Introduction: 5 yr old Jamie spotted a cheap water pistol at K-Mart and begged his mother to buy it for him. She told him that the water pistol was so flimsy that it would break too easily. She said that she would buy him a better one someplace else. But 5 yr olds don’t like to wait. Soon his begging turned into whining and mom took the easy way out…she bought him the cheap water pistol at K-Mart. Just as they were getting out of the car at home, the water pistol fell out of the bag and broke into a lot of pieces. Being the normal mom she said ‘See, I told you so. Jamie looked up at her and said ‘Mom, you shouldn’t have listened to me, I’m just a kid.’

How are you at listening? If you are like me, you can use some help in that area of your life. In fact, you can practice right now as we listen to God’s speak through his Word.

Transition: Open your Bibles to John 10:1 (pg. 819 in the church bible under the chair in front of you) It’s here we will find that God expects us to be good listeners as he demonstrates this through the illustration of sheep and shepherds.

John 10:1-6    The Good Shepherd: Intimacy
Read: John 10:1-6

Background: In order to properly understand what Jesus is trying to get across here, we must place this in it’s proper context.

•    Remember last week the Pharisee removed the man who was born blind from the synagogue? Remember that I said this meant the Pharisees believed they could
     block his entrance to heaven, to eternal life.?
•    Remember that once rejected by the religious leaders, Jesus looked for and found this man and offered him eternal life when the man said he believed Jesus was
     the Christ?
•    Jesus did what the religious leaders were supposed to do…were commanded to do by God, bring people to the One True and Ever living God. But they failed
     because they were more interested in themselves than in others.

This wasn’t new. The Prophet Ezekiel spoke about this. While the people would have seen the connection between what Jesus was saying and what Ezekiel said…they didn’t believe it. Listen to what God says through the prophet Ezekiel.

Read: Ezekiel 34

Ezekiel is speaking about the wicked shepherds of Israel who care for themselves at the expense of the flock.
•    They attack the sheep rather than protect them.
•    They profit from the sheep rather than provide for them.
•    They despise the sheep rather than have compassion on them.

With this is mind, Jesus now begins to describe himself as the ‘Good Shepherd’.

Background: Sheep were not usually kept in the city. Holding pens were constructed outside town and shepherds would place their sheep all together in one pen. This means the sheep would mix together.

The question becomes, in the morning how would the shepherd know which sheep are his. The answer is found in the phrases we find in our text.

1. The sheep listen to his voice.
ILL: H.V. Morton in his book ‘In the Steps of the Master’ we find this story ‘Early one morning I saw an extraordinary sight not far from Bethlehem. Two shepherds had evidently spent the night with their flocks in a cave. The sheep were all mixed together and the time had come for the shepherds to go in different directions. One of the shepherds stood some distance from the sheep and began to call. First one, then another, then four or five sheep ran towards him; and so on until he had counted his whole flock.’

    Sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd because they are part of his flock.

2. He calls his own sheep by name
    Shepherds spent so much time with their sheep they would often name them. This shouldn’t be too hard to believe…don’t we name our pets?

3. He leads them out
    Instead of driving them out of the holding pen with a whip, the Good Shepherd leads them out, showing that he not only loves them but trusts them to follow him.

4. They know his voice
    Because of the great amount of time spent with the shepherd, because of the consistent love shown by the shepherd, the sheep recognize the voice of their
    shepherd. And they can distinguish it from all others who might be calling. So much so that they will follow his voice only, even if another shepherd tries to call
    them.

Application: Let’s see if we can make a connection. Think about it, God, the creator of the universe, knows you by name. That’s intimacy.

Yet, aren’t there times we still feel insignificant or unimportant? When I look at a flock of sheep that’s what I usually see, a flock of sheep…not a sheep because they all look alike to me. But that is not true with the Good Shepherd. To him we all have a name, we all not only look different to him, we are different because he created us that way.

Jesus is telling us in these verses just how much God treasures us…individually. And as usual, a lot of people just didn’t get the meaning of Jesus’ illustration.

Transition: Verses 1-6 encourages us that the Good Shepherd is intimate with each of his sheep. But there is more.

John 10:7-10        The Good Shepherd: Provision
Read: John 10:7-10

Jesus, the Good Shepherds, tells us what he does once his sheep are called out from among the other sheep.

Jesus said
1. I am the gate
    Jesus begins by stating that he is the gate…not the Pharisee who think they decide who gets into heaven by controlling participation in the synagogue.
    The idea expressed or at least implied here is that Jesus is the ONLY gate…he will say this more clearly in John 14:6

Read: John 14:6  ‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

This clearly states that Jesus is the only gate to the flock that is called Christian. And therefore, the only way to eternal life in heaven.

Jesus said
2. Whoever enters though me will be saved
    Those rejected by the religious leaders, those with no place else to go, will find salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. Salvation is…
•    Forgiveness of sin
•    Acceptance by God
•    Eternal life in heaven
•    Assurance of all of the above

Jesus said
3. He will… find pasture
    Jesus is promising that all in his flock will find what they need in life…for the sheep it’s food, shelter, water and protection. For the Christian it’s not only food,
   shelter, water and protection, it’s all that we need to be godly men and women. Sounds a little like Ps. 23?

Jesus said
4. I have come that they may have life..to the full
    Again Jesus is promising that those in his flock, because of his presence as the Good Shepherd, will live a full and complete life.
    When Jesus is your God Shepherd, he promises the same to you. It doesn’t mean you will have everything you want, but certainly everything you need…
    and more. You will have what you need to be complete.

Transition: Verses 1-10 encourage us that the Good Shepherd is intimate with his sheep and he provides for them. But that’s not all.

John 10:11-18    The Good Shepherd: Sacrifice
Read: John 10:11-18

Let’s examine the phrases here.
1. The hired hand cares nothing for the sheep…
ILL: A few years back a famous Dallas, Texas TV preacher and faith healer was exposed by the press. He had people send in their prayer requests on printed cards that he supplied – of course, it was understood that money would accompany the requests – and these cards were sent directly to a Dallas bank. The bank took out the money and threw the prayer request cards into their dumpster. The TV preacher and faith healer was Robert Tilton and he had for years been fleecing his flock, getting rich by his skillful imitation of a Pentecostal faith-healer and prosperity preacher. By the way, he’s back in the preaching business on TV again. (Dr. Rayburn)

    I usually don’t like to criticize another pastors ministry, but this is one tv preacher you need to stay away from. I see him as a modern example of what Jesus is talking about here in our text.  Tilton, and those like him, are hired hands, not hired by God. In contrast, Jesus declares that he is the Good Shepherd, sent by God for one purpose. To lay down his life for his sheep.

2. Just as…
    What Jesus says next is totally amazing and often missed because we rush over little words in Scripture. Two such words are ‘just as’. Listen to the voice of God.

‘I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.’

    ‘Just as’ indicates a similarity, an equality of like ideas or characteristics. Get this. Just as God the Father knows Jesus and Jesus knows God the Father….Jesus knows us and we know him.

    While I’m certain there are some limitations on our knowing Jesus while on earth…the main one being completeness, we can be assured that our knowing Jesus is an ever progressing movement towards a full realization of who he is. That’s totally awesome!

3. Other sheep…
    While Jesus reiterates his purpose in coming…to lay down his life for his sheep, he takes a giant step the Jews didn’t like. Jesus’ purpose was not just to save the sheep of Israel…there are other sheep who have not yet been called into the flock. Jesus is talking about the gentile sheep who will hear his voice and come to him in faith.

    Anyone here this morning, not Jewish?  Aren’t you glad Jesus said he had other sheep who were not ‘Jewish’? I certainly am. Here Jesus gives us a glimpse of his global plan of salvation.

4. I lay it down…
    Finally, Jesus gets to the main point in these verses. He will lay down his life, voluntarily for his sheep.
•    The Jewish leaders won’t be the ones who force Jesus to die by falsely accusing him of a crime.
•    The Jewish crowd won’t drive Jesus to the cross by chanting ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’
•    The Romans won’t be the ones who kill Jesus just because they drove the nails into his hands.

    Jesus died willingly and purposefully, so that we would not have to face the wrath of God for our sin. He died so we could live forever in heaven. He died for us because he loves us.

Read: Romans 5:8

Transition: Verses 1-18 encourage us that the Good Shepherd is intimate with his sheep, he provides for their needs and he protects his sheep by sacrificing his own life so that they/we might have eternal life.

John 10:19-21    The Sheep: Division    
I think it is now obvious why the people just didn’t get what Jesus is saying…
•    they were not his sheep,
•    they did not hear his voice,
•    they would not follow him.

The same can be said today of many who hear about Jesus and fail to believe. But praise God, he has other sheep who will hear his voice and follow.

Conclusion
Let me close with this…Are you one of Jesus’ sheep?
•    Listen for his voice throughout your day.
•    Follow when he calls,
•    Trust where he leads and
•    Accept his provision and protection as a blessing.
•    And you will know true intimacy with God.