The Life You Never Knew You Were Missing

Thesis: Jesus is the one real shepherd who would provide guidance, salvation, provision, and life.

Objective: Call all to recognize and follow Jesus as the one and only source of real guidance, salvation, provision and life.

1. We must recognize the real shepherd (1-3).
   1. There are false shepherds (1; There are people and things out there that are not worth following or pursuing. They enter our lives illegitimately to attempt to steal and destroy that which is important and true.).
   2. The real shepherd enters through right (2; The one real shepherd will always say and do what's absolutely right.).
   3. The real shepherd is identified by His voice (“the sheep listen to his voice” (3); The one real shepherd can be identified by what He says: it is ALWAYS consistent with Scriptures.).
   4. The real shepherd calls us by name (“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (3); The one real shepherd knows us better than we know ourselves. And yet He is seeking us, specifically.).
2. We must follow the real shepherd (4-6).
   1. Some will be left behind (“When he has brought out all his own” (4); The implication of Jesus' statement here is that there will be people who choose not to follow the right shepherd, even though He calls them by name. These people, He considers not his own and, ultimately, leaves them behind. In other words, you don't have to follow. But if you don't, you're not a part of the one right shepherd's flock.).
   2. We must follow Him (“he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him” (4); It is our charge to follow the one real shepherd because he will lead the way to green pastures and safety.
   3. We must know His voice (“because they know his voice” (4); In order to know who to follow, we must be prepared to identify the shepherd's voice. The ONLY way to do this is by knowing Scripture.).
   4. We must reject everyone else (5; In order to be a part of the one real shepherd's flock, we must be prepared to reject anyone and anything else that would distract us from following Him.).
3. We must follow Jesus (7-10).
   1. Jesus is the real Shepherd (“I am the gate” (7); Just as the shepherd serves as the gate in Arabian sheep pens, we must understand that Jesus is the One and Only real shepherd who is committed to protecting us and supplying our needs. EXPLANATION: Sir George Adam Smith, OT scholar once met an Arabian shepherd who explained that HE was the gate in the opening of the pen.).
   2. Jesus is the real Savior (“whoever enters through me will be saved” (9); In stark contrast to all the other people and things we could follow, just as the shepherd will save his sheep from the dangers of the world, Jesus will protect us from the dangers of temptation and the slavery of sin. NOTE: The others are all called thiefs and robbers, twice, by Jesus. A thief is someone who aims to take what is not his through stealth and cunning; a robber is someone who will take what is not his and won't hesitate to use violence.).
   3. Jesus is the real Provider (“He will come in and go out, and find pasture” (9); Not only does Jesus promise to save us from temptation and sin, but He promises to provide for our needs: physical, emotional, and spiritual.).
   4. Jesus is the source of real life (10; In direct contrast to all the other stuff out there that we can follow or pursue, which only robs us of just about everything, Jesus declares that His sole purpose is that we may have life abundantly or to the full. In either case, the idea is that we are actually overflowing with life, not just running ragged to make ends meet.).