Sermon Nuggets Thurs June 26, 2008
Theme; The Sheep of the Shepherd
Verses- John 10:27-30 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."(NIV)
The Sheep Preserved.
Yesterday we discussed how we were called and elected as believers to be part of the Shepherd’s fold. The emphasis from God’s point is ownership, love, protection and power. The power of the Father is greater than all. We are preserved through the attacks and the craftiness of the evil one to lead us astray.
While visiting Israel one pastor looked up some shepherds and through an interpreter asked them a lot of questions about sheep and shepherding. He learned in times of old it was customary for the shepherds to meet at a large place each evening, and put all of the sheep into one huge pen for the night where they knew they would be safe, while meeting with other shepherds to have fellowship and eat before going to sleep for the night. The next morning, the shepherd would go to the sheep fold and call out something that the sheep might understand, and only those who were his would respond and the others would turn a deaf ear to that shepherd, until their came and called them out.
From a human standpoint we become His sheep by believing; from a divine standpoint we believe because we are His sheep.
John Newton used to tell a story of a good woman who said, “Ah sir, the Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else He would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards."
A true disciple of Christ follows Christ. A false disciple of Christ does not follow Christ. Sheep listen to the voice of thier master. If someone has no desire to follow Christ, that person is not a Christian. The Holy Spirit moves us to desire to obey Him. Although we struggle with our old nature too and fall and fail, and sin, but take notice of the words that follow, "no one can snatch them out of my hand." "no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
This is a lasting relationship. It is secure, it is eternal, it is of God. Satan cannot steal us away. He can discourage us, tempt us, cause us to fall, cause us to sin, cause us to suffer, cause us to be persecuted, martyred, and tortured, but cannot snatch our souls from the protection of God Himself. The divine fact is that no matter how I feel a mature Christian is one who learns early that feelings are not based on truth. Truth is in the fact of salvation. Our feelings and emotions change. Enthusiasm is often controlled by the changing events and circumstances around us. But you and I may have a settled assurance about our relationship to the Lord because of what Jesus has done and what the Bible says.
Pastor Dale
