Follow His Voice Series

INTRODUCTION

• U571 CLIP-Winclips.com Keyword FOLLOW

• SLIDE #1

• There are many voices calling out to each of us enticing us to follow them.

• Voice of fear call out to us.

• Voice of pride.

• Voices of sin.

• Voices of reason.

• The young sailor in our clip had to decide which voice to follow, the voice of fear, or the voice of his commander.

• When one is committed to Jesus, we have to decide which voices we will follow.

• Which voice would a committed Christian follow?

• Over the last two weeks we have been examining the concept of commitment.

• Last week we defined the word committed as follows: loyal to a belief, organization, or group, and willing to work hard for it.

• Can you imagine a world with no commitment? How would you enjoy being married to someone who is not committed to you? How would you like employees who are not committed to doing a great job, or would you feel good working for an employer who was not committed to you?

• Zacchaeus demonstrated one’s need to be committed to the transformation which Jesus offers. Last week we examined the concept of counting the cost before jumping into the water.

• Commitment to Jesus is more some of the religious practices people follow, it is about FOLLOWING Him!

• In our text today, a group of religious leaders have cornered Jesus, seeking an answer to a question.

• Let open up with John 10:25-26

• SLIDE #2

• John 10:25–26 (HCSB) 25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in My Father’s name testify about Me. 26 But you don’t believe because you are not My sheep.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. Why listen to His voice? (25-26)

• In verses 22-24 we see that Jesus is at the Festival of Dedication.

• The Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah, or "the Feast of Lights," began on the 25th day of the month December.

• On that day in 167 B.C. the Greek King Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple and sacrificed on an altar erected in it to Zeus, the chief Greek god (1 Macc. 1:59).

• Three years later to the day (164 B.C.) Judas Maccabeus re-dedicated the temple with a new altar, and Jews have since kept this feast in memory of this national victory.

• So as Jesus is walking in the temple complex, He is surrounded by a bunch of Jewish leaders who start asking a question.

• In verse 24 they ask Him how long is He going to keep them in suspense?

• SLIDE #4

• John 10:24 (HCSB) 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and asked, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

• "Keep us in suspense" literally, "take away our life.”

• Jesus you are killing us!

• They want to know when Jesus is going to tell them if He is the Messiah.

• In verse 25, Jesus replies that He HAD told them, they just did not believe Him.

• They had not accepted the claims he had made nor the evidence he had given them (John 5:30-40) in the testimonies.

• "Don’t believe" has the force of continuing not to believe.

• The reason these do not believe is that they are listening and following other voices, not the voice of the good shepherd.

• So one of the reasons we should listen to Jesus is because we all are seeking answers.

• These leaders were looking for purportedly were looking for answers; however, with the evidence starring them in the face, they were not willing to accept the answer.

• DO you know people still do this today?

• It is like asking a thief who holding your jewelry if they took it, you can see the evidence, you just refuse to accept it.

• IF you are seeking an answer to life’s questions, Jesus’ voice would be a good on to listen to.

• A second reason one should listen to the voice of Jesus is His works.

• “The works that I do in My Father’s name testify about Me.

• Jesus was not only speaking of the miracles, He was speaking of all the works He had done to this point, including His teachings.

• The pre-2011 versions of the NIV use the word MIRACLES instead of works. Translating the Greek in that way was a stretch of the meaning of the word. So they corrected it in 2011.

• Jesus’ works give one a reason to listen to Him! If you are looking for a Messiah, what more could one ask Jesus to do or teach, especially now that we have the complete story!