Thank you. Yeah. And they do it with the right heart. They’re not performers. That’s the quickest way to get kicked off the team.

They are servants. They love Jesus and they use their gifts to lead us week after week. So, I don’t know how much you know about sheep. Let me ask it as a question. How many of you spent much time with sheep or on a farm or K one, two, three, four.

Yeah. Right. I get it. I get it. That’s good.

That’s good. It’s actually sounds like a goat more than a sheep. But anyway, so you can learn a lot about yourself by learning about sheep. Did you know that? I was reminded again this week, I did a little further dig and deeper research on sheep because I don’t know about sheep except about springtime each year when we drive down the Willamette Valley, maybe on the way to see one of our kids at college.

We see a bunch of lambs like newborns. And it’s just really cool. Debbie’s like, “No, drive. I’ll watch.” And it’s really cool because they’re just adorable.

But I don’t know a lot about them, so I did a little further dig. I’m going to share some of that in just a moment. But first, how many of you know the name King David? All right. So he, of course, was a mighty warrior and a fearless king of Israel who reigned in Israel for 40 years.

Okay. We know that. That’s sort of the basic lowdown when it comes to David. A big deal. Jesus, in fact, said of himself, “I am the son of David.”

Okay. “I’m the son of David.” That’s giving all sorts of cred to David and connection to himself. But did you know that he reveals David does something about his secret to success in the most? Who said moms don’t know which baby’s theirs, right?

Oh, baby, I love it. Most of us dads go, “I didn’t hear anything. You hear anything?” Okay. I love it.

So back to David. His secret, he reveals it and he does so in a kind of a surprising way, I’m going to say. I’m going to call it the most beloved of his 73 Psalms that he authored. Did you know that as well? Almost half of the known as the Psalter, I just got to say it.

You’re a miracle-working mother. I’ll tell you what. I agree. Candy helps. So anyway, but he reveals something, I think, back to that, of his secret to success because he was unequal.

And his success saved Jesus, right? As king of Israel. And he reveals something of that in a very beloved Psalm. Most of us have heard it memorials, but it’s worthy of sharing any time. It’s the 23rd Psalm.

And it begins with those wonderful words, “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not walk. I want.” He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside quiet or still waters.

He restores my soul. And it goes on and on. Beautiful language. And you hear it again and again, my shepherd. He leads me.

He restores my soul. And he continues in that kind of vein, David does. He guides me along the path of righteousness for his name’s sake. And then he talks about reality that we all have lived. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will put that together.

That doesn’t work normal for most people. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me, he tells us why. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. He’s the comforting God and he expressed it.

You prepare a table for me before my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. And then it ends verse six with that wonderful kind of conclusion that we put to song. Maybe you remember it.

And then it hits high. But anyway, and I will dwell. In the house of the Lord forever, right? It’s a great song, fantastic words. David, of course, was a shepherd.

And that’s I think why he could later in life write such intimate words. You expect somebody to say, well, you want to know why I’m so successful. You want to know why there’s peace in the land and I’m king. And he would talk about the stuff of being a warrior. And he would talk about the stuff secret to fearlessness.

But I think he talked intimately like that because he goes back. It’s not hard for him to do that to his minimum wage teenage job as a shepherd. He was way before king. He took care of sheep. That man, he was lonely and he had time to think.

That meant he and sheep were together. And he didn’t just read about sheep, he knew sheep. And he knew of his relationship to sheep. And that’s what’s behind the 23rd song. How informed are you about sheep?

It’s kind of the question I started with. This might blow you away. That’s sort of hitting for the fence right now. But do you know that the Bible refers to sheep more than 500 times? Not a single reference to cats.

None. It’s just not there. Not there. It’s not there. You can’t shake it out.

It’s just not there. But sheep, more than 500 references. And here’s the grabber. Here’s a sub point to that. Many of them are about the shepherd sheep relationship.

That’s a big deal. I’m gonna give you a small sampling and I’ll go through it slowly enough. They’ll be up here. You don’t have to jump real fast and move around real quick. But they are coming up.

We got nothing. Okay, how about this? Psalm 95. When they come up you’ll be able to see them. They’re not there.

Okay, good. Okay, so you know this by a song too. Psalm 95 verses six and seven. Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker for he is our God and we are the sheep of his pasture and the flock under his care.

That’s Psalm 95 six and seven. Here’s another one. I love this one. Isaiah 40 verse 11. He tends his flock like a shepherd.

Listen, he tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers his lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young. You get in the image here? Verse 11.

Here’s another one. And I wouldn’t be accurate if I didn’t include this one. It has to do with the dark side of sheep. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his or her own way.

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. Isaiah 53 verse six. It’s true. Sheep aren’t always easy. To manage.

And the Bible is agreeing with that. Isaiah 53 verse six. Here’s another one. I will tend my sheep. This is, I need to give you a quick background.

Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23. You can write those down. Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23. This is when the people were exiled. They had gone to captivity.

They had exiled. There was all sorts of judgment coming upon God’s people because they had wandered from him. And both Jeremiah who stayed with a group of people in Jerusalem and Ezekiel who went to Babylon. They were contemporaries, both prophets. And both of them called out bad shepherds.

Both of them were like up to here with, you know something? You leaders of my people had a chance to lead them well, to speak the truth to them. And you failed. So Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 23. Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23 are both of those prophets calling them out.

Here’s Ezekiel 34 verses 15 and 16. I myself will tend my sheep. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down declares the sovereign Lord. Can I translate that for us today? You’re fired.

You bad shepherds, you’re done. You’re through. Tell my people the truth. Feed my sheep. Now you’re understanding John 21 a little better when I say it like that because Peter had failed.

And Jesus in that near the last hours of his life, last days of his life before he ascends back to heaven where he is now. Just before that, he goes and finds Peter and restores him and he says to Peter, do you love me? Yeah, I do. Do you love me? Yeah, do you love me?

Yeah, I do. Then feed my sheep. God says, because you shepherds failed to do that, you’re fired. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays, says the sovereign Lord. I will bind up the injured.

Is that tender? And strengthen the weak, but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. Ezekiel 34, 15 and 16. Here’s one more image I want you to hear.

Matthew 9 verse 36, it actually gives you, you see Jesus, it says he’s going around villages and towns, cities, everywhere he went. He healed hurting people and he taught hungry people. So Jesus did that everywhere. And then this observation is made that I’m convinced you and I would not have seen had Jesus not given us sight to see it. In Matthew 9 verse 36, he looks out upon the people and he sees this crowd and it says that he had compassion on the people.

And then it tells us why, because they were harassed and held helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9 verse 36. So the unmistakable impression you come away with when you read the Bible, when it comes to the shepherd and his sheep, is that the Lord looks after his sheep in love. Will you please write that down? Because you need to.

He looks after his sheep in love. So I’ve tried to and I would have been, more impactful if you saw the visual to this, but hopefully you get this sense that God is really this amazing shepherd. And he cares for his sheep as challenging as that is at times. He does so in love. Because you’re bringing together these various, combining the attributes of sheep, I even in honesty, shared the dark side.

We like sheep, have gone astray, brings up that hymn. So here’s the deal. Bring together the attributes of sheep with the clear love that the good shepherd has. And then you start to appreciate this claim I’m making that the Lord looks after his people in love. So I want to stick with sheep facts for just a sec.

There’s three I want you to write down, okay? So this will lead to good lunchtime conversation. Unless you’re having lamb, if you’re having lamb. So here it is, all right? Three of them.

First one, sheep lack a sense of direction. I owe much of this to research by Philip Keller, who’s with Jesus now, but he was a shepherd of sheep up in Canada and had lots and lots of sheep. A huge gang of sheep. You’re like this gang, really? It’s true.

It’s true, isn’t it? If you know sheep, they’re also called a gang. But which could be another sermon, I guess. So Philip Keller wrote a lot. With insight about sheep and the shepherd.

I would also, to another website, filled with shepherds and their insights called sheep 101. So it’s really good, you can check that out. But the first one is sheep lack a sense of direction. That means we get lost easily. I’m looking at people that have apps on their phone that tell them how to get from point A to point B.

So clearly it’s not that kind of directions that we lack. We get confused and we wander. It’s that kind. So the first is sheep lack a sense of direction. Secondly, sheep are vulnerable to predators.

I was fascinated to learn that sheep instinct is to flee, not fight. There’s a good reason. They’re not good in fights. They’re not good at all. But they got a pretty good kick.

It’s a short burst of speed and then they get pretty much taken over by most predators. So they’re vulnerable to predators. Alone, please write this down. Sheep are defenseless. I would call them a sit and duck, but that would change the metaphor.

Sheep are defenseless by themselves. This leads to my third thought. So sheep lack a sense of direction. Sheep are vulnerable to predators and thirdly sheep find, therefore, safety in numbers. After fleeing, let’s say a predator comes and they scatter.

The sheep just flee for their lives. Then they will stop when the pursuit is over and interestingly regroup. They will come together again and very often stare at their foe like they’re somehow an intimidating effect. A bunch of sheep together going and they don’t realize maybe that the wolf is going, “Let’s see, I don’t want you. I’ll take you and you.”

But whatever. Listen to this quote from sheep 101. “Their only protection is to stay together in a group. When gathered as a flock, sheep are less vulnerable to predators than they are when scattered.” Are you hearing this, people?

Just like sheep, God’s people experience their greatest protection when we’re together in community. So this is about what we’re here for, what we’re made for. Given those facts, I want to read words this morning in the New Testament in John chapter 10. Would you turn there? The fourth gospel?

And of course, given how you help me read or quote from memory, the 23rd Psalm, you probably know already where we’re heading in John chapter 10. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four gospels that give us the reliable information that we build our lives on as Christians about Jesus. And the fourth gospel is John chapter 10. And John 10 reveals that Jesus is in fact not just a shepherd but a good shepherd who looks after his sheep as we’re saying this morning in love. So let’s just read this a little bit.

Follow me starting in verse one. “Very truly I tell you Pharisees so he’s talking to Pharisees which are a tough crowd. Anyone who does not enter the sheep pin or sheep fold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a robber.” Pay attention now often that expression pops up in this short passage. “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run from a stranger because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.

Jesus used this figure of speech but the Pharisees did not get it. They did not understand what he was telling them. So listen carefully church. Therefore Jesus said again. “Very truly I tell you I am the gate for the sheep.

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers. But the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate who enters, whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees a wolf coming he abandons the sheep and runs away.

Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he’s a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. Sounds a little bit like over in Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23 that we just talked about. Right? I am my sheep.

I am out of here. Then again in verse 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not my own not of the sheep pen.

I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice. And there shall be one flock and one shepherd. Clearly a reference to Gentiles and Jews. Verse 17 the reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to 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 authority to take it up again. This command I received from my father and like most of the time that Jesus taught there was mixed reaction. Notice how the next two verses read. The Jews who heard these words were again divided.

Many of them said he’s got a demon. He’s demon possessed and rabies crazy. He’s raving mad. Why listen to him? But others said these are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon.

Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? That last statement takes you before to chapter 9 before this section we just read and takes you to the man that was born blind and all the controversy that came. Sin was the assumption and the question that came to Jesus. And Jesus said there’s no sin going on here. He was born blind.

And then he makes that ointment, applies it to the man’s eyes and tells him to go wash down at the pool of Siloam which is a place I stood at less than a month ago. It’s really cool. In Jerusalem just outside the gate. I guess inside the gate. I’ll start with a couple of observations.

Jesus is the gate into the sheep fold or sheep pin. Let’s verse one. What is a sheep pin? Now for not being a sheep guy I’m just kind of guessing it’s a corral. Okay.

So I’m sort of a pin where sheep are gathered. I remember scattered they’re vulnerable. So it’s a priority to gather the sheep. So let’s just kind of make the connection. It’s the church.

Gathering together of sheep. So at night sheep are gathered into this sheep pin and they’re there for protection sake. A sheep pin is a cave. It can be a shed of some kind or some kind of a protected area like like a corral. Okay it was common in those days for a shepherd in fact to go into the with the sheep and very often bed down with the sheep.

It was that kind of intimacy that we’re talking about with me. So you got sheep that are kind of out there and they’ve been grazing and they came back in there’s a commotion. They get in the pin or the sheep fold some of our Bibles say and they’re there with their shepherd and the shepherd will bed down with them for the night. So here Jesus is going on to say in verses seven and nine that he is the gate. Do you see that?

So he changes it a little bit very truly I tell you I am the gate for the sheep. So Jesus is the gate letting sheep into the pin or the the family or flock of God the church of God. They all work in the analogy Jesus is giving and we know from what Jesus said if you were to skip forward just four chapters you come to John 14 verse six where Jesus said remember we’re searching out the idea that he’s the gate. I am the way Jesus said the truth and the life no one gets into the sheep pin except through me. No one gets to see the Father except through this gate.

Now I just need to stop quickly and tell you something that’s absolutely true and it’s part of my teaching priority. So listen very carefully you you will only be counted as one of his sheep if you come to Christ. No one is born into his flock as adorable as our children are they’re not darling little sheep. They are darling and little but they are sinners and they do not belong to the family of God by pedigree and they do not belong as a grandchild God has no grandchildren. Please hear me not ripping on anybody’s kids and I have three of my own but they all had to come into the sheep pin.

They all had to establish a relationship with the gate Jesus in order to find their way into the family of God and the flock of God. Please understand that. You don’t enter through pedigree. Hey I’m a Macraken I’m in or performance. Hey I’m a pastor I’m in.

You don’t. No one is grandfather. All must come to through the gate and the gate has a name Jesus Christ. Amen. I love telling you that and I don’t mean any insult by it.

I mean a corrective course. If you thought you’re in because God loves all little lambs realize you got to come through Jesus. He’s the gate. Now for a second important image and it’s it’s just everywhere in this thing but verse verse 11 and verse 14 it repeats 11 I am the good shepherd he says Jesus is the good shepherd verse 14 I’m the good shepherd. Question what makes a shepherd good?

Think about that. I thought good shepherd so I’m an under shepherd. Does that make me bad? I mean in contrast to Jesus what there’s a good good shepherd Jesus what’s a bad shepherd. He tells us five times by the way in here.

We read it already. Look at verse 11 it’s the first of the five. The good shepherd notice lays down his life for the sheep. It’s the first. Then he brings it up again four verses later verse 15.

Just as the father knows me and I know the father and I laid down my life for the sheep. You getting the theme here? Again the very next two verses later verse 17 the reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life. I’ll need to take it up again. Then twice in verse 18 no one takes it from me but I lay it down on my own accord.

I have authority to do so to lay it down. So Jesus is the good shepherd and what makes him good is because he puts it on the line for his sheep. He lays down his life. In contrast verse 12 tells about a hired gun a hired hand as we’re told in this story. The hired hand he’s got no skin in the game.

Hired hand is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. So when he sees trouble he’s and he takes off. He’s got nothing riding on it. Not so Jesus. Now that’s the start from John.

Before we wrap this sermon let me make an uncomfortable contrast. Because this would be a feel good message up to this point. There’s an uncomfortable contrast and it’s a contrast between if Jesus is the good shepherd. We get that part we’ve established that part. Who guards his sheep then who is the the greatest predator to God’s people?

Satan is the right answer. The devil he goes by a lot of different names deceiver. Prince of darkness and on it goes. In this same passage Jesus sounds the alarm that the devil is determined to destroy sheep. He wants to kill.

And he will not be denied. He will in a determined way do what he can to take sheep out. Scatter and destroy. So verse one takes on a different color now when I say that very truly I tell you Pharisees anyone who does not enter the sheep hand by the gate climbs in another way is a thief and a robber. You asked me to define thief and robber I don’t have any nice words to say about them.

Any of you been robbed? Any of you had somebody break in and steal something? You know we had somebody smash our window and took a blouse out of the front seat. Didn’t fit me anyway so whatever you know but all right. I got nothing good to say about thieves and robbers.

Verse eight he brings them up again all all who come before me are thieves and robbers. That’s not that’s that’s that’s the devil we’re talking about and then he gets even more explicit. Verse 10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. How is that for a job description? Yeah so what are you bringing?

What do you what do you got to offer? Well I still I kill and I destroy. That’s what he does and Jesus doesn’t leave us guessing about that. Verse 12 the hired hands not like the shepherd when he sees the wolf coming in bandits the sheep and runs away. So remember earlier we noted the sheep are vulnerable.

That was one of the things I had you write down to predators. Turns out I had no idea just how vulnerable. I learned that predators this is sheep talk now again exploit sheep in alarming numbers. Lots of different predators go after sheep okay but they all do it in one basic way. First the numbers and these are a few years old they’ve only increased sense.

Almost a third of them over a third of a million sheep are consumed by predators every year in America alone. Like 300 thousand sheep consumed by predators and that comes with the price tag if you’re a shepherd you just lost about 20 million dollars in your flock okay spread across the country. Want to guess the number one killer? Cats no it’s kid just a joke. It’s actually coyotes it’s coyotes right behind them as dogs.

Yeah so I hate to admit that because I’m a dog guy but anyway there it is. Coyotes okay these are grim facts. Now can you guess how they do it? Remember I said they do it the same way. Here it is write this down by stealth and separation.

I’m looking at people the lights are going oh I get it sneaky and and he separates these these predators. Let’s make it about people now okay. So the devil will use subtle enticements to separate you and me from community. Alright remember the community is the family the flock and the devil will do subtly entice us. Yeah they’ll pull you apart.

Most aren’t even aware that it’s happening. So he isolates and then he annihilates. That’s what he does. He isolates then he annihilates and it works. People it works again and again.

So let me make it really practical right now okay. When when someone fades from fellowship it rarely is for something better. Hebrews 3 12 and 13 I put to memory years ago because I thought that’s it. Those words describe what I see all the time. It says see to it that none of you has an evil unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

But encourage one another. After day as long as it’s still called today so that you might not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. The front three words there pull you right out of your chair right now. See to it. There’s something you can do about this and the Bible doesn’t soft pedal this fact.

It says see to it. Here’s a problem that you could be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. See to it. See to what? Encouraging one another.

Protecting the flock. Coming together on a regular continuous basis because so much is riding on this. That’s why Peter warned I don’t know if we have nothing. No slide okay. Let me just tell you first Peter five verse eight okay you guys probably have memorized it be sober be of sober spirit be on the alert.

Why? For your adversary the predator the devil prowls about as a roaring lion to mess with you. Seeking he may eat devour be of sober spirit be on the alert. They just killed a cougar a mountain lion on a trail around Mount Hood this week. You know those are scary when they’re near people.

The devil’s scary when he’s near God’s people. That’s why Peter says be of sober spirit be on the alert. That’s alert. You see in my face? That’s neurotic too but anyway you get right you get the idea and then that’s why Paul warned watch out.

We are not unaware of Satan’s schemes. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 11. What is a scheme? A scheme? I looked it up.

It is a secret or devious plan. That means Satan would prefer to fly under the radar what I’m saying right now and not be noticed. But Jesus revealed his scheme in us is really corny but the faux news alert. Verse 10. Paul and Satan out.

He’s coming to steal kill and destroy sheep. Would you please listen very careful church? It is always without exception a concern when someone steps back and pulls away. Just let that sit there for a minute and think of people right now I don’t you need you don’t need a prompt you’re thinking of people it’s always concerning when someone steps back and pulls away when you see it happen out of love pursue pursue don’t tackle them don’t corner them just pursue them and do it in love

and they’ll know they’ll know you’re doing it the right way I care about you it’s about protecting community I cringe when I ask someone who I haven’t seen they haven’t been around for a while and I ask him hey how you doing I haven’t seen you lately and that this is it this is what I hear oh you know I yeah I’ve been gone a little while you know and I say yeah it seemed like a few months or whatever and they’ll say yeah I’ve been

gone and and I’ve been real busy but almost like they anticipate my next question they say but me and Jesus were great were great I I’ve been I’ve been away for a while a few months and I’ve been real busy and they’re looking they’re telling somebody who’s never busy apparently you know what I’m saying and I’m not really cuing that because some of you have said that okay so they say I’ve been real busy and but they want me to know Jesus and them their farm

really how silly of Jesus to stress gathering together in community called the church if you can be just fine for months sometimes more without it do you see the waste of words by Jesus that’s crazy why would I mean seriously Jesus you and me are fine well why would Jesus ever say stick close together protect community I mean let me go a step further church can I just put it out there church is a colossal waste of time if Jesus and you can be just fine

without blowing your weekend by coming to church I mean really did you why bother get people to think that way long enough and the outcome if you’re the devil is another stealthy kill and it’s an avoidable outcome I’d like you to bow your heads with me this morning you can tell my heart because I love you and I I don’t love you anywhere near how the good shepherd loves you but I feel like he wants me to tell you these things today is sheep the good

shepherd pleads stay in community your only protection is to stick together don’t let anybody and don’t let anything separate you from the flock the community stay protected from the predator staying close and refusing to scatter Lord don’t let us be lulled or tricked separated and made to think it’s just fine help us help us Lord to heed your wisdom and follow your ways by living close in community your church your family your flock by being committed to one another by staying in close fellowship with a

few who know us well and protect us Holy Spirit from the stealthy one and his mission to separate and destroy us because we really do need each other cause the person that’s held back we all have our reasons from getting in a community in a life group because I don’t know it went bad one time or it’s hard to get to know people or I’m uncomfortable in places like that help us to get over that and move past that and to see that in fact that

may be a subtle lie we’ve listened to that’s putting us at great risk starting this morning and every morning in the foreseeable future we’re going to have a prayer team come down to the front here next couple of songs we’ll finish our morning take an offering but during that time we want it to be a time for you to just talk with somebody pray with somebody maybe after the service just continue a conversation and visit so we’ll be standing it won’t be that conspicuous or awkward

for you to just make your way up if you want prayer there’ll be prayer team people down here in front and they have badges on so they’re easily identified so feel free to do that as we respond to Jesus in this time

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,763 words.