The Good Shepard

Call to Worship

Come, all you people, wandering and lost, far from home. Come to the shepherd – the one who guides us, the one who remakes us, and the one who will bring us to safety. Listen! The shepherd is calling! Listen! The shepherd is searching for you. Listen! He is calling you by name.

Hymn

Crown him with many crowns

Prayers

Let us come before the God of our salvation, offering him all praise and glory. Let us join the angels standing around the throne, as we offer ourselves in worship to God, saying: Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Lord, you walk with us through all kinds of terrains in life: mountains, mole hills, valleys, clifftops, deserts, woods, town centres, playing fields… When the going gets tough and life takes on a dark hue – black, blue – we sometimes attempt to push through it on our own, only to find ourselves weighed down and getting nowhere fast. We may despair of ever being rid of our burdens and seeing life in colour again. Forgive us for these times, for not resting in you, for not trusting in the light of your promises, for not persevering in faith. Merciful Lord, forgive us, we pray.

When things are going well and we’re galloping on enjoying life in colourful detail – yellow, crimson – we often take you and others for granted. Forgive us for not being more aware and appreciative of your company, for not recognising or acknowledging your blessings and guidance. Forgive us our self-absorption. Merciful Lord, forgive us, we pray. Amen

The Lord is our shepherd, who restores our soul. He washes us clean and anoints us with the oil of forgiveness. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Lords Prayer

Children’s Address

Hymn

The Baa Baa Song (Children leave)

The 23rd Psalm

Offering

Readings (Malcolm) (Olive)

Revelation 7:9–17 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Reading

John 10:22–42 ESV

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 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.” 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, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 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. I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 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.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 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’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 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.” Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

Sermon

I have two short stories about sheep:

the first is one is that Karon and I had where lucky enough to go on a cruise with some friends. we visited some amazing sites Ephesus, and Santorini then we visited somewhere that i cannot even remember the name of, i titled it CAT ISLAND you have never seen so many cats roaming around, very few people.

What there was though was a feeding station obviously for the cats as there was a big picture of cats on a rather large board.

munching away were maybe ten sheep, eating the cat food, the shepherd eventually appeared and tried to move them on but as he pushed them away they went behind the board and came back to the food. they had their own idea of what they wanted to do.

Many years ago, Dr and Mrs. Leo Eddleman were missionaries in Palestine. He spoke about seeing lots of flocks mingled at a watering place. When one shepherd was ready to leave, he simply walked away, making a certain sound. Immediately, his sheep separated themselves from the others and followed him. His sheep followed him because they knew his voice.

I think we can see both this type of sheep in today’s reading.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who, When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

John chapter 10 paints a vivid picture of God as Saviour and Shepherd.

Every Christian needs the absolute assurance that he or she has the experience of salvation that Jesus gives.

To grow in your Christian life, you need to know you’re saved.

DOUBT which is lets face it, it is our normal condition it doesn't mean you haven’t been saved.

So, this morning I want to focus on Christ as the Shepherd.

But what does Jesus mean when He talks about “My sheep?”

Firstly lets think about how it might be if we are not one of His sheep.

The people who question Jesus in our reading this morning are described by Jesus as not his sheep. These people would no doubt call themselves followers of GOD and want to know who Jesus claims to be! not to follow him but to accuse him of blasphemy!

Jesus's actions are becoming known stories have spread earlier in the chapter Jesus healed a blind man astonishing. , a miracle, but what did the leaders pick up on?

The fact that the man was healed on the sabbath!

It’s against the rules!

That’s what they picked up on, not the miracle.

There is even suspicion that he was not blind in the first place.

But are there may be times in our lives when we too get bogged down with the rules and regulations sometimes that we impose on ourselves rather than the amazing things God continues to do right in front of us. concentrating on the trivial things and not the important things.

It will put us outside of the kingdom of God. It would mean that we would exist in the false security of thinking we are right with God when we are not, rather like the people in our reading.

It means that whoever, or whatever we follow, if it is not Jesus so there is no connection to God.

So, Jesus speaks to the people in terms that they and we today can easily understood, that is, he describes himself a shepherd and us his sheep.

You see, a shepherd knows his sheep he understands them. He knows what they need at any time.

And nobody knows each one of his sheep better than Jesus. He knows the depths of the human heart. He knows what each one of the sheep think and how they feel.

And that’s okay because those who follow him the sheep know their shepherd.

When we are sick if we are sensible, we would follows the doctor’s orders because we need to have trust in the doctor’s ability to help and heal us.

Karon and I attend a surgery with several Doctors, but there are only two that we really trust and believe they want to help us.

Scientific analysis also shows that people who trust their doctor have a better and usually faster recovery.

The same kind of thing happens spiritually with those who follow God.

They follow the shepherd whose voice they have come to know and trust. And when we hear his voice sounding out clearly the sheep hear the Good Shepherd, it is Jesus, and they listen to Him.

Sheep also know that to have a life and assurance, it must come from the shepherd’s expertise, just like the patient must depend on the doctor’s expertise.

The sheep are totally dependent on the strength of the shepherd. If the shepherd truly cares about the sheep, it only makes good sense that the sheep would seek an intimate relationship with him.

If Jesus is not our shepherd, it is not possible to receive the gifts and the benefits He brings to our life. That’s the point Jesus wants to show to all unbelievers.

And He does make it clear, because he wants everyone to know the truth.

He wants everyone to be saved. He wants everyone to be made whole and free of sin.

Jesus, knows that everybody has a shepherd,something or someone who leads them, it maybe a football team, a new car, a big house. Peoples lives show the truth of who they follow it reveal shows the relationship people have with Him.

That point is made very clear when Jesus says to some in the crowd, “You are not my sheep.” The question for us is this: If we are not the sheep of Jesus, then whose sheep, are we? If we have something taking the place of Christ then who or what do we serve?

Of course, if you don’t know who Jesus is, if you do not know the physician, then, why would you have faith in Him?

Not everybody knows The Good Shepherd of God’s Sheep because not everybody knows Jesus.

But we here today we have had the prompting of the Father, he leads each of us to this place.

What is that prompting? for us it is in the Bible the Word God that identifies Jesus.

It shows the work that Jesus did and still does that convinces a person of who He is. That work agrees with the identity of the Christ, the promised Messiah, and it is clearly a part of all who believe.

This is why only those who know Him follow Him. It is not enough to know what the Bible says.

The people to whom Jesus was speaking made it a practice been taught form their youth of being able to quote and expound on large sections of the Torah.

But in the end they still rejected the Shepherd who saves, to who the Scriptures pointed. The Messiah they had been waiting for.

You see, it is the God who convinces the sheep that Jesus is the one to follow because He is the way the truth and the life. There is no other, even though many profess to be so.

All who follow Jesus are kept safe in eternal life. But how?

The Father has given Himself in order that He may also give life to who He chooses.

And who does He want to give this life to?

He wants to give this eternal gift it to all!

And that life will last and is eternal because Jesus is not dead.

He is alive never to die again. It is God’s Spirit who makes this truth known to us.

And, in fact, it is God’s Spirit who keeps a person coming back to God’s Word, as if for treatment of a lengthy disease. God knows everything about us. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Even so, He comes to save, and not condemn. That’s why he tells the truth to the people who are not His sheep.

John 10:26–27

But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

Throughout the Old Testament the nation understood God as their shepherd, the well known Psalm says.

Psalm 23:1–6

The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, 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. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live.

They who questioned Jesus were not saved, even though they knew the scriptures.

They were tied up in the little things the 613 rules that they tried to keep!

Why was this man Jesus behaving like he did doing things on the Sabbath.

The “Shepherd to Sheep” relationship was not intellectual but a SPIRITUAL ISSUE

You simply can’t be connected to God without Jesus

The Shepherd leads the sheep out of Sin to Salvation

The Sheep belong to the Shepherd

You see, there is no healing, no recovery, no life apart from God. It is not a person’s spiritual talk or behaviour that saves him.

What really saves is the direct result of who Jesus really is. There is no substitute, for there is no other God.

That is why He says, “I and the Father are one.” One God, that’s it!

In the end the only one who can separate us from God’s love, is ourselves.

If you knew that in fifteen minutes you would have to stand in judgement before the Holy God and learn your eternal destiny, what would your reaction be?

Would you be nervous pacing up and down? Would you say to yourself, "I don't know what God's going to say--will it be 'Welcome home, child,' or will it be 'Depart from me; I never knew you'?

We who follow the shepherd's voice can come to in the assurity that we are his sheep.

We can also take comfort in the vision in John’s revelation we see people from around the world all nations worshipping God. It is rich with imagery, a magnificent throne. Jesus is referred to as the Lamb and at the end of the passage also as the ‘shepherd’ who protects, guides, and feeds us.

He is our shepherd listen to his voice be open to his spirit, because he is the way the truth and the life. Amen

Hymn One pair of Hands

Prayers of Thanksgiving and intercession (Lynda)

Lamb of God, we thank you for your loving sacrifice. Thank you for washing us clean, for putting purpose, light and colour into our dark empty lives. Thank you for your perseverance with us, your never-ending provision of wisdom and strength that helps guide us through all life’s circumstances. To you be thanks and praise. Amen.

We pray for all who grieve today: risen Christ, hear our prayer. For those mourning the loss of their land, or their home, or their identity… For those mourning the loss of their dignity, or their independence, or their understanding… For those mourning the loss of their health, or their mobility, or their strength… For those mourning the loss of someone they love… risen Christ, hear our prayer. Amen.

Hymn Blessed Assurance

Blessing

God of all our coming in and our going out, of our past, present and our future, of all the ups and downs of life, give us bright hope that all shall be well. Help us to trust in your promises, to find springs of the water of life, and to share that with others, that tears may be wiped from every eye. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.

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