When I was in high school, I had a close friend who played violin in the high school orchestra. They were to play the William Tell Overture. If you are familiar with the piece, you may recall that the climax of the piece is toward the end. There is a blast of brass playing the theme undergirded by a fury of strings. The first violin part is particularly difficult, at least it was for my friend. To be heard by the audience at all, you have to give it all you have. At every rehearsal, when they would come to this particular passage, our director would cue the violins with his baton and yell, “Play!” Every time. So when the night of the performance came and he turned to the violins and gave us the cue, he didn’t have to say “Play!” but they heard it anyway and they played their hearts out. They knew his voice.

You may ask, how do we learn to hear the voice of Jesus? We learn to listen on a daily basis by spending time in prayer and Bible study, practicing, as it were. So when we are in the throes of life’s difficult passages, we are prepared to follow his cue and give all our heart.

Read text here: John 10:1-10

Introduction: Most of us will remember the name of Columbine High School for a long time. We will remember that two misguided young men went to their home school, Columbine High School, and killed twelve of their school colleagues and a teacher. We now know that hatred filled these two young men. They planned their murderous attack for over a year. They meant to kill many more students and teachers. They left notes indicating their growing anger, resentment, and racism. In one final tragic action, they sought to find meaning and power in a senseless violent event. Littleton, Colorado, seemed to be a wonderful community full of peace and prosperity. Families moved to Littleton looking for a good place to live and raise their children. Now the memory of bloody bodies in classrooms and hallways in Columbine High School stir emotions of sadness, grief, and shock.

What went wrong? We might blame any number of people and things. We might blame the boys’ parents, the school environment, their schoolmates, the Internet, cable TV, the movies, or their church, or whatever. We will never know exactly what went wrong. Sometimes it seems as if we live in a mad, crazy, and cruel world. Sometimes it seems that pain, hurt, grief, horror, and terror dominate. Sometimes it seems there is no faith, hope, or love.

I.) John 10:1-10 speaks to such circumstances.

A.) Jesus tells us that we are like sheep.

1.He tells us that we get to the pasture of food and water by a gate.

2.Jesus speaks of thieves and bandits who enter the sheepfold in ways other than the gate to steal and kill the sheep.

3.In today’s world, thieves and bandits steal our minds and hearts with false promises.

4.Thieves and bandits lure us away from God’s plan for our life.

5.Thieves and bandits will confuse us and put us on a road to perdition and evil suffering.

Illustration: A new friend in Christ told me about evil suffering he endured in his life. He was a drug addict. To support his drug habit he stole things from his parents, his brothers, his sisters, and his friends, from everybody! He felt guilty for hurting those persons he loved, yet he continued stealing. He took his drugs, felt okay for just a little while and then he felt terrible, and each time his terrible feelings lasted longer. The longer he used drugs, the more he abused his body and his soul. Talk about evil suffering!

Illustration: A psychologist named Abraham Maslow once said that humans have several basic needs that Maslow described in five levels. We all have physiological needs: hunger, thirst, and fatigue. We all need safety: the need to avoid pain, feel secure, be free from chaos, and the need for structure. We all need belongingness and love. We need esteem and self-respect, adequacy, and competence. Finally, the highest level is the need for self-actualization, understanding, and aesthetic pleasure. (Rodney J. Hunter, ed., Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990], 691).

Conclusion to point: Most of us get our needs met at the first two levels. We run into problems at the third level. There are crucial moments in life when we lack the belongingness and love we so badly need and want. We suffer. We are stuck in the third level: wanting to belong and be loved, but getting neither. My guess is that those two young men in Littleton wanted badly to belong and be loved.

II.) We can have everything in the world, but without love and a strong sense of belonging somewhere to someone life is empty.

Ex. Recently there was a television show about one of the richest women on earth. She was intelligent. She was pretty. She was super wealthy. Sadly and tragically, she had no loved ones and felt she belonged nowhere. This wealthy and beautiful woman died alone and sad of a broken heart.

A.) My hunch is that most of us are looking for the “good life.”

1.It would be nice to have a wonderful home, a well-paying job, a happy family, a neighborhood without crime, good health, an inspiring church, and so on. (The reality is that by standards of the rest of the world we have all of that in this country and more!)

2.Yet deep in our hearts, we realize that lots of money, great fame, influence, or a long life will not always bring us happiness.

3.What we really want is someone to love us, someone to care for us, someone to be a true, loyal friend.

B.) I have good news for you.

1.Jesus Christ is that someone.

2.Jesus Christ loves you.

3.Jesus Christ cares for you.

4.Jesus Christ is that true and loyal friend.

5.Jesus invites you to join his group of friends.

6.You can belong to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and his friends, the community of faith that we call the Church.

7. In this fellowship of Jesus, you will experience love, true love, honest love, and sacrificial love.

C.) Jesus is the gateway to the sheepfold.

1.He is the one who takes care of us.

2.Jesus does not come to steal and kill.

3.Jesus comes to give you life, and give it in abundance!

Conclusion to message: Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” You can have life and have it abundantly. Let Jesus Christ be your shepherd. Let Jesus Christ be your friend. Let Jesus Christ be your brother. Let Jesus Christ be your Savior. Let Jesus Christ be your Lord and bless you with the abundance of his grace. Open your heart and let Jesus Christ come in and fill you afresh with his presence. He brings you the love, joy, hope and peace that the longs for and desperately needs even now!