This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I want to welcome you to day two of our look through John chapter 10 and daily
drive time devotions. We're going to look at verses 4 to 13 today. We began a
look yesterday at what the shepherd does for the sheep and focused on the fact
that he calls us, he speaks to us.

In the verses today, we're going to take a look at the fact that he not only
calls us, he also leads us and he lays down his life for us. In fact, I'd like
to start back in verse three and then read verses four and five also. Verse
three, which we looked at yesterday says, "The watchman opens the gate for him
and the sheep listen to his, the shepherd's voice.

He calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. " And then verse four,
"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep
follow him because they know his voice, but they will never follow a stranger.
In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's
voice.

" Jesus calls us as this good shepherd, he also leads us. His voice is clear in
his call to us, his direction is clear in his leadership for us. Every one of us
has seen, you've certainly seen how tiring it can be not to know what direction
you're going next.

To be in a place where you just have to wait and you're not sure what to do
next. That can be as tiring, more tiring than moving solidly in the direction
where you know where you're going. Confusion is wearying and Jesus clears up
confusion with his direction, he leads his sheep.

Now he leads his sheep, he doesn't drive his sheep. He would drive sheep from
behind, but to lead sheep, you must be out ahead and that's where Jesus is. In
fact, that's how sheep were led in the days in which the New Testament was
written and still in the East.

Sheep are led by the shepherd, the shepherd is out ahead. That means, that means
that Jesus is out ahead of you. When it comes to a sheep, if there was a wolf,
the shepherd would get there first.

If there was a ravine, the shepherd would know that it's there. When it comes to
your life, if there's a problem ahead, Jesus knows it's there. If there's a
struggle ahead, Jesus knows it's there.

If there's a victory, he knows it's there. Everything that will happen to you
this next week, the shepherd, the shepherd goes ahead of you. And the Bible says
here that we know his voice, we listen and we know his voice so we're able to
follow him.

Here's the question, how do I know his voice? It's not an audible voice, I don't
hear the voice of Jesus in my head. So how do I know his voice?

It's not audible, yet it is unique. When you sense the direction of Jesus
through his spirit, how is it unique? It is uniquely unselfish, it is uniquely
loving, it is uniquely forgiving, it is uniquely challenging to faith.

Nothing else in this world challenges us to be unselfish. When you hear Jesus
leading you to unselfishness, you go, "Oh, okay, that's his voice because I
don't figure that one out on my own. On my own I want to be selfish and in fact
all the people around me are campaigning for selfishness.

" Jesus has the unselfish voice in this world. When the voice that you hear,
when the direction that you hear, the sense you have within fits the life that
Jesus lived and the word, the Bible that he gave us, then you know that's his
voice and his voice fits his life and his word exactly. Now it also says here
that we will recognize a stranger's voice.

How do we do that? Well that's the easy one. The stranger's voice is not his
voice.

As soon as you begin to recognize Jesus' voice in your life, listen for it. If
you listen for it, you will hear it. The unselfish voice, the loving voice, the
forgiving voice, the sacrificing voice.

Once you hear his direction, then the other is very clear. Once you recognize
his voice, a stranger is easy to pick out immediately and there's a lot of
stranger's voices in this world, a lot of selfish voices in this world. The
Bible here says the true sheep follow the true shepherd and they run from false
shepherds.

They run away. They don't even get close. It's not as if you think, "Well let's
just go check out this wolf in sheep's clothing because it's interesting.

I just want to hear what he has to say, what she has to say. " No. Because you
realize, "I am a sheep.

I am vulnerable. I am easily influenced. " It's the humility of admitting who
you are and so you follow him.

You follow the shepherd. In verse 6, the Bible says this, "Jesus used a figure
of speech but they did not understand what he was telling them. " And so because
they didn't understand, we have verses 7 to 10.

They say this, "Therefore Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, I am the gate
for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.

Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find
pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. " They didn't get
it the first time and so Jesus uses another picture. I am the shepherd.

I'm also the gate. He's saying here, "I am the way in. " In fact, if you look
closely, three things happen in these verses when you enter in through Jesus.

The one who enters through me will be saved, salvation, security happens, and
also satisfaction. Salvation, you are saved. Security, you will come in and go
out.

That meant there were no worries from the enemies. If there were enemies about
that the sheep couldn't come in and go out through the gate, they'd have to stay
in where it was safe. You'll come in and go out.

That was a sign of security, of safety in him. Then satisfaction, you will find
pasture. You'll have the fulfillment that you need in life.

These blessings, salvation, security, satisfaction, they grow out of one
decision, the decision to enter, to enter through him, the decision to say,
"That's where I'm going to find life. " Where do you find life? Some people like
cheating the system to try to find life.

It's thrilling to them. It makes them feel alive to cheat the system. Other
people like creating their own destiny to try to find life.

It's inspiring to them to think they did it all themselves. Jesus says, "You
want to find real life? I've got a destiny for you, but it's mine.

I've got a life for you, but you don't have to cheat to get it. Enter through
the gate. Trust in me.

" The result, Jesus says, is greener pastures. In fact, the picture he gives us
in verse 10, one of the most famous verses in the New Testament, is abundant
life. "I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly, have
it to the fullest, have it to the fullest.

" Let me read for you an honest question one of the people on our research team
asked about John 10, 10 and its abundant life. They asked, "What is the abundant
life or the full life? So many Christians seem to have so many problems.

How do we experience this kind of life? " That's a great question. Let me just
say to you, the abundant life is not a problem-free life.

That's a big mistake to think that way. We're going to have problems as long as
we live in this world because this world isn't perfect. Heaven is problem-free.

It's perfect. This earth is not problem-free because it is not perfect. We're
going to have the same problems that everybody else in the world has.

Jesus never promises a life with no problems, but he does promise an abundant
life. So even in the midst of the problems, in fact, the word here has the idea
of superabundance. There is a sense here that he will fill our lives up from
within so that whether we're facing problems or not, we will have his strength
in life.

We will be able to live his life in this world, the quality of life that he
wants to give within that's able to face anything that happens without. He's not
talking about more things here when he talks about abundance. He's talking about
better life, full life.

He leads us. He leads us into that kind of life. And whenever I feel like, "Wow,
my life doesn't seem abundant, doesn't seem full lately," the first question I
ask myself in my mind is, "Am I following the shepherd or am I following some
idea, something I want to do?

" He leads us. Follow him. What does the shepherd do for the sheep?

He calls us. We talked about it yesterday. He leads us.

We just looked at it. Number three, he lays down his life for the sheep. His
love is clear.

Verse 11, we turn to the picture of the shepherd, 11 to 13, Jesus says, "I am
the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired
hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep.

So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the
wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he's a hired
hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

" Jesus lays down his life for us. His voice is clear. His direction is clear.

His love is clear. He died for us. That is crystal clear.

Remember, we talk about shepherd and sheep and doors and Jesus laying down his
life. Remember in that day that sometimes the shepherd was the door for the
sheep. A shepherd would actually lay across the doorway into the fold.

There would be maybe a rock wall around it. And so if a wolf wanted to get in,
if an animal wanted to get in and would have to go through the shepherd, the
shepherd would literally lay down his life for the sheep. And Jesus says, "I
have done that for you.

" If you look through this chapter, if you're studying through it, the real
question throughout it is, who will I trust? It talks about thieves and hired
hands and shepherds. Will I fall prey to the thieves?

Will I trust the hired hand or will I follow the shepherd? Will I fall prey to
the thieves? Thieves are people who try to use you.

They promise you a lot, but in the end, they're just trying to use you. And in
our selfishness, we sometimes fall prey to the thieves. Will I trust the hired
hand?

Hired hands are people who care only about themselves. And they're over the
fence when the trouble comes because they really care only about themselves. Or
will I follow the shepherd?

The shepherd is the one who gave his life for you. The shepherd is Jesus Christ.
How do I trust him?

The one who calls my name, the one who goes ahead to lead me, the one who lays
down his life for me. I trust him relationally, personally, first by giving my
life back to him and then by following him. Let's trust him right now in prayer.

And as we pray, you want to enjoy greener pastures, listen to the shepherd. What
he's speaking is more important than what anybody else is saying. Say to him,
"Jesus Christ, help me to listen to you.

" Follow the shepherd. You're going to follow someone, so choose to follow him.
Say to him, "Jesus Christ, I choose this day to follow you.

" Trust the shepherd. You don't have any need to wander or be scattered because
you can always trust his love. And say to him right now, "Jesus Christ, I don't
understand at all.

There's some things about life, some things about this day that confuse me, but
I know this. I can trust your love. And so I trust you today.

In your name, Amen.