Grosey's Messages

I am the way to God: I did not come
To light a path, to blaze a trail, that you
May simply follow in my tracks, pursue
My shadow like a prize that's cheaply won.
My life reveals the life of God, the sum
Of all he is and does. So how can you,
The sons of night, look on me and construe
My way as just the road for you to run?
My path takes in Gethsemane, the Cross,
And stark rejection draped in agony.
My way to God embraces utmost loss:
Your way to God is not my way, but me.
Each other path is dismal swamp, or fraud.
I stand alone: I am the way to God.

I am the truth of God: I do not claim
I merely speak the truth, as though I were
A prophet (but no more), a channel, stirred
By Spirit power, of purely human frame.
Nor do I say that when I take his name
Upon my lips, my teaching cannot err
(Though that is true). A mere interpreter
I'm not, some prophet-voice of special fame.
In timeless reaches of eternity
The Triune God decided that the Word,
The self-expression of the Deity,
Would put on flesh and blood–and thus be heard.
The claim to speak the truth good men applaud.
I claim much more: I am the truth of God.

I am the resurrection life. It's not
As though I merely bear life-giving drink,
A magic elixir which (men might think)
Is cheap because though lavish it's not bought.
The price of life was fully paid: I fought
With death and black despair; for I'm the drink
Of life. The resurrection morn's the link
Between my death and endless life long sought.
I am the firstborn from the dead; and by
My triumph, I deal death to lusts and hates.
My life I now extend to men, and ply
Them with the draught that ever satiates.
Religion's page with empty boasts is rife:
But I'm the resurrection and the life

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

During His Ministry, Jesus made many claims about Himself. He said, for example, that He was equal with God the Father, eternal, and the only way to heaven.

Dr. William Lyon Phelps wrote, "It may be said that the historical evidence for the resurrection is stronger than for any other miracle anywhere narrated."

John Singleton Copley, recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in Bristish history, comments, "I know pretty well what evidence is, and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet."

I believe in Jesus for PHILOSOPHICAL REASONS

Now are Christians fools for believing in Jesus? Are we mere sentimentalists or do we have reasonable reasons for believing in the Lord Jesus Christ? Now may I tell you that everybody is a believer. People just believe different things. Some for example believe in atheism. They are believers; they just believe there is no God. Now if you do not if you don't believe in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, then you must believe in the beginning the heavens and the earth made themselves and then they created man. Now if you won't to believe that as far as I'm concerned you've got rooms to rent upstairs unfurnished but you can believe that if you want. May I tell you this don't get the idea that atheism is the sign of intelligence. It is not a sign of intelligence. Socrates believed in God. Lord Bacon believed in God. Galileo believed in God. Sir Isaac Newton believed in God. Pasteur believed in God. Albert Einstein believed in God. The space scientist Vernor Von Bron believed in God. I mean it's not a sign of intelligence that you don't believe in God. Well, you say I believe in God but I am more of a philosopher. I wouldn't say that I'm a Christian. Well, dear friend, if your a philosopher and you don't believe in the Lord Jesus do you think that philosophy has the answer to life? Schopenhauer was a great philosopher and he said that life is a curse of endless cravings and endless unhappiness. I'm glad that's not my philosophy. Huxley said as he looked around at human beings he was a great philosopher, but he said it seems that we talking of human beings, we are a cancer on the globe. That's you, that's me. Bertram Russell, oh they study him in college, but he said of philosophy, "Philosophy proved a wash out to me." I like what Dr. Robert G. Lee said about philosophy. He said it was a chunk of cloud bank buttered with the night wind. Dear friend, is that what you're going to turn to?

Philosophy at its best is logical and rational.  There are some laws of reason that are quite reasonable. For instance a proposition can't be both true and false at the same time.

A temperature can't be both 42c and 16 c at the very same time at the same place.

Jesus can't be the exclusive way to God and there be many other ways to God at the same time.

He said "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me!" John 14:6.

I believe in Jesus for RATIONAL REASONS

Christianity is Cohesive  Truth is Cohesive: Truth fits together with all other truth. All truth is God's truth.  Truth is Constant:Truth is unchanging. Our understanding of a subject may change as our understanding of that thing grows, but the truthfulness of it of itself does not change.  The Hebrew word for truth is 'ehmet' and refers to the faithfulness of God, the unchanging nature of God, and therefore the unchanging nature of truth. Aren't you glad that the truth about gravity doesn't change from day to day? It doesn't change because God is faithful and unchanging.

Jesus as the light of the world doesn't change.  He was the Saviour and redeemer then and He is still the Saviour and redeemer now. He is still the authoritative course of truth.

Christianity is Comprehensive

Truth is Comprehensive: Truth is not relative to where or when you live.  Truth is something that is universal everywhere.  The world is round everywhere in the world.  Jesus is the true God and saviour who gives true perspective to everyone anywhere in the world.

Christianity is Corresponding to reality

There are strong experiential reasons, phenomenological reasons for believing in Jesus.

We can know the truth of Who Jesus is and what He has done for us, and because He is a Person, we can know this not only as propositional truths, but also in a Personal life affecting way as we are in a relationship with Him.

Christianity is Cogent  Truth is Coherent: Truth is understandable and knowable.  We may not know much truth but we can know truth.

A Designed universe

• Looks structured to point beyond itself.
• Unpredictable to show human limitation?
• Discontinuous to show divine intervention?
• Planned to show a mind behind it?
• Finite to point the the infinite beyond it?
• Non-local to point to the omnipresent God?

Experiential reasons

Rational reasons

Phenomenological reasons

Einstein "firm belief . . . in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience."

    Polkinghorne "The physical universe seems shot through with signs of mind. That is indeed so, says the theist, for it is God's Mind that lies behind its rational beauty."

Einstein's belief in a theory of everything that matters.

Various Terms for Scientism

Scientism             Materialism          Naturalism        Evolutionism

Einstein's belief in a theory of everything that matters.

I believe in Jesus for HISTORICAL REASONS

Jesus is a fact of history.  John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Resurrection
Archaeology
Miracles
Prophesy

I believe in Jesus for SCRIPTURAL REASONS

John 6:44-45  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.  45 It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to Me—

The Bible is the Word of God.  How do we know the Bible is true?

Fulfilled prophecy

The unity of the Bible

The longevity of the Bible

The accuracy of the Bible

The power of the Bible  (John 6:63) The Spirit is the One who gives life. The flesh doesn't help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Jesus is the central theme of the Bible: His miraculous birth and life. His sacrificial death  Acts 10:43  All the prophets testify about Him that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins." 

I believe in Jesus for SPIRITUAL REASONS

John 6:45  It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to Me— John 6:63  The Spirit is the One who gives life. The flesh doesn't help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

If you sincerely seek the truth, God the Holy Spirit will speak to you and confirm that Jesus is the Christ.

Jesus is the Ultimate Reality

Jesus is the Ultimate Priority

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

During His Ministry, Jesus made many claims about Himself. He said, for example, that He was equal with God the Father, eternal, and the only way to heaven.

Dr. William Lyon Phelps wrote, "It may be said that the historical evidence for the resurrection is stronger than for any other miracle anywhere narrated."

John Singleton Copley, recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in Bristish history, comments, "I know pretty well what evidence is, and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet."

First, He is the only One who can pardon man from his sin.

Second, He alone can give purpose for life.
Third, He alone can give peace to a troubled heart.

Fourth, and finally, only Jesus can give us power to live an abundant life.

Jesus Uniquely Pardons Sin

The Bible tells us that God is holy and man is sinful. Sin creates a great gulf between the two, which man cannot bridge no matter how good he is. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NASB), and "the wages of sin is death [Eternal Separation from God]" (Romans 6:23, NASB).

Jesus Uniquely Gives Purpose to Life

\In T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" we find the same struggle,

This is the way the way the world ends

This is the way the way the world ends

This is the way the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

There is something within the nature of man that rejects this type of existence and end. There has to be more to our life than what many experience.

H.G. Wells, famous historian and philosopher, said, at the age of 61, "I have no peace. All life is at the end of the tether."

Pascal, the French physicist and philosopher, wrote:

There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.

Perhaps, in the quiet of your own heart you are saying, "Yes, there is a vacuum; I am not satisfied with my life."

Jesus Uniquely Gives Peace

What kind of peace does He give those who trust in Him? It is a quiet confidence that, since our sovereign, loving, all-powerful God is in control, we have nothing to fear. Jesus gives us peace with God through the forgiveness of sin. He provides peace of mind through an unhindered relationship with Him. He shows us how to have peace with man by teaching us how to love others. When He is in control, no situation, heartache or sorrow can ever disturb that peace.

Jesus Uniquely Gives Power for Living 

Pardon, purpose, and peace are not all that He can give.

Jesus of Nazareth is the only one who can give you power to live a new life. He is the Life.

Frequently men and women say, "I would like to become a Christian, but if I do, I am sure that I will never be able to live the life. You don't know the mistakes that I have made, the resentments that I have, my tendencies to sin, my immorality, heavy drinking, drug addiciton, cruel tongue and many, many other problems. I do not believe that I could live the Christian life."

But, as they have received Christ into their lives, these same people have discovered that the Christian life is a supernatural one and that Jesus literally changes them -- their attitudes, their actions, and their desires. When we trust in Him, Jesus Christ literally comes to live within us and lives His life in and through us. Therefore, it is no longer what we do through our own self-effort, but what He does supernaturally, because He is the one who provides the power, and we are merely the instruments through which He releases that power.

The Secret is Surrender 

The lamp in the tabernacle shone on the table of shew bread. It is Jesus, the bread of life, that we illuminate.

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Phil 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning,15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,16 holding fast to the word of life.

Light is comforting, healing warming irresistible, hope, direction.

Don't get distracted with personal power issues, political issues, or cultural distractions. Preach the word. Hold forth the Word of life. Personal battles and power issues are disturbing. Don't focus on making our church look better. We are to preach Christ. Focus on the main thing. Jesus!!

The context of John 7—9 is the celebration of the annual Festival of Tabernacles (John 7:2–3, 14, 37),  eight days in seventh month of their calendar. Mid-September to mid-October (Lev. 23:33–44).

Early each morning priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam and pour it out on the west side of the brazen altar in the temple court. At night the priests lit four large candelabra in the court of the women, and the glow from the light could be seen across the city. These lamps were reminders to the Jews of the pillar of fire by which God led Israel through the darkness.

Leviticus 24: 1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,2 "Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly.3 Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the LORD regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.

THE FORCE OF THE TRUE LIGHT

Darkness  bondage, misery, and death "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined" (Isa. 9:2).

"The LORD is my light and my salvation," sang David (Ps. 27:1).

. Isaiah characterized the world as "distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish" Isa. 8:22.  Psalm 82:5 the ignorant "have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness."  "who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness" (Prov. 2:13);  "The way of the wicked is like deep darkness" (4:19).  Jesus said, "This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil" (John 3:19).

THE SOURCE OF THE TRUE LIGHT 

As the priests extinguished the candelabra in the court of the women and thus ended the festival,  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." "In him was life," John said, "and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).  "The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world" (John 1:9). 

The Jews didn't know who Jesus was, nor were they willing to investigate (John 8:25). They claimed God as their spiritual Father (v. 41) and Abraham as their ancestral father (v. 39), when in reality Satan was their father (v. 44). Israel faced a much greater judgment than the "unclean" Gentiles, because they had been given more light and yet rejected it (vv. 39–45).  These Jewish religious leaders could see the sun in the heavens (John 8:2), but they did not know the Son who came down from heaven to save them. They didn't love Jesus (v. 42), understand Him (v. 43), believe in Him (v. 45), or honor Him (v. 49), nor did they really know the Father (vv. 54–55). Instead of listening to Jesus carefully and believing His words, they argued with Him, and as a consequence, they rejected Him. The darkness of unbelief and ungodliness was overcoming them.

THE COURSE OF THE TRUE LIGHT  

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Exodus 13:22 "Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."

What, then, does it mean to follow Jesus? It means to trust in him and live as his disciple. While Jesus is the one true Light of the World, we benefit from his coming only if we believe on and follow him. We follow Jesus as the Israelites followed the cloud of fire. They trusted it to lead them and found protection under its shadow. As we follow Jesus, he relieves us of ignorance and folly by teaching us his Word.

"If anyone would come after me," Jesus taught, "let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).  (akolutheo) a soldier following his commander into battle;  a servant or slave who attends upon his master. Always the slave is ready to spring to the master's service, and to carry out the tasks the master gives him to do. It is used of one who accepts a wise counselor's judgment. We must follow where the light leads: he is not permitted to map out his own course through the desert of this life. The Christian follows Christ by keeping his commands. And it is used of one who follows the line of his teacher's reasoning. J. C. Ryle "To follow Christ is to commit ourselves wholly and entirely to Him as our only leader and Saviour, and to submit ourselves to Him in every matter both of doctrine and practice."

Follow and Gain Freedom

FREEDOM FROM DARKNESS

"Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness." Nicodemus, Samaritan woman, Blind man (9).

FREEDOM FROM THE DEVIL

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

FREEDOM FROM DEATH 12 "but will have the light of life." 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

Talking with our German friends, Heinrich and Rita, they found Aussie English much much harder than either English or American.  It is our tendency to drop in words that only Aussies understand.

Heinrich was utterly lost on someone who is a whinger. Now there is a good aussie word for that. Being a whinger or a whiner! 

Now technically only Englishman can be whingers.  As in "A whinging pom!"  And Aussies can be whiners! Now a whiner is not an alcoholic, (that's a wino). A whiner is someone who whines like a dog.

And that is something that gets up God's nose!

It reveals what is really in the person's heart.  Affliction can reveal what is really there.

Back in the Old Testament there was one event that is repeatedly referred to.  And it is refered to in our first reading from Psalm 81. It is that during the Exodus from Egypt while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they were a bunch of whinging whiners.

God gave them Manna from heaven, every day except Saturdays, bread from heaven, every day, enough to feed each person, each family of maybe 3 million people! 3 million loaves of bread each day!

The miracle of the loaves, feeding the 5000, at the start of John 6, and the manna in the Old Testament, are both images behind this whole chapter 6 of John as the Lord Jesus says of Himself "I am the bread of life." He supplies the greatest deepest needs of humanity, the hunger of the heart.

BUT just like in the story of the supply of the manna in the wilderness, so we can behave just like the Israelites, and the Jews of Jesus day.

The background to this I Am saying of Jesus "I am the bread of life" is the miracle of feeding the 5000. I  have asked several Jewish people "did they believe Jesus did this miracle" (it is recorded in each of the 4 gospels)?  Yes they did!  Then why do you not believe that Jesus is the Messiah?

He says, 'I am that Bread of Life.' 'I am that Bread of Life.' You cannot separate what Christ gives from who Christ is.

He not only said, 'the Son of Man gives the bread,' and 'I am the Bread that came down from heaven,' but He went on to say, in a subsequent stage of the conversation, 'the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.'

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.⁵⁴ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.⁵⁵ For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.⁵⁶ Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.⁵⁷ As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."⁵⁹ Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"⁶¹ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?⁶² Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)⁶⁵ And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

⁶⁶ After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?"⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,⁶⁹ and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God

Perhaps you have been wondering whether it is worth it to follow Jesus? Then this passage is for you.

What is going on in these people? It is the same issue of sin that goes on in us today.

Sometimes we Question God's Provision. Man uh means "question.  What is it?"

Numbers 11: They whined about the food.  1 And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.3 So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them. 4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat!5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at." 7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.8 The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil.9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. 10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly

18 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat.19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come out of Egypt?"'"

In the wilderness wanderings, the people whinged about their ability to take the promised land.

Numbers 14: 11    And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."

And now, in Jesus' time, they had participated in a great miracle, feeding 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, and they are questioning.  Here the Questioning of God's Provision of Jesus as the Messiah. Powerful as Jesus' teaching about himself was, most people reacted in unbelief. A remarkable instance of this took place in the aftermath of his miraculous feeding. Jesus had rebuked the crowd for seeking only material blessings and urged them, "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you" (John 6:27). The people therefore asked what they should do, and Jesus taught them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (6:29).

Having witnessed this miracle and having been called to faith by Jesus in person, the crowd, remarkably, responded by demanding another sign: "So they said to him, 'Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?' " (John 6:30).

Boice "Jesus had been talking to people who had been present on the other side of the Sea of Galilee when he had multiplied the loaves and fish. They were interested in having the miracle repeated. They had been taught by their rabbis that when the Messiah would come he would duplicate the miracle of the giving of manna that had been given originally by Moses. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. They could see that. Why, then, should they not expect him to duplicate Moses' miracle, particularly that aspect of the miracle that had to do with his repeating it six times a week for the entire forty years of desert wandering?

The Jewish writings said, "You shall not find the manna in this age, but you shall find it in the age that is coming" (Midrash Mekilta on Exod. 16:25). "For whom has the manna been prepared? For the righteous in the age that is coming" (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshallach 21:66). "What did the first redeemer do? He brought down the manna. The last redeemer will also bring down manna" (Midrash Rabba on Eccles. 1:9).

"No doubt the people had heard such sayings as these and had them in their minds. But as I study the story of this conversation it seems to me more and more that they were far less desirous of that age of messianic blessing than they were of a successful outcome to their efforts to manipulate Jesus into doing what they wanted. Manipulation! That is the real clue to their questions. Jesus had spoken of the fact that he was God's gift to men and that God desired men to believe in him. They replied, in effect, that they would not believe unless they received a sign. We find it hard to imagine how they could overlook the sign they already had received. But they were actually saying something like this, "We admit, Jesus, that you did a wonderful thing yesterday. But before we believe in you as the Messiah we want to see a real sign. What you did was interesting, but we are Jews and we cannot forget that when Moses fed the people he did so for forty years. We will believe in you if you can do what Moses did and feed us now."

They were saying "Good trick with the manna Moses, but now give us meat!  Good trick with the feeding of the 5000 Jesus, but now give us this every day!"

The rebellion in the wilderness.  They had enough evidence. So did the folk in Jesus' day.

Hebrews 3:7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice,

⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

⁹ where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

¹⁰ Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' ¹¹ As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'"

¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.¹⁵ As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." ¹⁶ For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?¹⁷ And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?¹⁸ And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?¹⁹ So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Do you know what that word "provoked" means?  It means here was something that got up God's nose worse than a covid test.

The people asked for a sign not because the miraculous feeding was insufficiently revealing. They asked because they didn't like what Jesus was saying; their demand for another sign was just a way of putting him off. It was their unbelief that governed everything about them.

Jesus had called on them to change their attitude. Since they did not want to do that, they sought to justify their unbelief. How often this happens today! People spend their entire lives in a world that manifestly displays the glory of God. And they receive testimonies both from Christians and from the Bible sufficient to persuade them about any other matter. Yet they respond to the gospel with one objection after another.

At its root, man's unwillingness to accept Jesus is really that people love their sin, they love their pride, and they especially love their own lordship over their lives. ….Determined to be their own god, their own savior, and their own lord, they find reason after reason to reject Jesus Christ.

How not to get up God's nose!

The sin here was whingeing. Don't get up God's nose by being a whinger! Are you a whinger and a whiner?

The main emphasis is about making sure you believe in the Lord Jesus and trust in Him in the right way.

You need to believe He is the Messiah the Christ, the One who fulfils all the Old Testament and is the centre of all History as the One who has come down from God, the One who has come to bring forgiveness of sins, the One who draws us to Himself, the One who wil not reject any who come to Him, the One who supplies our deepest needs to be right with God.

You need to recognise Jesus' Provision as Supernatural Bread

Now, follow with me: Jesus is spiritual bread, and Jesus is supernatural bread. They said, "Oh, listen, Jesus, we remember how manna came down and fed the people in the wilderness, how Moses gave us that bread." He said, "Moses didn't give it to you; God gave it to you, and it was only a picture of me. I am the bread of life." I told you this morning that all the Bible is about Jesus. What was the manna? The manna, Jesus tells us clearly here in John chapter 6, was a picture of Jesus. (John 6:35) The manna came down from heaven;; Jesus came down from heaven. The manna lay upon the ground; Jesus is meek and lowly. The manna was round, which speaks of the eternality of

Jesus. The manna was white, which speaks of the purity of Jesus. The manna had the taste of honey, which speaks of the sweetness of Jesus. The manna had the taste of oil, which speaks of the anointing that was on the Lord Jesus. The manna had to be picked up, which speaks of the resurrection of Jesus. The manna had to be ingested, which speaks of partaking of Jesus. The manna sustained physical life, which speaks of Jesus, who gives us eternal life. All of that—all of that—was a picture of Jesus. He is not only spiritual bread;; He is supernatural bread. He came down from heaven.

You need to recognise Jesus' Provision as Spiritual Bread

By Spiritual vs material, the emphasis here is not on the miracles that Jesus did, but what they point to; that He is the Saviour and He saves us.  Have you let Him be the spiritual Bread, the One who saves you? Have you asked Him to do that for you? If not, Ask Him now to be your Lord and Saviour.

He is the Messiah!  That's what He came to be. Believe it.  Receive it.  Don't make excuses to avoid it.  Make Him your Lord and Saviour today.

You need to recognise Jesus' Provision as Satisfying Bread

"Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) Men all around are searching for satisfaction, and they have one thing and then they want another. But, the true satisfaction—the thing that your heart yearns for, the thing that your soul yearns for—is satisfaction in Jesus. I was thinking about it in my study a little while back, and I thought of all the religions of the world—Shintoism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, and all the rest—and I thought, "You know, I am so glad I know Jesus." You know, what would it be like? How would you like to be in one of these other religions? Isn't Jesus wonderful? Jesus alone satisfies the hunger of the human heart. God made a bird to fly, a fish to swim, and He made you to know Him and to love Him. And, He says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6)—t hat is, they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5 and verse 6). In Psalm 107 and verse 9: "For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." (Psalm 107:9) Psalm 81:16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

This is God's guarantee: if you hunger and thirst, He'll fill you. Look, I don't know how much of God you have, but I'll tell you this much—you have all you want. If you don't have any more, it's because you don't want any more. Now, don't get the idea that you're the hero and God's the tyrant: "Mean ol' God—if I could only persuade Him to fill me." No! It's not your job to persuade Him to fill you but to permit Him to fill you. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6) Either that's true, or Jesus told a lie.

Now, what is your hunger? Jesus is spiritual bread. Jesus is supernatural bread. Jesus is satisfying bread. The problem with many people is we're so stuffed full of bread of this world we don't have any spiritual appetite. You know, if a man doesn't have an appetite, three things: number one, he's already stuffed full of something else; number two, he's sick; number three, he's dead. Now, ask yourself this question: Do you have an appetite? Are you hungry for the Lord Jesus?

Whiners.. You need to accept God's provision in your troubles as Sufficient Bread.

His love, in time past,   Forbids me to think He'll leave me at last   In trouble to sink:
Each sweet Ebenezer   I have in review  Confirms His good pleasure  To help me quite through

The reality of a relationship with Him can carry you through any trials in this world and brng you out the other side. But it will mean you side with Him against the majority. Most people turned their backs on the Lord Jesus and followed Him no more.  What about you? Will you let Him be sufficient for whatever you face?  Will you trust yourself to Him that He will look after you? The Israelites didn't trust that God could feed them and help them when they needed it. Will you trust that He is sufficient for whatever situation you may face?

You need to recognise Jesus' Provision for you as continuing to be your Messiah. As Sustaining Bread.

Though dark be my way,  Since He is my Guide, 'Tis mine to obey,   'Tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,  And creatures all fail,  The word He hath spoken  Shall surely prevail.

In the last section of John 6 it all comes to a  point.

The Lord Jesus makes it even clearer.         52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."

Boice: "It is my view, however, that the Lord's Supper is not in consideration in these verses at all. Why?

First, because at the time of the speaking of these words the Lord's Supper was not yet instituted.

Second, because Jesus was addressing unbelievers in John 6, while the Lord's Supper is for Christians only. Third, because the eating and drinking spoken of in John is unto salvation, while the eating and drinking that is part of the Lord's Supper is for those who are already saved, and speaks of fellowship, growth, and communion. Fourth, because the Lord's Supper does not produce those results that are here attributed to the eating and drinking of Christ. This last is the greatest reason, for it is perfectly obvious that many thousands of persons partake each week of the Lord's Supper and yet do not possess that eternal life that Jesus says results from a true feeding upon him.

All these terms—believe, come, listen, learn—refer to what we would most naturally call faith. The last terms—"eating and drinking"— stress that the commitment that is involved in faith is as real, irrevocable, and productive of results as any literal eating or drinking.

Have you committed yourself to Jesus Christ so that he has become as real to you as that? Is he as real to you spiritually as something you can taste or handle? Is he as much a part of you as that which you eat? Boice.

"The work of God" is to "believe" on him. What God requires of us is that we give up trying to please him by our own efforts and instead commit ourselves into the hands of our Savior.

Hymn  by John Newton!

Though dark be my way,  Since He is my Guide,
'Tis mine to obey,   'Tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken,  And creatures all fail,
The word He hath spoken  Shall surely prevail.

His love, in time past,   Forbids me to think
He'll leave me at last   In trouble to sink:
Each sweet Ebenezer   I have in review
Confirms His good pleasure  To help me quite through

Why should I complain  Of want or distress,
Temptation or pain?  He told me no less;
The heirs of salvation,  I know from His Word,
Through much tribulation   Must follow their Lord.

How bitter that cup   No heart can conceive,
Which He drank quite up,  That sinners might live!
His way was much rougher  And darker than mine;
Did Christ, my Lord, suffer,  And shall I repine?

Since all that I meet  Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,  The medicine, food;
Though painful at present,  'Twill cease before long,
And then, oh, how pleasant  The conqueror's song!

Yesterday I spent some time at the Emergency at Hawkesbury Hospital.  It was an interesting day:

Lots of young men arrived they came in cut and bruised.   They had discovered they were not invincibles, although every young man thinks he is until...Skiing accidents and trail bike accidents.  It was funny to hear the their dads spell out from where they are from.  Wahroongah (I am sure the receptionist knew how to spell it, but just made the dad spell it out.. similarly a young guy from Gymea) .. I was surprised! But sometimes there are events like that and news items that bring us back to our frail mortality.

"A woman, making a phone call on a New York street, was struck in the head and killed yesterday by a flowerpot that was knocked off an eighth floor window ledge by lightning. Amelia Lynch, 28, died after the pot fell on her head, police said." There she is making a phone call and a flowerpot, struck by lightning, falls on her head. Listen to this: "Harold Lee Dunkin was mowing his lawn. His wife and two children were watching. Suddenly, Dunkin grabbed his left side, walked a few steps, staggered, collapsed, and then died. A half-inch piece of wire, no bigger than a pencil lead, had been hurled into his head by the power mower he was using." His death was sudden—cutting the grass and a small piece of wire enters his head. Don;t mow the lawns gentlemen! And, here's one that is strange: "Carlos Bumbus was fishing in the Philippines. Police reported that he opened his mouth to yawn. A fish jumped in and became stuck in his throat." It sounds funny. It wasn't funny to Carlos.   "There is but a step between me and death" (1 Samuel 20:3). We feel so secure in this place, but that little heartbeat there, as somebody said, is "a muffled drum beating a funeral march to the grave." We're going to die.

The world's answer to death is pessimistic

Eccles 2:15 Then I said in my heart, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?" And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. ..20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun,21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.22 What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?23 For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

If death is final,  there is only infinite despair Shakespeare said " Death is a fearful thing, to die and go we know not where." –Claudio, Mark Twain "life is a losing proposition—you'll never get out of it alive?" He was wrong.

If death is final, there is only indescribable sadness:  Boris Yeltzin said to Mikhail Gorbachev   "The people here are weary of pessimism and the share of pessimism is to much for the people to handle. Now they need belief."

We can know that there is more to life than what is ended at death.  The soul is immortal:

There is a sense of reality to the unseen. There is the rationality of the Universe  There is the character of God.

In Jesus we discover that death is a defeated foe.

The Competing Realities For Martha and Mary 

The Delay seemed like Denial  John 11:1-18.  2 miles from Bethany to Jerusalem  a half hour walk. Not Remote. Not

The Doctrine seemed  Distant:  "I know that my brother shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  unreal and impersonal.

The Realization Of A Present Saviour  I am the resurrection and the life.  CHS "How sweetly fell those words upon her ears–"I am the resurrection and the life"! Not, "I can get resurrection by My prayers," but, "I am, Myself, the resurrection." God's people need to know more of what Jesus is, more of the fullness which it has pleased the Father to place in Him." In Him is Life!!  "I am the resurrection and the life," He indicated to Martha that resurrection and life were not gifts which He must seek, nor even gifts which He must create–but that He, Himself, was the resurrection and the life–these things were wherever He was. He was the Author, Giver and Maintainer of life, and that life was Himself; the Presence of Jesus Christ means life and resurrection. It meant that to Lazarus. If Jesus comes to Lazarus, Lazarus must live!" But what of me and my loved ones? Surely this was true for them, but how can  it be true for me?

John 20. He is risen! And as a Risen Saviour, what is true for Martha and Mary becomes true in our lives.

He awakens us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

He awakens us to hope both now and in eternity.

Now Because:

The Resurrection Defeats Death's Power 

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

2Cor 5:6We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

"Death reigned" (Romans 5:14). 2 Timothy 1: God,9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

He awakens us to an eternal hope because:

The Resurrection Destroys Death's Pessimism

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Hebrews 2:9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.  14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

1Cor 15: 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A mother and her two children were in the park. They were having a wonderful time until one of those big bees came, and lighted on little sister, and stung the little girl. She began to cry and scream like any child would, and a big swelling place came up there on her arm. And, that bee was still buzzing around and buzzing around, and the little girl was petrified. And, the mother said, "Darling, darling—wait a minute." As she was wiping sister's tears away, she said, "Look darling, look down here on Eleisha's arm." And, right in the middle of that swelling was that bee's stinger. "You know, a bee can only sting once—did you know that?—cause he leaves his stinger. You see that, darling? Sweetheart, he can buzz; he can fight you. But sweetheart, he can't hurt you. He left his sting in your sister—he left his sting in Eleisha." And death may buzz around you, and death may frighten you; but our elder Brother, the Lord Jesus, bears that sting. Thank God. Jesus took the sting out of death.

Cesar Malan wrote :

1 It is not death to die,
To leave this weary road,
And midst the brotherhood on high
To be at home with God.

2 It is not death to close
The eye long dimmed by tears
And wake in glorious repose
To spend eternal years.

3 It is not death to bear
The wrench that sets us free
From dungeon chain, to breathe the air
Of boundless liberty.

4 It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust
And rise, on strong, exulting wing
To live among the just.

5 Jesus, Thou Prince of Life,
Thy chosen cannot die:
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife
To reign with Thee on high.

CH Spurgeon  wrote this last appeal: "Listen to that great, "I"–that infinite EGO! This must cover over and swallow up your little ego. "I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me." What are you? Less than nothing and vanity! But over all springs up that Divine all-sufficient Personality, "I am the resurrection and the life." Take the first two words together and they seem to me to have a wondrous majesty about them–"I AM!" Here is Self-Existence. Life in Himself! Even as the Mediator, the Lord Jesus tells us that it is given Him to have life in Himself, even as the Father has life in Himself (John 5:26). I am fills the yawning mouth of the sepulcher! He that lives and was dead and is alive forevermore, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, declares, "I am the resurrection and the life." If, then, I want to live unto God, I must have Christ–and if I desire to continue to live unto God, I must continue to have Christ! And if I aspire to have that life developed to the utmost fullness of which it is capable, I must find it all in Christ! He has come not only that we may have life, but that we may have it more abundantly.

Faith is the only channel by which we can draw our life from Jesus. "I am the resurrection and the life: He that believes in Me"–that is it. He does not say, "He that loves Me," though love is a bright Grace and very sweet to God. He does not say, "He that serves Me," though everyone that believes in Christ will endeavor to serve Him. But it is not put so. He does not even say, "He that imitates Me," though everyone that believes in Christ must and will imitate Him. No, it is put, "He that believes in Me." Why is that? Why does the Lord so continually make faith to be the only link between Himself and the soul? I take it because faith is a gift which arrogates nothing to itself and has no operation apart from Jesus, to whom it unites us.

"Your faith has saved you!" But faith hastens to ascribe all the glory of salvation to only Jesus! So you see why the Lord selects faith rather than any other Grace–because it is a self-forgetting thing.

Do you have faith?  Are you looking to Jesus to Save you?  It is looking away from ourselves and seeing  only Him as the Saviour!

"But, I feel so weak. I cannot understand. I cannot lay hold of things, I cannot pray. I cannot do anything. All I can do is feebly trust in Jesus." All right! Though you had gone further than that and were so weak as to be dead, yet should you live! Though the weakness had turned to a dire paralysis that left you altogether without strength, yet it is written, "He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." "Oh, Sir," says one, "I am so unfeeling." Mark you, these generally are the most feeling people in the world. "I am sorry every day because I cannot be sorry for my sin"–that is the way they talk–it is very absurd, but still very real to them. "Oh," cries one, "the earth shook, the sun was darkened, the rocks rent, the very dead came out of their graves at the death of Christ."– 'Of feeling all things show some sign   But this unfeeling heart of mine.'"

Yet if you believe, unfeeling as you are, you live, for if you were gone further than numbness to deadness, yet if you believe in Him you shall live!

Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."

Trust the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is worthy to be trusted! Throw yourself upon Him and He will carry you in His bosom! Cast your whole weight upon His Atonement! It will bear the strain! Hang on Him as a vessel hangs on the nail and seeks no other support! Depend upon Christ with all your might just as you now are and, as the Lord lives, you shall live! And as Christ reigns, you shall reign over sin! And as Christ comes to Glory, you shall partake of that Glory forever and ever! Amen."

With John 19 reading:

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, See Him dying on the tree!

'Tis the Christ by man rejected; Yes, my soul, 'tis He! 'tis He!

'Tis the long-expected Prophet, David's Son, yet David's Lord;

Proofs I see sufficient of it: 'Tis the true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning, Was there ever grief like His?

Friends through fear His cause disowning, Foes insulting His distress;

Many hands were raised to wound Him, None would interpose to save;

But the deepest stroke that pierced Him Was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly  Nor suppose the evil great

Here may view its nature rightly, Here its guilt may estimate.

Mark the Sacrifice appointed, See who bears the awful load;

'Tis the WORD, the LORD'S ANOINTED, Son of Man and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation;  Here the refuge of the lost;

Christ's the Rock of our salvation, His the name of which we boast.

Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,  Sacrifice to cancel guilt!

None shall ever be confounded Who on Him their hope have built.

On many sheep stations in Australia and New Zealand, large flocks of sheep are driven by trained sheep dogs. The sheepdogs seem to know the flocks so well that they can pretty much do the work of transferring sheep from field to field or onto trucks pretty much by themselves! Often just a whistle or a hand signal is enough to direct the sheep dogs.

But in the Middle East, shepherds never drive the sheep, they always lead them.

The New Testament scholar, John Stott, used to tell the story about being in Israel on a tour bus going through the wilderness of Judea. The tour guide was on the microphone making the point that the shepherds in Israel never drive the sheep, they always lead them. Just as the guide was saying that, a tourist raised his hand and pointed out the window, and said, "What about that guy?"

Everyone looked and out to see a man with a stick driving a flock of sheep toward a corral. Not wanting to be called a liar, the guide had the bus driver stop. He got out and ran up the man with a stick and could be seen waving his arms and talking to him in Arabic. Then the guide ran back to the bus and got on board. He took the microphone and said, "I'm still right. That man isn't the shepherd, he says he's the butcher!"

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven statements claiming to be God, the great "I am." He said, "I am the bread from Heaven. I am the light of the world."  "I am the gate for the sheep." He was saying He is the only door to Heaven. And in this passage, He said, "I am the Good Shepherd." So what's so good about the Good Shepherd? I'm so glad you asked. Let's notice five good things about the Good Shepherd.

1. The Good Shepherd Sacrifices Himself For His sheep.

Sheep  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."  "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again." John 10:11, 17, 18.

We read earlier of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This was no terrible accident.  This was not just an act of belligerent men.  This was an act of God, which had been planned from the beginning of the world. 

As we read last Sunday in John's gospel, there were several attempts by the Jewish leaders to arrest and kill Jesus. In the 8th chapter of John, they picked up stones to stone Him, but He walked through their midst. Later in this chapter, in verse 31 the Jews pick up stones to stone Him for claiming to be God, which was blasphemy. But the Bible says He eluded them. Jesus knew He was going to die, but He also knew the time and the place He would die. He was in complete control. That's why He said He would lay down His life for the sheep. They couldn't kill Him until He was ready to lay down his life. He said, "No man takes my life from me. I lay it down willingly."

Jesus wasn't some martyr who was killed for a cause. He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. He would go to the cross in full control of His destiny. He chose to die during Passover. He would become the Passover Lamb who shields us from the eternal punishment for our sins.

Jesus claimed He had authority to lay down His life. But He also had authority to pick it up again. He was speaking about His resurrection.

He didn't lose His life to wicked people. He lost His life FOR wicked people.  "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again."

It is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be,

That God's own Son should come from heaven to die to save a wretch like me.

And yet I know that it is true:  He chose a poor and humble lot,

and wept and toiled and mourned and died for love of those who loved Him not.

I cannot tell how He could love a child so weak and full of sin;

His love must be most wonderful if He could die my love to win.

2. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep.

If you have a pet, you understand how a person and an animal can have a bonding experience. My brother in law Bruce got some sheep when they first moved to Tamworth.  They named their sheep betsy and Margaret.  But because they named them, Carolyn his wife could not bear to send them off to slaughter for the meat.  They got too close.

That was the relationship a good shepherd had with his sheep. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." (John 10:14) We read that the Good Shepherd would call all his sheep by their names. He knew them and they knew him. I mentioned a butcher earlier. So, when you think about a shepherd, you've got to think more about wool than lamb chops. The Shepherd raised the sheep for their valuable wool, not for mutton.

Later when they raised cattle they decided on a better approach: They named their steers  Rump, T-Bone, and Roast!  But the Good Shepherd doesn't eat his sheep. He leads them to still waters and feeds them in green pastures. The Shepherd knows the name of his sheep. The older I get, the more I'm learning I have to search my memory banks for names. I can remember pastoring my first church after college. I knew the names of everyone who attended the church. There were only ten of us.   The Good Shepherd knows the names of everyone who is in His flock. He calls you by your name.

The most glorious fact in the universe is that there is a God and that this God wants to have a personal relationship with you. If I'd said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Eternal life is not just living forever. Eternal life is KNOWING God. Do you know the Shepherd?

3. The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep.

In John 10 Jesus identifies three individuals who deal with the sheep. He mentioned the thief who sneaks in to rustle the sheep. He said the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. The thief is a metaphor for Satan. But then he mentioned the hired hand. Jesus said, "The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep…he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." (John 10:12-13) Jesus was talking about the Jewish religious leaders. They claimed to be shepherds, but they didn't really care for the sheep.

We lived awhile in Glen Innes where there are large flocks of sheep.  There was a huge difference between a hired sheep herder and a real shepherd. They really didn't care for the sheep. In Jesus' time if the sheep were attacked by a predator, the hired hand wouldn't defend the sheep, he would flee for his own safety.

In Glen they could always be guaranteed to knock off early to go to the pub. 

That's how Jesus described the hired hand. He said the hired hand doesn't OWN the sheep, so he doesn't care for them. But by contrast, the Good Shepherd owns the sheep and He will lay down His life to protect them.

The Bible teaches we are owned by God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 the Bible says, "You are not your own. You were bought at a price." You may sometimes hear a person say, "It's my life, I can live it any way I please." For a Christian, we should say, "It's not my life. I belong to Jesus." And because we belong to Jesus, He cares for us. The Bible says that God cares so much for you that every hair on your head is numbered. Jesus said our Heavenly Father is aware when the tiniest sparrow falls to the ground, and as the song says, "If His eye is on the sparrow, I know He watches me."

I was reading Gordon Moyes autobiography this last week. He had a near fatal heart attack.  He said He never understood Psalm 23 until then. He said, "In the 23rd Psalm it says, 'he MAKES me to lie down in green pastures.' I've become so busy that I haven't been a good dad or a good churchman. But the Lord has put me on my back. He MADE me lie down to get my attention." Jesus is a Shepherd who cares for you.

4. The Good Shepherd seeks His sheep.

"I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:16)

Jesus was talking about us, the Gentiles. Jesus said He had come for the lost Sheep of Israel. He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. Even though many of the Jews believed in Jesus, the nation of Israel rejected Jesus and crucified Him.

In Revelation 7 it predicts there will be a great multitude gathered in Heaven from every nation, every tribe, every people, every tongue. We will be gathered around the throne of God and will be praising God together.

In Luke 15 Jesus taught us what God is like. He said that God is like a Shepherd who had a hundred sheep. Ninety-nine of them were safe in the sheepfold and one single lamb wandered away. Our God is the kind of God who left the ninety-nine and went to seek out the one lost lamb, and when He found it, He picked it up in His arms and carried it back into the fold. That one lost lamb was in Beijing, or in Moscow, or in Bagdad, or in Tehran or here in St Mary's.

5 . The Good Shepherd saves His sheep.

Jesus knows us, He cares for us, He seeks us, but most importantly, He is willing to die for us. Jesus repeats the statement, "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the Sheep" five times in this passage.

He says, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again."  (John 10:11, 18)

Jesus' voluntary death was followed by his victorious resurrection. His resurrection validated everything Jesus said and everything Jesus did. If there had been no resurrection, there would be no New Testament and no churches. And we would be the most hopeless of all people. But because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because we know that life is worth the living, just because He lives.

Sheep need a shepherd. They are helpless and dumb animals. They wander off. They get sick. And we are like sheep—we need a Shepherd. Jesus wants to be your shepherd. Will you surrender to His ownership and His care for you? Will you commit yourself to follow Him and allow Him to feed you with His Word? When you do that you can say like the Psalmist, "the Lord is MY Shepherd. And that's all I need!"

Although Fanny Crosby was blind, she was a prolific poet and hymn writer. She published an astonishing 9,000 poems and hymns. Perhaps her most popular song was Blessed Assurance. Most of us know it by heart: "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation. Purchase of God. Born of His Spirit. Washed in His blood." I want to give you three reasons why you can have blessed assurance. All of these reasons begin with the letter "P."

You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Promise of God.

Based upon what Jesus said in John 10, I do believe that once you are part of God's flock, you will always be a part of God's flock. The wording Jesus uses in John 10 is important. He said, "My Father who has given them to me is greater than all."

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24

Once God has given you to the Good Shepherd, He makes a promise that nothing can separate you from His love.  In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul nails down this promise of God. He wrote, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Provision of God through Christ.

Christ has for sin atonement made, What a wonderful Saviour!
We are redeemed! the price is paid!  What a wonderful Saviour!

"Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:25) I have a savior who is praying for me right now. Moment by moment, day by day, year by year. He ever LIVES to make intercession for me.

You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Power of God.

The security of our salvation isn't up to us holding on to God. He's holding on to us. Jesus said, ^{John 10: 27} My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.

God's hand is powerful. In Isaiah 48 God said, "I laid the foundation of the world with my hand; and with my right hand I spread out the heavens."  Isaiah 49:16 God says, "Look, I have engraved your name in the palm of my Hand." Once we belong to God, there's nothing to snatch away, because we are part of Body of Christ. I'm engraved on His Hand!

Peter  wrote "Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

So it's not a matter of us holding onto God, it's a matter of God holding onto us. "In Christ Alone." It was written by a British songwriter by the name of Keith Getty. Most people love the verse that says, "There is the ground His body lay. Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day; Up from the grave He rose again." I love that verse. But my very favorite verse is the final verse which says: "No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!"

  If you want the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.   

Admit  

Believe        

Commit your life into His hands.

OUTLINE

The Good Shepherd:

1. Sacrifices Himself For His Sheep  "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."  "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my  own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again." John 10:11, 17, 18.

2. Cares for His sheep. Jesus said, "The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep…he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." John 10:12‐13

3. Knows His sheep. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:14,15

4. Seeks His sheep. Jesus said, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." John 10:16

5. Saves His sheep. Jesus said, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Promise of God

You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Provision of God through Christ.

You Can Have Assurance Because Of The Power of God