Pam’s brother Rick, told a wonderful story to open his message on Thursday. He told the story how one time he was visiting his parents and Shirley just had to move a sheep from one pasture to another. Now this doesn’t seem like a very involved task, but when the sheep has other things in mind, it becomes very involved. I am not a farmer, but I know this that sheep are not among the smartest animals around.
Rick recalled how Shirley told them they were going to move the sheep. Instead of just putting a rope around the sheep and leading him to a new pasture they would put some sheep food in a can and rattle the can and call, “Here sheepy, sheepy, sheepy!” All started out well and good. That is what they did and it worked for a moment. For some reason the sheep saw Rick and bolted away toward the highway. Fortunately, there was a fence. There Rick started the process again, with somewhat limited results again. He told his mom it would just be better to tie a rope around the sheep’s neck and drag him to the new pasture. But, no, Shirley was a humane farmer. There would be no ropes for sheepy, sheepy, sheepy. By this time, Rick’s father had joined the process and if you know my Father-in-Law, the next words ring all too true, “This will never work!” Pam’s dad does not share the love of farming like Shirley did. Finally, Rick picked up the sheep and started carrying it to the new pasture. Just about the time they got there, he slipped and the sheep ran back into the barn. Now, they would start the process for a third time – rattling the can and calling, “Here sheepy, sheepy, sheepy!” The sheep came out of the part and bolted for the highway once again. What were they going to do? This whole time, Rick kept suggesting to put a rope around the sheep’s neck and Dick kept saying, “This will never work!” Finally Shirley gave into Rick and they put a rope around its neck and dragged and pulled and pushed the sheep into the new pasture.
See what I mean about not being smart animals. What does all that have to do with us? Let’s look at John 10:1-18:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me[a] were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.[b] They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
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 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.”
I love Jesus’ use of earthy teaching. Jesus knew that sheep aren’t very smart animals. Two of the seven I AM’s of Jesus are in this passage. They are I AM the Gate and I AM the Good Shepherd. The first I AM is related to another I AM in John chapter 14 where Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus tells us that He is the gateway to heaven. He said that there were those before him who were thieves and robbers and I would venture to say that there are those who followed Jesus, even to this day, who seek to lead God’s children (the sheep) astray. One of the important things that I see in this passage is that we need to know the voice of Jesus. There will be those who will try to lead us in a different direction. I think this was the reason Rick had so much trouble trying to lead the sheep. The sheep didn’t know his voice when he called, “Here sheepy, sheepy, sheepy.” In this day and age we need discernment, especially from the voices that would lead us astray. Jesus is the only way to heaven – there is no other way. One of the legacies of Shirley Christman was this; she loved her Jesus. You did not have to be around her very long to find out who her Savior was. You did not have to be around her very long to know what she believed. One of the things that became very clear last Sunday up at Countryside Fellowship (where Dick and Shirley once pastored) was the influence of this woman of God. Her goal was to go to heaven and to take as many with her as she could. The Kingdom is missing a great warrior today. Many came to a relationship in Jesus because of her love for her Savior. Before her passing, every time Rick would lead a child to Christ, he would call mom and tell her what happened. That’s the kind of woman she was. Do you know the voice of Jesus? Are you following in the steps of the Savior? Are you bringing others along with you? Do you really believe that we have a commandment from Jesus to tell others and bring them into a relationship with Christ? Do you really believe that others will go to a Christ-less eternity if we don’t tell them? Will you follow in the steps of Christ? Will you be a shepherd to others?
Not only did Jesus tell us that He was the gate, but He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus tells us that there are many who are already in the sheepfold, but there are many more that still need to be brought in. Who will do that? Jesus is no longer physically on this earth. He needs us to be His hands and feet and to take the gospel to our community. Are you willing to follow in Jesus’ steps this morning? Are you willing to bring more into the fold? This morning as we close, I want to challenge you as we sing, “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.”
