WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:03.009 So that's going to be a fun text right there. 00:00:03.129 --> 00:00:05.790 So if you don't have a Bible, grab one on the 00:00:05.790 --> 00:00:10.650 back tables back there. You'll want to mark it 00:00:10.650 --> 00:00:12.310 up. There's a lot of stuff to write all over. 00:00:12.390 --> 00:00:15.570 This is a really cool, well, you know, all of 00:00:15.570 --> 00:00:17.550 Scripture is good, but there are some times where 00:00:17.550 --> 00:00:20.129 you're like, oh, that was a lot more fun to go 00:00:20.129 --> 00:00:22.210 dig into as a pastor. At least that's where I 00:00:22.210 --> 00:00:25.750 live. But before we get into that, I want to 00:00:25.750 --> 00:00:31.519 just take a minute. Talk about us as a church. 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:36.000 So we say around here at Radiant that who God 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.280 is and what he's done defines who we are. Meaning 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.759 who we are as a church, who we are as individual. 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:45.460 It all goes back to looking at who he is. And 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:48.679 then we say it defines our identity. It gives 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.320 us who we are. Even though maybe we don't always 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:56.000 live that way. In fact, most of the time we don't, 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.399 and actually this text is really helpful because 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:00.899 it kind of talks about us and our struggle a 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:05.019 little bit. But we want to live into who God 00:01:05.019 --> 00:01:08.799 has made us to be. And then from there, that 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:12.400 defines how we live. And so we say around here, 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:14.620 just to help get some handholds, that we are 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:19.819 a family of servant missionaries who are a bunch 00:01:19.819 --> 00:01:22.540 of disciples. And so we use four different handholds. 00:01:22.969 --> 00:01:26.849 Family, servant, missionary, disciple, to kind 00:01:26.849 --> 00:01:31.549 of describe our identity in Christ. And then 00:01:31.549 --> 00:01:35.250 if that's true, well, then how does a family 00:01:35.250 --> 00:01:38.409 live? A good family, not a broken, jacked up, 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:41.469 dysfunctional one. And so then we say, okay, 00:01:41.530 --> 00:01:44.549 how does a family of servants live? And the reason 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:47.590 we say it that way is because Jesus came as... 00:01:48.170 --> 00:01:50.629 and modeled what it means to be a servant and 00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:53.450 so our identity statement says that that's how 00:01:53.450 --> 00:01:56.329 we are to live but we don't naturally live that 00:01:56.329 --> 00:02:00.209 way do we we don't live as servants we live starting 00:02:00.209 --> 00:02:04.049 with myself finding ways to be served not the 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:06.170 other way around but God didn't design us that 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:08.849 way he actually created us to have a servant 00:02:08.849 --> 00:02:13.240 mindset And so we say around here that we don't 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:15.300 want to use you to get some sort of ministry 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:18.199 done. We want this ministry or whatever opportunity 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:21.139 you're serving in to help be a part of what actually 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:25.900 fuels and helps get you closer and closer to 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:30.319 being like Jesus. And so your serving is not 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:32.800 about just help finding a need. Your serving 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:37.379 is really about you living into how God has made 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:40.830 you. So my encouragement would be, is that if 00:02:40.830 --> 00:02:43.349 you're not finding you don't have a place where 00:02:43.349 --> 00:02:47.330 you're sacrificially serving in the church in 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:50.830 this family then i wouldn't challenge you to 00:02:50.830 --> 00:02:53.409 move that direction there's not a guilt thing 00:02:53.409 --> 00:02:54.770 going on here we just want to challenge because 00:02:54.770 --> 00:02:57.930 we know that it actually is for you it's good 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:04.689 um so you know i and i one of my kids years ago 00:03:04.689 --> 00:03:08.680 was serving in the church and i won't call it 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:11.039 out because i try not to make object lessons 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:15.020 out of my children um but he was serving and 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:17.340 he said i said something about thanks he goes 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:22.879 no i i love it it's really good for me and i 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:24.759 thought you know that's exactly what that's the 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:27.419 attitude we want and so i just but at the same 00:03:27.419 --> 00:03:30.159 time i want to make sure you understand like 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.500 opportunities that are in front of you so i'm 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:34.439 going to give you a couple and then but first 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:36.599 of all there's this thing in the back step that 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:40.400 says next steps If you have an idea, a way that 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:42.919 you might serve, write it on there. Turn it in. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.680 We can help you get plugged in. Here's just a 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:49.240 few ways. Every week, because we're a portable 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:52.680 church, we set up and we tear down. And every 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:54.879 week, there's maybe a handful of people that 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:57.240 help. So we can always use help in that area. 00:03:57.439 --> 00:03:59.400 We could use help pulling the trailer to showing 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:02.759 up here. Make it consistent. We could use help 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:05.219 with Radiant Kids, always needing help there. 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:07.599 And here's a new one that we're going to begin 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:14.939 to unpack. But if God has given you a gift in 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:17.899 praying, we're actually going to begin to launch 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:21.199 a more focused, and this is really a behind -the 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.800 -scenes ministry, a way for you to pray and go 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:27.199 before the Lord. So if you're interested in any 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:31.699 of those, please let that be known. All right, 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:34.000 church, ready to go? Let's pray and ask God to 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.519 help us understand these 18 verses that are really 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:40.139 cool. So we're going to go there together. Why 00:04:40.139 --> 00:04:42.540 don't you pray with me and we'll unpack this 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:47.379 together. Lord, we're coming to the end of the 00:04:47.379 --> 00:04:51.920 summer and life has been busy and our worlds 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.500 are spinning. And so I just pray right now as 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:58.079 we open your word that by your spirit you will 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:02.600 calm In a sense, even our minds, to help us see 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:08.620 and understand. Lord, give us kind of that same 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:10.720 presence that when you get up on top of a mountain, 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:13.660 you just look out over the creation and you're 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:17.000 going, wow, so beautiful. Help us to have that 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.699 posture as we look at your word today and go, 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:23.540 wow, look at what you're putting in place. Lord, 00:05:23.660 --> 00:05:26.379 meet us this morning, right where we sit, and 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:28.379 of all of our stuff that we're wrestling with 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:31.829 or dealing with. And we pray that by your spirit, 00:05:31.889 --> 00:05:36.089 you'll do the work in us. Amen. All right, John 00:05:36.089 --> 00:05:41.829 10. So if you've been with us for a while, we've 00:05:41.829 --> 00:05:45.490 been in John for a while, haven't we? And we're 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:46.889 going to be there for a lot more because there's 00:05:46.889 --> 00:05:53.709 more to go. It's an awesome book. But if you've 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:55.149 been here for a while, you've kind of probably 00:05:55.149 --> 00:06:00.670 picked up on the main theme of John. And so John 00:06:00.670 --> 00:06:06.790 is all about believing in Jesus as your Savior 00:06:06.790 --> 00:06:11.610 and Lord, but you don't stop there because a 00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:13.069 lot of times we've kind of heard, well, that's 00:06:13.069 --> 00:06:15.709 a good thing to get to know God, but it's actually 00:06:15.709 --> 00:06:18.990 about you doing believing in Jesus as Savior 00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:21.610 and Lord, but actually letting your roots go 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:24.589 deep into that. So no matter where you're at 00:06:24.589 --> 00:06:29.279 in your journey, this is a pretty important for 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:32.560 us to walk through John. So where we're at today 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:37.339 in John chapter 10 is a continuation of John 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:40.839 7 through 9. So what I mean by that is there 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.560 was an event that was happening that started 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:47.579 in chapter 7 that is going to kind of take us 00:06:47.579 --> 00:06:50.379 through, and today is kind of the block of time 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:52.699 where it ends the event, okay? So all those things, 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:56.819 if you go back and you read 7 through 18 and 00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:01.029 10. It's all one event. And it was called the 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:05.529 Festival of the Shelters or Booths. And it was 00:07:05.529 --> 00:07:09.050 a time for Israel, the children of Israel, to 00:07:09.050 --> 00:07:12.009 come back and remember what God had done. Remember 00:07:12.009 --> 00:07:14.910 that his provision and his protection, when they 00:07:14.910 --> 00:07:18.310 were children of Israel, they were children walking 00:07:18.310 --> 00:07:21.649 around and being led out of Egypt into the desert, 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:24.930 and God was their provider, his protector. All 00:07:24.930 --> 00:07:27.769 of that is the celebration. And it was a party. 00:07:28.750 --> 00:07:31.290 And so all of this chunks, even though we've 00:07:31.290 --> 00:07:33.430 been here for multiple weeks, is happening in 00:07:33.430 --> 00:07:37.269 a week period of time. And it's all, everybody's 00:07:37.269 --> 00:07:42.069 attention is highly focused on this past history 00:07:42.069 --> 00:07:46.790 and what God has done. And so what Jesus does 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:49.329 is he shows up on the scene. He's already a person 00:07:49.329 --> 00:07:53.069 of great controversy at this point, but he boldly 00:07:53.069 --> 00:07:56.870 makes these amazing claims about himself. during 00:07:56.870 --> 00:08:00.589 this festival. He says this, a few of these, 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:04.569 he says about himself, is if anyone is thirsty, 00:08:04.850 --> 00:08:09.670 if anyone is really like thirsting for something, 00:08:09.810 --> 00:08:12.810 like he says, come to me and let him drink. He 00:08:12.810 --> 00:08:14.269 says, literally, he's saying, I'm living water. 00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:20.269 I'm the thing that will quench your thirst. By 00:08:20.269 --> 00:08:21.810 the way, that wasn't planned. I was thirsty. 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.519 And then he says, I am the light of the world. 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.160 And so he contrasts and he says, in this dark, 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:30.839 jacked up world, I am the light of that world. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:34.559 So as he makes these claims, what he's doing 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:39.059 is he's saying, I am the Messiah. I am, in a 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:43.700 sense, God. And you can imagine, some people 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:47.100 are like, wow, that's cool. But most are like, 00:08:47.179 --> 00:08:51.960 whoa, that's a big claim. Now what we see in 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:55.399 this next story is Jesus does it again. But he 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:57.480 uses a different metaphor. He uses a metaphor 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:01.519 of a shepherd with sheep. It's a metaphor that 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:02.820 if you've been around the church long enough, 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:09.159 I'm sure you've heard. But you've got to understand 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:11.399 there's a lot behind this that you and I just 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.799 don't get. So one of the things that was rolling 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.059 around in the minds of the people during this 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:19.799 festival, What would become kind of conversation 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:22.899 would have been, it's kind of like Israel was 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:26.659 like this flock of sheep and God was its shepherd 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:30.320 who protected them, who led them and provided 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.940 for them. You got the image in your mind? For 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:36.000 the children of Israel during this time that 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:38.620 they're looking back on and going, oh yeah, we 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:42.340 were like a bunch of sheep that needed help, 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:47.340 that were a flock, that God was our big shepherd. 00:09:48.429 --> 00:09:52.450 So John 10, Jesus does this crazy thing. He tells 00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:56.610 them that he is the good shepherd. Now, I know 00:09:56.610 --> 00:09:58.929 you probably heard this verse, but don't let 00:09:58.929 --> 00:10:01.470 that one just slide over your head. Like, this 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:05.210 is a pretty significant statement by Jesus. And 00:10:05.210 --> 00:10:07.470 there's going to be three parts of this little 00:10:07.470 --> 00:10:09.950 chunk of 18 verses. Now, write these down as 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:13.049 you go, okay? Three parts, verses 1 through 6. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.299 We're going to look at this relationship that 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:19.600 a shepherd has with his sheep. The relationship 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:23.240 between the shepherd and the sheep. And then 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:26.899 the second thing from 7 to 10 is the shepherd's 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:32.000 provision and protection for his sheep. His provision 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.840 and protection for the sheep. And then third, 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:37.519 we're going to peer into the heart, the shepherd's 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:41.759 heart for his sheep. Okay, three chunks. So let's 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:44.320 just work our way through this. The shepherd's 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:48.480 relationship with his sheep. Look at, we'll start 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:53.539 with verse 1 and go there. It says this, truly 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:57.700 I tell you, anyone who doesn't enter the sheep 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:01.559 pen by the gate but climbs in some other way 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:05.179 is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:09.120 the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gate 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:13.639 Keeper opens it for him and the sheep hear his 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:18.440 voice. He calls his own sheep by name and he 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:23.320 leads them out. And when he has brought them 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:29.539 all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The 00:11:29.539 --> 00:11:32.480 sheep follow him because they know his voice. 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:37.639 They will never follow a stranger. Instead, they 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.509 will run away from him. Because they do not know 00:11:40.509 --> 00:11:44.389 the voice of the stranger. And Jesus gave them 00:11:44.389 --> 00:11:47.629 this figure of speech, but they did not understand 00:11:47.629 --> 00:11:51.730 what he was trying to tell them. So he gives 00:11:51.730 --> 00:11:54.350 them a figure of speech. He gives them a metaphor, 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:56.889 right? And when Jesus is, he's talking about, 00:11:56.929 --> 00:11:59.769 he's using this metaphor that they really understood. 00:11:59.830 --> 00:12:03.889 When Jesus is talking about sheep, he's talking 00:12:03.889 --> 00:12:07.899 about you and me. So we've got to get that really 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:10.779 solid, okay? So we miss this. We really miss 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:15.179 this metaphor in our culture because those that 00:12:15.179 --> 00:12:19.659 Jesus was speaking to, they totally got this. 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:25.539 Why? Because their whole world was sheep. Sheep 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:27.960 were in everything. It's kind of like me saying, 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:31.220 you know, If I use an illustration of a bicycle 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:33.759 or a car, be like, yeah, I get it. I know what 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:35.759 they do. I know they work. I know you got to 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:38.159 change the oil. I know you pedal. You know, whatever 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:41.919 it is, you understand a bicycle or you understand 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.120 the way a car works. It's in your everyday life. 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:48.100 That's what sheep was. In fact, even more so 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:51.940 because sheep are with them all the time in so 00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:55.100 many different facets. So let's try to understand 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:57.700 more about the sheep for a minute. And we're 00:12:57.700 --> 00:12:59.159 just going to look at the sheep, we're going 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:01.220 to look at the shepherds, and we're going to 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:03.200 say, okay, what's this relationship look like? 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:09.379 So the sheep, so just remember, as we go through 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:12.200 what these sheep are, use your imagination because 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:16.720 he's basically saying, sheep, you. Shepherd, 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.759 me. That's how Jesus is rolling with it, okay? 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:21.519 So we got to first understand what he's talking 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:26.000 about when he says sheep. Okay, so sheep. And 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.940 some of this, guys, I almost thought about just 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:30.940 throwing this out as a discussion question, but 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:34.700 again, I don't, we're not really fair when it 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:37.799 comes to sheep. First of all, sheep are not smart. 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:47.299 Oh man, sheep are not smart. They're not. In 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:49.759 fact, of all the different livestock that you 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:52.240 would take care of, they're not the smart ones. 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:56.090 In fact, It reminds me of my bunny, but I think 00:13:56.090 --> 00:13:58.490 my bunny, not mine, by the way, it belongs to 00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:03.009 my wife and my son. We have a rabbit, and he's 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:06.929 not very smart. And he's predictable because 00:14:06.929 --> 00:14:10.750 he's not smart. But I think he might be smarter 00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:15.090 than some of the sheep. Like, pretty crazy. Again, 00:14:15.309 --> 00:14:19.690 who are the sheep? Me. I'll start with me. I'm 00:14:19.690 --> 00:14:23.950 not that smart. Okay, number two. They're really 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:27.490 good at wandering off. In fact, sheep are known 00:14:27.490 --> 00:14:31.610 just to wander. No purpose. They wander away. 00:14:31.850 --> 00:14:35.669 And so they wander off and they get lost and 00:14:35.669 --> 00:14:40.929 not even know that they're lost. Oh, something 00:14:40.929 --> 00:14:44.879 new over here. Again, use your imagination. This 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:47.080 is what Jesus said. It's not my story. It's not 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:49.320 my words. I'm just helping. I'm just the deliverer 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.120 of this message. So here's the reality. He's 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:56.220 calling you and me. Well, guess what? You're 00:14:56.220 --> 00:15:03.259 prone to wander off, Caleb. They were timid and 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:07.159 stubborn at the same time. Timid and stubborn. 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:10.629 Sheep are timid and they're stubborn. I don't 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:12.570 raise sheep. That's what I just, all the research 00:15:12.570 --> 00:15:16.230 I show says that about sheep. They wander off. 00:15:16.889 --> 00:15:20.149 They're not that smart. They get lost. They're 00:15:20.149 --> 00:15:22.669 timid and they're stubborn. And it kind of reminds 00:15:22.669 --> 00:15:25.929 me of a video that almost, I guarantee most of 00:15:25.929 --> 00:15:28.149 you have seen. So I've asked, I want to show 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:30.610 it. See if you've seen this before. If not, get 00:15:30.610 --> 00:15:33.429 on YouTube and just put up sheep, stupid sheep 00:15:33.429 --> 00:15:36.409 videos. It comes up, okay? Remember this one? 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:49.019 We could watch it like five times and be like, 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:53.759 what did he just do? So he gets help. He pulls, 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:57.539 show it again. Like he pulls him out of the ditch. 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:00.220 Like how, first of all, how did he get in there? 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.580 I would give him some grace there. I mean, maybe 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:05.299 he just fell in accident. He wasn't paying attention. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:10.919 But no, let's do this again. Wink. There you 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:16.580 go. Okay, you got to have a bit of sense of humor. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.879 This isn't me. They're talking, I do that right 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:23.600 there. Sheep are also absolutely defenseless. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:28.980 They don't know how to protect themselves. They 00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:32.100 can't defend themselves against wolves or any 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:37.820 other thing. I like to say that, like you and 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:40.620 me, we're one step away from stupid all the time. 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:46.750 So, Sheep need help. This is an important point 00:16:46.750 --> 00:16:51.590 of this text right here. Sheep need help. They 00:16:51.590 --> 00:16:55.429 need a shepherd. They don't need a pep talk. 00:16:55.529 --> 00:16:58.169 They don't need a class on how to be a smarter 00:16:58.169 --> 00:17:04.009 sheep. They need a shepherd. This is what Jesus 00:17:04.009 --> 00:17:07.349 is saying. There is a need for a sheep need a 00:17:07.349 --> 00:17:09.269 shepherd. Now, let's turn our attention more 00:17:09.269 --> 00:17:14.750 to the shepherd. Thank you. Shepherding was an 00:17:14.750 --> 00:17:19.089 intimate occupation. Shepherding, you didn't 00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:20.690 just drive your sheep. Now, a lot of times when 00:17:20.690 --> 00:17:23.750 we think about shepherding, we have illustrations 00:17:23.750 --> 00:17:26.630 in our mind of maybe a dog running around like, 00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:29.609 Joe, you guys have a shepherd dog, right? A dog 00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:31.890 that actually, and it goes and bites the backs 00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:35.289 of the heels or butt or whatever and herds them. 00:17:35.869 --> 00:17:38.529 Or somebody's really lazy and they do that with 00:17:38.529 --> 00:17:41.009 a four -wheeler. and they've got a huge flock, 00:17:41.089 --> 00:17:43.869 and they're pushing the sheep. That is not what's 00:17:43.869 --> 00:17:48.670 going on here. So, in fact, it's the opposite. 00:17:49.509 --> 00:17:55.029 The way that it went for them is that the shepherd 00:17:55.029 --> 00:17:58.589 would get out in front of his sheep, and he would 00:17:58.589 --> 00:18:00.890 lead the sheep. It was a very different way. 00:18:01.029 --> 00:18:04.630 It was a Jewish -Palestinian style of shepherding, 00:18:04.630 --> 00:18:07.049 even to this day. In fact, I was talking to Bob 00:18:07.049 --> 00:18:09.089 about this, and I think you were telling me something 00:18:09.089 --> 00:18:11.369 about when you were in, was it Afghanistan? And 00:18:11.369 --> 00:18:15.430 he saw this happen where the shepherd made something 00:18:15.430 --> 00:18:18.450 like, and all of a sudden his sheep went, and 00:18:18.450 --> 00:18:21.619 right to him, and he led them out. This is what 00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:24.960 is going on. The shepherd would be with his flock 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.839 in such a way that he would know them so intimately 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:34.119 and so like he was with him all the time. And 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:36.720 he knew each sheep. He'd give him a name and 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.359 he would say, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. All those 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:41.660 sheep had names and he could call their name 00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:45.380 and they would come. Highly personal occupation. 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:49.259 The sheep depended fully on the shepherd. 24 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:51.740 -hour day relationship. Not a little bit here, 00:18:51.819 --> 00:18:54.059 a little bit there. No, the shepherd and the 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:56.779 sheep had a very close relationship. Not because 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:59.640 the sheep were really good at it, but because 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:05.220 the shepherd never let go. Again, this is a metaphor 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:12.019 for us to attach yourself to Jesus. It was a 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:14.519 relationship. The shepherd's relationship with 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:17.869 his sheep was one of familiarity. It says in 00:19:17.869 --> 00:19:22.710 verse 3, he calls his own sheep by name. Familiarity. 00:19:23.970 --> 00:19:28.710 Verse 4, they know his voice. They knew his voice. 00:19:28.829 --> 00:19:31.650 And different from anybody else's voice. Jesus 00:19:31.650 --> 00:19:36.589 is describing how much he cares for us. He knows 00:19:36.589 --> 00:19:40.170 us by name. He knows our characteristics. And 00:19:40.170 --> 00:19:44.589 we hear his voice and we follow him. He knows 00:19:44.589 --> 00:19:47.559 you. Chase, he knows. all the pieces about you. 00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:52.480 He knows you, Joel. He knows everything good, 00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:57.059 bad, and ugly about you. He knows your struggles. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:02.200 That's what he's describing. And before we get 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:08.900 to move into chapter 7, I want us to go back 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:12.779 to verses 14, jump back to 14 and 15. Because 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:15.480 we see again this intimate, familiar relationship 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.539 between the shepherd and the sheep. John 14, 00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:23.319 10 verse 14 says, I am the good shepherd. I know 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:27.039 my own and my own know me. And just as the Father 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:32.279 knows me and I know the Father, I lay down my 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:36.839 life for the sheep. Now this is crazy. Jesus 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:43.420 knows us so well. He knows us so well. He compares 00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:46.799 it with his relationship with his Father. He 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:49.980 knows everything about you. How well does the 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:56.980 Father know the Son? That he's one with. Think 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.279 about it that way. How well does he know the 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:02.680 Father, the Son, the Father, and the Son? How 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:04.819 well do they know each other? That they are one 00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:08.799 with the Triune God? There is no deeper level 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:12.279 of intimacy and familiarity with the relationship 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:15.339 of the triune God. And he says, that's how I 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:20.960 know you. Jesus says, I know my sheep. Just as 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.019 the Father knows me, and I know the Father, Jesus 00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:35.109 says, I know you. I know you. Now... That can 00:21:35.109 --> 00:21:36.849 bring a lot of different emotions up, can't it? 00:21:38.250 --> 00:21:43.390 Wow, he knows me. That's so reassuring. Or, oh 00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:49.589 no, he knows me. That's scary. But he knows you. 00:21:51.950 --> 00:21:56.009 This intimate knowledge of you goes way beyond 00:21:56.009 --> 00:22:00.410 birth. David says in Psalm 139, starting in verse 00:22:00.410 --> 00:22:03.250 15, my bones were not hidden from you when I 00:22:03.250 --> 00:22:07.119 was... made in secret. When I was formed in the 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:11.980 depths of the earth, your eyes saw me. When I 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:16.039 was formless, all the days were written in your 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:18.720 book and planned before single one of them began. 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:23.660 What is he saying? God knows you. He knows you 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:29.240 before you're ever born. Jesus knows you. He 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:34.779 knows your past. Jesus knows your failures. Jesus 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:40.759 knows your doubts. He knows your hurts. He knows 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:45.019 your longings. He knows your personality. He 00:22:45.019 --> 00:22:48.140 knows your strengths. He knows your weaknesses. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.079 He knows your highs. And he knows your lows. 00:22:53.140 --> 00:22:58.240 He's that kind of God. He knows everything about 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:01.319 you. And he loves you. And he's willing, even 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:04.200 in the midst of knowing all about you, he's willing 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:08.200 to lay down his life for you. And his sheep know 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:12.859 his voice. We hear his voice and we respond. 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:17.039 We follow him, as verse 4 says. How do you know 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:21.140 somebody's a follower of Jesus? They know. They 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:26.539 follow. So the first thing we see is the shepherd's 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:28.200 relationship with the sheep, right? Now number 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:32.069 two. and this is in 7 through 10, we see the 00:23:32.069 --> 00:23:35.970 shepherd's provision and protection for his sheep. 00:23:36.670 --> 00:23:40.990 Look at verse 7. Jesus said to them again, because 00:23:40.990 --> 00:23:43.930 they didn't get it the first time, truly I tell 00:23:43.930 --> 00:23:48.369 you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came 00:23:48.369 --> 00:23:52.730 before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep 00:23:52.730 --> 00:23:57.160 didn't listen to them. I am the gate. If anyone 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:00.920 enters by me, he will be saved, and I will come 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:05.000 in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:08.759 only to steal, kill, and destroy. And I have 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:12.339 come so that you may have life and have it in 00:24:12.339 --> 00:24:17.420 abundance. All right. So when Jesus is saying, 00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:22.299 I am the gate for the sheep, it's the same thing 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:26.359 as saying, I am the shepherd. it appears a little 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:28.180 different when you read it like that but he's 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:30.779 literally saying the same thing he's saying so 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:33.240 here's what's going on with that okay at night 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:37.519 the sheep would be put into a pen or a fold and 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:41.400 the shepherd would then lay so there'd be like 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:45.819 a big and a small door and the shepherd would 00:24:45.819 --> 00:24:50.619 lay down in front of that door and sleep and 00:24:50.619 --> 00:24:53.119 at night when the sheep were all in this fold 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.950 this is what he would do And nothing could get 00:24:55.950 --> 00:25:00.230 out and nothing would come in. He is the gate. 00:25:01.630 --> 00:25:05.390 The shepherd is the protector and the provider 00:25:05.390 --> 00:25:11.349 of his sheep. And when you come to the gate, 00:25:11.549 --> 00:25:15.769 you are saved. And you're safe. That's the picture. 00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:20.769 He says, I look at you. I come as a sheep and 00:25:20.769 --> 00:25:23.190 I come up and, oh, I'm safe and I'm protected. 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:29.799 Verse 10, he says, from what? Protected from 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:32.980 what? Well, verse 10 tells us. There's a word 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:35.680 there that says a thief. And that's actually, 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:39.200 a thief is a particular type of thief. He's talking 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:44.460 about Satan in this text. A thief. Different 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:48.000 translations would put the thief, meaning singular. 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:50.440 The thief, right? He's talking about Satan. So 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:53.920 let's just take a minute. A few things about 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:55.839 Satan. In a lot of churches, I don't know what 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:57.759 it is, but we don't talk about Satan. We don't 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:00.519 even know what to do with this. You know, like 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:02.099 we have this image in our head that there's a 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:05.059 little angel and they're at war with each other 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:08.380 in our heads, right? So here's a few things about 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:14.299 Satan that the Bible tells us. He's real. It's 00:26:14.299 --> 00:26:18.220 not a fairy tale thing. Satan is real. He's a 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:21.660 fallen angel who stood in the presence of God. 00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:27.500 And really ultimately wanted to be God. He was 00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:34.579 then cast out. Satan is full of sin. He's very 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:41.099 powerful. And he's brilliant. He's smart. He's 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:47.619 not dumb. He's hateful. His mission, and it says 00:26:47.619 --> 00:26:50.880 it right there, is to steal, kill, and destroy 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:56.029 you. His mission in your everyday life as a sheep 00:26:56.029 --> 00:26:59.950 is to steal, kill, or destroy you. He wants to 00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:03.809 take you out. He wants to make you ineffective. 00:27:04.650 --> 00:27:09.650 He wants to steal your joy in the Lord. He wants 00:27:09.650 --> 00:27:13.230 to take that away. He wants to bring into your 00:27:13.230 --> 00:27:18.890 life doubt. So we know what he wants to do, right? 00:27:18.970 --> 00:27:24.000 That's the enemy that... is real. He wants to 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:30.119 steal, kill, and destroy your holiness. He wants 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:34.740 to steal, kill, and destroy your purpose. He 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:38.640 wants to steal, kill, and destroy your sense 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:42.400 of urgency around the gospel. He wants to steal, 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:46.039 kill, and destroy the importance or priority 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:48.720 of a church in your life. He wants to steal, 00:27:49.450 --> 00:27:52.769 kill and destroy unity in the body of Christ. 00:27:53.109 --> 00:27:57.029 And you could go on and on and on, and everything 00:27:57.029 --> 00:28:00.869 is about everything against God and his purpose. 00:28:01.390 --> 00:28:05.269 He wants to get you. So how does he do it? What 00:28:05.269 --> 00:28:08.190 are Satan's methods? Well, first of all, we know 00:28:08.190 --> 00:28:12.650 that he's sneaky. He's sneaky. We know that he's 00:28:12.650 --> 00:28:16.829 a liar, that he takes the truth of God and he 00:28:16.829 --> 00:28:20.670 twists it. And probably one of the most powerful 00:28:20.670 --> 00:28:24.829 tools, methods for Satan is that he tempts you. 00:28:25.589 --> 00:28:29.109 He tempts you with sex. He tempts you with money 00:28:29.109 --> 00:28:32.730 and with power and control and sometimes all 00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:38.369 of them at once. What is he doing? His method 00:28:38.369 --> 00:28:40.970 is he's an accuser. He looks at you and says, 00:28:41.009 --> 00:28:45.470 you're worthless. He brings condemnation. You 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:47.450 know the difference between the work of the Holy 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:49.890 Spirit in your life as a Christian and the enemy? 00:28:51.509 --> 00:28:55.529 The Holy Spirit brings conviction. The enemy 00:28:55.529 --> 00:29:00.190 brings condemnation. He's the accuser. Satan 00:29:00.190 --> 00:29:03.430 is not, though, and this is important to understand, 00:29:03.589 --> 00:29:09.369 Satan is not omnipresent. That means everywhere 00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:14.200 at all times, he's not. Satan is not, meaning 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.740 all -powerful and over all things. He is not 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:22.900 that. He is not omnipotent, meaning knowing everything 00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:27.440 about everybody at every moment. You know, all 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:31.079 three of those things are reserved for God himself. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:37.740 You don't have to fear the enemy. Daniel Adam 00:29:37.740 --> 00:29:39.839 Flint said that Satan is not the yin to God's 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:45.049 yang. There's a difference. God is here, way 00:29:45.049 --> 00:29:49.950 up here in power, and Satan is down here in power. 00:29:50.369 --> 00:29:54.750 Big difference. And so, Satan has limited power. 00:29:55.130 --> 00:29:57.630 He does not have to control. And if you are in 00:29:57.630 --> 00:29:59.890 Christ, you don't have to be controlled by him. 00:30:00.910 --> 00:30:04.970 Satan is defeated, and he's a loser. And on the 00:30:04.970 --> 00:30:09.089 cross, his head was crushed by Christ. On the 00:30:09.089 --> 00:30:12.160 cross. It predicts that happening back in Genesis. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.019 On the cross, Jesus conquered Satan, sin, and 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:22.779 death. And we have victory in Jesus. He can't 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:30.980 take your salvation away. He has no future. He 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:35.700 will be bound and cast away forever. There's 00:30:35.700 --> 00:30:41.680 coming a day. And you have every weapon to defeat 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:47.740 him in your life. So here's a few. You have every 00:30:47.740 --> 00:30:50.200 weapon, church. You are a follower in Christ. 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:54.859 You have his word. And it is powerful. And so 00:30:54.859 --> 00:30:56.819 what are you doing with his word? Is it a weapon? 00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:58.779 You know what the Bible calls this weapon? A 00:30:58.779 --> 00:31:03.279 sword. Pick up your sword. Jay gave me this. 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:05.680 I almost brought it in. I forgot when I got here. 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:09.559 But Jay, for my birthday, he gave me this machete 00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:13.160 and it's bad looking. You pick this thing up, 00:31:13.160 --> 00:31:15.259 it is sharp. And I'm like, what does somebody 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:20.579 do with this? Well, you kill trees. Because that's 00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:22.319 all I know how to do with it, right? But man, 00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:24.519 if you were to strike something with this, like 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:29.880 it would mess you up. This is a sword. This is 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:34.759 a sword. Pick it up, learn to use it every day. 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:39.119 in your life. That's a weapon. You have prayer. 00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:44.359 Fight like men and women on your knees. Because 00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:46.500 God has conquered Satan, sin, and death. You 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:49.579 go to him with every situation, every scenario, 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.880 and you say, I'm a sheep. I need my shepherd. 00:31:55.980 --> 00:31:59.240 You have an amazing army of worshipers around 00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:02.059 you. Look around. This is what the body of Christ 00:32:02.059 --> 00:32:04.500 is meant for. You're struggling. You're being 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:08.259 hit. Go to others. Help me. Pray with me. Bathe 00:32:08.259 --> 00:32:10.539 me in your word, God. Like, help me walk through 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:12.940 this, but I'm not doing it alone. I'm doing it 00:32:12.940 --> 00:32:15.099 with each other, and we're doing it with a community 00:32:15.099 --> 00:32:17.339 of people that live their life around the gospel. 00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:20.359 That's how we do it. And then most importantly 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:23.319 is you have the Spirit of God that lives in you. 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:27.559 You do. If you are a follower of Jesus, the Spirit 00:32:27.559 --> 00:32:32.250 lives in you. And so Jesus says to you in verse 00:32:32.250 --> 00:32:36.329 10, I have come that you may have life and have 00:32:36.329 --> 00:32:38.230 it in abundance. Do you believe that, church? 00:32:39.289 --> 00:32:42.009 Do you believe that with your relationship with 00:32:42.009 --> 00:32:45.029 Jesus, that he has come that you may have life 00:32:45.029 --> 00:32:49.190 and have it in abundance? Abundance is not health, 00:32:49.250 --> 00:32:54.650 wealth, prosperity. That's not what it is. Abundant 00:32:54.650 --> 00:32:59.450 life is what we call a full spectrum life. A 00:32:59.450 --> 00:33:02.809 spiritual life that is more than you could ever 00:33:02.809 --> 00:33:07.829 hope or dream or imagine. We get Jesus. We get 00:33:07.829 --> 00:33:11.589 abundant life. And it's not just life for this 00:33:11.589 --> 00:33:16.569 temporary world. It's beyond. Again, Adam Flint 00:33:16.569 --> 00:33:20.450 heard some stuff. He said, we don't follow Jesus 00:33:20.450 --> 00:33:23.990 to have a better life. We follow Jesus because 00:33:23.990 --> 00:33:27.549 he is better than life. That's why we follow 00:33:27.549 --> 00:33:33.359 Jesus. Now, let's pick up verse third point, 00:33:33.460 --> 00:33:36.440 roll through this and look at verse 11. We see 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:40.059 that Jesus, or the shepherd, we see in this the 00:33:40.059 --> 00:33:42.500 shepherd's heart for his sheep, starting in verse 00:33:42.500 --> 00:33:47.240 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd 00:33:47.240 --> 00:33:50.680 lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:53.839 since he is not the shepherd and doesn't own 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:57.180 the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he 00:33:57.180 --> 00:34:00.210 sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and 00:34:00.210 --> 00:34:04.410 scatters them. This happens because he's hired 00:34:04.410 --> 00:34:07.509 to hand and doesn't care about the sheep. I am 00:34:07.509 --> 00:34:10.690 the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own 00:34:10.690 --> 00:34:15.150 know me. Just as the Father knows me, I know 00:34:15.150 --> 00:34:17.909 the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. 00:34:18.230 --> 00:34:22.590 But I have other sheep that are not from this 00:34:22.590 --> 00:34:29.239 sheep pen. I must bring them in also. and they 00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:33.360 will listen to my voice. Then there will be one 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:37.400 flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:41.960 me, because I lay down my life so that I may 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:45.960 take it up again. No one takes it from me, but 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:48.880 I lay it down on my own. I have the right to 00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:51.420 lay it down, and I have the right to take it 00:34:51.420 --> 00:34:55.099 up again. I have received this command from my 00:34:55.099 --> 00:35:10.750 Father. A hard hand doesn't care about you. Wolves 00:35:10.750 --> 00:35:14.530 don't care about you. The world doesn't care 00:35:14.530 --> 00:35:19.030 about you. Only Jesus cares about you. That's 00:35:19.030 --> 00:35:23.510 the point. Your friends don't care about you 00:35:23.510 --> 00:35:29.449 like Jesus cares about you. Notice that for four 00:35:29.449 --> 00:35:32.429 times, Jesus says he lays down his life for the 00:35:32.429 --> 00:35:36.730 sheep. In verse 16, he tells us there's a bunch 00:35:36.730 --> 00:35:39.909 of non -Jews who need to be brought into the 00:35:39.909 --> 00:35:43.650 fold. That's what he's talking about there. He 00:35:43.650 --> 00:35:48.349 says, I must bring them in also. He says, there's 00:35:48.349 --> 00:35:52.030 this mandate and this purpose to rescue sheep. 00:35:52.190 --> 00:35:56.400 All the Gentiles need Jesus. He's talking to 00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:59.460 a Jewish world. And he says, it's not just about 00:35:59.460 --> 00:36:02.539 you. It's about this world. It's about the Mat 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:07.099 -Su Valley as well. It's about every person needing 00:36:07.099 --> 00:36:15.960 Jesus everywhere. And that's why we're always 00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:19.260 saying, who's your one more? Who are you sharing 00:36:19.260 --> 00:36:22.099 Jesus with? Because we take that same mandate 00:36:22.099 --> 00:36:25.489 and mission and we move it forward. We say, everybody 00:36:25.489 --> 00:36:28.889 needs to know this great shepherd. And so my 00:36:28.889 --> 00:36:31.329 question to you is, do you have one more person 00:36:31.329 --> 00:36:34.750 that you're reaching out to? One more person 00:36:34.750 --> 00:36:37.210 that you can share Jesus with because that's 00:36:37.210 --> 00:36:42.369 what Jesus is about. That's why we want to seek 00:36:42.369 --> 00:36:44.730 partners and plant more churches. That's why 00:36:44.730 --> 00:36:48.650 this church exists and to start with. That's 00:36:48.650 --> 00:36:50.550 why we moved down here and knew four people. 00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:53.239 and said, we need a church in this community. 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:58.679 It's because one more person matters. So that's 00:36:58.679 --> 00:37:01.099 why Jesus says, look, it's not just about you 00:37:01.099 --> 00:37:03.679 I got to go to, and I got to reach out to as 00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:09.079 many that can know me. Jesus' heart is that his 00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:12.639 sheep would know him. Don't overthink this church. 00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:18.739 Jesus' heart is that you would know him. Not 00:37:18.739 --> 00:37:21.019 just the first time, but for the rest of your 00:37:21.019 --> 00:37:26.239 life. Jesus' heart is that you and I would know 00:37:26.239 --> 00:37:33.619 him intimately. Verse 17 and 18, Jesus says, 00:37:33.820 --> 00:37:37.179 he's pointing, he says, I love you so much that 00:37:37.179 --> 00:37:41.500 I'm willing, I will sacrifice for you and lay 00:37:41.500 --> 00:37:44.980 down my life for you. He's talking about going 00:37:44.980 --> 00:37:49.130 to the cross. So what do you do with Jesus the 00:37:49.130 --> 00:37:52.949 Good Shepherd? Do you run away and jump right 00:37:52.949 --> 00:37:59.210 back into that ditch? Now, I have to be honest 00:37:59.210 --> 00:38:02.190 with you. As I watched that clip over and over 00:38:02.190 --> 00:38:03.849 and over, and there's a couple other clips that 00:38:03.849 --> 00:38:07.889 are really similar to it. There's a thing about 00:38:07.889 --> 00:38:09.429 a ditch. I don't know what it is, but you can 00:38:09.429 --> 00:38:11.190 find them all over YouTube. But I saw that at 00:38:11.190 --> 00:38:15.530 first. I was like, that's a stupid sheep. And 00:38:15.530 --> 00:38:19.000 I started thinking about... my life all the different 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:24.280 ways I just keep doing that same thing and so 00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:32.039 how do you see Jesus is he the good shepherd 00:38:32.039 --> 00:38:38.360 in your life you run away from him go right back 00:38:38.360 --> 00:38:41.400 to your old patterns or are you running to him 00:38:41.400 --> 00:38:46.880 because I know I need him I know He will protect 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:50.380 and he will provide. I can trust him. I know 00:38:50.380 --> 00:38:53.659 that he wants an intimate relationship with me. 00:38:53.719 --> 00:38:57.340 I see the heart of the shepherd, and it's for 00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:06.079 you. If there's areas in your life maybe that 00:39:06.079 --> 00:39:09.320 you're like, I love Jesus. I love so many things 00:39:09.320 --> 00:39:12.480 about him, but I'm not really willing to give 00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:15.380 all of it to him. There's parts of it like, nope. 00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:20.539 I got this one. That's like being a sheep just 00:39:20.539 --> 00:39:25.400 runs right back to the hole. And so our posture 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:28.800 as followers of Jesus really is, can you follow 00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:34.619 Jesus? Will you follow him? Are you listening 00:39:34.619 --> 00:39:39.639 to his voice? When he brings about conviction 00:39:39.639 --> 00:39:43.659 in your life, are you saying, okay, Lord, I surrender 00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:50.880 all. They will follow me, it says. So I would 00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:52.880 just say this. If you've never followed Jesus, 00:39:53.159 --> 00:39:56.500 you don't have a relationship with him today, 00:39:56.539 --> 00:40:00.380 today's a good day to say I submit. I submit 00:40:00.380 --> 00:40:05.800 to Jesus as my Savior and my Lord. I don't even 00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:08.820 know how it all works, but I'm willing to try. 00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:12.139 I want to step forward. If you're already one 00:40:12.139 --> 00:40:17.050 of his sheep, He wants you to enjoy the benefits 00:40:17.050 --> 00:40:20.150 of being one of his sheep. Enjoy the benefits. 00:40:22.210 --> 00:40:26.730 He wants you to continue to draw in closer to 00:40:26.730 --> 00:40:31.369 him. You know, I was thinking at the end of the 00:40:31.369 --> 00:40:35.570 service, we're going to pray over those college 00:40:35.570 --> 00:40:38.130 kids that are going off to school. We released 00:40:38.130 --> 00:40:43.980 one or two here. Luke already left. But the one 00:40:43.980 --> 00:40:46.000 prayer when you're a parent and you watch your 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:48.739 kid go away that I had, at least for my kids, 00:40:48.860 --> 00:40:53.000 is God, would they draw close to you and follow 00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:55.239 you? Because all of a sudden I have no more control. 00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:58.599 Right, Tammy? We have no control. It's like you 00:40:58.599 --> 00:41:01.320 just kind of surrender it up. And so you're saying, 00:41:01.400 --> 00:41:05.079 Lord, will you help them draw close to you and 00:41:05.079 --> 00:41:06.940 follow you? But guys, that's the same prayer 00:41:06.940 --> 00:41:12.750 for every one of us. It matters. Don't wander 00:41:12.750 --> 00:41:18.070 off. Keep your eyes on Jesus. As our little braces 00:41:18.070 --> 00:41:21.030 say, look to Jesus. That's what it's about. Let 00:41:21.030 --> 00:41:27.269 me pray for you. Amen. Lord, I love how simple 00:41:27.269 --> 00:41:29.849 this metaphor is. I love that you meet us right 00:41:29.849 --> 00:41:31.809 where we're at. It doesn't have to be complicated. 00:41:36.190 --> 00:41:38.590 I love the fact that you know us, that you reach 00:41:38.590 --> 00:41:43.250 out to us, you call us by name. That you are 00:41:43.250 --> 00:41:46.510 our protector, our provider. And that your heart 00:41:46.510 --> 00:41:50.550 is for us. So much so that you're willing to 00:41:50.550 --> 00:41:54.030 sacrifice and lay down your life for us. That 00:41:54.030 --> 00:41:56.170 you went to the cross. You suffered in our place. 00:41:56.210 --> 00:42:00.530 You died for our sins. You conquered Satan. Crushed 00:42:00.530 --> 00:42:05.309 his head. And you conquered death. All because 00:42:05.309 --> 00:42:10.829 you love us, your sheep. And so... We respond 00:42:10.829 --> 00:42:13.489 to you today because we want to be sheep who 00:42:13.489 --> 00:42:19.070 follow you, who listen to your voice. We ask 00:42:19.070 --> 00:42:21.150 that you help us with that by the power of your 00:42:21.150 --> 00:42:23.789 spirit. Amen.