love that you guys are alive and active. Little
known fact, the spirit of God or the word of
God is actually living and active too. So the
fact that you're alive this morning is due to
his word. Amen. But if you don't know me already,
my name is Eric. I'm the Next Steps pastor here
at Lifehouse. Pastor Kip and Dixie are out on
vacation. Don't worry, they'll be returning next
week. So in the meantime, you have me. But I
would like to start off with just giving you
a couple numbers. So it's estimated that the
number of orphans in the U .S. alone is between
2 .1 million and 2 .7 million. That number is
also inclusive of having lost one or both parents.
The number estimated of paternal orphans is 1
.4 million and 1 .8 million. So the vast majority
of that 2 .1 to 2 .7 million is actually when
the father... passes away or they don't have
that father. 1 .4 to 1 .8 million don't have
a father and therefore are orphaned. And that
doesn't even count those having to go into the
foster care system, which at any given point
is about as high as 400 ,000. So think about
that. 1 .8 million children are without a father
figure in their life. 2 .7 million orphans in
total have either one parent or no parents at
all. James actually has something to say, the
Apostle James in the Bible. In James 1 .27, it
says, So in that verse, the word orphan is actually
the Greek word orfanos, which is rendered to
mean fatherless. They have no comfort. They have
no father in their life. It describes not only
those without the loving care of their parents,
but also those who have been abandoned and alone,
including adults. Notice how in the verse, James
talks about caring for orphans. And if we refuse
to do so, then we allow the world to corrupt
them, right? Orphans are vulnerable to corruption
without the voice of a father interceding for
them when they need it. When the father is not
present or guiding his children with his voice,
then statistics show that there is a greater
risk of living in poverty, of them being abused,
for them to drop out of school. They could suffer
from anxiety and depression. They struggle socially.
They're at high risk of being incarcerated. And
this is just evidence of what happens when the
father is not in the picture. But when the father
is present, And being the voice that these children
need, the chances of those all become so low.
It's the exact opposite. And so we all need that
guiding voice in our lives. Orphan or not an
orphan, we need someone to speak into us, into
our hearts. Someone to vocalize who we are called
to be. Someone to vocalize the callings and gifts
on our life. Someone to speak reassuring words
of love and security throughout our life. Speak
peace when things become fearful. Speak hope
when we feel hopeless. Someone to speak Jesus
to us every day of our lives. So who is that
constant and stable voice in our life? Well,
thankfully the Lord calls us His children. Amen?
And we call Him our Father. Right? That's not
just some thing we say. That's a real thing.
We are fathered by him. And Jesus said this right
before he ascended to the right hand of the Father.
He's telling the disciples, he said, I will ask
the Father and he will give you another advocate
who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit
who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive
him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't
recognize him. But you know him because he lives
with you now and later will be in you. No, I
will not abandon you as orphans. I will come
to you. So Jesus, while he was still here, demonstrated
what the Father was like to everybody around
him. Everything that he did was fatherly to those
under his care. And although we don't have Jesus
in the physical form that the disciples had,
we do have the Word of God to father us. The
Lord becomes our Father when we surrender our
lives to Jesus Christ. That is how you enter
into the family of God. And when Jesus isn't
here, the Holy Spirit is interceding for us to
show us what the Father is like, just as it was
with Jesus. So knowing the voice of our Heavenly
Father is the only true way to be fathered by
Him. I'll say that again. Knowing the voice of
our Heavenly Father is the only true way to be
fathered by Him. We're simply fathered. By his
voice. So our passage today is going to be in
John 10. And if you go ahead and flip there.
But up to this point, the people of Israel have
been led by the religious leaders of the day.
And they've been leading this community for a
long time. Their voice was the strongest influence
in the community. But when Jesus comes on the
scene, he's not impressed. And actually upset
by how they have been influencing the culture
of that day. So before we read the passage, let's
pray. Oh, Lord, we just thank you for your word.
We thank you that it is living and active and
sharper than any double -edged sword. Wherever
we are in life, Lord, your word can cut deep
and heal the wounds inside of us. And so, Lord,
I pray that your Holy Spirit would awaken the
spirits of everyone listening today, online or
in the house, Lord, that the word would be alive
in them, that it would awaken something in them
that they've been looking for, the answer, the
healing, the comfort, Lord. Let it be today that
this prayer is answered. In Jesus' name, amen.
So John 10, verse 1, it says this. He calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out. And after
he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead
of them, and they follow him because they know
his voice. They won't follow a stranger. They
will run from him because they don't know his
voice. Those who heard Jesus use this illustration
didn't understand what he meant. So he explained
to them, I tell you the truth, I am the gate
for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves
and robbers, but the true sheep did not listen
to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in
through me will be saved. They will come and
go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's
purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. My purpose
is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I
am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd sacrifices
his life for his sheep. So in this passage, Jesus
describes himself as the good shepherd, right?
And so shepherd here is actually synonymous with
that of a role of the father. Does that make
sense? The father demonstrates care by the way
he loves, cares, guides, and protects, and provides
for his children. And the sheep in this illustration
are those who have entrusted their hearts to
the care of Jesus Christ all the days of their
life. They've wanted a true shepherd. They no
longer wanted to be an orphan sheep, but they've
been longing for that good shepherd, the one
to care for them. And notice how Jesus doesn't
actually say, like, my sheep know me because
I have a staff in my hand, and they see that
staff and they come follow me. I mean, maybe
they're, like, afraid of the staff or something,
but it doesn't even say, like, my sheep know
me based off my smell, and when they smell me,
they come to me. No, it actually says, my sheep
know me because they know my voice. Because they
know my voice. So if we want to be fathered by
God, we must know his voice. We cannot be cared
for. unless we know God's voice. How can we know
his voice? Big question. Well, how do we know
anyone's voice, right? You get to know someone's
voice by interacting with them, right? Before
you guys ever talked, you don't know each other's
voices. But the fact that you exchange words
allows you to know their voice and their heart,
who they are and what they care about. Likewise,
if we do not spend regular time interacting with
God's word, With Jesus, it will be hard for us
to know his voice in our life. So think about
the 12 disciples, right? These 12 disciples were
handpicked by Jesus. There were many other disciples
in the picture, but the 12 were in his circle.
They got to spend time with him every day. They
got to hear Jesus' thoughts. They got to hear
how he cared for the disciples personally. The
disciples got to see. who Jesus cared for. He
saw the broken. He saw the widow. He saw the
lost. He saw the confused. Those who had no idea
who they were, they saw Jesus actually call out
their name, speak exactly what they needed. And
let me tell you something. No one has better
fatherly words than Jesus Christ himself, because
he perfectly expressed the image of the Father.
Amen? When the disciples experienced doubt and
pain, they had Jesus right there to interact
with. They got to know him. Yes, in the good
times, but it was when they felt most like orphans
that they really took his words to heart. And
in that orphan state, healing and care was provided.
They go to him at a very personal level. The
words that Jesus speaks were life -giving, and
that is how they knew his voice. In that broken
state, Jesus was able to give life -giving words,
and that's how the disciples knew, hey, that's
the voice of God I'm listening to right now.
Paul tells us what God had told him in the midst
of his struggle and his brokenness. Paul says,
or this is God speaking to Paul, my grace is
all you need, for my power works best in weakness.
So without the word of God in our lives, we are
orphans. Amen? Make sense? Without the word of
God in our life, we are orphans, because not
interacting with his words means not getting
the powerful words of our Father into our life.
Jesus emphasized this when he said, I am the
bread of life. Eternal life comes to the one
who eats my body and drinks my blood, and I will
raise him up on the last day, for my body is
real food for your spirit, and my blood is real
drink. Now. If someone told you to eat their
flesh and drink their blood, you'd say, you're
a wacko or you're nuts, you need help, right?
You're not going to do that. There's no way you're
going to get convinced to do that, right? And
so that's exactly what the audience that Jesus
is speaking to is thinking, this guy's absolutely
nuts. He just told me to eat his own flesh, drink
his own blood. Are you kidding me right now?
And the next verse, it says, at this point, many
of his disciples turned away and deserted him.
Imagine that, deserting. God himself, deserting
the very words that they need into their life.
But catch this, Jesus turned to the twelve and
asked them, are you also going to leave? Simon
Peter replied, Lord, to whom would we go? You
have the words that gave eternal life. We believe
and we know you are the Holy One of God. While
most could not accept Jesus' words that would
lead them to be fathered by him, The 12 disciples,
specifically Peter, acknowledge that there is
no other one that can care for them like Jesus.
There is no other one that illustrates or expresses
the Father like Jesus does. So if we do not hold
on to the words of God, we don't know eternal
life. How can we live an eternal life, an abundant
life, without the words of our Lord? If we do
not receive his words, we will only experience
orphanhood. So he says, so come and spend time
with me, and I will speak my life -giving words
to you. Jesus was the word of God made flesh.
We may not know him in the physical way the disciples
did, but the words that he speaks are still living
and still active even today. Amen? And it's only
by taking in his word that we know in our hearts
his voice to us. We can know his word for ourselves
by spending time in the word. We can know his
voice by interacting with him in the word. We
may not always understand what we're reading,
but if we treasure them in our hearts, the Lord
is faithful to provide understanding in due time,
just when you need it. Because at first and foremost,
he wants you to seek him. If you're not getting
an answer right away, you're not seeking him,
what are you really seeking? Amen? When he gives
that understanding, he wants to give you understanding.
That's what a good father does. And there are
multitudes of Bible plans out there that we can
do, even on a specific topic, that the father
is more willing to speak into your life, especially
when he knows you have a need, when you have
a need of him. He knows just what you need before
you even know what you need. So he is already
more than willing to provide that need for you.
He wants to be your father. He wants you to be
fathered by him. So as orphans, we need our father's
voice. It's the only way we can truly be cared
for in this life and be led into who he has created
us to be. He has a plan for us. He has a calling
and a destiny for our life. And we simply can't
get there without him. But there is someone out
there that absolutely hates the idea that God
loves us so much. The fact that God has a plan
for us, a calling for us. And that person is
Satan, the enemy of our souls. Whenever there's
a sense of abandonment, the enemy comes quickly.
Perhaps before you even get the chance to seek
God in the matter. Which is why it's important
that we ignore the stranger's voice. So if we
know the voice of our good shepherd. the voice
of Jesus, then anything outside of that voice
is a stranger. What makes it strange is that
it is not the voice that you're used to hearing
regularly, right? It is abnormal for a child
of God to listen to the enemy's voice more than
God's voice. Amen? Jesus said his sheep are so
focused on his voice, so much so that they can't
help but ignore anybody else's. Imagine that.
So many distractions in the world that take us
away from the Father's voice. The disciples did
not get this right either. They were listening
to the stranger's voice. Matter of fact, Jesus
tested them in this in Matthew chapter 16. It
says, when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked the disciples saying, who
do men say that I am? So they said, some say
John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah
or one of the other prophets. He said to them,
but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered
and said, you are the Christ, the son of the
living God. Jesus answered and said to him, blessed
are you, Simon Bar -Jonah, for flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you, but my Father who
is in heaven. So Jesus has all of his disciples
gather up together, right? He's testing them
here. Who do people say that I am? Tell me. What
are they saying? Ah, you know, well, the local
newspaper is saying this. And, oh, I just saw
on Facebook the other day that they think you're
like Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Come on.
How many people get their source from the Facebook
sometimes? That's essentially what happened.
They were getting the word on the street. Like,
geez, well, word on the street is that you're
Jeremiah, Elijah. Some say even John the Baptist.
He's a pretty big legend. But, you know, whatever.
And that's when Jesus asked them, because he
got all those opinions out of the way. Jesus
asked them, who do you say that I am? At that
very moment, there was silence. All the ideas
that they had disappeared. Oh, well, who do I
say that he is? Right? When Jesus asked that
question, who do you say I am? It just dismissed
all those opinions the disciples had. Why? Because
all those opinions were not inspired by God's
voice. It was the voice of the world. It was
the stranger's voice. It was secondhand opinion
that was influenced by the culture around them.
It was Peter who remembered in that moment from
the scriptures that he had been reading since
he was a little kid that the scriptures talk
about the Christ, the Messiah who is to come
and restore Israel. And that's when he said,
you are the Christ, the son of the living God.
Jesus says to Peter, this was not revealed to
you by flesh or blood or any human being. No,
it was revealed by my Father who is in heaven.
The stranger's voice is always in opposition
to what God is speaking. And if we listen to
the stranger's voice, it will only take our attention
off of our Father's voice and lead us away from
Him. That's why Paul says in Romans 12, verse
2, There are times where we are absorbing a little
bit too much of the world's opinions. There are
times where we listen to other people more than
God himself. And the purpose of our creation
was to... personally hear God's voice to us,
to be truly fathered by him. It's in that moment,
in that orphaned state, where they realized they
had been fathered by lies and not by God himself.
When we listen to the stranger's voice, strange
things happen. Amen? But when we listen to God's
voice, we will experience greater things. Should
be an amen there. Jesus stated in this illustration
that the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and
destroy. But his purpose is to give them a rich
and satisfying life. The enemy does not want
you to pay attention to God's word. Because he
knows if you follow it, if you're fathered by
his word, you will experience a rich and satisfying
life. Whenever we feel orphaned, it is because
we need to be fathered by the right voice. If
you listen to the wrong voice, you're still going
to feel like an orphan, but it's a temporary
fix. The enemy is so jealous of how much God
loves and cares for us that he will do all that
he can get you to do to ignore his voice and
listen to his very own. The enemy wants his voice
to be the new normal in your life. Oh, it's just
normal to listen to the enemy. It's just normal
to listen to that stranger. Well, now the stranger
becomes your father because whatever you choose
to obey is your master. Amen? How many different
voices do we listen to in a given day? Where
are they coming from? TV? Social media? Friends?
Co -workers? Social media? Are they of God? Are
we regularly hearing God and interacting with
His Word so that we can be fathered by Him? And
we all desire to be fathered by Him, but are
we being intentional? and actually hearing from
him. One voice leads to loneliness, abandonment,
and discouragement, while the other leads to
a rich and satisfying life. If it's not of God,
ignore it. Amen? So our response to the voice
of God really matters. But unless we respond
to him, he will not lay his fatherly touch on
us. This is what Jesus meant when he said the
sheep recognize his voice, and what? They come
to him. There's action involved in this father's
voice speaking to them. He calls his own sheep
by name and leads them out. A response to Jesus
equals leading them out of where they were before
and into greener pastures. They are no longer
here, but they are over here because that's what
the good shepherd is calling you. It's being
led out of orphanhood into childhood. Amen. The
psalmist says it like this. My heart has heard
you say, come and talk with me. And my heart
responds, Lord, I am coming. When an orphan hears
the voice of the father, father's invitation
to come and talk with him, our hearts can't help
but respond, Lord, I'm coming. Consider the story
of the prodigal son. When the son says, I want
my inheritance now to his earthly father. I want
it now. I want all the money that's involved
with it so I can go live my own life. So the
prodigal son goes off, spends it all on wild
living, and then comes to this point where he
runs out, and it's actually in complete desperation.
He's starving. There's a famine in the land,
and it says this. He persuaded a local farmer
to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields
to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry
that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked
good to him. but no one gave him anything. When
he finally came to his senses, he said to himself,
At home, even the hired servants have food enough
to spare, and here I am dying of hunger. I will
go home to my father and say, Father, I have
sinned against both heaven and you, and I am
no longer worthy of being called your son. Please,
take me on as a hired servant. So he returned
home to his father, and while he was still a
long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled
with love and compassion, he ran to his son,
embraced him, and kissed him. The prodigal son
was led away by the stranger's voice, one that
encouraged greed and selfish living. That was
his response. Now, the father, his father, did
not yell at him, but he let him make his own
decision in that moment. Once the prodigal son
realized what had led him to where he was, he
said, this is ridiculous. His senses, it says
his senses were awakened. His senses became awakened
by the Spirit of God. And that's when the Spirit
of God says, hey, come and talk with me. I see
that you're going the wrong direction. I see
that you've been led astray. Let me be your father.
Come back home. Come back home. And as the prodigal
drew near to the father, the father was filled
with love and compassion and ran to his son.
embraced him and kissed him. We have the promise
when we draw near to God, he will draw near to
us. Amen? It just takes a response from his children
to actually be embraced and kissed by him. So
Zach and the worship team, if you would come
up. This is the story. Of everyone who has come
to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, he has called
them out, out of their orphanhood, and said,
you are mine. But it's not a one -time thing.
God is always speaking to us. But are we listening?
Are we responding to him? It is only then that
we enter into his loving care. Perhaps you're
afraid to respond. and run into his care because
you messed up. Or thinking he would just be disappointed
in you because you should have came sooner, you
should have done better. But notice the father
in that illustration, the prodigal son, he didn't
say anything to him. He was filled with love
and compassion and embraced him and kissed him.
Maybe you're going through a hard time, feeling
more orphaned than you ever have before. But
we... need to hear from him because that is the
only way that healing and care can be provided
the only healing and care but we must hear what
he's he's speaking to us to respond to him he
is willing to speak to us in our time of need
we need that ever present father in our lives
that speaks to us willingly and unconditionally
amen The stats speak for themselves. Those who
do not have a good father figure in their life
suffer greatly. It is God's heart to care for
them. Jesus came that we may have a rich and
satisfying life, not anything less. Jesus came
and paid everything for us. So are we living
the life that he paid for us for? Does that make
sense? Not anything less than what he actually
paid for. He purchased your ransom. so that you
could have abundant life in this life. And it
takes knowing him. It takes interacting with
him. It takes truly embracing this gift of salvation,
this gift of new life that he's abundantly provided
for us. But he said, it's up to you. It's up
to you to unpack that. It's up to you to see
if you're wanting to get to know me more and
more and more. Not saying, oh, I'm at level three
with this relationship. I'm good now. Right?
Because then that's when we start feeling empty
again. That's when we start feeling like an orphan.
We enjoy this gift of a relationship with Jesus
Christ by when we know that he's calling out
our names. So at this moment, I just ask that
you stand for a moment. We get to know him by
first responding to him. and what he's done for
us we had a broken relationship with god before
before jesus came and when when it was the father's
good pleasure to give jesus christ to us he didn't
have any doubts he said i love them so much and
i love my son very much but this has to happen
because this is the only way that they're going
to have a restored relationship with me he personally
jesus gave us access personally to know the father's
Father's voice, which the Holy Spirit makes known
to us. So with every head bowed and eyes closed,
if you have never heard the Lord calling your
name before, and you hear him saying today, come
and talk with me, I just ask that you raise your
hand. Scripture says that if you call on the
name of the Lord, you will be saved. So this
is our proper response to him. Thank you. Today
we can respond by acknowledging him and what
he's done. This next response, I feel very strongly
because the moment I entered into this gathering,
I felt a lot of brokenness in the pews. I felt
a lot of hurt and pain. So if you feel like you've
been going through it literally this recent season,
you're feeling more orphaned than ever, your
heart is troubled, you feel alone, confused in
life, broken or lost, or overall need the Father's
voice in every part of your life, I'm going to
ask that you be brave in response and come forward
at this time. We're going to have a prayer team
up front here. And so if you need prayer, if
anything I just said resonates with you, and
the Spirit of God is making it real to you and
saying, hey, the Lord's calling my name, I need
to respond. Let that be you today. This is what
families do. Because we're not always being fathered
in the way that we desire to be. We get into
orphanhood sometimes. And what family has siblings
that care for them? Amen? We all are united under
one Father, our Father in heaven. And so feel
free to even pray for anybody that's up here.
Because they're saying, hey, I want to draw near
to God. And you can be a reassuring voice into
their life as well. Amen. Thank you for tuning
in to this message from Lifehouse Church. We
pray that you were impacted powerfully by this
message. If you have been personally affected
by our ministry, and you would like to partner
with us as we love God, love people every day,