Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Jesus, The Good Shepherd Sermon Outline

I. Introduction a. In his book, This is Your Brain on Music, neuropsychologist Daniel Levitin tells us: “…people can recognize hundreds, if not thousands, of voices. You can probably recognize the sound of your mother’s voice within one word, even if she doesn’t identify herself. You can tell your spouse’s voice right away, and whether he or she has a cold or is angry with you. Then there are well-known voices – dozens, if not hundreds, that most people can readily identify: Woody Allen, Richard Nixon, Drew Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx, Katherine Hepburn, Clint Eastwood, Steve Martin.” (As quoted in God Told Me, page 97). b. We all have recognizable voices. But so does Jesus. Let’s look together at what Jesus has to say about his recognizable voice. Take your Bibles and turn to John 10.

Idea: You can play audio clips of famous individuals and see if your congregation can identify them.

II. John 10:3-6 a. “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger, in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.” b. Just like your spouse or child, Jesus has a recognizable voice. Jesus says Christians we should be able to recognize his voice.

III. Observations of Jesus’ Recognizable Voice a. First, Jesus is not talking about an audible voice, but speaking to us through other people, circumstance, promptings of the Spirit, prayer, etc. Verse 6 says this is a figure of speech. The word “voice” is used as a figure of speech in Psalm 19. The heavens do not have an audible voice, but they do communicate truth about God. Jesus communicates to us in a way that we can recognize that it is him.

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For example, if you prayed this morning and felt a strong sense in your spirit that you need to stick with your job, even though you want to quit, there was no audible voice, but Jesus was speaking to you.

Copyright Jim Samra 2012.

b. Second, Jesus is not primarily talking about the call to salvation, but day-to-day decisions of our Christian lives. Verse 3 says, “he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” This is referring to salvation.

But verse 4 says: “When he has brought out all his own [in other words, after he has called his sheep to salvation], he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” Verse 4 is saying after becoming a Christian, Jesus goes in front of you and uses his voice to lead and guide you. The majority of the shepherd’s job is not finding lost sheep, but leading the sheep he has found every day to food, water and shelter. c. Third, Jesus is not simply talking about using human wisdom to guide ourselves. When Jesus says that his sheep hear his voice, he is not simply telling us to use our sheep-smarts, figure out what we are doing in life and call it the voice of the shepherd.

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Example: Take the decision of determining a retirement date. Listening to God for guidance is not simply using the wisdom God gave me, sit down with a financial planner, calculate income needed, return on investment, probable length of life, and include a safety factor and then calculate the date.

Likewise, if you use the same financial calculators and planning wisdom that any non-Christian would use and end up at a retirement date the same way any non-Christian would, that is not being led by the Good Shepherd.

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Example: Jim Elliot lost his life in Ecuador attempting to reach the Auca Indians with the Gospel.

After such a tragedy, it may be reasonable to question whether he truly heard from the Lord because it was not, humanly speaking, a wise decision. No person would make a list of pros and cons, and decide to leave the comforts of America for the wilderness of South America. However, in his journal, Elliot wrote: “My going to Ecuador is God’s counsel…and my refusal to be counseled by all who insist I should stay and stir up the believers in the U.S. And how do I know it is His counsel? ‘Yea, my heart instructeth me in the night seasons.’ Oh, how good! For I have known my heart is speaking to me for God!… No visions, no voices, but the counsel of a heart which desires God.”— As quoted by Elisabeth Elliot in Through Gates of Splendor

IV. Jesus has a recognizable voice and he wants to guide you in the day-to-day decisions of life.

The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.” James 1:5 says, “If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all freely without finding fault.” Jesus is saying, I am Your Good Shepherd and I want to lead you and guide you in the way that you should go.

Note: Other examples of people following Jesus’ voice can be found on GodToldMethebook.com.

Copyright Jim Samra 2012.