Do You Belong to the Shepherd?

Hey, good morning. And welcome to Calvary Heights Baptist Church for glad you're tuning in and joining us. Today. We're going to be looking at the Book of John chapter 10 verses 1 through 18 here in a little bit. I was just kind of thinking about this how much I know Chris was on earlier. He's talking about being able to do some video conferencing to kind of get our small groups up and running again and come get that back go in and I was just thinking how sad it is right now that we're not being able to see each other face-to-face any more of it and it and it's just kind of an okay time to grieve that loss that it will be such a great day when we're all able to gather back into our our respective meeting place and then be able to to celebrate Christ's with one another in that place. It's kind of weird to think, you know, this is just as just proved to us that the church is not a building that it is a body of Believers gathered together to celebrate Our Risen Savior Jesus Christ, which we can do both online and as well as In the building, but we are definitely created for fellowship with one another and so we do miss that deeply right now. So I do miss seeing you guys. I'm glad you guys get to see me, I guess. I don't know. I'm always throws what I see in the mirror every morning, but you know, it's what it is, but I am glad that we are able to gather and to worship and to celebrate Jesus Christ this morning for sure. Before we even get started. I wanted to try to take some time alone to read the 23rd psalm before we get going today. So I'm just taking a quick look here. I've got my ESV Bible. We're going to read the 23rd psalm and it says the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want he makes me lie down in Green Pastures. He leads me beside Still Waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in Paths of righteousness for his name's sake and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff. They comfort me you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup overflows surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. When I think about this particular song in this time that we're thinking about things and comforting Psalm and we read it a lot it it's red often and funerals. It's red and times a week. You want to have some some comfort in the 23rd psalm provides that but there's a question we need to ask ourselves about the 23rd psalm. And that question is really this is is it what does it mean to call the Lord my shepherd and this weekend to get into John chapter 10, we're going to we're going to answer that question. Jesus is going to dig in and say what it really means to be a ship belonging to the Lord's. Let's take a look John chapter 10 verse 1 truly truly. I say to you. Jesus is speaking here. There's a group gathered around him since truly truly. I say to you he who does not enter the Sheepfold by the door but climbs in another way that man is a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is The Shepherd of the sheep the him the gatekeeper opens the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own Sheep by name and leads them out. When is brought out all his own he goes before them in the Sheep follow him and they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow but they will flee from him, but they do not know the voice of strangers this figure of speech Jesus use with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again, Jesus said to them truly truly I say to you. I am the door of the sheep and all who come before me are thieves and Robbers with the Sheep did not listen to them. I am the door if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and we'll go out. We'll go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to kill to steal and kill and destroy I came that. They may have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

He who is a Hired Hand and not a shepherd? He does not own the Sheep sees the wolf coming and leave the sheep and fleas will snatches him and scatters them he flees because he's a Hired Hand and cares. Nothing for the Sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Just as the father knows me. I know the father and I lay down my life for the for the sheep and I have 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. For this reason the father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 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 received from my father. Would you pray with others we enter into this time of just kind of looking at the sermon and looking at scripture on understanding. What does it mean to to belong to you? The Good Shepherd? We asked you would just bless us time. He would speak to us clearly plainly that our hearts will be opened and that we would be able to understand what your word says father. We ask that you would just use me and put me aside actually and just you speak through me. Let me be just the vessel. I pray Lord. That is we go into this time of of hearing the sermon that you would just speak to our hearts challenges convict us and move our lives. Miss you Jesus name. I pray amen. This idea of sheep and Shepherd imagery is throughout all of scripture. Is it is Jesus to result in Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd and we see hear Jesus saying I am the Sheep. I'm the I'm the shepherd. I'm the Sheep gate. I am the Good Shepherd. All of this idea is is hear God's people are his sheep and he's placed Shepherds as we think about especially in the Old Testament Play Shepherd in the forties priest to Garden to dyed his people. The thing is is up to this point in time those the shepherd's of really failed to do just that we re throughout the Old Testament did the priests have failed. We see that the the Pharisees that Jesus is really kind of addressing here in John chapter 10, they failed to guide people in the right direction. They they've all failed this and in this is an important kind of concept that but there's been a failure on the part of men. To seek out the shepherd to seek out the Lord. And so we see that played out here in this Jesus has is kind of teaching in the section versus wanted to talk about this idea of a Sheepfold right pupil does a place where all the sheep in the community would be how to put in at night be protected. It may not be the entire Community benefits of small village and be the sheep from the Villager might be from a couple of families. I was just kind of common use Corel I think kind of back into early colonial America in particular day, he would have inside of a villager inside of a town. They have what they called the common. I just called about the comment. I I think Boston Commonwealth Boston, now, if you've been to Boston, this is beautiful wonderful part will 400 years ago in Boston was founded the Boston Common was the pasture it was where they would there's a fence around it and they put all the sheep and all the cattle for all the folks that live in Boston Village 1630 or so, and that's where they would all be. They would put them all of their to cut. Hold them in place at night. And so that's what the Sheepfold is. It just common kind of community Chorale that it was there. Typically there would be a gatekeeper or or the shepherd's themselves would watch over the ship at night here in a Nestle straightens pretty interesting that there are sheep that belong to more than one Shepherd in this one place. There are also those who want to steal the Sheep away from their own Shepherd, but she's kind of talks about baby says that there are those that want to steal and kill and they're Robertson or Steve's but he says but listen his sheep know him verses 3 and 4 the the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own Sheep by name. And when he is brought out his own he goes before them in the Sheep follow him for they know is voice the sheet maybe in the the Sheepfold with members of other flocks, but the Sheep know the voice of their true Shepherd. This is this is it this is this is the kind of icky here's that the Sheep know the true voice of their Shepherd. So for you and I to truly claim when we go back to like looking at it Psalm 23, which is such a comforting song that the Lord is my shepherd. We have to know the voice of the lord. We have to know what the Lord was saying cuz we have to know the god of Creation in a real and intimate way not just knowing that he exists not just believing that he does good in the world. Not just knowing that that he's out there but not personally knowing him in a real and personal way that this is so important for us right that we think about this. Jesus hears Gathering up his sheep and verses 1 through 6 in Gavin's up the Sheep of his flock any any calls the Sheep by name. And only his sheep or going to respond to this call. Get that that's important that but it's the other sheet for that cheap fold that the others that are in there and now and again and again and if she pulled her to be sheep there be goats are might even be cattle. There's going to be seen only his sheep. That are called by their name or going to recognize his voice and come when called. Not all the sheep in the Sheep voter going to follow the shepherd.

Right, and that's that's kind of big because they aren't his sheep because they follow him. Right, they follow him because they are already his sheep. That's big people that that's that's huge that though the Sheep of Jesus Christ going to follow him. Now they're going to fall and they're going to fall what he says they're going to they're going to be a part of his flock. The sea without knowing the god of creation or our situation is pretty bleak that without understanding who he is. No one what's happening here that that you can't really say the Lord is my shepherd. If you're not part of this flock, you cannot say. The Lord is my shepherd. If you are not already following Jesus.

Just not how it how it works. Now. He says this remember to said that the people didn't understand what he was saying and so he's going to try it again another way and inverse 7, he does that he says over 70 IQ changes the metaphor little bit. He's like, well, if you didn't get it this way, let me try it again another way and here it goes from being just the shepherd. And now he's the gate. Jesus the same here. The only way to be part of God's flock is through him. Any reminders Denver state that all the others are before him those folks have been seized and robbers now, he's he's specifically talking about. The Old Testament priests the priests of Jerusalem and individual and his time he's talking about the Pharisees and the Sadducees and these religious leaders of his time to talk about how they have done harm rather than good in some regards that they have led the people astray. So the priest of Israel have led the people astray now, it doesn't look like they've let him destroy the eyeball thing. Is it is it looks like they're they're really Pius. It looks like they're really doing the right thing and they are Pious and they are trying but here's the thing as they LED them astray and they've actually LED them away from God. Boy from a personal relationship with God and into a system of empty religious rituals. You do this you do that. You do this you do that right rules and regulations that that you hit your Sunday morning checklist over for them. It would have been there Friday night checklist. Once I get the Friday night checklist done that that that would have that would guarantee them a closeness with God, but that's not how it worked out. There was nothing in their hearts saying that they were close to God. But they just had a system of empty religious. Rituals and see Jesus offers us a way to know God personally. In verse 9. He talked about the shepherd who takes his sheep out to pasture. Right. So what we see here, is it is it Jesus's guarding is sheep. So not only is he the shepherd who gathers his sheep together. He is also the the shepherd who guards his sheep. He's got to protect them right the Jesus only provides Shelter by putting them in the Sheepfold. He provides and also nurses for his sheep. Right? It says that we're going to go out and into pasture and we think about this in a Sheepfold is a smaller space in ancient Israel that these is sheepfolds would have been small crowd who would have been possibly built up against the side of a building just a little Crown to put them in possibly in a cave possibly underneath the house at the house has been multi-story in Dugout, but it would have been a small place in the Sheep can't just stay there right Jesus protects his flock from harm, but he provides them with their needs.

See, it does no good for the Sheep to be protected within the Sheepfold if they never get fed. The sheep have to go out. Jesus wants him to have have have the life that they're supposed to have. Jesus to have a life. He wants us to have it abundantly and we are called by Christ and we live for him. We're not just saved from the send rates are need for salvation. But we're saved for a purpose. We are saved not just from something, but we're saved to something. And that is so important for us that that that something is the life. It is to live a life of joy in Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior that we are to do that that then we're not doing that to anything. That you put above your relationship with Jesus Christ is going to rob you of your joy any Pursuit that pulls you away from Christ will fail to fulfill you. And ultimately that is a failure in and of itself. The truth of our situation is that we rebelled against God. Does Adam and Eve first send in the garden when they when they ate of the tree that gots a donated this tree when they when they went ahead and did that the hearts of all mankind been in Rebellion against the holy and just God of creation our sinful nature Keeps Us separated from God and only way to have a relationship with him is through the work that Jesus Christ is already done for us on the cross.

What's a good verse 11 verse 11. Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep and inverse 1450. He reassures us of this by saying I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own my own know me just as the father knows me and I know the father I lay down my life for the Sheep. See Jesus has done just that for us. He is lay down his life for the sake of his sheep Jesus the Good Shepherd died on the cross to pay the price for your sin and for my sin and it's the price that you and I cannot afford to pay.

Jesus saves his sheep. That's what we're seeing here that the theory is he's actively saving a sheep. He's working in this manner for his sheep that Jesus. My my people that are called by me. They're given to me by the father.

Their mind their rebellious against you father God, but I know that my sacrifice on the cross will redeem them. That's what he does that so what we sometimes Jesus is the hero of this story. To the story was never about the Sheep. Sometimes when we go through and we read the 23rd psalm or we read some other summer we read maybe in Ezekiel where talks about the Good Shepherd. We sometimes think that this is a story about the sheet. And it's never been about the Sheep. It's always been about the shepherd. The story is always been about. It's always been about who he is and what he does see. Jesus talks about this wolf, right? And he says that the Hired Hand doesn't doesn't flee from the wolf with Jesus sees the wolf coming. Jesus doesn't want to run away. Pat wolf in our life can be a lot of things. White like me The Temptations of our own nature pulling us away and wanting us to send it could be just those were leading us astray. It could be so many things but Jesus doesn't run away. He steps in between his sheep and their death. And he did so on the cross right Jesus the Good Shepherd spares. No expense to save his sheep. Jesus gives his life. for the Sheep And we think about that we think about what that all means how that pertains to us man. That is that is huge in our lives that that if we're reading these things we're looking for us in them. Maybe the store is not always about us. Maybe it's about what God can do through us or God is going to do for us but it's not about us. It's about God and that's the important thing here. I love how Matt Carter and Josh Redbird in in the commentary that I was reading about this that they say that they say it in such a more eloquently way than I could ever say it. They say if Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

Then what you need to do is simple follow Jesus. Don't look elsewhere don't wander away recognize that in him. We have everything we would ever need. When were tired he brings us to rest in Green Pastures? When were thirsty he guides us to the Refreshing Spring? When were afraid he confronts us with his presence? I'm sorry Comforts us with his presence. Follow the Good Shepherd and I do follow him goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life and on his timetable. He will lead you to his house where you will dwell with him forever.

Throwing out I think about this I think about this world that we live in this world of pain and suffering this just inevitable see our own Natures one of rebellion and sin against the God Almighty creator of the universe. and that sin brings on death not just Earthly death, but spiritual death a permanent Eternal death the darkest of all that and hope comes in Jesus Christ son of the Living God. Jesus was born of a virgin lived a life filled with suffering that life brings tempted in all the exact same ways. We are tempted yet. Perfect and without sin. This Jesus the Jesus was the Good Shepherd paid for arson for Rebellion. we deserve to have we deserve to have that Eternal spiritual death. He died in our place so that we could Escape it. When we confess our Rebellion against God and we ask to be forgiven and become sheep and follow the Good Shepherd. We have eternal life in heaven. We can't be saved from Eternal death are sending our Rebellion lead to and we can truly say the Lord is my shepherd today is as we look at this we think about this maybe maybe in this time that you not thought of them. Maybe he's not taking the time as a believer in a follower of Jesus Christ to say am I really really ashy Am I following the shepherd the way I know he's commanded me to follow. Take some time today and pray about that. Ask yourself digging deep. What's stealing my joy away. What are things that I need to the scrap off waterways that I need to make sure that I'm following. Better maybe you're hearing this message for the first time today. Maybe you're with somebody who's never thought of yourself and never wondered. Am I really in the flock and maybe you have questions about that. Shoot. Shoot us a message here in our Facebook page. Shoot us a a an email at office at Calvary Heights. Org make a comment if you're so so so led to 2 to ask a question. We will get back to you on that. We want you to know that. Just because you read something it feels comfortable. That's okay. We want you to feel that Comfort but there's more to that story. We want folks understand that without Jesus. They can't necessarily say that the Lord is my shepherd. We want all of us to be under that one flock under that one Shepherd Jesus Christ. Would you play with me? Father we thank you again so much for the day. You've given us. I want to thank you personally that I can say that that you are my shepherd. But you have called me out of a sinful situation that I was in that you have. You've called me from that and called me to something greater. You have saved me.

For myself, and I want to thank you Jesus that you paid the cross or pay the price on the cross for me. Father I asked it as we be going to this time of this reflection on what we've heard today through the word that you would speak to our hearts would challenge us you would convict us. You would been working as father for those who have questions we pray for you to give them. The courage to reach out and ask them have them send us a message through Facebook have him write a comment to us in the comment line have them email us.

So that they understand we can help them out. We can call them and talk to them and and and be with him for the we grieve and summer guards that the lack of being able to physically gather together right now, but we thank you for the technology that allows us to at least be able to hear your word with one another. And father we ask that as you would just continue to speak our hearts. We just continue to open us up to your word have as dig in and read more seek. You more more. It's in Jesus name. I pray these things. Amen latest German. Thank you so much for today. We appreciate you tuning in with us. If you were not able to earlier at 9:30 to join us for our small groups tutorial. I asked you to go ahead and back and check it out on our Facebook page and look at that and had to get an update of what's Happening as far as how small groups are time of of gathered Bible study. What will be doing for that? We would encourage you guys to be a part of that and send an email to office at Calvary Heights. Org to be a part of our our small group time will be able to do those through Microsoft teams be able to even video chat with one another in our time of small group. How else want you to be praying for us as we got to prison are trying to think of some new ideas and some new ways to be able to possibly gather yet still socially distance one another be praying about some things we come up about Easter and how that will work and how that will kind of play out as we think about Resurrection Day for Calvary Heights Baptist Church, and so what we're doing for that was just me being fair for that. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Give us a call or shoot us a comment. She was the message here. We love you guys. We miss you and cannot wait until we can gather again together with one another but until then we are thankful for the technology we have that allows us to live stream and to show the word this way. Thank you. Have a great afternoon.