Sermon nuggets Tues June 17
Theme- The Good Shepherd
Verses- John 10:7-11Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He 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.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(NIV)
A GOOD SHEPHERD PROTECTS HIS SHEEP. V..7,8,11
The fact that this teaching follows the episode of the one born blind being excommunicated from the synagogue is not coincidental. Jesus showed himself to the man and that man became a believer. Jesus' response was to say they can throw you out of a synagogue but they cannot throw you out of the Kingdom of Heaven, because I am the door, and they are not. Only the door can shut you out and I am it. No church, no pastor, no denomination, no pope or priest is the door, only Christ. He opens and closes and no man can do that.
Out in the fields, the sheep fold was usually an enclosure made of rocks, with an opening for the door. The shepherd would guard the flock, at night by lying across the opening. Quite literally he was the door, or gate keeping sheep in while he slept and keeping out other thieves, or protecting them from beasts. This is the type of figure that Jesus used when he called himself the door.
Or it was not unusual for several flocks to be sheltered together in the same fold in a small town or village. Sometimes there would be a paid guard, or porter who would make the shepherd identify himself if he was to get into the sheep fold. In the morning the shepherds would come, call their sheep, and assemble their own flocks. The thieves and robbers could never enter through the door, so they have to climb over the wall and enter the fold through deception.
Such protection was needed to keep the flock safe from wild animals, and evil men. Jesus tells the truth that there are also evil people out to divide, spoil and steal believers. Satan seeks to destroy churches and cause new and Christians to give up their faith. The church is always liable to attack from outside like the wolves and the robbers, and it is always liable to trouble form the inside from the false shepherd or a hireling. The church risks double danger. If the shepherd is faithful and good there is strong defense from the attack from the outside; but if the shepherd is faithless then the foes from outside can penetrate and destroy the flock.
There are cults outside of the truth of the Bible that will twist Scripture and prey on people's ignorance of the Bible. There are people who will show you another way to salvation, and use human reasoning to convince you. There is a tactic of Satan to take a flock and divide it through dissension. There are plenty of churches that split, not over doctrine, but over attitudes of pride, power, selfishness, and immaturity. How different is the spirit of Jesus. The church's first essential is a leadership which is based on the example of Jesus Christ. A good shepherd protects his sheep. There is protection for you and me in the security of the sheep fold, under the protection of our Master. Keep in the word. Keep in prayer. Keep in the fellowship of believers. Keep active in your spiritual faith and walk. Flee sin and temptation. These are the instructions of our Shepherd.
Pastor Dale
