moment to confess your sin and unworthiness before God,
and thank God for Jesus, who willingly died, so that through Him you could live.
Pause for 1 min…
If your conscious is clear, we invite you to participate with us.
Join me in opening the top portion and taking the wafer.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Pray:
Lord, we thank for sacrificing Your body for us.
Your body was broken, bruised and beaten for us.
You gave Your life to pay for our sin so that we could live.
We thank You for Your willing sacrifice,
and remember it this morning.
Amen.
Let’s take and eat.
Join me in opening the juice.
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Pray:
Lord, we thank You for the new covenant in Your blood.
We thank You for Your blood that was spilled as payment for our sin.
We thank You that through faith, it is applied to us.
We remember Your blood shed this morning,
as we long for the day when You will return in glory,
and our joy will be complete, as we look forward to spending eternity with You!
Land the Plane (Last call to action)
Land the Plane (Last call to action)
