Sheep in the Ditch — E.A. Johnston

Guarding a Sweetheart Love for Jesus

Billy Graham was saved under the preaching of Mordecai Ham and one day Billy Graham asked the older evangelist for advice. Mordecai Ham looked him in the eye and said Billy don't ever lose your sweetheart love for Jesus.

I believe Fran said a walk with God is a intimate love relationship. But I also believe that there are some here tonight who may have lost their sweetheart love for Jesus. Be honest friend. Are you head over heels in love with Christ in a red-hot love relationship with him?

Or has the flame gone out? One of the saddest things in a marriage is when the flame goes out your sweetheart is no longer sweet. The passion's gone. The love once so thrilling and exciting has become mere routine.

Let me ask you friend and please be honest before God because God loves you. So he loved you so much he sent his only begotten son to suffer bleed and die on a cruel cross of infamy. So you could have life and be reconciled back to God.

But perhaps your walk with Jesus Has become dry and mere routine. You've lost your sweetheart love for Jesus, but he hasn't lost it for you. Perhaps someone else has replaced his priority in your life or something else has replaced it.

The Faithful Dog and the Rival Affection

I remember a story about a teenage boy who grew up on a farm and that boy had a dog. And every morning as that boy stepped out onto the front porch. That dog would be waiting for him and it would wag his tail.

So happy to see his master and off they'd go on a romp through the woods or down by the stream. But wherever that teenage boy went that dog went with him. Then one summer the teenage boy met a freckled face redheaded girl.

And he could not wait to see her he'd come bounding out the front door. And jump on his bike to go see that redheaded girl and his dog at first would tag along. But soon the boy grew tired and weary of his faithful friend and treated the dog cruelly.

So would not bother him and the girl. Finally he beat the dog so badly that the dog ran off and was never seen again. Are you like that teenage boy? Has another or another thing made your love for Jesus go cold?

You'd rather spend time doing just about any other thing than spend time with him. The title of my message this evening friends is sheep in the ditch. And my text can be found in the gospel of John in chapter 10.

You can turn in your Bibles there now friends. We will be in verses 11 through 15. This is the great chapter about the shepherd and the sheep. Let me read this tender passage of scripture to us at this time and it is my prayer That the Holy Spirit will attend the reading of God's Word.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

I Am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a harling and not the shepherd who's on the sheep or night. Seeth the wolf common and leaveth the sheep and fleeth and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep the hire and fleeth.

Because he is a harling and careth not for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine as. The father knoweth me even so know I the father and I lay down my life for the sheep.

That's a comforting passage friends. Jesus is called our Good Shepherd. Believers are called sheep. A sheep is a dumb animal. One jumps into a ravine and three more will fall in after it. A sheep can't defend itself.

It has no claws or sharp teeth. It is harmless. Helpless and hopeless if it falls into a ditch because it cannot even extradite itself from that ditch. But will only lay on its back or side and bleat until the shepherd comes to its rescue.

Then once the shepherd rescues it. Puts it up on his shoulders and brings it back to the fold. He pours oil on its wounds and balm on its sores. And then that sheep will hug close to that shepherd and stay near his side.

Sheep have a tendency to stray from the shepherd and they often wind up in a ditch. Maybe you friend are off in a ditch in a back-slidden condition. And try as you may you can't get out of your ditch unless the shepherd comes to rescue you.

The Ditches That Steal Our Affections

But first you have to admit you are in a ditch and away from God. Perhaps it is the ditch of your career or business. That has stolen your affections from Jesus. Your business takes all your time and you have no time for God or spiritual things.

Jesus is no longer first place in your life. Another is. Perhaps you spend your time on things in this world and you have forgotten to spend time with Jesus. I remember a story that Leonard Ravenhill told about a friend of his he said every time he got with this particular friend.

All this man wanted to talk about was Jesus. All he wanted to speak about was Christ and the gospel. He made you thirsty for Christ. Do you know someone like that friend? Then one day this man began to collect stamps and one day called up Leonard Ravenhill and said.

Come on over to my house for lunch, and I will show you my new collection of British Colonials. I just paid fifty thousand dollars for them. And Leonard Ravenhill said this man no longer wanted to talk about Jesus.

But only stamps. A little harmless thing like a stamp came between him and Jesus. He no longer wanted to talk about things of eternal worth. He just wanted to talk about stamps. What is it with you friend?

Could it be golf or a hobby? I used to let golf steal my affections from God. Then one day God told me what golf really stood for as it pertained to my life. G-O-L-F. Golden opportunities lost forever.

Sheep in the ditch. Whatever ditch may may it be it separated your affections from Christ Jesus. Maybe you were in the ditch of disappointment. Oh, that's a bad ditch to be in friend. Someone has let you down.

Oh Friends people will disappoint and let you down. Listen to me friend the best man are only men at best. They will let you down and that disappointment has come between you and God. Maybe you were in a ditch of discouragement and you feel God doesn't love you anymore.

Oh friend Jesus loves you. He loves you more than you'll ever know the side of heaven. Is Jesus still wonderful to you? There's a story about Duncan Campbell whom God used mightily in revival in the Scottish Hebrides in 1949 one day He was upstairs in a study Preparing a sermon and he heard his teenage daughter downstairs in the kitchen singing a hymn.

He went downstairs and asked her why she was singing at six o 'clock in the morning. And she replied Oh Daddy. I just spent an hour with Jesus in my Bible. Isn't Jesus wonderful daddy? Isn't Jesus wonderful?

Duncan Campbell turned and walked back upstairs thinking to himself Jesus isn't wonderful to me. Here he was a man a pastor Preparing a sermon and he had lost his sweetheart love for Jesus. Oh friend.

Recognizing Spiritual Ditches

Are you a sheep in a ditch? Are you away from the shepherd of your soul? Maybe the ditch you're in is a ditch of trial and hard circumstance and Rather than bringing you closer to God. It has distanced you from him.

You feel God has forgotten about you. Perhaps you're in a ditch of care and worry and your eyes have been on your troubles and not on Jesus and you're sinking. Maybe friend you are in the ditch grief God's removed a loved one and you feel God is unfair.

Your heart has become hard. Maybe you're in a ditch of bitterness and unforgiveness towards another and it's poisoning your walk with God. Why every time you see or think of that person who offended you?

You seethe with anger and that root of bitterness has come between you and God. Perhaps you are in a ditch of sin and you were sick of sin and. But your heart is away from God and you need grace to get out of your ditch and whatever Ditch you're in friend.

If you're honest with yourself You must admit it separated you from your sweetheart love for your Savior. And if that's your case as you sit here right now Then your story is more tragic than the boy and his dog because.

Although the dogs feelings were wounded. It was only a dog. You have wounded the heart of God by your backslidden condition because it has hardened your heart to spiritual things. Admitted friend. For the prodigal son to return to his father.

He had to first admit his pitiful condition. How is it with you, how is it with you friend? Jesus is your faithful friend. He will never forsake you. He will never let you down and he will never let you go.

Even if you let him down and let him lose priority in your life. He still loves you like that dog still loved that boy, even though cruelly treated. Billy said Mordecai ham don't ever lose your sweetheart love for Jesus.

Returning to the Good Shepherd

How about you friend? How about you? Are you willing to ask the Lord right now to come fetch you out of your ditch? Are you ready for the Good Shepherd to come and pour the oil of repentance on you? To bring you back into a right relationship to him.

God says in Malachi who returned to me and I will return to you. I Think what we need right now is some time of quiet. I'm gonna stop preaching so someone here can get serious with God. Listen friend.

A Prayer for Repentance and Restoration

God gets serious with those who get serious with him. I'm gonna lead us in a prayer and then I'm gonna get quiet and turn us over to God and Well, let just let me pray Lord Jesus. Things get in the way they get in the way sometimes and we lose sight of you and When we lose sight of you, we lose our sweetheart love for you.

Other things. Capture our attention and steal our affections from you. We might love others more than you. We might love other things more than we love you. You know the reason Lord that what the cause is while we've walked away from you.

Our affections are less than what they should be for you. We've let something come between us and when that happens we Backslide away from thee like a heifer gone away backward. Turn our hearts great God.

I pray. Turn our hearts back to thee. Forgive us for a turning away from thee. Grant us the grace of repentance. You say in that word Return to me and I will return to you. Grant us the grace to turn back to you.

Dear Jesus put a flame back in our heart for thee. So we can enter back into a red-hot love relationship with thee. Oh great God, give us back our sweetheart love for Jesus. I pray these things in the strong name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.