Gate and Shepherd

Intro

Iconic Voices:

- Gandalf

- Yoda

- James Earl Jones

- Morgan Freeman

- Genie (Robin Williams)

Headphone Lip Reading

You Are Like Sheep

Mob Mentality (we follow the crowd)

We are fearful and timid

we are stubborn and stupid

Gross

Can’t do it on our own

Sheep Have enemies

Thieves and Robbers

Wolves

God is the Good Shepherd

if there’s a good shepherd, that means there are bad shepherds

What makes a bad shepherd?

Calls sheep by their name (3)

Leads them out (3)

Sheep know his voice (4)

Protects the sheep

Jesus combines two metaphors to talk about Himself in , gate and shepherd.

Intro

You may have heard this about the country of New Zealand: In the 1980s there were 60 million sheep in New Zealand, and only 3 million people. Sheep literally outnumbered people 20:1. Today the number of sheep is lower and the number of people is higher, so theres only 6 sheep for every person. That’s still a ton!

To put it in perspective for us, there are only 5 million sheep in the united states. People in the US outnumber sheep 65:1.

A while ago, I heard a story about one particular sheep in New Zealand. His name was Shrek. Shrek the sheep HATED getting sheared. So one day, Shrek ran away. He hated getting sheared so much that he ran away and went and hid in a cave. Shrek the Sheep lived in that cave and roamed freely around New Zealand for 6 whole years until he was finally caught.

The thing about domestic sheep is that their wool doesn’t stop growing. So by not getting sheared for six years, Shrek had a huge amount of wool on him. almost 70lbs of wool, enough wool to make over 20 men’s suits.

[Show Pictures of Shrek]

The thing about shearing wool is that it’s actually good for the sheep. When the wool gets too long, the sheep can overheat. They can’t see or move as well with bulky wool so they become easy targets for predators. Bugs and parasites can live in the wool. And if the sheep falls down and rolls onto its back, it literally can’t get up again.

Sheep are dependent creatures. They really cannot take care of themselves. They have a mob mentality where they’ll just follow the sheep in front of them, even if it’s into danger. They are fearful and timid animals with many predators. They are stubborn and stupid animals, and the shepherd needs to constantly be on the lookout to make sure they’re not wandering off or falling down and unable to get up.

It’s seems fitting then, that the bible would use sheep as a metaphor for you and for me. You and I are stubborn, and dumb, and fearful, and timid. We can’t take care of ourselves most of the time, and we are prone to run away from things that are actually good for us.

So since the metaphor for us is sheep, it makes sense that the metaphor for God would be a Shepherd. So we’re going to look at a place in John where Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd.

Read

Why Do I need a Good Shepherd?

Why does it matter that Jesus is the Good Shepherd?

You Need a Different Voice(3-5)

The first thing that Jesus tells us in these verses is that as sheep, we need to listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd.

The voice of the Good Shepherd is so different from other voices in our lives.

We live in a world where noise is constant. There are so many people, so many voices, all clamoring for your attention.

There are voices on the news,

there’s the voices of your teachers at school,

there’s the voices of your friends,

the voices of people you don’t even know on social media,

the voice of your parents,

the voice of your small group leader,

my voice...

All kinds of voices that are seemingly never ending, and they’re all asking you to

do something,

change something,

be something,

buy something,

believe something.

How can you know which voices you should listen to? How do you know which voices actually want what is best for you?

We need a Good Shepherd whose voice is different. a voice that is going to cut through all the others.

Why?

His voice is constant - is doesn’t change with with season or your circumstances.

His voice is a voice of security - telling you that you are safe in Him.

His voice is a voice of significance - telling you that you have worth and value because you were created by him.

His voice is a voice of affirmation - telling you that you are enough, that you don’t have to keep trying to hard to impress everyone

His voice is a voice of correction - he’ll let you know when you’re off track and when you’re doing things you shouldn’t.

This is the voice we need. Desperately. But you’ll only hear it if you’re paying attention.

but only if you’re paying attention.

Elijah is on the run. Queen Jezebel wants his head so Elijah runs and hides in a cave. God tells Elijah that he wants to speak to him, so Elijah stands at the mouth of the cave ready to listen.

The first thing that Elijah hears is a tornado. A violent wind that tears at the mountain side. But God wasn’t speaking in the tornado.

Next he hears the rumble and roar of an earthquake that shakes the very ground. But God didn’t speak in the earthquake.

Then it’s a raging fire burning red hot. But God didn’t speak to Elijah in the fire.

When God finally speaks, it says his voice was like a soft whisper. So quiet that if you aren’t paying attention you’ll miss it.

Jesus says that his sheep hear his voice, know his voice, and follow his voice. And they don’t listen to the voice of a stranger, only the voice of their shepherd.

Does that sound like you? Are you good at hearing Jesus through all of the other noise?

Headphones Lipreading Challenge

First, it gives us a name. We talked about this during the I Am series where we looked at our identity. The name that Jesus gives you is better than the name that the world tries to give you.

We need the Good Shepherd because we need a different voice than the ones we hear in this world.

The world will try to tell you that you’re unlovable. That you’re too far gone. That nobody cares about you. That you’re alone. That your value comes from your athletic ability, or your artistic ability, or your school performance.

But Jesus tells you that you are loved, you’re his child, you’re his friend. That you have a future, that you have a home, that you are never alone. That you have value because you are created in God’s own image.

Names are so important. They’re linked to our identity. The name you embrace for yourself will determine the trajectory of you life. If the name you embrace is that you only matter as long as you’re the best athlete on the team, then as soon as you have a bad game, your value is gone. Or when you get hurt and you’re out for the season, you don’t matter anymore.

The Voice of the Good Shepherd wants to give you a better name.

You Have Enemies (11-13)

Sheep have enemies. The natural enemy of the sheep is a wolf, but any animal with teeth and claws could harm a sheep. Coyotes, bears, mountain lions, stray dogs... A farmer was quoted saying that two stray dogs were able to kill over 100 sheep of his flock in one night.

King David was a shepherd, and he told Saul that he had killed lions and bears in the defense of his sheep.

For a sheep, the danger is everywhere and the don’t have anyway of protecting themselves. Their only defense is a Good Shepherd. Our only defense from our enemies is a Good Shepherd.

Look at verse 11.

John 10:11 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus says that he is the Good Shepherd and the way he proves it is by laying down his life for his sheep.

Have any of you ever had a substitute teacher before?

What happens when there’s a sub? When I was in school, most of the time they’d put on a movie or something.

It was clear that they didn’t care about the students in the same way my normal teacher did.

In the same way, Jesus talks about hired hands. They don’t really care about the sheep. They’re just collecting a paycheck. And when the wolves come, they run because they don’t love the sheep enough to stay and fight off the wolves.

How many people in your life have run away when things got hard? What fake friends have you had that abandoned you in a second?

Who disappointed you because you thought they would be there, but they weren’t?

We need a Good Shepherd because when our lives are messed up, when everyone else has cut and run, when Satan is throwing your sin back in our face telling you that you’ll never measure up, that God could never love you

The shepherd stays. The shepherd protects. We need that shepherd

That’s why we need the protection of the Good Shepherd.

You and me, we have a real enemy. And our enemy wants to see us crash and burn. He wants us to fail. He wants us to turn our backs on God. His goal for our life is destruction.

But Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down his own life so that we could be free from this enemy. Jesus loves us so much that he went that far to protect us.

Which brings us to the close of this message. Let’s circle back to verse 10.

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

You need a Good Shepherd because you need life. Real Life.

You Need Life (10)

Our enemy is like a wolf, but Jesus says our enemy is also like a thief.

Thieves want to steal, kill, and destroy. That’s what life looks like for us without a shepherd. It’s a life that is missing the point, a life that is dead, a life that is destroyed.

I think way too many people in this room right now are cool with living that kind of life.

You’re cool with the thief coming in and robbing you of your joy and your peace.

You’re cool with the thief coming in and killing relationships and friendships.

You’re cool with the thief coming in and destroying the future that God wants for you.

And I think you’re cool with it because you don’t know that life could look any different. Maybe you’ve been thinking that this is just how life is and it will never change. Maybe you’ve been thinking that there’s no way that Jesus could offer something better.

But the Good Shepherd promises

Verse 10, Jesus says that our enemy the thief came to steal, kill, and destroy, but He, Jesus, has come so that we can have life.

And it’s not some boring life. Some pointless life. Some checklist of all the things you can’t do anymore life.

Some people honestly believe that if they started following Jesus then all fun, all joy would just be sucked out of life.

But that’s not what Jesus says. Jesus says that the life he brings is the abundant life.

Abundant means overflowing. It means better than you could ever ask for. It means a life that has purpose. It means a life that is free from the chains of your sin, the shame of your sin.

You need this kind of life. It’s a life that starts now and lasts forever. It’s a life without end.

Jesus’ identity is that of the Good Shepherd.

His voice is different than all the others.

He’ll stay and fight for you when everyone else has left.

He brings the only true life.

If you don’t know what that kind of life looks like, or how to begin living that kind of life, come talk to me. I’d love to walk you through what it would look like to have Jesus as your Good Shepherd.

I can only talk from my own personal experience. I’ve been following Jesus for 10 years now.

Following Jesus hasn’t been easy. But it’s been 100% worth it. I have a father in heaven who will never leave me or forsake me. I have a savior in Jesus who laid down his own life so that I could find mine. I have the Holy Spirit guiding me. And I’m joining God in the building of his Kingdom. I couldn’t imagine a life better than one following Jesus.