Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church that the sheep are not, and he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. Notice this, the hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. Look at verse 27. of the same passage, John chapter 10. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. If you like the verses we've read so far, could you say amen?

You probably should be wherever I read. That you like that passage. And let's pray as we jump right into it. Two things I want to look at today in this passage. Number, and the first thing is, is the true shepherd. The second thing is the true sheep. He said I'm the good shepherd. And we want to see some characteristics of a true shepherd. And we want to see the characteristics he gives of true sheep.

Let's pray. Lord, we love you. Thank you for all that you've done. Lord, you're the one that told us that you are the good shepherd. And, Lord, you didn't just tell us that you're the shepherd. You've told us you're the good shepherd. So, Lord, I want to rightfully divide your word, and, Lord, we today that are saved, we're your sheep. And, Lord, we are very undeserving of the good shepherd that you have been to us.

Lord, you're a good shepherd, but often we are bad sheep. And, Lord, I thank you for your love, your mercy, and your forgiveness. And, Lord, today, may we be remembered. And, Lord, may we be reminded of some wonderful things in your word. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Number one in this passage, we want to look at the true shepherd. Now, we know in John chapter 10 that Jesus says this, that listen, there are those that pretend to be shepherds, but I'm the real shepherd. He said there are those that pretend to love you and care about you and guide you and shepherd you, but I'm the one that really does that. He said I'm the door.

Only through me can you enter in. So, I want you to notice first the true shepherd. And as we look at these characteristics, I want you to put yourself in this scenario. Remember, you're the sheep. He is the shepherd. Notice number one, the good shepherd saves his sheep. Look if you would at verse nine. He said I am the door by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Through this whole passage, he's using the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep to really illustrate salvation between a savior and a sinner. Notice this, he says I'm the door by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.

And notice this, and shall go in and out and find pasture. Look at verse 10. He said I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. A good shepherd, the good shepherd saves his sheep.

Now, I want to give you just a fast outline out of this passage. Number one, I want you to see that salvation is conditional. He said if any man, he said by me if any man shall enter in. Salvation has a condition and it's only through Jesus Christ. Secondly, salvation is available.

He said by me if any man enter in. Whoever you are today, if you've never been saved, he died for you, he loves you, and he's willing to be your shepherd. You say, but preacher, you don't know what I've done. Hey, listen, we joke about Brother Butcher and there might have been some, he's a good shepherd, he loves my past. And guess what, I don't need to know anything in your past.

All I do know is what you need to know and that's your future. Jesus loves you if any man. That's the only condition if any man enter in. Notice, thirdly, salvation is optional.

He said if any man. And then he says this, enter in. That means this, it's your decision. That means the sinner, the sheep have to enter in to the sheepfold. He doesn't make you, he doesn't make you, he doesn't make you.

He doesn't drag you, he doesn't grab you, he doesn't lasso you and pull you in and he doesn't make it where you have no choice in the matter. You have a free will. It is optional. Salvation is not something that has to be done to you. Salvation is something that can happen to you. It's optional and I want you to know, dear friend, it doesn't just happen automatically. You have to choose.

It's optional. Notice number four, salvation is dependable. I like this, he says if any man enter in, he shall be saved. He shall go in. Doesn't say maybe, doesn't say might. It says shall.

It's dependable. If you enter in, you're his sheep now. If you come, he opens the door. If you knock, he's listening. If you come and ask, he answers. He's willing to save you today.

It's dependable. You shall be saved. Notice number five, salvation is provisional. He says this, if you enter in, he shall be saved and go in and out and find pasture. You see, when you get saved, God's given provision with that salvation. God will meet every need that you have and there are provisions that God grants that will never be there and you'll never have access to unless you're one of his sheep.

But once you are, those provisions are just part of it. Notice if you would, number six, salvation is transformable and I love this. He says this, I'm come, verse 10, that they might have life. I am come that they might have life.

What do you mean? It means this, that salvation is something that transforms you. What he is saying is this, they had death and now they have life. They were in darkness, but now they're in light. They were lost, but now they're found.

They were sheep, as the Bible says, with no shepherd, but now they're sheep with the good shepherd. Salvation transforms you. It takes you from where you are to where you should be. You cannot transform yourself. You can't find some program just to make you a better person. You can't save yourself.

You can't earn it. Literally, salvation takes you and transforms you. So many people think, well, I'm gonna get transformed, then I'm gonna get saved.

That's not the way it works, dear friend. When you're saved, God begins the transformation. Notice this lastly, salvation is immeasurable.

He says this, I'm not just come that they might have life, but I'm come that they can have life more abundantly. There's no way we could measure it. There's no way we could put a price on it. Can I ask you this? How much would you pay for grace?

Let me ask you this. How much would forgiveness of your sin be worth? That's enough to be our shepherd and to love us as sheep where we were. The true shepherd saves his sheep. Notice number two, the good shepherd sacrifices for his sheep. The good shepherd sacrifices. Notice verse 11, he said, I am the good shepherd, and he defines this, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Notice verse 15, he said, I lay down my life for the sheep. Did you notice that? Notice these words, giveth. Notice the words lay down. Notice it's his life.

It's my life. Notice that everything done here is for the sheep, not for the shepherd. Can I tell you something? You and I brought nothing to the table for Jesus' sake. He brought everything to us. Literally here, the good shepherd sacrifices what is rightfully his.

What was never theirs. His life or mine. He laid down his life so that my life could be raised to newness of life. The good shepherd sacrifices for his sheep. Notice number three, the good shepherd stays with his sheep. Look if you would, if you would, verse 12, he gives this little scenario.

I think this is interesting. He said, but he that is in hireling. So now we have a contrast. You have a shepherd, and you have a person that was hired to help with the sheep. And God shows here the difference between the good shepherd and the bad employee. Look if you would at verse 12, but he that is in hireling, and not the shepherd, there's the contrast, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he is in hireling. You know why the hireling leaves? Because he's a hireling. You say, preacher, what is all this?

Well, notice the contrast here, and if I can, let me educate you a little bit. The hireling is paid to watch the sheep. The good shepherd isn't. You see, the hireling is making money with the sheep, the shepherd isn't. Notice this to the hireling, watching sheep was just a job.

It was just income. A hireling gets something from the sheep, but the shepherd gives something to the sheep. The hireling does not own the sheep, but the shepherd does. The shepherd has invested in the sheep. The shepherd has raised the sheep. The shepherd has been there from the beginning. Hirelings come and go, but the shepherd stays.

Isn't it amazing that you and me oftentimes as his sheep often follow? After the hirelings. We go after stuff that this world has to offer, and it's temporary. It wasn't there when we were saved.

It's not gonna be there later. But we follow after that junk, where the hirelings come and go, but the shepherd stays. Notice this, the hireling leaves the sheep when things get difficult. Here the hireling all of a sudden, hey, now it's some danger.

Now things are bad. It's okay as long as I can sit here and watch these sheep, and I'm not in danger. And nothing bad's gonna happen, but the moment a wolf shows up, and now he's in danger, what's his first reaction?

To take care of himself. To leave the sheep. And by the way, if I'm in a life threatening situation, and it is between my two dogs or me. Bye bye dogs.

Sorry Scott. Scott gave us one of our dogs. Now if it was between me or the dogs, and you asked my family, I don't know. Can I tell you something? We love our dogs. They're part of the family and all that stuff. But if it came down life or death with me, I'm out of there.

What is he saying here? Notice when danger came, the hireling, he had nothing invested. Those sheep were just an object. It was just an animal. But to the shepherd, they were everything.

Notice this, the hireling was concerned about himself, but the shepherd is more concerned about the sheep. You know what the Bible says? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

Why? For thou art with me. I know you've heard me this before, but just to educate you a little bit, Psalm 23, obviously a wonderful mirror passage about the shepherd. But you notice in Psalm 23, the first three verses were all verses talking, a person talking about the shepherd, about Jesus.

It literally says this, the Lord is my shepherd. He maketh me. He, it's a pronoun, talking about, I'm talking to somebody about him.

He, that means he wasn't there. But all of a sudden when David in Psalm 23 ends up in the valley of the shadow of death, he is no longer talking about the shepherd, he's talking to the shepherd. He says for thou art with me.

Why? Why is he talking to the shepherd when things got tough? Because when things get tough, the shepherd doesn't take off on us.

Our good shepherd stays with us. He said I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. I gotta read you this passage real quickly if I can. Just listen, Romans 8, you've heard it, but just listen to it in context of this. Beginning in verse 35, Paul says who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor death nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God. The good shepherd stays with his sheep. Some of you have had some family that left you. When things got tough. Some of you have had a husband or a wife that left you when things got tough.

Some of you have had friends that left you. I'm here to encourage you today that you have a shepherd that will never leave you. He doesn't run when things get difficult. That's when he gets closer. That's the difference in somebody that's just hired to do a job. And the shepherd that really loves the sheep. Notice if you would next that the good shepherd sympathizes with his sheep. Notice in verse 13 the Bible says the hireling fleeth and he follows this up because he isn't hireling.

But he goes even further in the explanation. He says the hireling fleeth because he isn't hireling and careth not for the sheep. You see that is the difference. That's what separates the hireling from the shepherd.

That's really the bottom line. The shepherd cares but the hireling doesn't. The good shepherd cares. He sympathizes. The Bible says we have a high priest that is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

May I tell you something? One of the most wonderful things I believe about our shepherd is that to our shepherd we're not just an animal. He cares for us. He cares for us so much that he feels exactly what we feel.

More I could say about that my time is leaving. I want you to notice next the good shepherd studies his sheep. The good shepherd according to this passage studies his sheep.

Look at verse 14. He said I am the good shepherd and know my sheep. I know them. I know my sheep.

What does that mean preacher? That means that he knows us. He studies us. The Bible says he knows our frame.

He remembers that we are as dust. And what does it mean to know somebody? It means it takes time.

It means it takes effort. It means that they care enough to watch and learn and they know our weaknesses. They know our strengths and that's our shepherd. He said that he'll never put on us more than we can bear. But he loves us too much to let us wander off and never be disciplined.

He studies his sheep. He knows you. He knows you better than you know yourself. In some ways I know my boys better than they know themselves right now. But in greater ways God knows them better than I do.

And let me tell you this. My children and my wife know me better than I know myself. I know my sheep. It's always amazed me that people think salvation is kind of an up and down, in or out thing and you can lose it, gain it, lose it, gain it. I just cannot find it in scripture. What kind of a shepherd would only take his sheep in if the sheep did exactly what they were supposed to do?

But the moment they didn't do what they were supposed to do he throws them out. Why would a sheep, look at me, why would a sheep want to come back to that? Why would we gain our salvation, lose our salvation? Why would we want to be saved?

We're just asking for more frustration. Something to think about. Notice lastly the good shepherd secures his sheep. The good shepherd secures his sheep. Look at verse 27. A little bit further down in the passage he's still on the same sermon but he says this. He says I give them not temporary life. He says eternal life. Notice he says they shall never perish. He didn't say that they won't perish often. He says they shall never perish.

Notice this. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Notice last he says no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand. So he says first we're in his hand then he says we're in the father's hand. So that means literally as a picture you and I are in Jesus' son's hand and his hand and us is in the father's hand. And I love what he says here. Look at verse 29. He says my father which gave to me is greater than all.

Greater than all. So that's as secure as you can get as his sheep. He said listen I'm not letting you go. Nobody's getting you.

I'm putting you in my hand and then may I remind you my father's greater than everybody and we are all in his hand. Wow. That's a pretty secured sheep if you ask me. I don't know about you so far. We have a good shepherd. Are you reminded a little bit today? So let's talk about the true sheep real quickly. So what does it mean if we realize that he is the true shepherd?

He's the good shepherd. So am I a true sheep? Well he gives some characteristics when you are a true sheep. When you're really one of his sheep. And notice if you would verse 25 first we see this true sheep believe the shepherd. True sheep believe. Now this is a big point with Jesus here. Look at verse 25. Jesus answered them. Who's them?

The religious leaders of course. He said this. I told you and ye believed not. The works that I do in my father's name they bear witness of me. But ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep. So that means this if we're one of the true sheep it means we believe the shepherd. It doesn't mean we don't ever question the shepherd. It just means we don't doubt the shepherd.

It doesn't mean I can't say well God why and God what are you doing I don't understand this. But what I can't do is doubt him. Because either you believe him or you don't. By the way one thing in the Bible that you always find Jesus hates and that is not being believed. That's why without faith it's impossible to please God. Because faith is believing.

And God hates that. Notice secondly true sheep hear the shepherd. Verse 27 he says my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. So preacher are you saying that I'm not saved unless I audibly hear the voice of God. No I'm saying you ate bad pizza if you did.

No what it means this. You hear him. You hear him. Does he speak to you during church? When a preacher gets up and gets in the word of God does God speak to you?

You say well what do you mean? That's through the Holy Spirit. If you're saved the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. How could God live inside of you and you never hear him?

Never feel him. Never know he's there. True sheep hear the shepherd. Notice verse 27 true sheep thirdly follow the shepherd. See they don't just hear but when they do hear they follow. True sheep obey the shepherd. Now I'm not saying you have to be perfect and I'm not saying that there aren't times as a sheep that I have not obeyed my shepherd.

No that's not what I'm saying. But true sheep he says here my sheep hear my voice I know them and they follow me. They follow me. And by the way if you think well then I must not be a true shepherd I mean a true shepherd.

But why would God give the story of the 99 sheep where he said hey here these were safe and this one was lost but I went after that one lost sheep. Listen to me. He knows us. Remember what he said? He said I know my sheep and every shepherd knows that there are some sheep that have a tendency to wander off.

That's not what he's saying. He's saying here that his sheep should hear him and should obey him. That's what marks you as his sheep. Notice next true sheep have eternal life. Look at verse 28 and I give unto them eternal and to them who? He said my sheep I give unto them eternal life.

True sheep have eternal life. So what does that mean? Well it means your life is eternal.

I know. So what does that mean? It means this that you and I as his sheep should understand what we're in right now is not the end. This isn't even barely the beginning. You see his sheep hear him and believe him, hear him and follow him and that means this they understand that what I see right now in my eyes this isn't eternity.

This is temporary. You see his sheep have eternal life not temporary life. So his sheep should think more about eternity than the here and now. Notice this true sheep will never die.

Just giving you the characteristics that he gives. Look at verse 28. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. It ought to be comforting to some of you. You've had loved ones that have passed away and gone on to glory.

Guess what? They never perished. They didn't die. Well they're not breathing anymore.

Yes but they didn't die. They have eternal life and notice this last. True sheep can never be taken from the shepherd.

True sheep and notice if you would let's read it again. Verse 28. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My father which gave to me is greater than all. No man is able to pluck them out of my father saying I and my father are one. Are one.

You say preacher what's your point? Well there's a true shepherd and there's true sheep. You need to make sure and know for sure that you're one of the true sheep. Because I am telling you right now Jesus Christ only is the true shepherd. The good shepherd.

As I was reading this I was just thinking everything in this. Everything in this entire passage even last week when he said I am the door and this whole thing of sheep and shepherding and sheepfold and porter and all these things. Can I tell you something that I noticed through all of this? Sheep were created with the need for help.

Did you hear me? Sheep were inherently created to need help. In fact apparently sheep were created with the need of human help. You say well what do you mean?

Well I started looking into that a little bit. I said well he's the shepherd and sheep need a shepherd. And here I am. I'm a sinner and I needed a savior. And when a sinner gives his heart to the savior now that sheep has a new shepherd. And I found this picture.

And brother Ben if you're able to put this up if he's able. Okay. This is actually a very famous sheep. This is Shrek the sheep. How many of you have ever read the story or seen on the news about Shrek the sheep? A few of you have. A few years ago he became very very famous.

You say why is that? Because Shrek wandered off from his shepherd. He's part of a sheep herd. And everybody assumed he was killed, that he wandered off, got killed by an animal, eaten by an animal, whatever.

He was gone for six years. And sure enough they found out that he was hiding out basically in a cave. You say sheep hide now.

Well let me explain. He was found in a cave. Somebody wandered in and I'm sure it scared them at first when they got into this cave.

You say well why was he in the cave? Well for six years here's Shrek the sheep. For six years there was no shepherd to shear him. His wool kept growing and growing and growing. You see if a sheep doesn't have human help that wool never leaves.

It just keeps growing and growing and growing. Here was the problem. Why was he in the cave for six years? Well because for a few months that's where he would sleep and he would try to go out and eat. But eventually his wool became so heavy and when it rained it began to soak up that water that he couldn't walk out of the cave.

The wool became such a burden because no shepherd had sheared him. And so here they found him. I want you to show this next picture of Brother Ben if you can. There he is after getting sheared. Became very famous. Shrek the sheep.

Well people have, they don't have a lot to do do they for this to become a big story on the news. It's amazing once they sheared him in a month he was back to walking, back to acting normal but he couldn't lift the load. He couldn't bear the load. Show this last picture as they were shearing him. I know it's hard for you to see but his head is right there by his right knee and everything else is the wool that's been sheared off.

Took 38 minutes to shear all this wool off of Shrek the sheep. They say well that's great preacher what in the world does this have to do with the word of God? Well you know when you and I as sheep we were made and born with the need for a shepherd. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the web at KerwinBaptistChurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. you