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Sermon Notes

The 7 “I Am’s” of Jesus
Pt 4
“I Am the Good Shepherd”

John 10:11-14 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
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With this “I am the Good Shepherd” statement, Jesus clearly connects himself to one of God’s titles in the Old Testament: “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1).

He is a shepherd!

And he contrasts himself with the hireling.

The hireling didn’t own the sheep, had no vested interest in the sheep, and certainly no affection for them.

They were just a job to him,
and Jesus said when a predator came to attack them,
the hireling would rather run away than place himself in any danger.

But the Good Shepherd, a true shepherd, owned the sheep, had vested interest in the sheep, loved the sheep, and would risk his own life to protect them.

So the entire parable is about himself–the Lord Jesus–and us, the sheep of his pasture!
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Now, shepherds shepherd sheep in 3 ways:

They FEED them
They GUARD them
They LEAD them

So first,

I. They FEED them

Just two verses earlier Jesus had said he was THE DOOR that, when you come to the heavenly father through him, will lead you to green pastures.

A good shepherd will lead the sheep to rich, green grazing land.

So the Good Shepherd cares about and takes charge of what the sheep consume!

And the application for us New Testament believers today is that this points to Jesus our Shepherd concerned with what we feed our inner man with.

He wants to assure that we are feeding our souls on the good things of God!

Peter wrote, “…like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation],–1 Peter 2:2

–The good shepherd is concerned with what our soul consumes:

Is it the junk food of the world,
or is it the rich food of God’s word,
the things that edify and build your faith,
the things that bring positive spiritual growth?

The culture we live in feeds on junk food for the soul.

It feeds on godless philosophies,
empty literature,
mindless television shows,
useless conversations,
and otherwise soul-destroying garbage

We’re a dumpster-diving society,
rejecting the good word of God to instead feed on the devil’s delights!
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ILLUS: In Bible times a shepherd would go a distance ahead of his sheep to scope out the pasture he was leading them to.

He would busy himself with removing any poisonous weeds or snakes, and would also make sure the available watering holes were clean.

Once he had cleared the area he would go back to the flock and lead them back to it.

In the same way, our Good Shepherd busies himself with removing toxic spiritual junk food from our lives.

And He guides his sheep to the rich grazing lands he has prepared:

God’s word,
prayer,
the strength of godly friends,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit!
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Then secondly, the Good Shepherd:

II. Guards his sheep from spiritual predators

“The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”–vs 10:11

We live in a day and time when ravenous predators of the soul lurk at every corner.

False teachers
False prophets
False Christs

All of whom are WOLVES dressed up in sheep’s clothing,
predators of the spiritual kind that want to
devour your soul like a wolf or lion devour their prey.

Peter warned, “Think seriously about how you live. Watch carefully for danger. Remember that the Devil is your enemy. He wants to hurt you. He walks about like a hungry lion. He is looking for someone to kill and then eat them!”–1 Pet 5:8

Jesus graphically describes spiritual predators as “wolves wearing sheep’s clothes”
disguising who they really are as they slink and sneak in among God’s children in order to make a meal of them!

Paul warned the Ephesian church, “I know full well that after I leave you, false teachers, like vicious wolves, will appear among you, not sparing the flock.”–Acts 20:29
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So, clearly the Lord’s sheep are constantly subject to attack!

And our Good Shepherd doesn’t run away when the wolves come after us!

The Good Shepherd will even DIE to protect the sheep.

“The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”–John 10:11

Which is just what Jesus did!

Our Good Shepherd saw the entire human race in the jaws of a hungry devil.

And Jesus did exactly what David did when watching over his father’s flock.

He told King Saul:

“Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.”–1 Sam 17:34-35

David, who is an OT type of Christ, put his own life on the line for the sheep!

Likewise, on the Cross our Lord shed his innocent blood for our sins, and in so doing he destroyed Satan, the predator of our soul!

And each and every day he keeps GUARD over us by his guiding wisdom, his careful warnings, and his loving chastenings.
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So the Good Shepherd FEEDS his sheep, GUARDS his sheep, and finally:

III. Leads His sheep

We’re all led or guided by something or someone in life.

And who or whatever we choose as our guide is going to lead us to an ultimate destination–be it good or bad.

Our own reasoning can guide us, which is not always trustworthy,

Or the instruction by a respected teacher or self-styled guru can guide our decision-making.

And our flesh can also lead us along its destructive path

But Jesus says that, as the Good Shepherd, HE wants to be our leader and guide in life!

“Trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself. 6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will DIRECT you and crown your efforts with success.”–Pr. 3:5-6
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Now, you can tell a lot about who or what is guiding you by what they’re guiding you TO!

Is your guide or guides leading you to a holy life?
a life of spiritual fruitfulness?
a life that honors God?

Is your guide or guides leading you to fulfilling God’s plan for your life?

To being in harmony with God’s word?

Are you being guided to a good, godly, wholesome and destiny-fulfilling OUTCOME?

Will the end product result in your being able to say with Paul:

“I have the good fight, I have finished my God-given assignment, I have kept the faith?”–2 Tim 4:7
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ILLUS: Harris Hospital and nurse that said, “Follow me.”

The OUTCOME from following the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, is guaranteed:

“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”–John 8:12

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.”–John 5:24

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”–Matt 11:28-29

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”–John 14:27

The end result of following Jesus as your Guide through life is:

LIFE,
ETERNAL LIFE,
REST, and
PEACE

He FEEDS us, GUARDS us, and LEADS us!