JOHN 10:3-5

INTRODUCTION: Many claim to be sheep in the fold of the great shepherd, Jesus Christ. It is astonishing to examine just the number of religious people in the world that lay claim to the benefits of the Lord. Consider three areas that will always be true of the sheep of the shepherds.

BODY

I. THEY FOCUS ON THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE.

A. The shepherd knows his sheep and the know his voice.

1. John 10:3, 14, 16 ""To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out......I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own....And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."

B. His true sheep will respect the "voice" of the shepherd.

1. John 8:31- "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."

a. John 12:48, 49 - "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49- For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak."

2. John 10:27- ""My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

3. 1 Thessalonians 5:21- "Test all things; hold fast what is good."

II. THEY FOLLOW THE SHEPHERD'S LEAD.

A. His sheep follow him!

1. John 10:4 - "And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice."

2. Psalms 23:1-2 "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2- He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters."

B. More than just hearing

1. Luke 6:46- ""But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?"

2. John 6:63- ""It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."

3. Mark 4:14-20

C. Some would choose not to follow.

1. John 6:66- "From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more."

III. THEY FLEE FROM A STRANGER'S CALL.

A. They will not follow the voice of the stranger.

1. John 10:5, 8- ""Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. 8- All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them."

B. No other place to go for eternal life.

1. John 6:68-69 "But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69- Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.""

IV. THEY RECEIVE A GREAT BLESSING IN FOLLOWING THE SHEPHERD.

A. The shepherd gives complete safety and satisfaction.

1. John 10:9-10 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10- The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

2. Psalms 23:4-6 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5- You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever."

B. Our great shepherd give us peace of mind and a home in Heaven.

1. John 14:27- ""Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

2. 1 Peter 1:3- "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4- to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,"

CONCLUSION: "A gentleman traveling in Syria, relates how he stopped to watch three shepherds who were at a well watering their flocks. The three flocks were all mingled together at the watering place. The traveler could see no difference between them, and he wondered how they would get them separated again without great trouble. But presently one of the shepherds stood forth and called out, "Menah," the Arabic for "Follow me," and sure enough thirty sheep immediately separated themselves from the indiscriminate mass and began to follow the shepherd up the hill. Then, a second shepherd lifted the cry, "Menah," and a second flock separated themselves and started after him, while the rest of the sheep remained as unconcerned as if no one had spoken at all.

The traveler was so astonished that as he saw the third shepherd preparing to depart, laying his hand to his crook and beginning to gather a few dates fallen from a palm beneath which he had been resting, he stepped up to him and asked: "Would your sheep follow me if I called them?" The man shook his head. "Give me your shepherd's cloak and crook and let me try." The traveler said He even wound the shepherds turban round his head and standing forth began to cry, "Menah, Menah!" but no sheep stirred. They only blinked at him lazily in the sunshine. "Do they never follow any one
but you?" asked the traveler. Only when a sheep is sick; then the silly creature follows any one, " the shepherd said." Whose voice are you following?