John 10:11-15 GOD CAN ONLY LEAD THE WILLING

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

BaptistBibleBeliever

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2018
2,244
1,032
113
70
Illinois
#1
I think there are just some things we can learn about leadership in general, and this is not just for men. Leadership is something that we can all, and should, know. These are things we can use at home.

Now the first thing I want to address about a leader is that he is a shield.

But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” (Psalms 3:3).

A leader should naturally be a protector. I think this is one of those things that go without saying, but some people may not know it. If I look at my dad, I see a protector—of what? –his family, his home. If I look at a pastor, I see him as a protector—of what? –his flock, his church. If I look at the Lord, I see Him as a Protector—of what? –His sheep, of His Bride, of His Church. That is what I see.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalms 28:7).

Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield” (Psalms 115:11).

Jesus Himself spoke a little bit about sheep.

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:11-15).

That’s a Shepherd. That is a good Shepherd! He is protecting the sheep, and He is willing to lay down His life for them, which we know He did. And just as He wants to be our Shepherd, He wants us to be like sheep. To just follow His leading. When we are bucking it, that’s not what He wants.

Sheep will go anywhere you lead them, that’s what He wants us to do. He just wants us to follow His leadership. Because He is a protector—He’s the shield.

That same principle that can be applied in the home. The man is obviously the protector, he is the leader. But if somebody refuses to be led, there is nothing you can do about that. He can only lead if his will let him lead, if she will be led. It is the same with us and Christ—we have to let Him lead.

That’s the first thing I found, the next thing I found is in Nehemiah.

Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them” (Nehemiah 9:12-15).

This passage is speaking of just how great the Lord has been to Israel.

Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go” (verse 12).

Have you ever heard the phrase, “If He will lead you to it, He will lead you through it?”

In verse 12, it is speaking about how God led Israel by day as a cloud, and at night by a pillar of fire. He showed them where to go. He led them where to go. He didn’t just tell them where to go and say, “good luck!”

In verses 13 and 14 it shows that He’ll give you the rule book. It says that He “gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant.”

A good leader is going to make sure that you have a rule book. I’d say we got a pretty good rule Book. The best rule Book there is. This rule Book tells you enough that you need to know and tells you even more if you are willing to go digging. There’s plenty of things on the surface that you can get, but there’s also little things—like, finding out that Pharaoh died at the Red sea. You know, movies portray it that he stayed behind and his armies went into the Red sea. Which, I get. Exodus does not say that Pharaoh went into the sea. But you know where you find that one? You find that little tidbit in Psalms. Psalms will tell you that Pharaoh went in and perished with them. I’d say that is a good rule book, a rule book that will test you and see if you are willing to dig. Because you can’t make it through anything without a rule book.

We need a rule book. And a good leader is going to make sure you have a rule book—guidelines.

And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them” (verse 15).

The thing I see there is that He’ll sustain you through whatever it is you are going through. Like I said, if he leads you to it, he’ll lead you through it. He’ll make sure you have the resources to make it through whatever He brought you to. He’s not just going to call somebody to preach and then never put them through any sort of situation where they’ll never ever do it. He puts everybody in the situations they need, but He’ll also give you the resources to get through it.
 

BaptistBibleBeliever

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2018
2,244
1,032
113
70
Illinois
#2
I read a handful of books about soldiers in World War II and some of those guys were walking barefoot in the snow, and that is not a joke like the one where ‘I walked uphill barefoot both ways to school’—no, legitimately they walked barefoot in the snow. They didn’t have the necessary resources to do what they were supposed to do. But I’m glad that we have a God that will give us the resources we need.

Let’s go over to the New Testament for the third thing that I found about a good leader. Let’s go over to Hebrews.

You know, there is a surprising amount of verses about Jesus in the Book of Hebrews. Most of the New Testament doesn’t speak about Him as specifically, like this. But I found some pretty good things in here.

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

You know what I see in verse 15?

- He knows what we go through.
- He knows our struggles.
- He’s been in the trenches.

You know, it’s really hard to respect an authority figure over you if they have never been in the trenches. Lately companies are hiring kids straight out of school to be the managers, and then the new managers have to sit with the employees just to learn what they even did. The seasoned workers find it very hard to respect those people. They were ‘big brains’, they knew it all, but they had never been in the trenches.

I’ve got a God that has been in the trenches!

He came down here and put on flesh so that He could find out what it was like to become a man like you and me.

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

He learned some things about being human. That was the whole point of it. You know, if you look at the beginning of verse 5 of Hebrews 5, it is speaking of ‘high priests.’

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity” (Hebrews 5:1-2).

The priest is supposed to be familiar with the same things you go through. That is why we have a great High Priest who put on flesh. He is not just some pencil pusher. He is down there walking barefoot in the snow with you. And I know that sometimes you can feel Him right beside you.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

A good leader is supposed to be approachable. A good managers door is usually open if he is not busy. We should feel perfectly comfortable going to him whenever we have a question. But sometimes, he is busy. You know, door is shut, he’s on the phone or in a meeting.

We don’t have that problem with God. His door is never shut. He’s not on the other line waiting to get off a conference call. “God, I have a problem here . . .” Nope! ‘Okay, my child, what’s going on? He’s not too busy for you. Even when you have messed up. That’s especially when He wants you to come knocking on the door.

Just like a manager is a good leader—the Lord wants you to come to Him with our mistakes—because the sooner you come to Him to fix it—the sooner He can cut off the problem. Because if you try to handle it yourself, it is just going to snowball and become worse, and worse and worse. But we have a great High Priest that knows exactly what you’ve been through and He knows exactly how to handle the situation, and says . . .

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

We have a great leader!

And one of my personal pet peeves is the last point . . .

I believe I have mentioned it before? You know what really, really irks me? When people are not consistent. It irritates me. I don’t know why? I don’t know if it irritates me more than other people, but it gets under my skin when folks don’t act consistently.

But our Leader is very consistent . . .

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6).

For I am the LORD, I change not . . .”

I like that! That’s only the first half of the verse and that is all I need to know . . . “For I am the LORD, I change not . . .” He always was and always will be.
 

BaptistBibleBeliever

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2018
2,244
1,032
113
70
Illinois
#3
You know what produces results—in any endeavor? Consistency. If you are working out, it’s not about—well, you worked out for three hours that one time—no, it’s about consistency over time. Just like when you are raising your kids—consistency—that is what will produce results. And I would say that our Lord has produced some great results over His consistent past.

Our Lord is consistent. Whether you think it is a good thing or a bad thing, if He is consistently blessing you or consistently not blessing you—He is consistent.

I’ll conclude with this. A little excerpt from a sermon entitled, “That’s My King” by S. M. Lockridge.

He’s the King of the Ages,
He’s the King of Heaven,
He’s the King of Glory,
He’s King of kings, and He’s the Lord of lords.
No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings,
He’s enduringly strong,
He’s entirely sincere,
He’s eternally steadfast.
He’s immortally graceful,
He’s imperially powerful,
He’s impartially merciful,
He’s awesome,
He’s unique,
He’s unparalleled,
He’s unprecedented,
He’s supreme,
He’s pre-eminent,
He sympathizes, and He saves,
He strengthens, and He sustains,
His love never changes,
His word is enough,
His grace is sufficient,
His reign is righteous,
His yoke is easy,
and His burden is light,
He guards, and He guides,
He heals the sick,
He regards the aged,
And He rewards the diligent,
And He beautifies the meek,
My King is the key of knowledge,
He’s the wellspring of wisdom,
He’s the doorway of deliverance,
He’s the pathway to peace,
He’s the roadway to righteousness,
He’s the highway to holiness,
He’s the gateway of glory,
His office is manifold,
His promise is sure,
His light is matchless,
His goodness is limitless,
His mercy is everlasting,
He’s incomprehensible,
He’s invincible,
And He’s irresistible,
You can’t outlive Him,
And you can’t live without Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him,
but they found out they couldn’t stop Him,
Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him,
And Herod couldn’t kill Him,
Death couldn’t handle Him,
And the grave couldn’t hold Him,
He has had no predecessor,
and will have no successor,
You can’t impeach Him,
and He’s not going to resign,
That's my King!​

And if that list doesn’t describe to you a Great Leader, I don’t know what does, I can’t help you. Apparently, we have two different ideas of Who our God is, and what He does for us in all His Holy perfection, His righteousness. How can we not but follow His leadership? Because He’s been good to us—very good to us.

That’s my King! That’s a King that will lead. And I want to say that I want to be a sheep who will follow.