John 10:10a, 12-13 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy… But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.Jesus made a comparison between the good shepherd and the hireling. The hireling is paid to watch over the sheep therefore he will not have any ownership over them neither will he lay down his life for the sheep. He will not feel the pinch if one sheep were to be taken away by the wolf, bear or lion because it does not belong to him. The hireling will run away the moment the predator appears because he fears for his own life.
Jesus also reminded us regarding the work of the devil in the area of killing, stealing and destroying our lives. One common tactic that the devil uses is to INSTILL FEAR in our lives. Christians are not spared from fear in their lives because it begins in the mind, which is the last frontier to be overcome and conquered. Fears include the fear of losing control over our lives, losing our current social status, not having enough, people not respecting us or not succeeding in our lives etc. The world constantly bombards us with messages that we need to succeed in life and what success looks like in worldly terms. Many have prioritized success regardless of the price they need to pay and therefore compromising their worship of God.
In fact, parents should journey with their children especially from young in order to inculcate the right values and principles in them. The Bible instructs us to bring up our children in the way of the Lord so that when they are grown-ups, they will not depart from Him. There is immense pressure to be molded by worldly values (the critical age being 18-35 years as they are either studying or working abroad) but if they have the right foundation, they will have security in Jesus Christ. They need to know that they have a Good Shepherd who has their interests at heart.
The message that we should have is that God will never leave us nor forsake us no matter what our situation is. God still loves and fellowships with us even when the world forsakes us when we do not meet up to the worldly definition of success.
Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
We can be content with the things that we have because God has given us everything! God did not spare His own son but gave Him up for us. Therefore, we know He cares for us and will never leave nor forsake us. He will definitely lead us to green pastures for us to have sufficient at all times.
Sermon Series: Who is Shepherding You
神总不撇下也不丢弃我们
约翰福音 10:10a, 12-13 盗贼来，无非要偷窃、杀害、毁坏。…若是雇工，不是牧人，羊也不是他自己的，他看见狼来，就撇下羊逃走；狼抓住羊，赶散了羊群。雇工逃走，因他是雇工，并不顾念羊。
主耶稣把好牧人和雇工作了比较。雇工是用薪酬雇来看守羊群的人，所以他不是羊群的主人，他也不会为羊舍命。如果有一只羊被狼、熊 或狮子抓走，他不会感到心疼，因为羊不属于他的。一旦有捕食动物出现，雇工就会丢下羊群逃走，因为他担心自己性命的安危。
主耶稣也提醒我们关于魔鬼在杀害、偷窃和毁坏我们生命这方面上所做的工作。魔鬼常用的一种手段是使我们在生活中产生惧怕。基督徒在生活中不能免于惧怕，因为惧怕乃始于思想意念，是要被战胜和征服的最后一道边界。惧怕包括害怕失去对我们生活的控制，怕失去我们现有的社会地位，怕拥有的不足够，怕得不到别人的尊重 或怕在生活中不成功 等。世界不断地以此信息轰炸我们，告诉我们必须要在生活中取得成功，以及世俗所谓的成功是怎样的。许多人不惜任何代价，把成功放在了首位，因而在对 神的崇拜上妥协。
事实上，父母应当陪伴并与孩子同行，尤其从年幼起，以便向孩子灌输正确的价值观和原则。圣经教导我们要照着主的教训养育孩子，使他走当行的道，就是长大成人他也不偏离。被世俗价值观塑造的压力是巨大的 （关键年龄为18至35岁，因这正是他们在国外留学或工作的年龄阶段），但倘若他们有正确的根基，便能在耶稣基督里蒙保守。他们需要知道自己有一位顾念他们的好牧人。
我们所该持守的信息是：无论我们的处境如何，神 总不撇下我们，也不丢弃我们。既使当我们不符合世界对成功的定义时而被世界抛弃了，神 仍然爱我们并与我们有交通。
希伯来书 13:5 你们存心不可贪爱钱财，要以自己所有的为足；因为主曾说：『我总不撇下你，也不丢弃你。』
我们能够以自己所有的为足，乃是因为 神 已赐给我了我们一切！神 不爱惜自己的儿子，为我们众人舍了；因此，我们知道 神 顾念我们，祂 总不撇下我们，也不丢弃我们。祂 必领我们到青草地上，让我们时刻都充足。
讲章系列： 谁在牧养你？