“No Man Cared for My Soul”

Please turn with me in your Bible to the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse fourteen (John 10:14).

As you find the page, in your Bible, that John 10:14 is on, please let me tell you a story about Mary, the sister of Martha and of Lazarus. These three, two sisters and their brother, had helped to support the Lord’s ministry. Many times, when the Lord and his disciples were in town, they had fed, and housed them, and tended to their needs. Yes, these three, Lazarus, Martha and Mary had come to appreciate, to love the Lord Jesus and those who likewise entrusted their souls into his hands.

And so, Mary had heard his words, but even more so, she had gained a perception peculiarly above the others of how he, her Savior truly – and only – understood the very depths of her immortal soul.

And now… O’ the well, the great burden of grief within. Her Lazarus, her brother. Lazarus, who although like any other earthly friend could never really understand, had always listened to her so well. Had so often, and throughout her life, allowed her to unburden her heart – not like Jesus who could so divinely step inside. Yet Lazarus, Lazarus was a faithful example of the Lord who would allow her to pour out her soul, and who had lately learned, so well, to wonderfully point her to her great newfound hope in Jesus: her Christ, her Savior.

But Lazarus was dead. Dead. Four days. Four days, and the tears that were ever flowing had just begun. Oh, the pain; the loss! Oh, the, the – – –

They told Mary that Jesus had come. Martha, her sister, had gone immediately to see him. Yet, what could Mary do? So full of grief. So numb. So very very removed from life, from what others called today; and yet to her… was nothing.

Ah. Ah. Ah…….

Yet, what’s this? Martha, dear Martha had come to her “secretly” and had said, “The Master is come, and calleth for thee.”

Ah, the Master. “The Master is come, and calleth for thee.” Let us pick back up the story then as it is given within the divinely inspired pages of Scripture. Stay at John 10:14, but listen as I tell you more by reading to you from the Gospel of John, chapter 11, from the end of verse 28 through verse 37.

“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, ‘Where have ye laid him?’ They said unto him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, ‘Behold how he loved him!’ And some of them said, ‘Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” (John 11:32-37)

Oh, Jews, representative of religious people; church people; the pious; the self-righteous; critical of the wounds and the love of others; and in the end, unable to perceive the depths of divine compassion; tasteless before the beautifully flavored waters of God’s love.

Turn away then, turn away from those who misrepresent our Lord. Or shall we instead look boldly upon their faces? Yes, we shall. They shall be our contrast, the backdrop against whom we shall see the Lord Jesus even that much clearer.

Look with us then to behold how the Lord cares for you by seeing first how the false shepherds do not.

Now take your Bible and stand together. Let us all stand. Stand and let us all read aloud together, John 10:14.

Read it with me, together.

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” (John 10:14)

You may be seated.

Yes.

Yes, our Lord told us that, “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.” (John 10:8) First then, let us consider…

I. The Thief

John 10:10, right there in front of you, in the Bible says,

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

     A. Comes to steal?

Yes, this type of so-called shepherd, so-called pastor, so-called minister of the Lord, always looks to take from those who can help build up his organization, his little kingdom, instead of looking to give of the riches that Christ has to offer. He takes from their joy. He takes from their peace. Yes, he will take the widow’s mite, her money, and then criticize her for being poor.

     B. Comes to kill?

Yes, such false fallen leaders always tend to despise those who are Christ-like and favor those in their midst who are worldly; and eventually, and unfortunately, come to hate both the people and the work of God.

But to kill? How is it, you may ask, that Jesus says of such men, and women, that “the thief cometh … to kill?” Ah, have you not read in John 3:15, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer?” Yes, the thief comes to steal. The thief comes to kill, but… can he really destroy?

     C. Comes to destroy?

Yes, in the end, he destroys the lives of the people, decreases the work of the ministry, and leaves both it and them diminished of their best belongings: their testimony in and before the Lord Jesus. Is there no rising from the dust of such a mockery of ministry within the house of God? Such stealing and killing and destruction and death.

Ah, but Jesus; but Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)

Yes, our Lord told us that, “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.” (John 10:8) What’s the difference between a thief and a robber. One takes and then soon runs away. The other, like Judas, the treasurer of the Apostles, stays and while giving the minimum, the appearance of service, is slowly, is steadily pilfering, steadily sifting off the “bag”; draining the church, the called-out-from-the-world-by-God. A man turned into a vampire: bitten by his own or someone else’s bitterness, by envy, by jealousy, and now sucking the life out of his people slowly steadily, day by day. He… is “an hireling!”

II. The Hireling

“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, an scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is and hireling, and careth not for the sheep.” (John 10:12-13)

     A. He sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and runs away.

Because it was just a job to him, when he comes to realize the recurring difficulty of the work, he seeks to leave the people and then finally runs away.

You may hear him say things like, “I guess I’m the pastor, now. Oh, well!” Seeking to distance himself from a responsibility that at the Judgment he shall finally see was… really… his. Such a man is a hireling. Such a man will flee inwardly into himself; while outwardly, to those who can see, his cowardice is revealed.

     B. The wolf then catches the sheep and scatters them.

Satan then steps in to individually wreak havoc in the lives of the people, causing many to disband from the others, and leaving those who remain wandering in a wilderness of confusion.

     C. The hireling is just a hireling and doesn’t care for the sheep.

The fact that it was just a job to the hireling is then proved by him not giving a damn about (or admitting) what his self-centered style of ministry has done to the flock of God – God”s church, God’s people.

And so, I a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, ordained by the will of God, through the words within the Word of God, such as the Great Commission given directly by our Lord, Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 and many other such similarly recorded commands; I ask, I implore you to turn away from those so-called fellow pastors, priests, bishops, missionaries, and alleged men of God; I beg you, look away from them.

• I beg you to – see how the Lord Jesus warned you of such thieves; who give you the minimal (the least possible that they can spiritually give) in order to take away from you all that they can take.
• I beg you to – see how the Lord Jesus warned you of such hirelings who were in it only as a career that they went to school for, a career that they eventually will abandon when the job doesn’t work out for their best interests (while having no real regard for yours).
• I beg you; I beg you, I beg you – to see instead Him… only… who is worthy of your trust, who is worthy of your allegiance, who is worthy of your heart’s surrender: Him and no other man besides. Yes, him, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Savior of the World… the Good Shepherd!

Yes, our Lord told us that, “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.” (John 10:8) And so Jesus, resurrected glorified Jesus, in the Revelation of St. John the Divine (the last book of the Bible), Jesus comes to place your heart, your soul, yes, your eyes looking at whom they need to see, as he declares,

“I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending”, saith the Lord.”

III. The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” (John 10:14)

     A. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

     B. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep.” (John 10:14a)

     C. The Good Shepherd is known by his sheep

“I am the good shepherd, … and am know of mine.” (John 10:14b)

     D. The Good Shepherd and his Father connect you to God

“As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:15)

Conclusion:

Yes, no man truly cares for your soul.

“I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, ‘Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.” (Psalm 142:4-5)

• How could they?
• David wrote this while in “the cave.” Yes, we are told this right there in the Word of God, at the top, above Psalm 142. This was “a prayer when he was in the cave.” Yes, there: surrounded by friends and acquaintances and yet utterly alone: depressed, misunderstood, hated and hunted by that wicked so-called leader of God’s people, King Saul. Oh, David! Oh, you who hear these words today. You are not alone! David said, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” Ah… cease!! Look no further to your right, and to your left. Look up!! Ah… Jesus cares! God cares for your soul. Of course! No one else could. No one but he could understand. He who groans to take you and make you his own; to care for you; to love you; to save you from sin; to wash you and make you clean in the precious blood that he shed for you to wash away your sins. Jesus…

Jesus (God) cares for your soul! Hear it, given here in the more modernized New American Standard Bible version, to help you understand and to feel even more of his love.

“Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” (John 11:32-37, NASB)

OUTLINE:

“No Man Cared for My Soul”

The Thief

The Hireling

The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” (John 10:14)

HYMN(S):

What a Friend We Have in Jesus (460)

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus (Soul Stirring Songs & Hymns, pg. 115)

Ninety and Nine (see insert in bulletin)