Jesus Unfiltered - Follow - Every Sheep Needs a Shepherd, Part 2

What comes to your mind when you hear someone say, Jesus is the Good Shepherd? If you're me, it's a Hallmark card with a white Jesus with long hair and one of those long sticks with a crook on the end. It doesn't exude a lot of confidence in my life. Maybe you need to understand who the Good Shepherd really is.

It might surprise you. Thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Living on the Edge is an international teaching and discipleship ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Druey, and in this program, Chip reminds us that Jesus knows all about the trouble we may be experiencing, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. That Jesus has the ability to meet our needs and give us peace, no matter what we're going through. So rather than a mild-mannered do-gooder, our Good Shepherd is a powerful rescuer. After the teaching, Chip's got a question for you you don't want to miss. But for now, open your Bible to John chapter 10. Let's join Chip for part two of his message, Every Sheep Needs a Shepherd. Finally, the Good Shepherd reveals his identity as Savior and God.

And this is critical. Because what he's going to say is, I'm not one of many. The thieves and the robbers that he's talking about, Josephus makes this comment.

He's a Jewish historian of the time and talks about Jesus and talks about that period of history. And there's a little hyperbole here. But before Jesus, the last 50, 60, 80 years before Jesus, he said there were tens of thousands of messiahs.

Well, obviously, there weren't really that many. But what happened is there were groups and a messiah, someone would claim, I'm the answer. Follow me. We'll take down Rome.

And listen very carefully, because this really hits close to home today. These messiahs would willingly be martyred. They didn't care if their followers were killed, because they all had the same core theology. They believed that they were ushering in a new apocalyptic day. And the way that day would come is that you followed him and he would die and you might die. But that is going to bring the end of the world. How many people have done much reading on ISIS?

Start reading. They're not a bunch of crazy people who just are bloodthirsty, who just want to kill people for no reason. It's a very clear theology and it's not a new theology. ISIS believes that they're bringing in an apocalyptic age, that the end of the world is coming, that their role is to kill all infidels, which means if you're not ISIS, you're an infidel.

Even if you're a moderate Muslim, you're an infidel. And so they believe that as they kill these people, they're doing a great act of serving Allah and that it will bring in the ushering of the end of the world. And Jesus is saying, those false messiahs, that's what they were trying to do. And what did it bring? Killing, stealing, and death. It's what we see today. He says, I came to bring life and bring it abundantly.

Not a religion of fear and death and intimidation, but a relationship of life and love and forgiveness and restoration. In fact, your hurts and your needs and your mess ups and your problems causes Jesus to feel about you the way I felt about my little grandson. I so wanted to fix it.

I so wanted to help him. But he couldn't understand. Well, you'll notice there's two responses to this Good Shepherd. He makes a promise in verses 28 and 29. He reveals his identity in verse 30.

And then at the very bottom, you'll see there's going to be two responses where one group wants to seize him and arrest him and a great many other people instead believe. Pick up the story at verse 22. Then came the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem.

It was winter. And Jesus was in the temple walking in Solomon's colonnade. The Jews gathered around him and said, how long are you?

Keep us in suspense. If you're the Christ, if you're the Messiah, just tell us plainly. Jesus answered, I did tell you, but you do not believe me. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak of me, but you do not believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me.

Notice here's his offer. And it wasn't just for them. It's for every person in this room. I give them grant.

In other words, grace. 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.

And then he makes the statement where they want to kill him again. The father and I are one. And grammatically here, he's not saying one essence. I mean, he's saying one essence. In grammar you have like male, female, and in Greek you have neuter.

This is grammatically. The father and I are one being or one essence, two people. Third one is the Holy Spirit.

And so what's the response? Again, the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said, I've shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me? Was it when I raised the little girl from the dead? Was it when I fed the 5,000? Was it when the blind man could see? How about the lame man by the pool? How about when I fed the 4,000?

How about the young man who was in the coffin near the village and I touched the coffin? And I mean, these are all historical things that happen. These are not myths. These are not nice tales.

These aren't a competing religious salad bar or diet. This is a man who historically lived both inside and outside the Bible and then after he died and rose from the dead, it's not like he told two of his special friends that we're supposed to believe them or they had a dream. For 40 days, space time history, walking in a resurrected body to over 500 eye witnesses holds up in any court of law. That's the Jesus that we're worshiping.

That's why all of history is ADBC. Now here's the big question. If this whole resurrection and visit by God to the planet was that He could help us, restore us, love us, cleanse us, that our hurts actually emote compassion from Him, here's His big request. And it's just amazing.

If you get this, it'll radically change your life. Jesus wants to be your shepherd. That's the goal. He's not trying to sign you up to be some rigid Christian. He's not trying to sign you up to become some religious fanatic. He wants to be your personal shepherd.

I want to tell you what you could expect of Jesus if before you walk out these doors, you said, you know something? Everybody trusts something or someone. I've got a family of origin. I was educated here. I've basically thought about life here.

I've trusted a lot of other people, what they've said. When I look at the evidence, I think the smartest, wisest thing to do, since He's the only one that's come back from the dead, He's the central figure of history and there's all this, I think the smartest thing to do was allow Him to be my shepherd. I'm going to ask Him to forgive me, come in my life and be my shepherd.

And then I'm going to start following Him. I want you to know what it would look like and what He wants to give you, okay? Because this is not how you see God. And this is how most people can't even dream God would see them. Jesus wants to be your shepherd, number one, to meet your deepest needs.

Jot that down will you? He wants to meet your deepest needs. Your deepest needs is not just health. It's not finding the right person. It's not for your kids to come out right. It's not to get a better job. It's not to get a second home. It's not to remodel your kitchen. It's not for your kids to get in the right school.

I mean, those are fine. It's not that you someday some way go public. Your greatest need is to be deeply loved and accepted, to feel significant in who you already are and not what you do, to have a deep overwhelming sense of security that it is well with your soul and you can handle any circumstance and have a very clear purpose in your life. That's your deepest need. Now what I will tell you is our workaholism and we have to this and we have to have that and I got to look a certain way and I got to earn so much money and drive a certain car. My kids got to be in this school and I've got if I'm single, I got to get married.

If I'm married, I don't like it. I got a single. All of that is about what? Trying to meet these needs of now I'm a somebody. I'm significant. Look at what I have. Now I've got security.

I added one more zero to my portfolio. Now I've got purpose in life. I'm going to raise the greatest kids in the world and when they're successful I'll feel like vicariously I've really done something. We run our lives like crazy trying to meet needs that only God can meet and what he would say is if you'll let me be your shepherd, then you know what? All those things, the right time, the right way become tools that I can love you and you can actually have in your hands to help and love other people because at the end of the day, all of us, or at least most of us, we have at least enough relationships with people that have all that have been all that and are super successful and ask them, is it enough?

And it never is. And so we run around trying to gain what other people who are already there, their lives scream. I've been through three marriages. I've got lots of zeros. I have a house here, a house here and a house there. The most unhappy people I have ever met in my life are people not in abject poverty, people who have run it and thought if they had this, this, this, this, this and this then and they have it and they can do whatever they want any day of the week and go ever and it's empty. Those aren't bad things.

They just can't deliver life. I came that you could have life and have it abundantly. Second, he wants to restore your soul. He makes you lie down in green pastures.

He leads you beside quiet waters. He restores your soul. The word soul, we get our word psychology from.

It's psyche, suke. I mean, think of what's broken in us. Our shopping addictions, our sexual addictions, our alcohol addictions, our work addictions, our pleasing people addictions, our codependency addictions, our addiction that everything, everyone has to see me a certain way.

We run around like crazy. What we have is a soul problem. We, our souls messed up. It's warped. He says, I want to restore it literally.

The word restore means I want to turn it back and bring it to where it really belongs. And notice he says how he does it two ways. He goes, I'll make you.

That doesn't sound very fun. He says, I'll make you what? I'll make you sit down or lie down in green pastures. This is where it's good. But see, sheep are not all that smart and some sheep are hard headed.

They have sort of an Ingram tendency in them that I want to do my own thing. And God says, no, that right. He's going to lead us in paths of righteousness. There's a bad path.

Here's a good path. Some sheep, even from the time their lambs don't listen very well. So what a shepherd would do in that day with the sling, they were really good.

Put a rock in it. And about two feet in front of the sheep as its strength and smart sheep will go, Oh, I think I'm going to get back with the other sheep. But some sheep aren't very smart and they just keep wandering and wandering. You know what's going to happen?

They're going to die. A Wolf's going to get them. And so the shepherd literally it's called the bell sheet. The shepherd on purpose would go over and break the leg of the lamb. And then he would set the leg. Then he would take the lamb and put it on his shoulders. And for the next few weeks, while that was healing, that land would be on his shoulders all the time. Well, he heard his voice. It built intimacy, built connection.

And then I'm guessing four to six weeks, that's what I hear with every broken bone. He would put a little bell around the sheep and it was called the bell sheep. And because of what happened, one, the pain, the shepherd's love and the pain, the intimacy, that sheep would never leave the shepherd's side.

Closer than any others. So all the other sheep when they hear ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, there's the shepherd. Can I just, I want to say this gently. Some of you are going through horrendous times right now in a relationship or in your finances or at work.

Horrendous. And there's bitterness and hurt and betrayal and struggle or cancer. And God doesn't cause evil because he's good, but he uses evil and difficulty. And sometimes he does discipline his sheep. And you know what?

So he'll make you lie down in green pastures. You know, that's not a good relationship. And wow, I lost my job. You know, I'm spending my money here. My time's going here. I've forgotten God.

Oh wow, this happened. Sometimes the kindest thing God ever does is bring difficulty into your life. Because when difficult things happen, what happens to your attention?

All of us, right? I have a kid in ICU. I pray differently.

I lose my job. I pray differently. I have a friend going through a horrendous time. I pray differently. I've been a pastor for a little over 30 years and this is what I can tell you.

It's just personal observation. But the people who've been hurt deeply seem to have the greatest appreciation and intimacy with God and seem to display the characteristics of Christ more fully, more brightly and more powerful than other people that I know. So God, he wants to restore you.

So sometimes the difficulty is he wants to get your attention. I mean, you're here, right? I mean, some of you, if you were like me growing up, someone said, do you want to come to church? Like, what? I mean, on purpose?

Are you kidding? You know, I had a very warped view of God and I met a lot of Christians who helped me get it, to be honest. Third, he wants to guide you and direct your life.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Don't we all have personnel decisions to make? Should I marry this person, not marry this person, good roommate, bad roommate, should take this job, don't take this job, hire this person? We have personnel decisions to make.

Don't we have wisdom decisions to make? Should we, should I change jobs? Should I go to this university, that university?

Forget universities. I'm an entrepreneur. I should probably do. You have decisions to make, right? Do you want to make good decisions that put you on a good path or do you want to make bad decisions or wrong decisions that put you on a bad path? Okay.

That was a rhetorical question. Now, now just, just for a moment, lean back. If God is who he says he is, all knowing, all powerful, eternal, all wise, knows all things actual and possible and your hurts, even your hurts and pains and struggles and mistakes and your sin causes his compassion to well up infinitely more than me for my grandson and he wants to help you. And here's the offer. I know everything tomorrow, next year, into the world. I know how you think. I know everything about everyone. Would you like me to give you my counsel on what to do tomorrow, on what relationship to get in or out of, on what school to go to or put your kids in?

Would you like to know where to invest and what to do with your time, your energy, your money? Because you're my sheep and what do shepherds do? They take care of them. Why? Because they love them. They don't bail out.

So you sort of have this option. He could be your shepherd or you could just read the Wall Street Journal. You know, they're right all the time.

Read it on the internet. I mean, you know, that's true, right? I mean, I'm messing with you.

Or you could just say, I got it. I know what's best for me. Well, look at some of your past decisions. I'm honest. I mean, you know, this is the Dr. Phil moment.

How's that working for you? And Jesus is saying, I want to be your shepherd. I want to meet your needs. I want to restore your soul. I want to direct your life. I want to protect you from evil, even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

This is not talking about dying. This is talking about the sheep in the summer in the lowlands. The grass starts to dry out. You have to take them through these ravines up into the mountains and the plateaus where the grass is green.

And so when you do that, instead of the big group coming, there's these narrow places and there's all, it gets dark and they're shadowy. Well, that's where the wolves take out your sheep. And so David is saying, I've been in some of those times, partly because I got myself in them. The Bathsheba deal was all me.

I blew it. The murder, that was me. Other times, man, that guy betrayed me. Here's the most amazing thing about God.

Whether you mess up your life or someone else messes up your life, the moment you come and say, I just need help. You know what you receive? Compassion. I don't understand it.

Compassion. I'll forgive. I'll restore. I'll reset it.

I'll make it right. And so he says he wants to protect you from evil. He says there's a rod and a staff. And it's interesting because the rod was a power thing. It was like a bill a club of a policeman, a wood, and then it had a big ball at the end and had spikes or nails that would come out of it. And sheeps, you know, wolves, they would fight with that. And then the staff was of comfort. It was, you know, the long thing with the hook and sheeps in the briar. You got to pull it out.

It's in a ravine, you know, you help it out or maybe a little nudge to keep him on track. And all I can tell you is I didn't grow up as a follower of Jesus. And I remember I was a young pastor, maybe 28 years old coming out to California.

And this, I saw God's power. And since I've had multiple things like this, and it's not because I'm a pastor, it's just I'm a sheep and my shepherd wants to take care of me. So I'm on my way to California, going to the airport. I'm living in Texas, young pastor, little tiny church.

And I wanted to come learn actually was coming out to this church way back when to learn some stuff. And so it's Texas. It's super, super hot and hasn't rained in a long time. And it starts to drizzle. And in Texas, they call it black ice. There's oil that's been there.

And when it just mixes right, it gets literally like black ice. And so my friend, my buddy and I are driving and all of a sudden I look like three, 400 yards and the cars are spinning. I mean, it's like a movie. They're all spinning.

It's like, Oh my gosh. You know? And so, you know, being the intelligent person I am, I slam on the brakes. Right. And so, you know, you know, it's not like it's snowing.

So I wasn't thinking, I mean, I'm not. And so I slam on the brakes and the brakes lock. And I mean, we start speeding up. I'm going about 60.

Now I'm going about 70. And all I can tell you is F O R D and it was there. And then pretty soon it filled the complete windshield. And I don't know if you've ever had one of these. I've had two, at least in my life where I thought I didn't think literally the thought was, I didn't think this is how I would die. The car does this with no one on the steering wheel like this, and then shoots through fast through spinning cars. I believe in angels.

I mean, it's impossible. And then I look back and there's like 25 cars all strewn over and, and you know, my heart's going, God just saved my life. Now I'm not saying that he does that all the time forever. I'm just saying he wanted me to know, Chip, I'm your shepherd. I want to protect you from evil. In fact, sometimes he doesn't use the rod.

Sometimes it's the staff. So a few years ago, my wife got cancer and I prayed and she prayed. God didn't remove the cancer. God doesn't promise.

He takes us out of the world. We went to Stanford every week. We had treatment after treatment after treatment. I didn't know she would live or she'd die, but he comforted us.

And I praise God for smart and great doctors and medicine and technology. And I will tell you this, this happened in my marriage. I, you know, I thought, you know, I thought I had a four-speed car and I had no idea that there was a fifth gear, that our fifth gear came because I didn't know if I'd have her. And there was a level of intimacy and connection that happened after cancer with us and with God that I would never trade because God says, even though you go through the valley of the shadow of death, my rod and my staff, I'm with you.

Do you want a shepherd like that? The fifth thing he promises, he says, I want to fill your life with joy. It's that picture that I shared of, you know, a big battles happen and there's the big buffet. And he just, this is hard to get because so many people think God's arms are crossed and he's down on you and waiting for you to mess up. God wants to deliver you from your enemies. And he wants you to have a buffet life of joy.

And he wants his goodness and his mercy and his kindness to pursue you. You don't have to live with all the shoes going to drop. And what about this? I'm sure something bad is going to happen. When people live in fear like that, you make really dumb decisions and you don't enjoy what you have. Most people in the world don't enjoy what they have.

They're always fearful about how they might lose it or what's going to mess up. And the final thing he says is just beyond my wildest dreams. He says, I want to give you eternal life. He says, I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Notice forever.

This is why he came. Your hurts, your needs, your struggles in mind, your mess ups did something down deep. And if I can use this word into the bowels of God, of his compassion, and he ordained that on a certain time at a certain day, you would walk into a room so he could tell you, I love you. I want to be your shepherd. But in order for that to happen, you must recognize that I'm King, that I'm God, and that I've forgiven you.

And you had an empty hands of faith. You need to turn away from sin that you know is wrong and ask me to forgive you. And I will come into your life on this day, forgive your sins, and then we will walk together and it won't be easy, but it'll be amazing.

Let me pause before we go any further. This moment right now might be the most important moment of your entire life. God is speaking directly to you and he's offering you eternal life. Jesus wants to be your good shepherd. He wants to forgive you. He wants to restore you. He wants to put you on a new path. And then he wants to live inside of you and walk with you all the days of your life. And then he wants to prepare a place for you in a very real heaven that you can be with him forever.

Your response will determine whether that becomes a reality or an intellectual fact that you simply became aware of today. If you turn from your sin, the Bible word is repent, you realize I'm on the wrong path, what I'm doing, how I'm thinking, it's not right. You turn from it and you lift the empty hands of faith and you say, God, please forgive me. I fall short. I've sinned. I need your forgiveness.

And today I believe that Jesus' death on the cross paid for my sin once and for all, and that his resurrection from the dead proved its reality. I invite you now to come into my life. I receive the gift of salvation. Now make me your son. Make me your daughter. That prayer, believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth, comes with the promise that you will be made a son or daughter of God by the Spirit of God forgiving you and entering your life. And what a precious time it is.

Do it right now wherever you are. In your own words, tell God that. He'll meet you. He'll love you.

He'll forgive you. And afterwards, go to the website and let us know what's going on. And we have some information there to help you absolutely free to get on the road to growing in Christ. And by the way, make sure you tell someone today that you really respect, maybe the greatest Christian you know, and just let them know, I put my faith in Christ today and I think I need some help. If you prayed with Chip, I hope you'll take a minute and call us at 888-333-6003. We'd love to talk with you and get a free resource in your hands that'll help you understand what you just did and where to go from here. If you'd rather, go to the New Believers tab on our website, livingontheedge.org, or tap Special Offers on the app where you'll find that same resource. We just want to help you get started on your new journey of faith. Well, until next time, this is Dave Drouy saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.