Deep Life: Be Known

Jesus’ Vocation

Jesus’ “purpose is to give them [his sheep] a rich and satisfying life.”

John 10:10 NLT

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me

Jesus’ Vocation

and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. 17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” (NLT)

Jesus’ Vocation

Jesus’ Claim–Two-sided• Jesus’ ability to be the Good Shepherd

Jesus’ Claim–Two-sided• Jesus’ ability to be the Good Shepherd• Our “Sheepness”

“Sheepness”–Two Things about Sheep• Incredibly needy• Incredibly valuable

Helpless – Sally Lloyd Jones

What animal does the bible say – four hundred times! – that people are most like? Oh dear. It’s sheep. Sheep aren’t clever at all. They’re foolish. For instance, sometimes they just topple over and can’t get themselves back up again. They just lie there! And they’re constantly falling off cliffs. Or going to unsafe places and getting stuck. Or eating poisonous things. Or getting hurt…

“Sheepness”

… So you see, sleep are completely helpless on their own and desperately need a shepherd. And God says we are helpless on our own too. And we desperately need a shepherd.

“Sheepness”

Let’s do a little self-reflection….

“Sheepness”

But also incredibly valuable…

“Sheepness”

The ShepherdEzekiel 34:2-4

Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 3 You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. 4 You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.

– Jesus as the Good Shepherd• Two Ways:–Jesus is the Good Shepherd because

he lays down his life.

The Shepherd

– Jesus as the Good Shepherd• Two Ways:–Jesus is the Good Shepherd because

he lays down his life.»“I am the good shepherd. The good

shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.” v. 11»“just as my Father knows me and I know

the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” v. 15

The Shepherd

– Jesus as the Good Shepherd• Two Ways:–Jesus is the Good Shepherd because

he lays down his life.–Jesus is the Good Shepherd because

he knows his sheep and they know him.

The Shepherd

– Jesus as the Good Shepherd• Two Ways:–Jesus is the Good Shepherd because

he lays down his life.–Jesus is the Good Shepherd because

he knows his sheep and they know him.»“I am the good shepherd; I know my

own sheep, and they know me,” v. 14

The Shepherd

– Jesus as the Good Shepherd: A Microcosm

• “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”

The Shepherd

Application–Living as Sheep• Listen

Application–Living as Sheep• Listen–Sheep have an “itch to hear the

gospel message in every dimension of their lives.” – Dale Bruner John

Application–Living as Sheep• Listen–Sheep have an “itch to hear the

gospel message in every dimension of their lives.” – Dale Bruner John

• “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” vv.16, 27

Application–Living as Sheep• Listen• Playing rough…

Application–Living as Sheep• Listen• Playing rough…–Close to the Heart Sally Lloyd JonesEven when the shepherd finds his lost sheep it goes rushing all about – and the only way he can round it up is to seize it, hurl it to the ground, bind its legs, and throw it over his shoulders and carry it home. The poor sheep doesn’t understand.