Foundations of Truth
This is the podcast of Firm Foundations ministries. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's Word, rooted in Scripture and anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each episode is designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding, and encourage you to stand firm in a shifting world.
Foundations of Truth
The Shepherd Knows His Sheep
What does it mean to be truly known? In a world where many feel anonymous despite being constantly connected, Pastor Timothy Mann delivers a profound message about the God who not only sees us but knows us intimately by name.
Drawing from Jesus' words in John 10, Mann reveals how the Good Shepherd's knowledge of His sheep goes far beyond mere awareness—it's deeply personal, relationship-based, and ultimately saving. The biblical concept of "knowing" (yada) carries weight: it's God's intimate acquaintance with us, His covenant commitment, His redemptive purpose working in our lives.
As Pastor Mann eloquently puts it, "God doesn't just notice our pain; He knows us." This divine knowledge transcends our performance—God doesn't love us more on our good days or less on our bad days. His knowledge of us remains steadfast when we feel unseen, unheard, or overwhelmed.
The message reaches its theological depth in examining Romans 8:29-30, where we discover that salvation begins not with our faith but with God's foreknowledge. "Before you ever reached for God, He reached for you. Before you called on His name, He called you by name," Pastor Mann explains. This foreknowledge isn't God simply looking into the future to see who would believe; it's His active, loving decision-making that secures our redemption.
For those who belong to Christ, this brings profound security. Like the firefighter who knew exactly where to find his daughter in the burning building, Jesus knows His own and will never let them go. The Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep remains committed to completing the work He began, carrying His people all the way to glory.
Have you responded to the Shepherd's voice? He knows you and calls you. Don't resist, don't delay—the invitation to belong to His flock stands open today.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. Join us now as we let God's Word illuminate our lives and guide us into His truth today. And here's Pastor Timothy Mann.
Speaker 2:Saved, understanding God's work in us. Saved, understanding God's work in us. There's no more important topic or truth than we can address than this reality. Important topic or truth than we can address than this reality. Gospel of John, chapter 10, beautiful chapter. Jesus being the true shepherd, the good shepherd, I want you to put your mark there. If you have a paper Bible, put a bookmark there. In John, chapter 10, we'll also be going over to the book of Romans, chapter 8. Hopefully you've found John 10 by now and we're going to be reading verses 14 through 18. We'll also look at verse 26 through 30. And then we'll make our way to Romans, chapter 8.
Speaker 2:Jesus is speaking, john, chapter 10, verse 14. He says I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own, as the Father knows me. Even so, I know my sheep and am known by my own, as the Father knows me. Even so, I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep and other sheep I have which are not of this fold. They also I must bring and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore, my Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. That is literally to say take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from my Father Go over to verse 26. But you do not believe, because you are not my sheep. As I said to you, my sheep hear my voice. As I said to you, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Now turn with me to the right in your Bibles or on your app. You can just go to Romans, romans, chapter 8. We're going to focus on two verses in Romans, chapter 8. Romans, chapter 8, we're looking at verse 29 and 30. Speaking of God here, speaking of Almighty God. Romans, chapter 8, verse 29. The Bible says for whom, again, for whom he foreknew. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. We stop here. This is god's word that we've just read. I believe that one of the loneliest and maybe most sad feelings in life is the thought that no one knows you. I mean that if you were just to disappear from the planet, no one would notice that, no one would come looking, no one would call your name. We live in a very crowded world, but it seems like while we're living in this crowded world, it's also a world filled with anonymity. I mean, people walk through hard seasons in life, they carry deep wounds, they even wander into dangerous places in life, and they do it alone. They do it unseen, unheard, unknown, and the ache of that isolation runs deep, because at the core of the human heart is a longing to be known, truly known, and that's what makes Jesus different. In John 10, jesus says I am the good shepherd, I know my own and my own know me. And so if we are his sheep, if we, if you are his sheep, if we're his sheep, he's not just aware of us, he knows us, he knows his own personally, intimately, by name. I want you to know this morning you're not just a number to Jesus, you're not one of the crowd. If you're his sheep, you are his and he sees you when you stray, he hears you when you cry, even when no one else does, and he moves, he comes to find you.
Speaker 2:In 1998, a fire broke out in the in a residential building in Chicago and firefighters were dispatched immediately, including a man named Jeff, who had served in the department for over a decade. And as he arrived on the scene he was hit with a wave of dread because this was his own apartment building. His teenage daughter had been home alone and without hesitation, jeff geared up and he entered the burning structure. The smoke was thick, the visibility was zero. Protocol would have told most to wait for backup or at least to stay low and search methodically, slowly, carefully. But Jeff wasn't just searching for a person. He was searching for his own daughter. He knew her room, he knew her habits, he knew the way that she would react under fear, and he found her unconscious in the hallway near her room. He scooped her up, he carried her down through the heat and the smoke and got her safely outside and, praise God, paramedics were able to revive her. She survived. She survived because the one who rescued her didn't just see her as an anonymous victim, but as his own, as his own. And later, when asked how he found her so quickly in such chaos, he said because I know her, I knew where she would be. And so here's the point the girl was rescued not just by someone who looked, but someone who knew, someone who truly knew the one he was looking for.
Speaker 2:That really is the heart of today's message. That's the heart of Romans, of John 10. I want to tell you this morning the God of the Bible is not distant. He is not merely aware of his people. He knows them and he knows you and he knows you. And his knowledge isn't just informational, it's intentional, relational and redemptive.
Speaker 2:Jesus said in John, chapter 10, verse 14, I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own.
Speaker 2:So to be known by Jesus is to be loved, is to be led and, ultimately, saved. You need to know this morning that His knowledge of you is not a cold database. It's the intimate mindfulness of a shepherd who names His sheep, calls them, walks with them, lays down His life for them and never lets them go. So I want us to see, just for the next few minutes, let's see how the good shepherd's knowing his sheep is not just comforting, it's saving. Let's examine that and, by the way, that makes all the difference.
Speaker 2:So the first truth I want you to see in John 10 is that the good shepherd's knowing his sheep is personal and relationship-based. The good shepherd's knowing is personal and relationship-based. Jesus said again keep your Bibles open, look at the Scriptures. I want you to make sure that I'm not making this up. John, chapter 10, verse 14, I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own. Verse 15, as the Father knows me. Even so, I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. So that phrase I know my sheep that is more than awareness, it's relational, it's covenantal. See in Scripture to know someone is often the language of deep relationship, love, commitment, friendship, love, commitment. And so when god says he knows his people, he means he has set his relational, covenantal love upon them.
Speaker 2:Let's go back to uh, one of the earliest examples of this in exodus. You ready to go back to exodus already. If you've been with us, you know what I'm talking about. Exodus, chapter 2, verses 23 through 25. And if you're with us, you know the deal.
Speaker 2:God's people were suffering under slavery in Egypt, under Pharaoh, for centuries, and they cried out for deliverance. And then the Bible says in Exodus 2, verse 24 through 25, the Bible says so God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel. And this last phrase, and God acknowledged them. That's the way the New King James renders it and God acknowledged them. That final phrase God acknowledged them is literally in the Hebrew. God acknowledged them is literally in the Hebrew God knew them. God knew them. He didn't just notice their pain, he knew them. He remembered His promise, he was bound to Himself. His knowing them meant that he was already planning to act on their behalf. And so this kind of knowing is deeply personal. Deeply personal, the Hebrew word for know, yada.
Speaker 2:It doesn't simply mean to be aware of someone's existence or even to know what they might do. It means this word it means to be acquainted intimately, intimately acquainted, or even to know what they might do. It means to be acquainted intimately, intimately acquainted. It means to be involved, it means to be committed. In fact, this word is used to describe in Genesis 18, verse 19,. This word is used to describe how God knew Abraham. This word is used to describe in Jeremiah 1, verse 19,. This word is used to describe how God knew Abraham. This word is used to describe in Jeremiah 1.5 how God knew Jeremiah before he was born. This word is used to describe in Psalm 58, verse 8, how God knows every tear we cry. It's to be intimately acquainted, intimately involved, acquainted, intimately involved Relationally.
Speaker 2:In John 10, jesus uses a word with rich Relational depth. He says I know my sheep. He knows them Experientially, not just the strong ones, not just the obedient ones, not just the strong ones, not just the obedient ones, not just the wandering ones, not just the ones who sometimes, but other sheep not. He knows the, he knows the limping ones, he knows the scared ones, he knows the struggling ones. And even though it's not a verse we read in our text, if you look back in verse 3, john, chapter 10, verse 3, look at it. He calls them by name. He calls them by name, verse 3, john 10, verse 3, to him talking about the good shepherd. To him, the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. He leads them out, he walks ahead of them and, as we've read already, he lays down his life for them.
Speaker 2:And so here's the truth, and it's a good one. God's knowing of His own, god's knowing of you, isn't dependent on your performance. Isn't that a good thing? It isn't dependent on your performance. I want to give you some good news this morning. He doesn't love you more on your good days and less on your bad days. He knows you and he loves you when you feel unseen, when you feel unheard or overwhelmed. You need to remember this sheep, god knows your name, he sees your pain and he understands your fears. And because you are his If indeed you are, because you are his, he's already at are. Because you are His, he's already at work. Even when you can't see it, I promise you right now, the Holy Spirit of God is at work a thousand ways in your life and you don't even know it yet. His knowledge isn't passive, it's active and faithful and faithful, and this is really what sets the gospel, the biblical gospel, the gospel of Jesus, apart from every other religion in the world. The gospel doesn't say well, god will save you if you know him well enough. It doesn't say God will save you if you behave good enough. No, save you if you behave good enough. No, the gospel says God already knows you and in his mercy he came for you. That's what the gospel says.
Speaker 2:As I said, even though we live in a very busy world, probably more connected today in certain ways than ever in the history of humanity, we live in a very anonymous world as well. You know it to be the case. People pay attention next time People walk past each other with their heads down or with earbuds in. You know what I'm talking about. I mean, you can't even say hello to somebody, even in churches. Even in churches, people can feel very unknown. I mean mean, I hear it all the time from folks who eventually come to providence. We try, we try to be very intentional to make sure that does not happen. But you need to know this you are never anonymous to the lord, never.
Speaker 2:The bible says in psalm 139, verse 13 he knits you together in your mother's womb. It says in matthew, chapter 10, verse 30 he knows the number of hairs on your head. It says in psalm 139, verse 2 he knows your thoughts from afar and because he knows you, he moves toward you in love. And so what's your response? Trust Him. Trust Him, come close. Let His knowledge of you comfort and anchor your soul. He knows His people. The shepherd knows his sheep, and he will never forget or forsake them.
Speaker 2:The other truth I want you to see in this passage is this the shepherd's knowing his sheep leads to a saving purpose. The shepherd's knowing his sheep leads to a saving purpose when Jesus says again, look at verse 14. When Jesus says in John 10, 14 and 15, I know my sheep and I lay my life down for the sheep. I know my sheep and I lay my life down for the sheep, he connects his knowing his sheep directly to his saving. I know my sheep and I lay my life down for the sheep. Again, again, his knowledge isn't just awareness, it's initiative. God doesn't just merely observe our condition, he acts to redeem it, to redeem us. He knows his sheep, he loves his sheep and therefore saves his sheep. This is what we see throughout John 10. In verse 16. Look at verse 16.
Speaker 2:Jesus says and other sheep I have which are not of this? Fold them also. I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Now there's a lot of things we could discuss about that particular verse. Who's he talking about and what is his audience in?
Speaker 2:In chapter 10 is particularly a jewish audience, ethnically and religiously a jewish audience. And he and he says some of you are my sheep. But he also tells some in the crowd you do not believe because you are not my sheep. You do not believe because you are not my sheep. Now, I'll just let that set with you. You can take it home and think that over. You do not believe because you are not my sheep.
Speaker 2:But he says other sheep I have which are not of this fold, that is to say they're not Jewish ethnically or religiously, background wise Gentiles, that's, unless you're ethnically Jewish in this room this morning, that's you, you're a Gentile. It's any non-ethnic you, you're a Gentile. It's any non-ethnic Jew, you're a Gentile. Now, not all Gentiles are his sheep, some are. And he said I must bring them and they will hear my voice, and there'll be one flock, by the way, not two flocks, and they will hear my voice and there will be one flock, by the way, not two flocks. There's not a Jewish flock, there's not a Gentile flock. Jesus said there's how many? One flock and one shepherd. One flock and one shepherd.
Speaker 2:I don't care what ethnicity you are, you don't get to heaven, you don't get in the fold, except through Jesus, period, period and his knowledge of his sheep. That, what I want to show you about this passage, in this verse in particular, way said, is his knowledge of his sheep isn't confined to one time or one place, it's expansive, it's global, it's eternal. He knows the sheep who haven't even heard his voice yet and he's committed to bringing them in. He said them I must bring in, not I hope I'll bring them in, I will, I will. And then he's committed to bringing them in.
Speaker 2:Then, in verses 17 through 18, jesus explains the cost. He says, therefore my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. I'm gonna surrender my life, I'm gonna raise myself up again. No one takes it from me, no, I lay it down of myself. So this is the good shepherd's mission, this is his mission Voluntarily, sacrificially, intentionally, giving his life for the ones he knows and loves, his sheep. This is his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead to save his people from their sins and give them eternal life. As a matter of fact, that's what the angel told Joseph to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. For he will save His people from their sins. So let's see how this theme that Jesus is talking about here echoes through the Apostle Paul's great statement in Romans 8, 29-30. Turn over there again. We read it once Romans 8, 29-30. Romans 8, 29 and 30. Romans 8, 29 and 30.
Speaker 2:Speaking of God's work, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, says For whom he foreknew, not for what he foreknew. For whom he foreknew, not for what he foreknew. For whom he foreknew, not for what he foreknew. For whom he foreknew Y'all with me Words have meaning, ladies and gentlemen. For whom he foreknew? He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, dc also called. Whom he called, dc also justified. And whom he justified, dc also glorified. Now here, foreknew.
Speaker 2:The word foreknew doesn't mean that God simply looked into the future and saw who would believe. It does not mean that it specifically means he set His love on whom he foreknew beforehand. The term foreknew is relational. It is not merely informational, it is not just intellectual, but it is a loving, purposeful relationship from Him and this is the basis for His decision in salvation. God's foreknowledge is the fountainhead whom he foreknew. God's foreknowledge is the fountainhead whom he foreknew. God's foreknowledge is the fountainhead of salvation. It is not a passive awareness, it is an active, deciding. God's knowledge of His people, the good shepherds, knowing His sheep, is the starting point of His saving work. He knew you and he determined.
Speaker 2:It says in romans 8, 20, uh, 29 he knew you, foreknew you and he determined in advance to shape you to the image of Jesus. He called you, he justified you and he will glorify you. In fact, it's already all done in the mind of God. Did you see that it's past tense? I don't know about you, but I don't feel very glorified this morning. I don't, but God says I am. It's already past tense. So listen to me carefully.
Speaker 2:If you are saved today, I'm talking about. You're a Christian, you're a genuine follower of Jesus. It is not because you were smarter, it is not because you were better, it is not because you were better looking, it is not because you were more spiritual than others. It's because God knew you and in knowing you, he pursued you. This is grace. This is grace jesus said he died for his sheep, he laid down his life and raised it up again for his sheep, those whom he knew and loved before they were ever born or ever believed.
Speaker 2:And so, listen, this doesn't. He didn't, he didn't only make salvation possible, he made it personal. And what ought to happen is this ought to you need to let this truth humble you and encourage you. Your listen, your salvation did not begin with your faith. It did not begin with your faith. It began with God's love. You believe because he called you, responded, because he first drew you believed because he called you, responded because he first drew you. You are his, because he first knew you, and that means you are secure. It means you are secure. Look, if he started this work in you, not just started some generic big picture work, we know he did that. But if he started this work in you, not just started some generic big picture work, we know he did that. But if he started this work in you, right, if he started this work in you, he will finish it, according to Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6.
Speaker 2:Yeah, some of y'all don't believe me. You're looking at me like now. What about this? What about that? What about this? What about just saying what the Bible says Amen.
Speaker 2:Philippians, y'all ready? Philippians, chapter 1. This wasn't on the plan. Turn over there. Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6. This is good stuffilippians, chapter 1, verse 6.
Speaker 2:Being confident of this very thing and this isn't, I hope so. Maybe let's cross our fingers. Maybe this will all work out. No, being confident of this, very that he who has begun a good work in you, by the way, who began the work? Did you begin the work? No, he who began the work somewhere arbitrarily, outside you, like way over here, somewhere. No, he who began the work where? Way over here, somewhere? No, he who began to work where, in you, in you, in you, right, that's God working in you. He who began to work in you will complete it Until the day of Jesus Christ, all the way, until you see Jesus face to face. So if indeed he started this work, he'll finish it, according to Philippians 1.6.
Speaker 2:If he knew you as his sheep even before time began, before you were born, before you believed, if he knew you, then he's not going to forget you in your weaknesses, he's not going to forget you in your failures. Now, this is the beauty of the gospel, this is the beauty of the good news. Before you ever reached for God, he reached for you. Before you called on His name. He called you by name. That's what Jesus said. I call my sheep by name and they know my voice, they hear my voice and they what they follow me. Before you ever loved him, he loved you.
Speaker 2:And at the cross is where Jesus died for your sins. Knowing you and his love. At that moment, where he died for your sins on the cross, his knowing you as his sheep, his knowing you and his love collided to secure your salvation. You as his sheep. His knowing you and his love collided to secure your salvation. And if you, in your life, in this time in which we're living, if you've never responded to that love, the invitation is clear. He knows you, he calls you. Don't resist, don't delay, don't resist, don't delay.
Speaker 1:The shepherd laid down his life for you to belong to his flock. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever. That's Isaiah 48. Thanks for tuning in to the Foundations of Truth podcast with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. Join us next time and until then, keep building your life on God's eternal truth, the Bible.
