Prepared for preaching in Pakistan
Shorter Version of I Am The Good Shephard.
God loves Pakistan!
God loves Pakistan!
God loves Pakistan!
Greetings to you in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our messiah. By faith in the gospel, we have been given eternal life and the assurance of salvation. When we heard the gospel, we recognized that it is the voice of God, not the voice of man. This grace to recognize the voice of God was prepared for us from the foundations of the world.
Greetings to my brother in Christ and servant of Jesus, Pastor Ravi Daniel, who has been faithfully serving the community of Pakistan for many years despite the hardship and pains. May God bless the work that he has done for Him.
Greetings to you all who can hear me now, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May the message from God bring peace to you heart, healing to your body and encouragement to your soul.
The message comes from John 10:27-30. Let me read it for you now.
“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 hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”
Sheep are adorable animals. They are calm in nature. They are soft and fluffy. Most of the time, they are friendly and will even eat food out of your hand. They are not predators. They aren’t animals that we fear. Instead, many predators would love to capture a sheep. It’s because they don’t have many defense. They aren’t fast and don’t have big teeth or sharp claws to defend themselves.
We are like sheep and the devil is like a wolf. Without a Shepherd to protect us, we don’t have many defenses against the enemy. When we have a Shepherd, the Shepherd protects us from the schemes of the enemy. It is when we are guarded by God that we are safe in front of a wolf, because God will fight the wolf to protect the sheep.
The first time we hear of God being a Shepherd is from Jacob. He said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my Shepherd all my life long to this day.”
God has been the Shepherd of Jacob.
He has been his protector and his guide.
Jesus tell us today, “The sheep hear my voice.”
When Jesus calls out to you and tells you to draw near to him.
When Jesus calls out to you by name.
When Jesus calls out to you to lead you to green pastures.
Do you hear his voice?
Do you recognize the voice of God?
You’ve heard messages from other teachers.
You’ve heard messages from other religions.
But they were void of the voice of God and sounded like human wisdom.
Some of you have heard the gospel all your life.
Some of you have heard the gospel from years ago.
Some of you have heard the gospel from months ago.
Some of you have heard the gospel for the first time today.
But when you hear the gospel,
you hear the voice of God speaking to you.
you hear the voice of the Shepherd of Israel calling out to you.
you hear the voice of Jesus ministering to you.
You are one of God’s people.
You are one of God’s chosen.
How is it that you can recognize the voice of God?
How is it that you are one of God’s people?
The reason isn’t because you loved God first.
The reason isn’t because you knew God first.
The reason comes from the words of Jesus.
Jesus says, “The sheep hear my voice, and I know him.”
Those of you who can hear the voice of God in Jesus Christ, Jesus say to you;
I knew you from before I created the world.
I knew you from before you were in the womb of your mother.
I knew you from before you heard about me.
I knew you from before you recognized who I am.
God doesn’t know everyone by name, In fact, there are those who God will say, “I never knew you.”
Those that God doesn’t know aren’t allowed into heaven.
Those that God doesn’t know will be rejected from the door of the wedding feast.
Those that God doesn’t know will be cast off into eternal fire.
Therefore, remember that God’s favor upon you is by his grace.
God chose you, before you chose him.
God knew you, before you knew him.
God knew your name, and has now called out to you.
When we hear God calling out to us,
We recognize that He is the one who has been feeding us.
We recognize that He is the one who has protected us until now.
We recognize that he is God of eternity.
In that trust, in that recognition of our God, we follow him.
Jesus said, “The sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to follow a wolf.
I don’t want to follow someone who will steal from me.
I don’t want to follow someone who will murder me.
I don’t want to follow someone who will destroy me.
I want to follow the one who give life and life abundantly.
I want to follow the one who lead the way to green pastures.
I want to follow the one who will lay down his life to protect me.
Jesus said, “The sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
To be a witness of the gospel.
“Follow me, and leave the dead to bury the dead.”
To forget this life and proclaim the gospel.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
To deny the desire of the flesh and suffer for the gospel.
“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there my servant be also.”
To be where God is.
We follow Jesus, because He is the Good Shepherd, and he will take us to the ETERNAL GREEN PASTURE.
Jesus said, “I give them eternal life.”
There is no way to heaven unless by Jesus Christ.
There is no other door by which we can ever into heaven.
There is no other window, no other back door that we can enter into heaven.
We can’t get in by doing good works.
We can’t get in by the money we earn.
We can’t get in by charity of the poor.
The only way that we can have salvation and eternal life is by faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is not only the Shepherd, but he is also the DOOR to heaven.
He not only guides us, but in him is Eternal Life.
He is not only a teacher of the way, HE IS THE WAY!
There are two beautiful truths in the eternal life given through faith in Jesus Christ.
First, Jesus tells us, “they will never perish.”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but has eternal life.” John 3:16.
The will of the Father is for his people to have eternal life.
The will of the Father is fulfilled by having faith in the Son.
Secondly, Jesus tells us, “no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Have you ever had something stolen?
Have something went miss when you were gone?
Have no fear, for this will never happen to God.
Have no fear, for this will never happen to your salvation.
Have no fear, for this will never happen to the the Shepherd.
Why can we have confidence that we won’t be snatched out of God’s hands?
Jesus explains to us, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Satan can’t snatch you, because you are in God’s hands.
Devil can’t snatch you, because you are in God’s hands.
Parents can’t snatch you, because you are in God’s hands.
Siblings can’t snatch you, because you are in God’s hands.
Enemies can’t snatch you, because you are in God’s hands.
You yourself can’t snatch yourself, because you are in God’s hands.
They may inflict pain on you.
They may say bad things about you.
They may desire the death of you.
They may steal from you.
They may confuse you.
BUT, they will never snatch you out of the HAND OF GOD. The GOD HAND.
It’s not because of who you are, but Who God IS!
God is the King of all the Earth. Psalms 47:7
God is God of Gods and Lord of Lords. Deuteronomy 10:17
God is greater than man. Job 33:12
God is greater than our own heart. 1 John 3:20
God is greater than all other gods. 2 Chronicles 2:5
God is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
God is with you. 1 Chronicles 17:2
God is my helper. Psalms 54:4
God is our salvation. Psalms 68:19
God is a sun and shield. Psalms 84:11
God is our refuge and strength. Psalms 46:1
I want to leave you the last portion of our scripture passage.
Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”
John described to us that Jesus Christ is the word. The word was with God, the word was God. Jesus Christ is God. Through Him all things were made. God is one, but reveals himself as the triune God.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, when the accuser comes and points the finger at you at says, you are too sinful, too stained, to dirty to be one of God’s elect. Respond back with, “Yes, I know that I am a sinner, but I recognize the voice of Him who calls me. I recognize the voice of my Shepherd and I follow him. It may not be perfect, it may not be great, but I follow him. On the day of Judgement, My Shepherd will place judgement on you for the confusion that you are causing and the sins you have tempted on man. Meanwhile, I am in the Hand of God. So though you can accuse me, Jesus Christ stood in my place and died for my sins. My sins accuse me no more, For Christ has set me free.”
Amen and Amen.
May God who knew you from the foundations of the world, called you out of darkness to light and placed you in His hands, sanctify you and prepare you for the eternal life in the New Heavens and New Earth.