Secure in Jesus

 sermon for April25, 2010

John 10:22-30 (NIV)
 22Then came the Feast of Dedication [Hanukkah] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
 25Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, 26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30I and the Father are one."

The Jews were frustrated. They wanted Jesus to get to the point, and tell them clearly: Was he the messiah? He said he had told already told them. They weren't satisfied. They complained that he
hadn't given them enough to go on. He said he had told them enough. His actions also made it clear,
that he was the Messiah.

When John the baptist was in prison he sent messengers to ask Jesus the same question: 'Are you the messiah, whom we've been waiting for? Or will we have to wait for someone else?' Jesus responded by pointing to his actions: the deaf hear, the blind see, and good news is being preached to the poor. This fulfilled Isaiah's prophecies in chapters 35 and 61. 'Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of  the deaf be unstopped. The lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy!'(Isaiah 35:5,6) 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me. He has annointed  (that is chosen, or appointed) me to preach good news to the poor (Messiah means 'the annointed one'). He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and to announce the year of the Lord's favour...' (Isaiah 61:1,2).

These prophecies accurately summarise Jesus’ ministry. The Jewish religious system restricted and oppressed people. It was also shallow: about looking good on the surface. Jesus made it clear in the sermon on the mount that God’s laws applied to what was in their minds and hearts, as well as to their actions. His main message, though, had to do with what or who they were trusting. Themselves? Or him, as the one God had sent to be their saviour?

Who have we put our faith in? What do we trust? Jesus, his words and actions, as revealed in Scripture, or something else?

The Jews wanted Jesus to tell them plainly: was he the one? “Give us something to go on!” they demanded. But he had given them enough for them to believe. The issue wasn’t lack of information, but the fact that they didn’t want to believe in him.

In  John 7:17 Jesus says “If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

If we want to know the truth, our first prayer should be:   not ‘Lord give me more information’ but rather, ‘Lord, change my heart, change my mind, so that I want to know you. Take away my unbelief and my resistence to you. Holy Spirit, please give me a whole-hearted desire to know you, and to believe in you.’
Or to make it more simple, we could say, ‘Lord, if you’re there, help me to be open to you.’

In this Easter season, we are called to believe that Jesus is alive. He died for our sins, and had made us right with God. His resurrection proves that his sacrifice on the cross in our place was enough to pay for our sins. Now we can enjoy the gift of forgiveness. We no longer need to be captive to anything or anyone. In Christ we are free! And we are secure. Because he is our Saviour, because he is our good shepherd, nothing will be able to take away the peace we have.

Listen to Jesus’ words:  “ 27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

Are we secure? Are we safe in the face of death or other problems, like the struggle to survive droughts or floods or family stresses and breakdowns? Can we still be sure that God cares for us and loves us even when we do stupid things and sin against him and people close to us? Do we have a right to come to church, and enjoy the feast of forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper,  even though we fall down each day and fail to honour the one who died for us?

Jesus’ words say ‘Yes.’ You are my sheep. I give you eternal life. Nothing can snatch this away from you. Nothing can snatch you away from me.’

Our Shepherd, Jesus, knows how to keep his sheep safe.  He does it through his word. His powerful word that gives us faith. Faith in him. As we hear his word, we hear his voice. We accept what he says to us. We trust him. And we follow him. As we keep trusting him, we gain strength from him. His Holy Spirit helps us to get up, each time we fall down. He helps us to come back to trusting him. To cease our demands for ‘more information?!’ or ‘more proof’ and instead return to a humble, God-given trust in Jesus.

Jesus says ‘If you continue in my word, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:31)

Today as a nation we are ‘continuing’ in the story of the Anzacs. By retelling the stories, and holding special ceremonies and gatherings, as a nation we stay aware and appreciative of the men and women who have served our country over the years.  As we continue to read and hear the words of Jesus, we grow in our appreciation of him, and how he has served us, with his supreme sacrifice on the cross. The big difference is that Jesus is alive. We don’t keep ‘him alive in our memories’ by telling stories, as we do with the Anzacs.  And his sacrifice has secured for us an eternal future of peace and happiness.

May God help us by his Holy Spirit to take him at his word, and believe in him. May we know peace as we trust in him as our risen, living Lord and Shepherd. We are secure in his hands, forever. Amen.

God’s Word is true.
The peace of God that is beyond all human understanding stand guard over our hearts and minds, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.