I AM // I AM the Good Shepherd [John 10] (Andrew Linton)

Before Andrew comes and shares with us God's Word and the

message today, I think we're continuing the I Am series.

Let's look to the Lord in prayer.

Let's pray, Father, we thank you, Lord, as we come before you

today that we not only can sing about the Amazing Grace.

Father Gordy, as the Scripture says at the time, it says that

your mercy endures forever. For because we thank you that

this morning we can come and acknowledge you as our ship at

the Lord's are shipped, that we as believers shall not want.

And Father, as we were reminded by the psalmist, you are not

only the God who is enthroned above on high, but, as Simon

Says, who humbles himself to look into the affairs of each

and everyone of us. So Father God, we thank you that

you are a God who cares. Father God, we thank You for

your hand of provision for each and everyone, and we pray our

Lord, that as we offer Lord what you have provided for us, that

He will take this offering further and use it for your

ministry and for your work. And that will bless the Lord

God, everyone who's involved in the work and the ministry in

your Kingdom. We also thank you, Lord, for our

little children and especially those, Lord who have been born

very recently. We thank you, Father, that they

are They are a gift from you for for Zed, for Melissa and also

Lord for for Basil and Angeline. Both their little boys are

called Adam. We thank you for these two

Adams. Father God, they'll give from

you for these two families. And we pray, Father, that you

will give them wisdom and understanding as a raise up

their children in the ways of the Lord.

And for once again, as we said, we thank you for your word.

We pray a lot that as your world is being proclaimed today that

you would use Your Word Father to not only teach us your ways

and your things, but also enable us a lot to understand the

greatness and the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one

who is our Shepherd so far. The once again we commit all of

these things into your hands, and we ask these things a lot in

the Saviours precious, and in His word, in Him, Amen.

Thank you, Peter. Thank you, music team.

And what a lovely rendition of Psalm 23.

It was just beautiful. So thank you for that special

welcome to our visitors this morning.

Good to have you with us. I came across a poster in a shop

once and it said there's no strangers here, only friends we

haven't met. So if you feel like a stranger,

you're not a stranger. You're most welcome and good to

have you with us. Did you know that in June 2024

the number of sheep in New Zealand was 23.6 million?

So that's about 4 1/2 sheep to every person in New Zealand.

So I'm going to just show you the the four sheep that we have

at home. We're doing our bit for society

and they all have names. The one at the front?

Noisy. The second one I've called Kiwi.

That's because this one likes Kiwi fruit and the one at the

back is always at the back, and there's a reason for that.

And her name is Stumpy. Now there is another name to to

add for the one on the left. I'll tell you about that in a

minute. We're going to be looking at

John chapter 10 today about the Lord as our shepherd.

John 10 · chapter mention

But as we think of sheep, it's amazing how God knows us all by

name. That's very important.

And shepherds know their sheep, and we're going to hear more

about that today. And every sheep, every shepherd

will tell you there's a story. And so this one on the left, I

think we're going to call this one Josh, probably Rogan Josh

for short. And so his name is Carrie, so

we'll leave it there. The seven I AM statements in the

Gospel of John are a wonderful declaration of the Lord Jesus.

And in the closing chapters of John, the writer states his

purpose. These are written that you might

believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that believing you might

have life in his name. And then in chapter 21, he says

something very interesting, and I'll just point you to that.

John chapter 21 verse 25 he says this.

John 21:25

There are also many other things that Jesus did where everyone of

them to be written. I suppose the world itself could

not contain the books that would be written.

And so the writer is actually explaining that the selection

that he has chosen for this book is actually a very condensed,

very compressed record of the Lord Jesus.

And packed into these 21 chapters are a cameo selection

of events and statements that reveal who Jesus is.

And like in John chapter 1, these I AM statements declare

John 1 · chapter mention

and reveal the Lord's eternity from everlasting to everlasting.

They reveal His deity, His divinity, the fact that He is

God and flesh, the Son of God, the pre existent 1.

They reveal his identity. His character is revealed and

expressed and revealed in his humanity.

And so last two weeks we've thought about the Lord Jesus as

the light of the world and the resurrection and the life.

And so today we explore two I AM statements that are very

precious, very special, my favourites.

I think if you can have a favourite.

And that is I am the door and I am the Good Shepherd.

So please turn to John chapter 10 and we'll split the reading

John 10 · chapter mention

into two parts today reading first of all, from verse 1, John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10, verse one. Truly, truly, I say to you, he

who does not enter the sheep fold by the door, but climbs in

by another way. That man is a thief and a

robber, but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the

sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens, the

sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and

leads them out. When he has brought out all of

his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for

they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow,

but they will flee from Him, for they do not know the voice of

strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used

with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to

them. Now this passage is actually

sandwiched between two questions from the Pharisees and the Jews.

In Chapter 9 verse 40, the Pharisees said are we also

blind? And then chapter 10, verse 21,

verse 20, why listen to him? These are not the words of one

who's oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the

blind? So those two questions, keep

those in your mind. Are we also blind?

Why listen to him? Each of the I M statements

deserve and invite a response from us.

We heard last week about the resurrection and the life He

that believeth in me. We heard about the light of the

world to follow the light and likewise today these I am

statements will require response from our hearts.

And secondly, these are the words of Jesus.

If you have a a red letter Bible, you'll notice that very

clearly and the passage commences with those two words

truly, truly or verily, verily, they are words of emphasis.

They are words of truth, very important words.

Without any doubt, these words are profound and emphatic.

Now the other thing I want to point out to you before we get

too far, and that is each of these seven I am statements.

Most of them refer to objects or concepts.

To think about the bread, think about the light, think about the

resurrection of life. But this I am statement is the

only aim statement that refers to a person or a role a shepherd

and as part of that shepherd relationship with the sheep.

And for me, this makes this I am statement incredibly important

because it requires a response, a personal response from our

heart. You see, he could have chosen

any title to reveal himself. He could have revealed himself

as I am the judge. He could have said I am the

Conqueror, I am the general of the army, I am the king.

But he chose to reveal himself to us as shepherd.

Very, very profound, very precious, very personal and

profound. These first 5 verses are a

figure of speech, an illustration, and it is not

understood by the listeners. And it's interesting that people

throughout the Scripture are likened to sheep, and we've

heard many verses this morning about that and sang about it

too. Isaiah chapter 53, verse 6.

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray.

We've turned everyone to his own way.

Sam 119 verse 176. I have strayed like a lost

sheep. And so it's repeated again and

again the theme of the shepherd and the sheep.

But as we think about sheep and as we think about sheep going

astray, we often think, well, that's about it, about sheep.

That's about all there is to know.

Sheep go astray. And so you go into the paddock

and say, ohh, that she's going to run out that gate.

Gotta watch it. It's actually bit more than

that. Is he cheaper?

Actually very interesting. They are actually those that are

representing humanity in their behaviour.

And so there's actually a lot more in these verses.

To unpack this, we actually need to understand two or three

things in these verses. First of all, the sheep fold.

Now let's picture of a sheep fold in Palestine and we don't

often see those today here in New Zealand.

The reason being that we are very structured and we have, we

have farms and we have, we have fences and we have boundaries.

But in ancient Palestine, the grazing was sporadic and, and

sparse and scattered. And so typically the typical

shepherd and flock would be out on the hills foraging.

They were nomadic and they would travel for some distance to find

grass. No fencing, no, no clear

boundary points. And so we read about, for

example, Joseph and his brothers and they were out to get to get

food for their for their cattle. So the sheep fold is not a

typical thing that you will see in New Zealand, but the sheep

folders are protecting enclosure, especially at night.

You would find these scattered around the hillsides and

countrysides and also in the winter time.

And this passage is actually spoken during the winter, so it

would be very vivid and very real to the listeners.

Secondly, in this passage, we we, we hear the reference to the

gatekeeper. And so you'll notice in that

sheepfold there that there's not actually a clear door.

Typically the entrance is not actually enclosed.

It allows groups of shepherds and sheep to into, in and out,

and typically a middle man, a contractor.

An intermediary would be the gatekeeper and would actually be

pretty much the housekeeper, and the shepherds would come with

their flocks and actually gather as a group within the protecting

enclosure. In the morning.

The shepherd would call their individual flocks and the sheep

that were numerous would hear the voice of the shepherd and

follow. And that is the picture that the

Lord Jesus is expressing here in these verses.

In this illustration, this figure of speech, the Lord Jesus

is actually explaining several things about sheep and their

behaviour. And you probably can't see too

much in these these pictures here, but there's several things

about sheep that are very significant.

And one of the things that we notice about sheep are that they

are very vulnerable. Sheep are incredibly vulnerable.

They don't have claws to defend themselves.

They don't actually have a very severe bite.

They do bite, but they don't have a severe bite to defend

themselves. They don't have a protective

scaly coat that is hard to attack.

They're not incredibly fast with they're running.

They are hard to catch. I can testify to that.

But they're not amazingly fast and they're not incredibly

cunning either. They're not actually kind of

like, ohh, if I hide behind this pool but you can't see me, No,

actually they're going to run into the corner if you kind of

try and chase them. I think if we had a sheet folder

in this room, I think I would choose the sound, the sound

booth and that would be quite effective.

But they would actually be very scared.

And because they're very vulnerable.

And in fact, when you look at their their throat, it's

incredibly easy to take their life because sheep are

vulnerable, their defenceless, they are weak and helpless.

And in fact, sheep always seem to find new ways to die.

I don't know what it is. We've lost about 4 sheep in the

last year, but they are amazingly defenceless and weak.

And so the Lord Jesus refers to the sheep fold, knowing fully

well that sheep are vulnerable. Secondly, sheep are very

relational sheep. Listening and responsive

creatures stay recognise faces. They say that sheep are actually

able to recognise up to 50 faces and remember those faces for two

years or more and I've certainly seen that.

I remember we had a a pet lamb which went away to another

another farm and I remember visiting the farm calling by

name and the sheep responded. That was after several months.

Incredible, Very, very relational.

They are creatures that are very keen to have a connection with

those around. The sheep hear his voice.

I had a photo of a sheep and I had a shape that actually was

moving its ears to hear the voice of the shepherd.

Sheep are very communal. Verse 3, it says that they are

led by the shepherd together. Sheep like to flock together.

In fact, when they sleep, they like to be together.

They like to lie together. They are ones that have herd

instinct. They group together, they seek

company. Generally you won't see one

sheep on its own unless it's a very, very unusual situation.

So sheep are communal. Fourthly, sheep are very

habitual in their in their interactions and in their

behaviour. They are prone to follow not

just to go astray, but to actually do the same thing again

and again. They tend to group together.

They tend to be willful and stubborn, and I've seen sheep to

the most amazing things when they're following the leader and

doing things together. Sheep are very fearful.

They are timid, they are needy, they are easily startled and

she, believe it or not, can get depressed.

They can get cast down and they can give up.

I was hurt in sheep on the roads on the West Coast of the South

Island. And I can remember several times

where the you mother would actually give up because the dog

was annoying and would just say, no, that's it.

I'm not, I'm not moving, you know, and you'd have to actually

physically lift the sheep up and give it a little bit of a tap

and send it on its way. Sheep can die by getting cast.

The sheep can actually get into a sitting position and then be

unable to stand again, and that is a picture of our behaviour.

We can get cast down, we can get depressed and we can give up.

In summary then, as we see this figure of speech, sheep are not

just going astray, but this is the message.

Sheep need a caring shepherd. Sheep need a shepherd, simple as

that. Not a careless stranger, but a

caring shepherd. And that is the point that the

Lord Jesus is making here. Shape of vulnerable their

relational take him, you know they're habitual and they're

fearful. And by the way, if you've looked

at the eyes of a sheep, you might notice that their pupils

are actually rectangular. And that's the reason for that

is because they are so vulnerable and fearful that even

when they're eating, they can still see around them.

They can see completely around them except right behind them.

And that is why when you are herding sheep, you kind of try

not to kind of sort of look them in the eye too much.

It kind of just sort of stroll around and justice sort of,

yeah, yeah. And then choose here we go.

And that is what we do with our sheep.

And if not, well, that's another story.

So she need a shepherd and that is the point.

The figure of speech Jesus used with them.

They did not understand what he was saying.

And this is where the Lord Jesus steps into the figure of speech,

and it becomes alive. So we're going to take another

reading and that's from first 7 to 18.

So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am

the door of the sheep. All who come before me are

thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not listen to

them. I am the door.

If anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out

and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal

and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life

and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the

sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and

the wolves, snatches them and scatters them.

He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the

sheep. I am the Good Shepherd.

I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me,

and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the

sheep, and I have other sheep that are not of this fold.

I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

So they will be 1 flock 1 Shepherd.

Verse 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow

me. I give them eternal life and

they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my

Father's hand. The Good Shepherd is firstly

preceded by the statement I am the door.

You remember the enclosure. You remember the sheep fold.

The picture here is that the Lord Jesus is actually literally

the door of that sheep fold. Jesus is the door to the

security found in verse 9. He is not just the gatekeeper

pointing to something better, He is the security himself.

The sheep fold had no door, but he is both the door and the

shepherd. Then the Lord Jesus reminded his

listeners, Don't be deceived by thieves and robbers that come

and pretend that they are shepherds.

Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived by imposters.

Don't be confused that people say I am the one.

This is the one that we need to hear.

The Lord is the Good Shepherd. He is the door.

And by the way, don't be confused that people say to you,

you need a councillor. By all means find a councillor.

But if you want to know the way to God, you need to run to the

Lord Jesus. Not to a councillor, not to a

priest. Turn to the Lord Jesus and hear

his voice. By all means seek advice, but

run to Christ because He is adore and He is also the Good

Shepherd, just as the sum is said.

I am sorry the Lord is my shepherd.

I want to give you 5 things about the Good Shepherd today

from these verses. 5 things that are expressed here in this

verses. First of all, the Good Shepherd

is the one who saves. 1st 9:00 He will be saved, and will go in

and out and find pasture. The Good Shepherd, the Lord

Jesus, has come to seek and save the lost.

You recall the words spoken about Him.

You will give him the name Jesus because He will save His people

from their sins. The Son of Man has come to seek

and to save, and even from the cross his enemies taunted and

said he saved others himself he could not save.

Why was that? Because the Good Shepherd is the

one who saves the Lord Jesus. Speaking to Nicodemus,

explaining to him the way chapter 3 verse 17 says this.

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but in all of that, the world might be saved through him.

This rescue is from the penalty of sin.

It is from all that would keep us away from knowing God in a

personal and a real way. It is a salvation that is not

just from ourselves, but it's from the penalty of sin, because

the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life

through Jesus Christ the Lord. Jesus rescues us from hell, from

death, from despair. This Good Shepherd is the light

of the world. He is the resurrection and the

life. He is the one who saves.

In verse 10 we find that this Good Shepherd is the one who

satisfies. He speaks of one that has come

to have to give life and give life in all its abundance.

I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.

It is life that is full and free.

It is life that is eternal. It is a life that is reliable

and secure. The Good Shepherd finds pasture

for the sheep. He provides for their need.

It is a plentiful life, and the Shepherd is the one that the

same was described as finding green pastures and still waters.

And there's a reason for that. You see, sheep thrive when they

have good food. In fact, when sheep are doing

well, you'll notice that they sit down and they're chewing.

That's a good sign. If your sheep are not sitting

down, there's a problem. Typically, sheep will not ship,

sit down and rest if they are not safe and satisfied.

And what is true in the panic is also true in the church.

Shepherds will tell you that there are three hindrances to

sheep. Finding rest, lack of food,

enemies or foes, and friction or trouble within all of those 3

will cause sheep not to rest. Lack of food.

The Good Shepherd is the one who satisfies, who brings his sheep

to abundant pasture, who provides for their needs, who

goes before them and finds that which will satisfy them and meet

their need. Thirdly, in verse 11 to 13, the

Good Shepherd is the one who is the one who sacrifices.

He lays down his life, and this phrase is repeated again and

again. The Good Shepherd is the one who

gives his life for the sheep. I stood beside an X-ray screen

last year and the X-ray operator said Mr. Linton.

That is where the sheep hits your leg and it's broken.

The next question, he said, was have you killed the sheep?

The simple answer is this. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the

one who not only forgives us, but he's the one who died for

the sheep. A hired hand will run from

trouble, but the faithful shepherd will never leave the

flock. The Good Shepherd will sacrifice

everything for the sake of his sheep.

And this phrase I lay down my life for the sheep is repeated

at least four times in this passage, The Good Shepherd.

And verse 14 is the one that supports I am the Good Shepherd.

I know my own, and my own know me.

You see, sheep need care and attention.

They are not an easy pet. They are not paints that you can

leave alone shee struggle with foes and fear, but they also

have external predators and internal parasites like worms.

Hae will be very, very unhappy if you don't look after their

feet. They will struggle if you don't

look after their fleece. Sheep need regular drenching and

worming. They even need dagging and

crutching to protect from flies. And the shepherd knows the

sheep's need, and therefore the Lord Jesus said, I know my own,

and my own know me. This sheep here is not dead.

It's very much alive but very scared.

This is the shape that we have called Stumpy and there's a

reason for that. Got a message from the run off

block and they text it and they said we think one of your sheep

has broken its leg. We went out to find Stumpy and

by the way, Stumpy didn't have the name Stumpy until this day.

But anyway, we before we left we actually went to the shed and

got the crook. The interesting thing with sheep

is that even if they've got 3 lakes, they still try and run.

The crook was able to fetch Stumpy and then we were able to

put Stumpy into the the back of the cargo van and we said to

Stumpy, we're going to take you home.

By the way, as shepherds, we didn't say to Stumpy.

Stumpy, you are so dirty. Stumpy, that wasn't very, very

wise. You have been very silly.

We didn't actually say to Stumpy you should not have broken your

leg. What we said to the sheep was

we're going to take you home. The process was actually to get

Stumpy lying down and if you look at that photo closely,

Stumpy is very traumatised, but we've actually splintered the

leg and we haven't been able to rescue the life of that sheep.

Sheep needs support, they need a shepherd that knows their need,

a shepherd that is able to carry and to rescue.

And the shepherd of Scripture, the Lord Jesus, is the one that

is strong and caring. He's like the shepherd in Luke

15 that goes after the sheep and when he finds the lost sheep,

takes them up and puts him on his shoulder.

This shepherd is gentle and tender, and it's one thing to

rescue and to support. 1st 16 The Good Shepherd is the one

that speaks. 1st 16 says this. They will listen to my voice.

Verse 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.

The Good Shepherd is constantly communicating with the sheep.

Unlike the motorbike that just roars and chases, a sheep is one

that a shepherd is, one that speaks and goes before the

sheep, walks amongst them, prepares a table for them,

comforts and calms us. And I like to think that David,

the the shepherd's Samus was one that played the harp to his

sheep. I'd like to think that as he

played that harp, the sheep would know that Shepherd is

nearby, speaking to them, calming them.

The Good Shepherd knows all about us and desires a

relationship with us. The listeners were confused

again and again. The question was, well who is

this man? There was division amongst the

Jews because of these words. Many said he has a demon verse

20. Why listen to him?

Others said. These are not the words of one

who's oppressed by a demon. Verse 24.

The Jews gathered around him and said, How long will you keep us

in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us

plainly again and again we have this question brought to us in

the Gospel of John. Who is Jesus?

Who is this? 1 And in this passage we find

that the Lord Jesus is the door, not just the gatekeeper.

He is the Good Shepherd. He's not a stranger, and he's

the Son of God. First. 36 He is the Christ, the

Son of the living God. Again and again we have brought

before us the need to determine our relationship with this One.

Who is Jesus to you? The good, The Good Shepherd is

the one who speaks and knows. And his sheep here and follow

again we have those questions. Are we blind?

Are we blind? Are we deaf to the voice of the

Good Shepherd? Why listen to Him?

It is because He has the words of eternal life.

We can run to the Lord Jesus in our need.

We can find that abundant life. We can find salvation.

We can find rest. We can find security and

sustenance in the journey of life.

We need a shepherd. We are like sheep going astray.

We can get cast down. We can get burdened.

We can get lost. We need to look to the shepherd

to find guidance, to find rest, to find food, to find security,

to find their relationship. The Lord Jesus is the Good

Shepherd and this morning He is calling us again to hear His

voice and to follow Him. We were at the run off block and

there was a mother in you and there was 3 little white blobs

in the paddock. One was completely motionless

and was dead, just born, possibly stillborn.

A little lamb was by its mother feeding, but there was this

other little lamb and I, I haven't brought the photo

because we didn't want to go too close, but so you have.

The little lamb could not even lift its head.

It was too weak to move and the mother in you was just nearby,

didn't know what to do. We had to catch the you without

disturbing it too much with its other little lamb, and we had to

hold the you and lift up this little lamb so that it could

take a few life giving drops of cholesterol, milk, just a few

drops, and within a few days that little lamb was on its feet

and wagging its tail. That is how precious the

relationship is between the shepherd and the sheep.

It was an amazing morning because if we had not been there

as shepherds that shape that little, that little lamb would

have died. And so today I played with you

that you will be part of this shepherd's flock.

You see, it's very easy in life to go through life and not even

hear the voice of the Shepherd, not even know that the Good

Shepherd is one that has given his life for you.

Life gets busy and as we get older we actually get more and

more independent and we try and work things out in our own

strength, in our own wisdom. But the Lord Jesus said I am the

Good Shepherd. My sheep hear my voice, and I

know them and they follow me. Today we have a choice to hear,

to listen and to follow. As sheep, we are very needy,

very vulnerable, very fearful. We need a shepherd.

That shepherd is the Good Shepherd, the one who gave his

life for the sheep. Let's pray, Father, we thank you

for Your word, which reminds us of this one who is the great I

am the door and the Good Shepherd.

And today, as weak and helpless, lost and strain, struggling even

burdened and confused, we turned to you.

We run to hear your voice. We pray today that as as your

people, we will hear your voice and follow you.

But if there's anyone here who is lost, who is without you, who

is like that little lamb, unable to even raise its head, Lord, I

pray that your voice will reach and save, will rescue and help.

And for those of us who are on the road and following you,

Lord, may we follow Michael more closely.

May we hear you more clearly. May we love you more, Lord.

As we have sung today of their Amazing Grace, we thank you for

your love, thank you for your protection, for your provision,

and we look to you and give thanks in Jesus name.