Discipleship and DiscipleSheep

The Good Shepherd’s Disciple‘ship’ and Disciple‘sheep’
John 10

Ps Renny Khoo

28 May 2017

Shepherds refer any leaders leading any group.

The Lord as shepherd over Isrealites and they are often referred as flocks.

2 Metaphors 1 Statement

Use of metaphor by Jesus to teach truth

1) “I am the Door” 10:1-10 (Psalm 118:19-20)
Door a legitimate passageway. The sheepfold an enclosure made of rocks, with a door. The Shepherd would guard the flock(s) at night.

Door is the legitimate passageway.
Exclusive and inclusive door.

Exclusive - Jesus as the only door / gate.

Inclusive - Whoever enters through that door shall be saved.

Video illustration on recognizing voice of Shepherd in farm in Norway

The thieves and robbers would have to climb over the wall and enter the fold through deception. False shepherds can only steal. Jesus comes to bless, benefit and satisfy the daily needs of the sheep (v10). Jesus gives life to sheep.

Twice Jesus said – “I am the door; only He makes it possible for the sheep to enter through the door. Not only have life but abundant life. An exclusive door. Today in pluralistic society, often Christians are said to be narrow minded. All roads lead to Rome? Christianity is about a living relationship, not simply religion. A crude illustration about  5-6 holes in our body. Yes, door is exclusive but also an inclusive door; v9 states WHOEVER enters. The choice is for us today - either we receive or reject Jesus in our lives.

2) I am the good shepherd 10:11-21

Dies for the sheep - not as martyr but as subsitiude 

Knows the sheep - know everyone by name, Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God.

Brings other sheep into the flock - 

Takes up His lie again - 

God's hands upon my life could mean two things - 

Favour in our life as blessed

Teaching through down experiences 

“I am the Good Shepherd” 10:11-21
Contrasting himself to false shepherds, He called them “thieves and robbers (bandits),” now he described them as “hirelings.” Jesus the GOOD Shepherd.

i) He dies for the sheep 10:11-13
Five times, Jesus affirmed the sacrificial nature of His death (v 11, 15, 17-18). Not martyr but a substitute.

ii) He knows the sheep 10:14-15
An intimate relationship between God and His people (John 17:3). He knew Simon (John 1:42) and Zaccheus (Luke 19:5). He knows each sheep and it's nature. Jesus knew the disciples personally. Jesus loved His own (John 13:1).

iii) He brings other sheep into the flock 10:16
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He died for a lost world, and His desire is that His people would reach a lost world with the message of eternal life.

iv) He takes up His life again 10:17-21
His voluntary death was followed by His victorious resurrection. We can have a living relationship with Him.

3) “I am the Son of God” 10:22-42

“I and the Father are one” in 10:30. He is speaking about unity, not identity. John 10:36 is also crucial because it gives a double affirmation on the deity of Christ. First, the Father sanctified (set apart) the Son and sent Him into the world, and second, Jesus stated boldly, “I am the Son of God.”

Jesus invited them to believe, if only on the basis of His miracles (10:37-38). If they would believe His miracles, then they would know the Father, and that would open the way for them to know the Son and believe on Him. It was simply a matter of examining the evidence honestly and being willing to accept the truth.

Fully and wholeheartedly following Jesus

Two very important messages from our Good Shepherd

Disciple Ship
Don’t sit on the fence. Enter through the Door.
BCCM logo and start from Kudat

Let us also be Carriers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. v16 is an exhortation to go and bring other sheep. Who are the other sheep that God is calling you to bring into the sheep fold. What are their names? May we catch a new passion.

Disciple Sheep
Judith Fain- Shepherding in Israel is a wonderful metaphor for discipleship. In many countries, sheep spend their lives in fenced-in pastures where they spend most of their time grazing and milling about. Many Christians seem to think that the great commission is a matter of getting sheep “into the pen” —inviting people to accept Christ, the high point of their spiritual lives. In Israel, however, where grass has difficulty growing in the arid soil, sheep must know their shepherd, following him obediently from pasture to pasture. There, shepherding is a much more active task.

illustration of Fain's observations about the three flocks merging and then separating

It is not so much the “pen” we inhabit, but the shepherd we follow. Some sheep come running as soon as their shepherd calls, but some struggle to obey his lead, going astray whenever temptation strikes. It takes a lot more energy to follow a wandering shepherd than to be cooped up in a pen!

Church, no time for neutrality. God calling us to follow Him fully and completely. In our spiritual pilgrimage, the Devil’s strategy is to draw disciples away from Christ fully. Key word is FULLY. The Devil, the thief will steal our time, and our vigor, make us tired, make us too busy, kill our energy and creativity so that we do not have time for God. We either rush through life or operate on an autopilot mode of just cruising along life’s journey, that this will eventually destroy our relationship with God. We end up listening to the voice of the world, our friends, and missed out listening to the voice of our Good Shepherd. Follow God superficially and not wholeheartedly. Worst, pseudo following.

May we ask God for fresh hunger and delight that we might follow God wholeheartedly.

Join a Connect Group!

Questions:
1) Share how Jesus is a good shepherd to you.

2) A sheep is expected to hear the voice of the shepherd. Share 2 distractions that is preventing you from hearing his voice.

3) How can we remain faithful in DiscipleSHIP - connect others to God?
OR
How can we remain faithful in DiscipleSHEEP - wholeheartedly following the Shepherd?