Who Was (Is) the Greatest Shepherd?

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2005/20050920.htm

Question: Do you consider yourself a leader or a follower?

Question: Do the words “but with God all things are possible”
inspire you?

Note: Moses was a great shepherd.

Numbers 27:15-18 (NIV):
15 Moses said to the LORD,
16 "May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this
community
17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in,
so the LORD's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd."
18 So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit,
and lay your hand on him.

Note: King David was a great shepherd.

Ezekiel 34:22-24 (NIV):
22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between
one sheep and another.
23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them;
he will tend them and be their shepherd.
24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them.
I the LORD have spoken.

Note: Moses and King David were great shepherds, but
not the greatest shepherd.

Matthew 7:14-16 (NIV):
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes,
or figs from thistles?

Note: Watch out for false leaders . . . instead keep watch for THE leader . . .

Matthew 9:35-37 (NIV):
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were
harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Note: Be encouraged, God provides!

Matthew 19:25-27 (NIV):
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can
be saved?"
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all
things are possible."
27 Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be
for us?"

Question: So who is the greatest shepherd?

John 10:8-14 (NIV):
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen
to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out,
and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the full.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 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.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

John 21:16-17 (NIV):
16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
      He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
      Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"
He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

References:

The following websites were referenced on Sept. 27, 2007:

http://www.biblegateway.com

http://www.baptiststandard.com/2003/3_31/pages/family.html

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2005/20050920.htm

Extra Optional Reading:

ARTICLE

The Sheep of a Wonderful Shepherd by J. Vernon McGee

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Thru_the_Bible_with_JVernon_McGee/Article_Archives.asp

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)

His sheep hear His voice, and they follow Him. The brand of ownership on the sheep is
obedience. Do you want to know whether a person is saved or not? Then see if he is
obeying Christ. Our ears must be open to His voice. “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
the Lord hath made even both of them” (Proverbs 20:12).

“And they follow me.” I believe in the eternal security of the believer and in the
insecurity of the make-believer. If a shepherd called his sheep one morning and out of
five hundred sheep in the sheepfold one hundred came out and followed him, then I
would conclude that those one hundred were his sheep. And I would also conclude that
the other four hundred were not his sheep.

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” Friend, when He gives to
them eternal life, that means they don’t earn it and they don’t work for it. He gives it to
them. Note that it is eternal life. It is forever. If it plays out in a week, or in a year, or
until they sin, then it is not eternal life after all. They are not really His sheep if the life
does not last forever. The sheep may be in danger, but the Shepherd will protect them.
They may be scattered, but He will gather them up again. They shall never perish. May
they backslide? Yes. Will they perish? No. The sheep may get into a pigpen, but there has
never yet been a sheep in a pigpen that stayed there. Sheep and pigs do not live together.
The sheep is always a sheep. No enemy, no man, no created being can pluck them out of
the Savior’s hand. This is wonderful!

One time a fellow gave me the argument that one can jump out of His hand because we
are free moral agents. Listen to the passage. It actually says “no created thing shall pluck
them out of my hand.” He is the Shepherd. He is God. If you think you can jump out, the
Father puts His hand right down on you, and you can’t do any jumping. Brother, He’s got
you and you can’t get loose. Both hands are the hands of Deity. No created thing can take
the sheep out of His hand.

Years ago a Texas rancher told me about sheep. He said he had two thousand sheep, and
someone had to be watching them all the time. If two little sheep go over the hill and get
half a mile from the flock, they are lost. They cannot find their way back by themselves.
The only way in the world they can be safe is for the shepherd to be there. If a wolf
would come up and eat one of the little sheep, you’d think the other one would be smart
enough to say, “He ate my little brother; so I’ll go back over the hill and join the flock.”
No, he doesn’t know where to go. All he does is go “Baa” and run around and wait to be
dessert for the wolf. A sheep is stupid. Neither has a sheep any way to defend himself. A
sheep can’t even outrun his enemy. If a sheep is safe, it is not because the sheep is clever
or smart. It is because he has a good shepherd.

When I say to you that He gives me eternal life and I shall never perish, you may accuse
me of bragging. No, my friend, I am not bragging on myself; I’m bragging about my
Shepherd. I have a wonderful Shepherd. He won’t lose any of His sheep. If He starts with
one hundred, He will not end with ninety-nine. If one gets lost, He will go out and find it.
None will be lost.

--From Edited Messages on John by J. Vernon McGee