I Am The Good Shepard
Part of Name Dropper - Oxnard
August 5, 2022

I Am the Good Shepherd

John 10:10
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

I am the good shepherd. —John 10:11 (NLT)

Recognize the Good Shepherd’s Voice

John 10:3b-5 (NLT)
…the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.

The Good Shepherd’s voice sounds like

  • The truth in love

  • Grace

  • Forgiveness

  • Comfort

  • Protection

  • Conviction

The Crafty Enemy’s voice sounds like

  • Lies

John 8:44 (NIV)
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

We sin because we believe a lie about what will make us happy. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, is credited with defining sin as ‘unwillingness to trust that what God wants for me is only my deepest happiness. This is why the devil’s primary target is our trust in God and his truth as it comes to us in Scripture. —John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

  • Confusion

  • Distortion

  • Shame

  • Condemnation

  • Apathy

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. —The Usual Suspects

Recognize the Good Shepherd’s Work

John 10:11-13
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

The Good Shepherd’s Work

  • Protect

John 10:14-15
I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.


1 Peter 2:24-25 (NLT)
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 25 Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

  • Correct

  • Care

Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart;

Ezekiel 34:15-16 (NLT)
I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.

Psalm 23:1-4 (NLT)
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valleyI will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” —John 10:3 (NLT)