The Voice of Salvation
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 45:13
0 ratings
· 307 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Video: The Voice of the Shepherd
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 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.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 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.”
When we look at this passage, i think it takes us stepping back and looking at the BIGGER picture...
The context that this passage lies in...
To really see HOW this passage fits into what we’ve been seeing the past several weeks.
If you remember last week - we were introduced to Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd!
And when we ask ourselves - WHY did Jesus declare Himself to be the good shepherd...
When we ask ourselves that question....
We realize that all of what we’ve been seeing = the blind man, the good shepherd...
ALL of it - Highlights this -
SLIDE:
The Redemptive Plan of God
And we’re actually going to see this in our passage today...
BUT - we’re actually going to start with v17-18 AND THEN - look at v14-16.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 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.”
OK - SO - Jesus here reveals to us that His death…and resurrection were not a PASSIVE reaction by God to now deal with the sins of mankind...
That His death and resurrection were not part of SOME PLAN - B...
BUT INSTEAD...
That Christ’s death and resurrection were part of God’s plan all along...
We can hear the AUTHORITY in these verses…
YET - when we look at the death of Christ…we know that mankind made decisions in that process…
The people CHOSE to kill Jesus!
They were asked…do you want Barnabas…or Jesus…
And they CHOSE to free Barnabas
But what does THIS say?
Who ultimately made this decision?
Christ says - I lay down my life…NO ONE takes it from Me.
He’s saying - I made this decision!
He’s saying - I didn’t come to earth - HOPING that the people would CHOOSE to kill Me!
This is HEAVY stuff!
Sounds like this was God’s PLAN….no?
OK - so let’s now LOOK at God’s Plan…and let’s LOOK as far into the past as we can...
LET’S SEE WHAT WE FIND! Let’s see how FAR BACK this plan goes!
Let’s go to - Revelation 13:8
8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
OK - so what is the name of this book…?
The Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain
THIS is the name of the book....
NOW - there were names written in this book...
WHEN were these names written in it...
If you are in here today - SAVED - then your name was written in the Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain…WHEN - BEFORE the foundation of the world!
Let that sink in!
Before the foundation of the world…
…before the FALL of mankind
…before SIN shattered the relationship between God and man...
there was a book...
And that book was called - the Book of Life of the LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN
Before the foundation of the world - this BOOK references the DEATH of Christ and His RESURRECTION....
Why was Jesus SLAIN? SIN**
so AGAIN - The DEATH and RESURRECTION of Christ were NOT some PLAN B - in God’s redemptive plan!
THIS PLAN - goes back to the beginning!
But what else can we find out about this plan?
What was written in the Book of Life - BEFORE the foundation of the world?
NAMES!
Who decided who’s names were written in this book?
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
So the names that were written in the Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain....
were the names of CHRISTIANS…!
So think thru this...
Before the Foundation of the World:
There was a book of life of the Lamb who was slain
AND
Names were written in that book
How did those names get IN that book?
God chose us! (v4)
Now - QUESTION - - Were we CHOSEN before the foundation of the world - according to what we WERE GOING to CHOOSE TO DO?
Is God’s CHOOSING of US - determined upon Him looking down through the corridor of time…seeing WHAT we would choose, and then based on that - HE CHOSE us?
Well - the Bible tells us the answer…Let’s go to what’s called - the Golden Chain of Redemption
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Here it is… the Golden Chain of Redemption
5 stages of redemption - laid out for us by the apostle Paul...
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
How does it begin?
Does it begin with the foreknowledge of God?
No it doesn’t.
A lot of people will read this verse, see that it says - “For those whom He FOREKNEW He also predestined...
And they declare - that this REFERS to God - LOOKING down the corridor of time and seeing what we would CHOOSE to do...
But that’s NOT what this “foreknew” means.
How do I know...
I know because this word here - is a VERB.
“Those whom He FOREKNEW”.... This isn’t referring to - the CAPACITY of God’s knowledge...
It’s not referring to God’s APTITUDE of Knowledge...
This word here - is God DOING something!
This word is - GOD - ACTING out something.....but what is that something?
This is God - SELECTING BEFOREHAND...
This is God - CHOOSING (it’s an ACTIVE VERB)...
And it’s confirmed for us in Ephesians 1…and Romans 11
Let’s go to Romans 11 before we circle back to our text from today...
2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?
3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.”
4 But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
This REMNANT here in v5 is the same group of people spoken of in v2...
God has NOT rejected His people whom He FOREKNEW (Chose by grace)...
God is DOING something here…He’s MOVING....He’s ACTING....He’s CHOOSING...
And so back in our text today…it’s no wonder what Christ says in v16...
16 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.
Jesus says - I HAVE other sheep…not of this fold.
I HAVE them!
I POSSESS them!
They’re not here right now....we can’t physically SEE them right now...
But they’re MINE!
How can He say that?
He can say that - because they’ve ALREADY been chosen....BEFORE THE FOUNDATION oF THE WORLD!
And then what He says next ALSO pertains to the Golden Chain of Redemption...
What was the golden chain?
SLIDE:
Foreknew, Predestined, Called, Justified, Glorified
Those whom He foreknew - He predestined to be conformed to the IMAGE of His Son...
AND THEN…what?
Those whom He predestined....He - CALLED...
This is the EFFECTUAL CALL of God - UNTO Salvation! Faith!
The Bible tells us that mankind does not have the ability to UNDERSTAND spiritual things...
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
And so the LOST person has no ABILITY to turn...
No ability to ACCEPT the things of the Spirit of God...
SO WHAT”S NEEDED??
The Bible tells us...
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The CALLING of God - AWAKENS the soul to BELIEVE!!!
Paul says - we preach Christ CRUCIFIED…v23 - BUT WITHOUT v24 - Heaven is EMPTY!
All those whom He FOREKNEW (Chose) He predestined!
All those whom He predestined…He called!
This is what’s happening in our text today...
16 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.
When Christ says - I must BRING my sheep - He’s talking about the CALL...
I must CALL them - AWAKEN them...and they will LISTEN to My voice!!
I must EMPOWER them to BELIEVE!.., and they will LISTEN to My voice!!
They will HEAR the call of their SHEPHERD!
There’s some debate about who Christ is referring to here…
these SHEEP that are a part of ANOTHER fold...
I believe that Christ is referring to the Gentiles...
And so an EXAMPLE of this BRINGING of the SHEEP - this CALLING of the SHEEP is found back in Acts...
We read this a couple weeks ago...
37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,
40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,
41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.
43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
These Gentiles - HEARD the CALL of God!
The EFFECTUAL CALL of God AWAKENED them to - BELIEVE!
Their NAMES had been written down in the Book of Life of the Lamb Who Was Slain…before the foundation of the World...
Before Peter even showed up that day - those men BELONGED to Christ...
Christ POSSESSED them!
This was an example of God - BRINGING His Sheep from OUTSIDE the fold…into the fold...
Where there was once JEW and GREEK....
NOW - there is simply - BELIEVER!
And Christ addresses this in our text...
16 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.
Jesus says - I HAVE other sheep..
I possess other sheep - they are MINE…I’ve written them down before the foundation of the world...
I CHOSE them!
NOW - I must CALL them…I must AWAKEN them…BECAUSE SIN prevents them from AWAKENING themselves...
I POSSESS them- but I must BRING them now to Myself - and I Will USE PETER to do it!
So as Peter PROFESSES My WORD…Those gentile SHEEP HEAR my Voice...
And they - BELIEVE!!
NOW - instead of distinction between JEW and GREEK…what? One FLOCK....ONE Shepherd!
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
No Distinction between Jew and Greek = One Flock
The same LORD is LORD of all! = One Shepherd!!
NOW - what’s next in the chain?
All those whom He Foreknew (chose)…He predestined
All those whom He predestined…He called
ALL those whom He called....He - JUSTIFIED!!
Is this in our text today?
Yes...
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Here we have - the Death of Christ...
Couple this with v17 and 18 and we see a picture of the Gospel...
The life…death…burial…and resurrection of Jesus Christ...
And it’s this ACT of Christ...
The work of Christ on the cross that Justifies us before God...
24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The WORK of Jesus and Jesus alone....saves us....JUSTIFIES us!
He is exclusive in this…There is NO OTHER way to get to God…but thru Jesus Christ...
Faith alone in Christ alone - saves us - justifies us before God.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Saved UNTO what?
The last chain in the Golden Chain of redemption...
SLIDE:
Foreknew, Predestined, Called, Justified, Glorified
Let’s close with this...
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The suffering that Paul endured in his life proclaiming the gospel - makes this statement all the more amazing!
We can’t even comprehend the glory that awaits those who LOVE Jesus!
We can’t see it yet…but Paul says:
“If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience”
What have we seen today?
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 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.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
18 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.”
In our passage today - we see and feel the absolute SOVEREIGNTY of God...
We see His PLAN of Redemption…!
And some of us may be thinking - well - if this is all true…then WHY go and preach the good news to people?
If God is SOVEREIGN over ALL of this...
THEN WHY - go and proclaim?
We go and proclaim because we are the MEANS by which the world HEARS the Shepherds voice.
Do you think the Gentiles in Acts 10 were grateful that Peter CHOSE to go and proclaim the truth of Christ?
We are A MEANS by which God CALLS His sheep!
English Standard Version Chapter 10
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him uof whom they have never heard?3 And how are they to hear vwithout someone preaching?
And think about this...
v16 of our text today said - I have other sheep not of this fold, and I must bring them also and THEY - WILL listen to My voice!
Do we believe Jesus when He says - these SHEEP out there WILL listen to His voice?
If we believe that…then shouldn’t that EMBOLDEN us and our proclamation?
It’s like KNOWING who wins the game before WATCHING the game!
We KNOW THEN that there are people out there who are just WAITING to hear God’s truth…and they WILL listen to and turn to FOLLOW Christ!
May we be a people who GO and PROCLAIM...
Listen...
He has other sheep that are not of THIS fold…and HE must BRING them...
THEREFORE - we go and may His CALL be our MESSAGE!
Let’s pray!