Whose Voice Are You Following?

Audio Transcript

This morning we’re going to be in John chapter 10, so if you have your Bible, go ahead and turn to John 10. We finished up in 9 last week.

I hope the message this morning and next Sunday will be a special encouragement to all of you. You know we’re teaching through the entire Bible. We have been for many years. So we tackle a lot of tough passages—some that aren’t that fun to talk about on a nice Sunday morning. But I’m so excited that this morning and next Sunday… these are just incredibly encouraging words from the Lord. Today, we’re going to see the amazing goodness of our Savior, and next Sunday, we’re going to see just how good He is even when we go astray. So I hope that those will be an encouragement to you.

When I was a young boy, our family was returning from the mission field for a short furlough, and we stopped in Iraq to drive out about an hour away from Baghdad and visit the ruins of ancient Babylon. And on our way back to the airport, we saw a remarkable sight, for us anyway; it was common for them. We saw a shepherd leading his flock right through the middle of the bustling city. The sheep were clearly terrified. They were, you know—the noise of the traffic and the horns and all of the people—they were actually climbing up on top of one another’s backs, trembling, trying to get as far forward in the flock as they could to be as near to the shepherd as possible.

And the shepherd was walking slowly backwards, facing the sheep, and he made this continual unique sound that the sheep knew. The English-speaking taxi driver who was with us explained that the frightened sheep wanted to see the shepherd’s face, and they wanted to be near him. That, he said, was the only thing that would calm them in the midst of such chaos.

Well, that left a lasting impression upon us that we all still remember to this day, because it brought John chapter 10 to life in a way that I don’t think anything else possibly could have. This is where in this chapter Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd and said that His sheep know His voice and they follow Him. Now before we even get to the first verse of this chapter, it’s very important that I take a few moments and set the context for what is about to be said here.

Throughout the Bible, God Himself is described as the shepherd of His people again and again, especially through the Old Testament. He’s the one who cares for and protects and feeds and leads His people in the right way. I suppose no more beautiful phrase sums that up than what Raul read this morning, “The Lord is my shepherd.” But also, the Bible calls the leaders of God’s people shepherds of the flock.

In fact, the word pastor means shepherd. It’s not a fancy title. I don’t need a business card with gold-foiled edges and my name and title on there. It’s shepherd. And so throughout the Bible, Old and New Testament, the leaders of the people were called shepherds. But sadly, many of those shepherds led God’s people far off the right path. And they did more harm than good. And we saw this as we studied through the Old Testament for about six years or so.

And you get towards the end of the Old Testament, and it’s just so much darkness and sadness and brokenness. Seems like that’s all we ever studied week after week. And it reached a point where God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, and He chastised these shepherds for failing to lead the people the way that God leads us. And God said this in Ezekiel chapter 34, starting in verse 2.

He said, “Whoa!” That’s a strong warning. That’s not the California surfer “whoa.” That’s a totally different thing. “Whoa to the shepherds of Israel who only feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty.” These political and religious leaders turned out to be worthless shepherds.

Even King David, who was a model shepherd in the Old Testament, and for much of his reign, he was a good shepherd. Even he failed terribly.

And the people were longing to see a shepherd who could lead them as God leads us. But it never happened. Everyone stumbled in some way. Everyone fell short. And then God made this promise in Ezekiel chapter 34, starting in verse 11. “For this is what the Lord God says, Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak.”

And for some 600 years after those words were spoken, the people waited. They held on to this promise, and they waited. And now, here, in John chapter 10, Jesus stands presenting Himself as exactly what that promise foretold. He’s presenting Himself as the Good Shepherd in direct contrast not only to the corrupt shepherds of the Old Testament, but also, and here’s where our chapter this morning really, you feel the edge on what is about to happen. Jesus is not only contrasting Himself to all those wicked, worthless Old Testament shepherds, but He’s contrasting Himself to the corrupt religious leaders of that day, the Pharisees who were standing right there in front of Him, and Jesus is speaking these words to them.

Keep that in mind. Now there’s no break in the original between the end of chapter 9 and beginning of chapter 10. And so what we saw last week, Jesus has just healed the man born blind. He did it on the Sabbath. He violated their man-made rules. These self-righteous Pharisees couldn’t even bring themselves to be happy for this man who had gained his sight. All they cared about was cracking down on him and on Jesus for breaking their man-made rules. And we saw how they interrogated the man and they threatened him and his family. And they eventually excommunicated him completely. Now that has just happened.

And now we step into chapter 10. The Pharisees, I remind you, they had declared themselves to be the only true spiritual shepherds of God’s people. They controlled, literally, who was in and who was out. We saw last week they threw this man out of the synagogue for doing absolutely no wrong. They saw themselves as the only way to God, but Jesus is standing here and is about to shock the life out of them by telling them that He alone is the doorway to God. Now one more thing we must understand right up front, when Jesus speaks here in this chapter of sheep and shepherds and the sheepfold, He’s talking about salvation.

And we’ll see that very clearly in something He says in just a little while. So keep that in mind. All these metaphors He’s using about sheep and sheepfolds and shepherds and thieves and all of this and coming into the fold or being out of the fold, it’s all talking about the salvation that He came to bring. Now, a sheepfold, I’m sure none of you have thought about one of those this week or talked about them or drawn up blueprints for one. A sheepfold was a simple fenced-in enclosure where shepherds put their flocks every night. And there were basically two types of sheepfolds. The more permanent kind were the ones located near cities.

And you can see that there, they were generally made out of rock. Traveling shepherds would put their flocks in there overnight, and a watchman or a gatekeeper, he was called, was paid to watch the flocks overnight while the shepherds walked into town and found lodging for the night. But shepherds who lived way out in the countryside, who spent months out in the country, couldn’t have the luxury of a nice sheepfold like this. So they made sheepfolds out of whatever materials they could find, sticks and planks and branches and thorns. And you can see that next photo here.

This is one just, well, this is a modern day one, actually. They still do this. And you can see that one looks a little raggedy, but essentially it serves the same purpose. But one thing all sheepfolds had in common, they only had one door. This is the only design you’ll see.

That door was a narrow entrance, and it was the only way to get in or out of the sheepfold. And at night, that hired hand or the shepherd himself, if he was out in the country, would lie across that narrow opening, and he would lay there all night, and he would literally, listen, become the door of the sheepfold.

No sheep could get in or out without passing over his body. No predator could enter without going through the shepherd first.

Now, with that in mind, let’s remember Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, and we pick up now in John chapter 10, verse 1.

Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” Well, this really doesn’t need any explanation. Everyone there would have said, “Yes, of course. A thief would try to climb over the wall, but a shepherd would go through the door.”

Now, in these communal sheepfolds, the ones near cities, just outside of most cities and towns, multiple shepherds would put their flocks in there at night into the same pen. And the next morning, when they went to get their sheep, something amazing would happen.

Shepherd would go to the sheepfold, and he would begin calling his sheep, and only his sheep would pay attention to his voice and begin to file out one by one through that door and follow him. The other sheep, when they heard a stranger’s voice, would not even look up from what they were doing. Shepherds named their sheep, and the sheep knew their names just like all your pets at home. But more than that, sheep would only respond to their shepherd’s voice. Look at this in verse 4 and 5.

Well, go back to verse 3, I’m sorry. Verse 3, “The gatekeeper opens the door for him, the shepherd, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Now verse 4 and 5, “When he has brought out all his sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will flee from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Now this is incredible. You can still witness this today. If you visit the Holy Land and take some tours and so on, you can still see this very thing happening today. You can see two shepherds leading their flocks through an open field, and they’re about to cross paths. And when they do, the shepherds will stop, and they’ll greet one another, and they’ll begin to talk. And as they talk, both their flocks mingle together in one big bunch. And you think, how in the world are they going to sort this out? But when the shepherds are finished talking, and they each go their own way, they each begin to call for their sheep, and their sheep separate themselves, and they begin to follow their own shepherd. It is a remarkable sight, almost too amazing to be true, but it is.

All this was common knowledge in that day, so the Pharisees understood the part about the sheep and what Jesus has just described in these first five verses, but they don’t understand how it’s supposed to apply to them. Verse 6 says, “Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.” Reminds me of Nicodemus, another Pharisee, another highly educated man. Jesus said to him, “You must be born again,” and he just didn’t get it, didn’t understand, as is true with most of us.

Now remember, as I said, I want you to remember this picture of the shepherd laying across that narrow doorway all night long. He became the door of the sheepfold, and I hope with that image in mind, this familiar verse will take on new meaning. Verse 7, “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, here it is, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.'”

There’s no ambiguity whatsoever in what Jesus is saying here. The fold represents those who are saved, those who are in the shepherd’s care, and Jesus declares Himself the only way to be saved. He’s saying, “I am the only way to salvation, and therefore, I am the only way to God.”

Now, when I say those words here on a Sunday morning in front of you, everyone is nodding and going, “Amen, yes.” Remember, He’s speaking to the Pharisees who hated Him, who multiple times we’ve seen have already tried to kill Him. Because He claimed to be one with the Father, He claimed to be the only way. Jesus unashamedly said this same thing later in John 14:6, a verse we’ve talked about many times over the years. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

I believe it was Philip Yancey who said, “That’s the most narrow-minded statement ever made.” And isn’t it, though? Do we understand in our little Christian bubble here how offensive those words are to much of the world? How dare Jesus claim to be the only way to God? And this is the dividing point for many people on Christianity. They just can’t come to terms with this fact.

Jesus already said here in John 10, “Some people don’t want to go through the door. They don’t want to come through Me to get to the Father.” So they try to climb over the wall. They try to find some other way in. They try to earn their way to God, but there is no other way. There is no other door besides Jesus. The religious leaders here who are listening to this had taught for centuries that pure Judaism was the fold and that the rabbis and the law were the door. And they taught the people, “If you keep enough of the Torah with precision, if you observe enough traditions, if you earn enough religious credits, you’ll finally be accepted into the fold.”

Jesus explodes that myth here with four simple words: “I am the door.”

He’s stating without hesitation that He is the promised Messiah, the only one through whom we can be saved. And that very message is, in fact, the entire reason that the Gospel of John was written. When he gets on toward the end of this book, in chapter 20, verse 31, he sums it up. He says, “You want to know why I wrote all of this?” He says it, “These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” Now, remember I told you every time you see the word Christ in the Bible, it means Messiah, the promised one.

“These things are written that you may believe.” There it is, the whole point of everything that we do here, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

I can’t imagine how fidgety these Pharisees must have been.

Back in John chapter 10, Jesus expands on this matter of having life through Him. And we all, you know, people hear that and they go, “Well, I’ve already got life. Look at me. I’m alive.” But this is not the kind of life Jesus was talking about. Yes, we have that bios, that biological, that physical life, but do we have the zoe? Do we have the spiritual life, the true eternal life that He came to bring? Jesus goes on in verse 10 of John chapter 10. This well-known verse, did we ever know that it was tucked inside this narrative on the sheep? Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Now, of course, we know this thief He’s referring to here is the great enemy of our souls, the devil, but keep in mind what He just said a few verses earlier. He said, “All who enter through another way, who don’t enter through Me, all of them, they’re all thieves and robbers.” He’s speaking these words. I say it now for about the fifth time because it’s so important. He’s not in a Sunday school class teaching four-year-olds with flannel graph. He’s confronting the most powerful religious men in Israel with these words.

He speaks these words to the Pharisees, the very ones who saw themselves as the shepherds of Israel. And since they have rejected Jesus already, He’s calling them thieves and robbers. And that’s why you don’t even reach the end of this chapter before the Pharisees are once again picking up stones to kill Jesus.

See, these are lovely, life-giving words to us. It was not so with them. These Pharisees were stealing life from the people. They were weighing them down with endless rules and regulations. They were placing heavy burdens on people’s backs that they weren’t able to bear. And as Jesus said, they weren’t lifting a finger to help them.

The Pharisees were stealing life from the people. But Jesus came to give life. It’s a beautiful theme that runs throughout Scripture. Not only does He give life, He is our life. He is our very life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He said, “I am the bread of life.” Scripture tells us, “In Him was life. And this life was the light of men.” “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” We’re told, “When Christ, who is our life, appears, then we will also appear with Him in glory.” And on and on and on it goes. This language of Jesus not just giving life, but in giving life, He’s giving Himself because He is life.

No wonder He said here in verse 10, “I’ve come to give life and to give it abundantly.” That’s such a beautiful word, that word abundantly. And sadly, it’s been wildly abused by some people over the years to say that whatever you ask God for, He’s going to give you. And look, it’s just, try it. It doesn’t play out in life. I’m sorry. It just doesn’t. As I said last week, He’s a good Father. He loves us more than we will ever love our own children. He pours His goodness lavishly upon us in so many ways. But this word abundantly here is so rich. It is so deep.

Did you hear a moment ago He said, “Those who follow Me will do what?” They’ll live this boring life. No, He said they will go in and out and find pasture. Like to a sheep, that was winning the lottery. “Wow, He’s going to lead us in and out, and we’re not going to have to stay in the pen. He’s going to lead us out, and He’s going to take us to green pasture.” Read Psalm 23 again sometime. Just slow down and just listen to those words. It’s full of abundant life. Psalm 23 was written by a sheep. Did you know that? The viewpoint of a sheep, anyway.

“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. He anoints my head with oil.” He gets rid of all the pests and parasites. “My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” What a good shepherd.

And Jesus is confronting these shepherds of Israel toe-to-toe, face-to-face, and He’s saying to them, “You’ve failed My people. You’ve led them astray. You’ve burdened them. You’ve weighed them down. You’ve stolen their life. I have come to give them life and to give them life more abundantly.”

And I will tell you as we move on, true life cannot be found apart from Him. You can try all you want. If you ever prove me wrong, please come and tell me. I will leave the ministry forever. But it’s not going to happen. I’m old enough, oldish enough, to know that what I just said is true because I’ve tried it. And you probably have too, haven’t you? Pursued all that stuff? “Oh, this is going to give me life. This is going to fulfill me. This is going to get my heart going.” No, it does for a while. But you always run empty before it’s over. Only in Him will you find life.

Well, quickly, verses 11 to 18. Something even more astounding than the life that He gives us. He not only came to give life. Listen, He came to give His life.

Verse 11, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches the flock and scatters them. He runs away because he’s a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

Well, this is surely obvious to us. A hired hand was given a few bucks and told to look after the sheep for a few hours or overnight. He would never give his life for the sheep. If a wolf or a lion came to attack the flock, the shepherd would immediately value his life far more important, far greater than those of some smelly old sheep, and he’d abandon the flock and he’d run away. Why? Because Jesus said, “He’s a hired hand, he cares nothing for the sheep.”

But the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd would never abandon His flock. He doesn’t consider the personal cost. He stands between the sheep and the wolf, and He’s even willing to die for the flock.

Do you understand what value He has placed on you and me as His sheep?

He goes on, verse 14 and 15, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep, and they know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep.” Do you realize what He’s saying? He’s saying that the, the relationship between Jesus and His sheep is modeled after the relationship that Jesus has with His Father.

And when He says, “I know My sheep,” that particular Greek word doesn’t mean just to have an awareness of someone or to know something about them. The Greek word describes a deep, personal, intimate knowing. It’s a term for marriage, not just the facts about you. Jesus knows your name. He knows your fears. He knows your dreams. He knows your failures. He knows that secret wound that no one else has ever seen. He knows you, and He loves you fully.

And even knowing all that about us.

Like, look, I love you guys, but I don’t know if I’d die for you. I’d maybe try to pass the buck. “Somebody, get Dale.” Dale’s lived a long life. But, you know, I mean, really, who would you die for? I’d die for my wife. I’d die for my children. I’d die for my family. I mean, I’d like to say I would die for other people, but was it probably just words?

Jesus knows us. Do you know you? You ever look in the mirror and think, “What a rascal. What a piece of work you are.” God knows all that. And He loves you so much that He died for you.

Verse 17, “Therefore, My Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes My life from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord or of My own free will. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father.”

We must remember, Jesus wasn’t a victim. His plans didn’t go awry, and He suddenly looked up and went, “Oh no, I’m about to be crucified. What did I do wrong?” He walked into the death of the cross with His eyes wide open. The Bible says toward the last days of His ministry, it says, “He set His face like a flint toward Jerusalem.” Locking that jaw. Flint, hard rock. He locked that jaw, and He set His face toward the cross.

He saw us as sinners. All of us. Bound for hell. The wolf on his way to devour us. And Jesus said, “Over My dead body.” Because of His great love for us, He stood in the way of the enemy. He absorbed the blows, and He died in our place.

That’s the Good Shepherd.

“Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends.” And Jesus said, “And you are My friends.”

Well, lastly, I want you to hear some truly comforting words. Verses 27 to 30. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

If you are saved, you are in the Son’s hand, and you are in the Father’s hand. You’re double sealed. You’re double secured. Nothing can ever pluck you out of their hands: no failure, no fear, not Satan himself. Not because you’re strong enough to hold on, but because He has promised to never let go. Keep that in mind: your salvation is not held secure by you. Oh, we have our part to play, believe me. We can turn our back, and we can, we can walk away from God. But if we are truly in Him, it’s Him that is holding us secure. My salvation wouldn’t last an afternoon if it was completely up to me. I’d blow it in traffic out there again. Where’d you learn to drive? Oh, that’s right, I’m a pastor. What in the world?

What a remarkable passage of Scripture this is. To know that Jesus came into this sinful world, lived a life facing these constant, hateful enemies who wanted Him dead. I mean, just think of the pressure of that on the disciples too. I mean, they’re walking around with a guy who’s got a target on His back. Every day must have been tense. I mean, I’ve only experienced this once in my life and to a tiny degree when we were in South Africa. My dad published a book called The History of Communism in South Africa, and he had gotten permission to get into the government archives and some of the police material that had never been published before, and he published things on Nelson Mandela and all this kind of stuff. And I’m telling you, when that book came out, it all broke loose.

Our family started getting death threats. You know, we had to follow certain instructions for going here and going there, and on my way back from school, yes, I walked to school. I genuinely did. On my way back from school, a car pulled up beside me, just probably maybe 100 yards from our house, and said, “Hey, Philip.”

Nobody calls me Philip but my parents, so I knew right away something was off. “Hey, Philip, your dad wanted us to give you a ride home. Hop in.” I said, “No.” He said, “Come on, get in the car.” I said, “No.” And I just started running down that hill, about four or five houses down on the left to our house. And just living with the tension of that was minor compared to, just think, wouldn’t it have been great if Jesus came and everyone welcomed Him and every day was a joy?

No, every day was tense. They’re picking up stones just after what we’ve read. They want to kill Him again.

And yet He came, and He followed through with the plan, and He gave His life to give us eternal life. And even then He didn’t leave it for us to take care of everything. He said, “Man, if you’ve come in through the door, if you’ve come in through Me, you are in the fold. You’re saved. You have eternal life. You are in My hand. You’re in My Father’s hand. No one will ever snatch you out of our hands.” You’re sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit.

So let me close with three very quick questions that this chapter demands of every one of us. First of all, do you know the Shepherd?

Like, I’m not real good at putting these things together, but I don’t know how much more simple to make it than that. Do you know the Shepherd? I don’t mean, do you know about Him? I mean, do you know Him? Jesus spoke these sobering words in Matthew chapter 7. Listen to this. He’s talking about the day when all will stand before Him. Matthew 7:22 and 23, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did not we prophesy it in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you evildoers.'”

Oh, it’s not that Jesus didn’t know who they were. Of course He knew who they were. It’s just that they refused to truly know Him. They knew about Him. I know about Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, but I don’t know them.

Jesus said, “I know My own, and My own know Me.” Do you know the Shepherd this morning? It’s a yes or no.

Secondly, are you listening to His voice and following Him?

No, I learned pretty quick. I’m a quick learner. Not the brightest guy, but I learned quick from my mistakes. I learned quick as a real young fella that hearing my mama’s voice and obeying it were two very different things. “Philip, come take the trash out.” “La la la la la.” And pretty soon there’d be some pain on my end of things. Learn real quick, hearing and doing, you got to put them together.

Are you listening to His voice and following Him? Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me.” The fact is, we’re all listening to some voice. We’re all following something in this life, every one of us. How do I know that I’m one of His sheep? Because I recognize His voice, and I long to follow where He leads.

I run from other voices.

I long to hear His voice, and I long to follow where He leads. That doesn’t come from me. That comes because I’ve been born again.

He walks with me and talks with me, and tells me I am His own.

You’ll know whether or not you’re in Christ by whose voice you’re listening to and by who you’re following. Thirdly and finally, if you are in Christ, are you resting in His hands?

We spend so much of our Christian lives striving to make God happy. We think, “Oh boy, if I just do a little better tomorrow than I did today, Jesus will love me a little bit more,” because that’s the only kind of love we understand.

Someone hurts you, you want to hurt them back. It’s human nature, fallen nature. Jesus doesn’t love like that. He loves us because He loves us, not because of anything we’ve done. “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Stop striving. Oh, yes, there’s work for, for the Christian to do, of course. The New Testament, we’re going to get into that, it’s full of guidance and instruction and things we need to pay attention to. But stop striving to, my, to try to make Jesus love you more.

I believe this quote is right. I’m still working on it, but I, I think it’s right. You decide for yourselves. Someone once said, “There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there’s nothing you can do to make God love you less.” I believe that’s right. He loves us, period. He loves us. We’ll see that deeply next week.

Are you resting in His hands, or are you living a life of striving to try to keep Him happy? Understand, that’s a pagan idea. Pagans would try to appease their gods. You know what appease means? Tries to do stuff to keep their temper down. “Oh, don’t make Daddy mad.” You know, some people grow up in homes like that. “Whatever you do, don’t make Daddy mad.” That’s what pagans do to their gods. They would bring all this stuff, and they’d pile it up, and “Oh, I, I hope, I hope you’ll be pleased with me today.” That’s not our relationship we have with Him. He’s the Good Shepherd. He loves us. He wants you to rest in His hands.

He said, “No one will ever snatch you out.” There are days we all need to be reminded of this truth because there are days that even though we may be in His hands, we’re trembling and we’re stumbling and we’re struggling. And even so, we need to remember we are still in His hand. On your worst day, you are still in His hand.

The sheep didn’t find their security in the walls of the sheepfold. They found their security by looking up and seeing the shepherd and knowing that they were safe in his care.

Are you in the fold this morning?

When Jesus looked at the crowds, His heart was moved with compassion. It’s a picture for getting punched in the stomach. It says He, it was like He was doubled over in pain when He saw the crowds. Why? Because He said they were “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.”

I’ll tell you, a sheep in this world without a shepherd will not survive. We are remarkably dumb creatures.

We need to be led.

May I just plead with you this morning, if you’ve never given your life to the Shepherd, if you’ve been listening to other voices, then today is the day to hear His voice and respond.

The door is open, and He is calling you to enter.