Not About Sheep (John 21:15-17)
Gary McManus, 08/20/2023Part of the Life With Jesus is Better series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
August 20, 2023 John 21:15-17
The Indiana State Fair. . .the sheep barn. . .information
on sheep. . .in Indiana. . .in America! The Bible mentions
sheep 200 times. A sermon about sheep? NO!
Pastor’s sermon idea got squelched.
Pastor will not preach about sheep. . .not even that
breed of sheep known as the Great American sheep.
Are sheep stupid?
Domestic sheep need help in finding food and water.
(See 23rd Psalm) Sheep need to travel in herds for
protection and survival of the flock. And yet, sheep
will wander away FROM the flock and endanger
themselves; plenty of predators in the U.S. and in
the Holy Land still.
The Great American sheep is its own breed of sheep.
--although it needs a flock; some flocks are dangerous
to the sheep.
--therefore, some Great American sheep attempt to live
on their own.
--the Great American sheep can find its own food,
but the food it prefers is dangerous to the sheep’s health
The most utilized feeding stations of the great American sheep
cause what are considered PREVENTABLE deaths.
Is there no shepherd who can and will help these great American
sheep so that they can survive?
IS there a shepherd that the great American sheep will follow?
Because the well- known love of independence and freedom
of the great American sheep means that they do NOT want to
follow ANY shepherd.
Do we think the Lord God of the Bible cares about the
Great American sheep?
Yes, the Bible will quickly answer that question.
God cares even for the Great American sheep.
Our God even tried to send those sheep shepherds before,
but the shepherds were not good shepherds.
Then came Jesus.
--God’s own Son.
--God of God
-- very God of very God
-- Jesus proceedeth from the Father
-- begotten not made
Jesus was sent by the Lord God because of God’s love
for this world. (John 3:16)
Two reasons:
--God’s love
--so they don’t perish
One thing that the Great American Sheep is good at. . .
is perishing. Every year, over and over, the Great American sheep perish.
Jesus said, (John10:11) I am the good shepherd.”
Let’s see what else this Jesus said:
Jesus 10:10, I have come that they may have life, and
have it to the full.
Jesus claimed to be THE good shepherd. . .that in going
to Jesus the good shepherd would be the way to be saved
or safe.(John10:9)
What else did Jesus say? Jesus said what every shepherd
says, “Follow me.”
The Bible records Jesus saying “follow me” about thirty times.
Jesus said, “follow me” because Jesus didn’t want sheep
perishing.
Jesus said that sheep that take the Jesus way have life and
have it to the full.
Jesus did say that the way could be hard; (Matthew 7:14)
See John 14:6.
Jesus wants sheep to live life in its fullness.
Live life in its fullness instead of live lives of self-destruction.
(See also Acts 9:2, Acts 16:17, Acts 18:25, Acts 19:23, Acts 24:22)
There is hope for the Great American Sheep. Amen
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/content/ranking-top -50-fast-food-chains-america
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