How Jesus Treats His Sheep - Part 3

0:32 stumble. We also fall down many, many times in life. Anybody want to give a testimony on that? We've all stumbled. We've all fallen flat on our face. We do it with great regularity. Every time I wander, I get into trouble. The further I get away from God, the more problems I'm going to have in my life. The closer I get to the shepherd, the fewer problems I'm going to have because he's going to be guiding me, guarding me, protecting me, directing me, things like that. So all sheep stumble, all sheep fall. And how does Jesus react to this? Let me just put it on the spot to you. What do you think Jesus does when you fall? When you fail? When you flub up? When you really embarrass yourself? When you do something really evil, wicked, mean, bad, and nasty? How does Jesus Christ respond to you?

1:26 You know, you say, well I'm a child of God, I should know better than this, but I really messed up just now. What I said, what I did. How does Jesus respond to your failures? Well, let's look at what he says in the scripture. Matthew chapter 12, verses 11 and 12. It talks about when a sheep stumbles and falls. And he says, Jesus said, if any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit, circle that, falls into a pit, we'll come back to that. If any of you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath, that's the day you're not supposed to work in Jewish law, Will you not rescue it and lift it out? It says, you know, even though it's a Sabbath, you're going to go save that sheep. Will you not rescue it and lift it out of the pit? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?

2:17 Jesus is saying, if a sheep falls into a pit, if a sheep fails and stumbles and falls into a pit, good common sense means you're going to rescue it, you're going to lift it out, you're going to recover it, even if it's on the day that ceremonially you're not supposed to work. He says, well, what about in your own life? Isn't God going to act that way toward you?

2:41 Now, let me give you an example of how you think God responds to your failures. Because unless you get this right, you're going to avoid God all the time. Every time you fail, and that's daily, it's going to cause you to pull away from God instead of going close to him. If you think God is going to restore you and rescue you when you fail, you're going to run to him every time you mess up. But if you think God's going to scold you and razz you and give you a long sermon about it and condemn you, you're not going to go to God on that. Let's say this. You're walking down the street one day and there's construction nearby and you happen to trip and you stumble and you fall into a ditch. In fact, it's not a ditch. It's a pit. and it's about 25 feet deep and there's no way you can get out on your own. You fall in a pit like this, you know, this sheep in Matthew 12 has fallen into a pit.

3:39 It needs to be rescued. It needs to be lifted out. What's your response when you fall into a major pit? A moral pit, an ethical pit, a pit of depression, a pit of despair. What are you gonna do in that pit? Well, you've only got about five major choices. They're called worldviews. Let me explain to you the difference. And I don't in any way mean to demean any of these religions. I'm just going to explain to you what they would say. When I was a young man, a young adult, I lived in Japan and I studied all the world religions. Let me sum them up for you about this particular issue. If you were 30 feet down in a pit and you couldn't get out and you're stuck there, If Buddha walked by and he looked down there, he would say, you were there because of karma. It's your karma.

4:33 Karma means you get what you deserve in life. And because you were bad in a previous reincarnated life, you're now paying for it in this life. And if you're poor, you deserve to be poor because in the previous life you were bad. And if you were having a bad, people abuse you, it's because you abused them in a previous life. Karma says you get what you've given in life. There's no such thing as innocent suffering in Buddhism.

5:01 It's karma. So there's no comfort in Buddhism on that. I remember being in Louisiana three days after Katrina when thousands of people had lost everything they had. And I was on Larry King with a Buddhist monk, and he asked me what Jesus would say, and I explained about the comfort. And he asked the other guy, he goes, what words can you say that will comfort the people? He didn't have anything to say. Why? Because in Buddhism, if you have suffering, it's your fault. It's called karma. And you deserved it. And you got, that's, I don't believe that. I believe there's innocent suffering in the world, but that is a legitimate worldview that people believe. I don't believe it. That there's no innocent suffering. Of course there's innocent suffering in the world. But a Buddha would walk by and he goes, you're there in the pit because of karma. you did something bad in your last life and you deserve what you're at and maybe if you do a little good you'll have a better life next round okay what about Muhammad if Muhammad walked by he would see you in the pit and he goes you were there because you have violated the dignity of Allah you have broken his commandments you have disobeyed his rules and you're there because you have violated the laws of Allah Okay, I'm not putting this down, I'm just saying that's a Muslim view of life.

6:26 If you're walking by, if you're in the pit, and a Hindu guru comes by, the Hindu guru says, the pit you're in is an illusion. I'm not making this up. This is an illusion, because we believe all pain is an illusion. I don't believe that, but a lot of people do. It's all an illusion. It's all in your mind. You're not really in a pit. Maybe the pit is in you.

6:55 And so, you know, really, it's an illusion. So you should not really be in pain because if you can just get to a certain state, you won't feel the pain because you won't think you're in the pit anymore. That's essentially Hinduism. I've studied this. if you are a new age movement or self help person and you are a new age coach or self help coach they would walk over to you in the pit and say just believe you can be out of the pit on your own believe you can fly what man can conceive he can achieve pull yourself up by your own bootstraps you can do it, you can do it, you can do it if a bird has had its wing cut off you can tell that bird a thousand times, believe you can fly, it's never gonna fly. Sorry, reality says, my wing was cut off.

7:51 You're never gonna fly, no matter how much you believe it. It's nonsense to say you can be whatever you believe. No, you can't. You could never be an opera singer because you'll never have that talent. That's not true. You can be everything God designed you to be. I could have all the belief I'm never going to be an Einstein because I hate math But the bottom line is this whole idea of,

8:22 oh yeah, just believe enough and you'll just come out of the pit. You're not coming out of the pit, just believing. That's Pollyanna optimism, which has no basis in reality. I believe in positive thinking. It's far better than negative thinking. But it only works on stuff you can control. All the positive thinking in the world will not change stuff you can't control. And most of the world is out of your control. So, you're down there in the pit. Buddha says you're karma. Muhammad says you violated the laws of Allah. Hindu says it's not really a pit. Okay, you're just, it's an illusion in your mind. All pain is an illusion in your mind. And the New Age says you're a god. You're not a god, come on. You're not even a mini-me God. If you were a God, why are there so many problems in the world?

9:18 Why haven't you solved? You can't even solve your own problems, much less the world's problems. You're not God. That is not any new age. That's the old lie. It's the oldest lie known to man. It's the first lie Satan told Adam and Eve when he said, Eat this fruit, and you'll be a God. That's the oldest lie in the book. You're a God. You're not a God. Well, the divine is in you. no, Christ could be in you but you're not God on your own.

9:45 So all these people say, you know, it's karma, it's this, it's this, Jesus comes by and here's what he says. Can I give you a handout? he doesn't make an excuse can I help you out that's called being a savior he doesn't excuse it he doesn't judge it Jesus said I didn't come to judge the world I came to save it can I give you a handout that's the savior I serve and that's the savior that 2.3 billion people in the world serve can I give you a handout that's the salvation that God offers. And he says, I want to help you. There is real suffering in the world. It is not an illusion. Now, God does not cause suffering. He doesn't have to. There's plenty of it in the world. But he does allow it.

10:39 And why does he allow it? Why does God allow suffering in the world? Well, God could take away all the suffering in the world just like that. All he'd have to do is take away our freedom of choice. Because if I always did the right thing, and you always did the right thing, and everybody else did the right thing, the world wouldn't be broken. But God wants to give us a choice. God wants a group of people who choose to love him voluntarily. It's not love if you don't have a choice to not love. If you're forced to love, it's not love. God loves you, but he wants you to love him back. He could have made you a puppet on a marionette thing, and you pull a string, and you pray six times a day. That's not love. That's being manipulated. So God gave you the freedom to make choices. The freedom to choose that God gave you is your greatest gift and your worst curse.

11:32 Because we all make bad choices. And as a result, we wreck the economy and we wreck the environment and the environment takes people's lives who are innocent of particular things and we all hurt each other, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. God does not cause suffering but he does allow the consequences of our own decision you are free to make any decision you want to in life but you're not free the moment you make that decision because now you've got the consequences of it, you're not free from the consequences of your decision, you're free to make the decision you are not free from the consequences the Bible says in Psalm 71 20 you allowed me to suffer a lot see allowed, didn't cause you allowed me to suffer a lot but you will bring me back from this deep pit and you will give me a new life.

12:29 You in a deep pit? Jesus says, let me help you out. You need a new life? Jesus says, be born again. This is the good news. When you let Jesus be your shepherd, you're no longer on your own. That takes away a lot of stress in your life. Proverbs 3, verse 25 and 26. You never need to be afraid of sudden disaster or hidden troubles that ensnare the wicked. For the Lord is your security, and he will keep you safe, and he will keep your foot from getting caught in a trap. And like that shepherd who's got that hook on the end of his thing, he'll pull you out of the briar bush, and he'll pull you away from the edge of the cliff when you're about to go over.

13:13 Now, you're not gonna be afraid. He's gonna be your security. He'll keep you safe. He'll keep you from stumbling. Finally, one more thing. Let's look at these. He says, if I bring my hurts to Jesus, he shows me compassion. And if I follow, choose to follow Jesus, he's gonna lead me in the right way, never the wrong way. And if I get confused and wander off, he's gonna find me and bring me back like a sheep that's wandered. And if I fail or I fall into a ditch, he's gonna rescue and recover me. And then finally, number five, because he's a good shepherd and God is a good God, If I trust him to save me, Jesus keeps me saved. If I trust him to save me, Jesus keeps me saved. I told you last week that it's the Savior's job to keep you saved. It's not your job to save yourself. It's not your job to keep yourself saved.

14:08 It's your job to put your hand in the hand of God's. And when you put your hand in the hand of God, say, God, I'm all yours. the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I could never earn heaven. It's perfect, and I'm not, and I never will be. But I'm putting my hand in yours. I'm accepting your gift of salvation. I'm accepting your son as my savior, and I'm putting my hand in your hand. There will be days you want to let go, but God is never going to let go of your hand because he loves you. He's the good shepherd. Notice this verse. John chapter 10, verse 27 and 29, Jesus' words directly. He says, My sheep, he's the good shepherd, my sheep listen to my voice. That's how you know who's a believer and who's not. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Then he says, and I give them eternal life, which starts the moment you put your hand in his hand, and they will never die, and no one can steal them out of my hand.

15:10 My father gave me, my sheep, to me. and he's greater than all and no person can steal my sheep out of my father's hand. Once you have put your life in the hand of God, there will be times you might want to pull back and say, I don't even know what I believe and I doubt not. God says, I'm not letting go. He says, you're in God's hand and no man can pluck you out of God's hand. Your salvation is secure. You cannot lose your salvation once you've got it. If you were saved by works, the moment you stopped working, obviously you could lose it. But you're saved on the merits of Christ. You'd have to be unsaved on his demerits and he didn't have any. This is grace. And you put your life in his hand and he says, they're in my hand and nobody can pull them out of God's hand.

16:04 And I've actually had people tell me, well, I know, I don't think people can steal your salvation, but I think you could jump out of God's hand by choice and I say, how big do you think God's hand is? Really? You think it's so small you could get to the edge of it and then jump off? You could never get to the edge of God's hand. It is so big. It is not your job to keep yourself safe. It's your job to keep loving God but it is God's job to keep you saved. He said, nobody can pull you out. And what I'm telling you, and you can relax over that, that if you truly trusted Christ and known that you're not getting to heaven on your own, but only through the blood of Christ and the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ, and you've committed your life to him and your hand is in the hand, Satan cannot steal your salvation.

17:05 Sorrow cannot steal your salvation. Sickness cannot steal your salvation. Suicide cannot steal your salvation. Society cannot steal your salvation. You're in his hand. Look up here on the screen. Romans chapter eight, 38 and 39 says it's about as clear as it could be. There is nothing, this is the Bible, there is nothing that can ever separate us from his love. Death can't. Life can't. The angels can't. The demons can't. Our fears for today and our worries about tomorrow and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. If you put your hand in his hand, it's there, it's secure. And whether we are high above the sky in the deepest ocean or nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

18:05 Is that good news? Hello. That's good news. And when you can truly say, the Lord is my shepherd, and you can truly say that, you are eternally secure. And everything else is taken care of. Last verse on the screen, 2 Peter 1, verse 3. Jesus has the power of God, because he is God in human form, came to earth. Jesus has the power of God by which he has given us everything we need. Everything we need to live. Everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things. Because we deserve him? No. Because we promise to be perfect? No.

18:56 We have these things because we know him. Do you know the shepherd? Let's bow our heads. So I end by asking this question, no matter where you're listening to this. Who's your shepherd? Who is your shepherd? Can you truly say, the Lord is my shepherd?

19:22 Or are you a sheep without a shepherd? You know, you're not going to last very long in this life as a solitary sheep on your own. There are just too many predators. You need a shepherd, that's Jesus, and you need a flock to be a part of, that's a church. You find a good church home, that's my flock.

19:44 Let me ask you another question. Knowing now how Jesus treats his sheep, whose flock do you want to be in? If not Jesus, who's going to offer you something, a better deal? Who's going to offer you a better deal? There is no political group that can offer you that, no economic group, no sexual identity group, no social group, no age group, no gender group. Nobody can offer these five benefits to you. You only get them from the creator of the universe, the son of God, the good shepherd. So I invite you to pray this prayer right now. no matter where you are, say, dear Jesus Christ, I want you to be my shepherd.

20:42 I need you to guide me and I need you to guard me like the rod and the staff I want you to protect me and I want you to direct me like the rod and the staff I thank you for your power and authority which can protect me and I thank you for your care and compassion which can care for me.

21:14 Jesus, I want you to be the shepherd of my life, the Lord of my life, the master of my life. I want you to be the manager of my life, the CEO of the board of my life. And I want to bring my hurts to you when I'm hurting because I know you'll show me compassion. and I want to follow you because I know you'll lead me in the right direction.

21:43 And Lord, it is comforting to know, this is the comfort of this passage, that if I get confused and wander off, you're going to find me and you're going to bring me back. Thank you that you came to earth to seek and save me because I was lost. and Lord I even thank you for your discipline in my life I realize it's not punishment it's not out of anger it's because you want what's best for me and you're a good God and Lord if it takes afflictions to teach me things I know some things I'll only learn through difficulty you may say to Jesus Lord I'm in a pit right now and I need you to rescue and recover me I'm in a pit of frustration I'm in a pit of discouragement I'm in a pit, a financial pit I'm in a pit of depression Lord I'm in a pit of confusion and I need you to rescue and recover me Jesus Christ, thank you that because I trust you to save me, you're going to keep me saved, that nobody can steal it.

23:01 No illness, no authority, no government, no powers, that nothing will ever separate me from the love of Jesus Christ. Tonight, today, at this moment, I put my hand in your hand, and I give you all of myself, and I'm gonna trust you to take me through my life and into heaven. I wanna be a part of your family. I wanna be a part of your flock, and I wanna follow you. Thank you. The Lord is my shepherd. Amen.

24:00 Let me close this broadcast by sharing a letter from a listener in Rome, Italy. Her name is Heshan, and she says, Pastor Rick, I've relocated to Rome, Italy, where I'm currently working at the World Food Program. I really love listening to your sermons, and I also love reading your daily devotionals, which I share with many of my colleagues serving in the field offices in Africa and in other hardship duty stations. They appreciate receiving the message very much. God bless you, Haitian, in Rome. Now, did you get this? A message that is starting in Southern California in the United States of America is being sent to Europe in Rome, Italy, and then it is being re-sent out to other continents like Africa. That is the amazing age of technology that we live in today. And that's why your gifts go much further than they used to go even 20 or 30 years ago. Our ability to reach listeners like Heishan and her friends, not just in Europe, but in Africa, is a direct result of your prayers and your support for Daily Hope.

25:02 So thanks so much. And by the way, join me next time when we continue looking into God's Word for our daily.