WEBVTT 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:19.280 Thank you so much. I'm incredibly honored to 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:22.219 be here. It's been such an honor and privilege 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:25.359 and pleasure to serve your house over this weekend. 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:27.839 I have to say, since he already brought it up, 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:31.480 I want to honor Pastor Trent and Jackie for being 00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:34.100 incredible youth pastors, for throwing an incredible 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:38.740 conference. The spirit moved. I truly believe 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:41.420 lives were transformed and really it's a reflection 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:43.060 of your leadership. Your team is a reflection 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:46.000 of your leadership. And this is a compliment 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:47.859 that I hope you guys understand, but I really 00:00:47.859 --> 00:00:49.820 mean it. Your youth ministry is a reflection 00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:53.640 of your church. And because you understand the 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:55.960 power and because you understand the impact that 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:59.000 your church makes in this community, I hope you 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:01.960 understand how valuable it is that the next generation 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:04.780 of your church is carrying that mantle and carrying 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:06.980 it very well. So God bless you for that, man. 00:01:08.230 --> 00:01:10.109 And of course, even though they're not here, 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:12.409 they are the leaders of this house. I want to 00:01:12.409 --> 00:01:16.409 honor and thank your lead pastors, Pastor Brad 00:01:16.409 --> 00:01:18.230 and Jenny, for allowing me to be here and just 00:01:18.230 --> 00:01:23.430 say that you guys are so spoiled. They are incredible. 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:27.890 You guys are a sending church and you send your 00:01:27.890 --> 00:01:29.930 pastors to go out and preach and minister. And 00:01:29.930 --> 00:01:31.629 they actually came down to our church in Yuma 00:01:31.629 --> 00:01:35.569 this year and blew us away. So it's cool to be 00:01:35.569 --> 00:01:37.689 able to be here. But can we honor your lead pastors 00:01:37.689 --> 00:01:40.209 one more time just for being incredible church 00:01:40.209 --> 00:01:47.250 builders? And unique to this service, I want 00:01:47.250 --> 00:01:51.129 to honor one last couple. I'm going to say this. 00:01:51.290 --> 00:01:54.980 When I was a kid, when I was a small kid, Dad, 00:01:55.019 --> 00:01:56.519 he founded our church when I was about seven 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.719 years old. And prior to that, I grew up in an 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:01.859 all -black Pentecostal church. I promise I won't 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:03.879 preach that long, but that was my roots at the 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:06.340 time. And that's all I knew. That's pretty much 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:09.599 all I knew. And then my parents began to branch 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:11.580 out a bit and build different relationships and 00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:13.979 expand. And I remember the first time I ever 00:02:13.979 --> 00:02:18.460 got on a plane, we hopped on a plane and landed 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:22.250 in... Eugene, Oregon, and drove to this little 00:02:22.250 --> 00:02:24.610 small town called Junction City. And we drove 00:02:24.610 --> 00:02:26.849 to Junction City, Oregon. And I walked in and 00:02:26.849 --> 00:02:29.849 this church was being held in a gymnasium. And 00:02:29.849 --> 00:02:32.830 all these people were so nice and so happy and 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:34.889 so white. And I just couldn't, I was like, oh 00:02:34.889 --> 00:02:38.030 my gosh, I haven't seen anything like this before. 00:02:38.289 --> 00:02:41.669 And I remember when the worship started, when 00:02:41.669 --> 00:02:43.650 the worship started, I experienced something 00:02:43.650 --> 00:02:47.139 I'd never experienced before. And yes, I loved 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:49.460 my roots. I loved the church I came out of. But 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:51.680 I'd never seen the joy of the Lord that way. 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:55.659 And I've never seen a church service where all 00:02:55.659 --> 00:02:57.719 of the kids and the teens are up front jumping 00:02:57.719 --> 00:03:00.419 and worshiping. And the lady that was leading 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:05.360 worship, she was jumping and singing. And there 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:07.939 were so many instruments on stage. I was like, 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.120 my goodness, this is amazing. And you fast forward. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:14.439 probably about four or five years after that, 00:03:14.539 --> 00:03:18.460 I remember just thinking to myself, like, it's 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:21.439 incredible that I'd never seen worship like that. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.479 And why is it that these people are singing songs 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:26.319 from Australia? Who are these people? And just 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:29.520 experiences I'd never had. And that same lady 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:33.710 and her husband, they actually... set up a situation 00:03:33.710 --> 00:03:36.430 at my family at the time, in this era now that 00:03:36.430 --> 00:03:38.189 I'm talking about years later, was going through 00:03:38.189 --> 00:03:39.849 one of the toughest seasons we ever faced. Matter 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:41.990 of fact, it was the toughest season we ever faced. 00:03:42.129 --> 00:03:44.810 And that family flew me up and basically just 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:47.449 took me in for a bit. And I hung out with them. 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:50.069 And then I went to basketball camp with their 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:52.289 kids and then hung out a bit longer after the 00:03:52.289 --> 00:03:55.449 camp. And I'm gonna say it restored, despite 00:03:55.449 --> 00:03:57.069 the tough time my family was in at the time, 00:03:57.129 --> 00:04:01.409 it restored such a faith in me in terms of seeing 00:04:01.409 --> 00:04:04.490 family. Seeing family together that loves Jesus. 00:04:04.569 --> 00:04:07.409 Seeing family together that loves each other 00:04:07.409 --> 00:04:10.490 and that loves the church. And I needed that 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:12.830 so bad in that season of my life. And it blessed 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:15.449 me. And the truth is, it marked me more than 00:04:15.449 --> 00:04:18.170 I could ever explain. And I didn't know if I'd 00:04:18.170 --> 00:04:19.709 ever have this opportunity to thank them publicly, 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:22.410 but I can. Mark and Lori Smucker, thank you so 00:04:22.410 --> 00:04:27.009 much. I love you. You guys are incredible. You 00:04:27.009 --> 00:04:34.149 have marked my life. True story, during the hardest 00:04:34.149 --> 00:04:37.449 parts of COVID when we were quarantined and we 00:04:37.449 --> 00:04:39.129 didn't know what was gonna happen, I would go 00:04:39.129 --> 00:04:42.029 to Lori's Facebook Live and I just put it in 00:04:42.029 --> 00:04:44.050 my pocket and she would just pray on her live 00:04:44.050 --> 00:04:45.569 and I'd walk around like, okay, it's gonna be 00:04:45.569 --> 00:04:47.310 okay. I got Mama Lori in my ears. I'm gonna be 00:04:47.310 --> 00:04:51.149 all right. But all right, I better preach here. 00:04:51.250 --> 00:04:53.089 It's not the Grammys right now. It's not a bunch 00:04:53.089 --> 00:04:54.709 of thank yous. Can we stand for the word? Can 00:04:54.709 --> 00:04:58.850 we stand for the word? John chapter 10, John 00:04:58.850 --> 00:05:06.379 chapter 10. John chapter 10, verse one through 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:07.819 10. It's interesting what I'm gonna be preaching 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:11.660 today is something that's very familiar to this 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:14.040 house. Something very familiar to this house. 00:05:14.620 --> 00:05:16.379 I'm gonna be talking about hearing the voice 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:18.459 of God. And I think this is a church that firmly 00:05:18.459 --> 00:05:20.720 believes in that, firmly operates in that, firmly 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:23.360 has a good understanding in that. But in Hebrews 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:27.120 12, 12, it talks about taking a fresh grip. And 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:29.560 this morning, we're gonna take a fresh grip on 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:33.079 hearing the voice of God. Truly, truly, I say 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.040 to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:38.980 the door but climbs in by another way, that man 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:42.680 is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:45.500 the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:48.379 the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:51.519 and he calls his own sheep by name and leads 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:56.540 them out. Hello? When he has brought out all 00:05:56.540 --> 00:05:59.759 his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.980 him, for they know. his voice. A stranger they 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:07.079 will not follow, but they will flee from him, 00:06:07.139 --> 00:06:09.560 for they do not know the voice of strangers. 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:12.759 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.160 they did not understand what he was saying to 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:17.600 them. So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:21.519 I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:24.019 who came before me are thieves and robbers, but 00:06:24.019 --> 00:06:26.959 the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.420 If anyone enters, By me, he will be saved and 00:06:30.420 --> 00:06:33.360 will go in and out and find pasture. Verse 10, 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:36.819 the thief comes to only steal and kill and destroy. 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:40.480 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:43.560 Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:46.100 that it's alive. We thank you that it is for 00:06:46.100 --> 00:06:48.040 today. We thank you that you speak through your 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:50.480 word. We ask, Holy Spirit, that you give us ears 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:53.899 to hear, eyes to see, hearts to receive. In Jesus' 00:06:54.019 --> 00:07:02.069 name, amen. Also praying for you Duck fans. I'm 00:07:02.069 --> 00:07:07.290 with you. I'm hurting. What does it say? To hurt 00:07:07.290 --> 00:07:14.529 with those who hurt. Hard turn. You guys ever 00:07:14.529 --> 00:07:21.209 heard of TikTok? TikTok, Facebook, Instagram. 00:07:23.230 --> 00:07:27.910 It's a social media service. My wife, who's here 00:07:27.910 --> 00:07:29.709 with me, I'm so thankful for her. My wife, Karina, 00:07:29.750 --> 00:07:32.810 as was said, she's a bit of a TikToker, I'd say. 00:07:33.889 --> 00:07:38.509 Oftentimes when we're on vacation, the dinners 00:07:38.509 --> 00:07:42.529 that we pick, the sightseeing that we do, I come 00:07:42.529 --> 00:07:44.329 to the understanding later on is as a result 00:07:44.329 --> 00:07:46.430 of stuff that she's found on TikTok. And I think 00:07:46.430 --> 00:07:49.370 to myself, like, you saw this already. And we 00:07:49.370 --> 00:07:51.269 paid all this money and flew all this way just 00:07:51.269 --> 00:07:53.829 so you can experience something that we could 00:07:53.829 --> 00:07:59.829 have lived together in 15 seconds at home. But 00:07:59.829 --> 00:08:03.970 at the same time, those little clips on TikTok 00:08:03.970 --> 00:08:07.350 that she watches gives her a preview to an experience 00:08:07.350 --> 00:08:11.509 that she can have. Oftentimes, some of you may 00:08:11.509 --> 00:08:13.889 be in here that have siblings or family members 00:08:13.889 --> 00:08:17.490 or even some of your best friends that live outside 00:08:17.490 --> 00:08:19.430 of your city, outside of your state, maybe even 00:08:19.430 --> 00:08:22.230 outside of the country, and you use maybe your 00:08:22.230 --> 00:08:24.029 social media, your Facebook or your Instagram 00:08:24.029 --> 00:08:27.110 in order to still stay involved in their lives. 00:08:27.189 --> 00:08:29.170 Some of you watch your grandkids grow up one 00:08:29.170 --> 00:08:34.099 picture, one clip, one video at a time. Oftentimes, 00:08:34.099 --> 00:08:36.720 especially going back to talking about COVID 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:39.299 and we're quarantined, I don't remember how many 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:41.059 churches I attended at that time because I could 00:08:41.059 --> 00:08:42.960 just open up YouTube and be like, I'm worshiping 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:46.000 with Pastor Brad and all these, but I just get 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:49.659 to see these clips and these videos and not be 00:08:49.659 --> 00:08:52.039 on the inside and not be there attending, but 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:54.440 get to have just a bit of the experience from 00:08:54.440 --> 00:09:00.539 where I'm at. I like to call these snippets and 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:03.590 sound bites. Snippets and sound bites. I get 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:05.549 to partake in the snippets and sound bites of 00:09:05.549 --> 00:09:08.789 an experience that I'm not actually having. A 00:09:08.789 --> 00:09:11.809 place that I'm not actually at. An environment 00:09:11.809 --> 00:09:14.990 that I'm not actually in, but I'm on the outside 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:18.190 looking in and doing my best to partake in it. 00:09:20.789 --> 00:09:25.370 Oftentimes we use these snippets and sound bites 00:09:25.370 --> 00:09:30.080 to... to form opinions, to form thoughts. Most 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.279 dangerously, sometimes we use snippets and soundbites 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:36.159 to determine how we vote and how we lead and 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:40.399 how we carry ourselves and how we gather information. 00:09:40.419 --> 00:09:42.320 Some of those snippets and soundbites are put 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:48.200 together on channels like Fox News and CNN. Oftentimes, 00:09:48.379 --> 00:09:52.299 I finish my evening watching snippets and soundbites 00:09:52.299 --> 00:09:55.120 with my good friend Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:00.299 But how many of you understand that no matter 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:03.360 how much we can watch and how much we can listen 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:07.700 and how much of the small clip from the rally, 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:10.779 the small clip from the event, the small clip 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:12.580 from the game, how many of you understand no 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:15.200 matter how many snippets and sound bites we take 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.759 in, it's not the same as having the actual experience 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:20.659 and being there in the environment for ourselves. 00:10:23.259 --> 00:10:26.830 There's a story. of this young lady. And it's 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:28.629 a true story from our youth ministry. We call 00:10:28.629 --> 00:10:33.789 her Mysterious Ruby. Not to her face, but we 00:10:33.789 --> 00:10:38.809 call her Mysterious Ruby. You see, there's a 00:10:38.809 --> 00:10:41.230 young man in our church. He, to this day, is 00:10:41.230 --> 00:10:43.690 a middle school PE teacher. He's a middle school 00:10:43.690 --> 00:10:48.029 PE teacher. He started talking about this young 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:51.409 lady named Ruby who would always come to his 00:10:51.409 --> 00:10:55.009 PE class celebrating and excited about the things 00:10:55.009 --> 00:10:58.070 that she has heard and experienced from our youth 00:10:58.070 --> 00:11:01.370 ministry. She would talk about the sermon series 00:11:01.370 --> 00:11:04.250 that we're in. She would talk about the different 00:11:04.250 --> 00:11:07.090 small group leaders that she has. And maybe if 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:09.250 it was a special game night, if we had a guest 00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:11.789 speaker and she would always go back to this 00:11:11.789 --> 00:11:14.029 young man in his PE class and say, oh man, what 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:16.350 a night we had. And that speaker, he was great. 00:11:16.490 --> 00:11:19.629 And the game was fun. And he would come back 00:11:19.629 --> 00:11:21.309 to me and say, man, I love what you're doing 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:23.190 in your youth ministry. Ruby's really enjoying 00:11:23.190 --> 00:11:26.350 it. Now, to be completely honest, our youth ministry 00:11:26.350 --> 00:11:28.509 is just at the point of a size where I can't 00:11:28.509 --> 00:11:30.289 say I know every single student. Every single 00:11:30.289 --> 00:11:31.909 student in our youth ministry is known because 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:33.809 of our small group system. But me as the youth 00:11:33.809 --> 00:11:35.950 pastor, I don't have the opportunity to meet 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:38.450 every single student all the time. So it's not 00:11:38.450 --> 00:11:40.490 always uncommon when someone tells me about a 00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:42.559 student that I haven't met before. If you guys 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:45.559 are with me. So he said, man, Ruby, her name's 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:46.980 Ruby and she really loves your youth ministry. 00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:49.559 And so finally there was an opportunity for us 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:51.200 to do what we called an invite night, an open 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:53.200 night where even some of the young adults from 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.740 the church can come and hang out and hear the 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:57.679 speaker. So that young man came and he said, 00:11:57.720 --> 00:11:59.700 man, Ruby told me about the invite night. So 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:01.659 I'm here and I've got some of the other students 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:03.659 with me. So I just wanted to say hi to her. I 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:06.159 said, that's great, man, do your thing. And he 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:08.299 doesn't see her. So finally he goes to the check 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:11.220 -in station and he says, hey, is Ruby here? They 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.419 looked her up in the system, and they didn't 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:16.539 see her name in the check -ins that day. So he 00:12:16.539 --> 00:12:18.960 had one of the students send her a text and say, 00:12:19.019 --> 00:12:22.120 hey, Ruby, Mr. K is looking for you. Where are 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.279 you at the invite night? She goes, oh, I'm already 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:27.539 in the sanctuary. They're like, okay, we're going 00:12:27.539 --> 00:12:29.500 to come find you. We want to sit with you. And 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:31.940 they get into the sanctuary, and the students 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:34.220 text again, and then they say, hey, you know, 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.710 it's... a pretty good sized building, but it 00:12:36.710 --> 00:12:38.529 should be easy to find you. Where are you? And 00:12:38.529 --> 00:12:40.350 she says, oh, oh, oh, I'm helping at the check 00:12:40.350 --> 00:12:42.370 -in station. So they go back to the check -in 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:44.490 station and they say, no, we don't see you here 00:12:44.490 --> 00:12:48.509 either. And they finally just let it go. The 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:50.789 next day, he had a discussion with her and he 00:12:50.789 --> 00:12:52.529 started piecing things together. And it turns 00:12:52.529 --> 00:12:56.529 out that not only has Ruby never been to our 00:12:56.529 --> 00:12:59.009 youth service on a Wednesday night, she's never 00:12:59.009 --> 00:13:01.129 been to a small group. She's never been to one 00:13:01.129 --> 00:13:02.710 of our in -home block parties. She's never been 00:13:02.710 --> 00:13:04.730 to a Sunday morning service at Church for the 00:13:04.730 --> 00:13:07.929 City at all. All of the information, all of the 00:13:07.929 --> 00:13:12.870 names, all of the understanding, all of the experience 00:13:12.870 --> 00:13:19.450 that she's had has been through Instagram. Which, 00:13:19.470 --> 00:13:23.269 shout out to our Instagram team. Way to go in 00:13:23.269 --> 00:13:27.350 creating an experience for people to see. But 00:13:27.350 --> 00:13:31.370 the dangerous part about that is she began to 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:34.370 have such an experience through snippets and 00:13:34.370 --> 00:13:36.509 sound bites of the ministry that she convinced 00:13:36.509 --> 00:13:38.529 herself that she was a part of that community 00:13:38.529 --> 00:13:46.070 enough that she can convince others. And you 00:13:46.070 --> 00:13:49.759 see, the problem is... She began to convince 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:52.559 herself that she was in relationships that she 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:55.740 wasn't really in. She can gather and she can 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:57.620 hear and she can even repeat some of the things, 00:13:57.740 --> 00:13:59.679 whether it's deep or fun or light or whatever 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.080 else. And she began to convince herself that 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.620 she was in community and in relationship with 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:07.120 the City Youth Ministry when the truth is it 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:09.799 was all just her being convinced by the snippets 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:13.940 and the sound bites. And how dangerous it is. 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:16.840 with the fact that oftentimes people do that 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:18.360 same thing with their relationship with God. 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:22.799 Through snippets and sound bites, we convince 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:25.600 ourselves that we're in a true, deep, intimate 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:29.059 relationship with him. All because we can share 00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:31.620 and post a little piece of a verse that we don't 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:34.480 really even know the context of. Because we come 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:37.480 here and sit Sunday after Sunday and hear a 40 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.220 -minute message from Pastor Brad and we just 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:43.139 eat off of that one snippet and soundbite of 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:48.059 scripture for the rest of the week. Maybe we 00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:52.539 put on that worship song on the way to work because 00:14:52.539 --> 00:14:54.759 we know we have to deal with Jeff or whoever 00:14:54.759 --> 00:15:00.629 it is, you know. Donna, I don't know. And that 00:15:00.629 --> 00:15:03.570 snippet and soundbite of maybe a little scripture 00:15:03.570 --> 00:15:05.750 in the song and a little bit of presence of God. 00:15:06.149 --> 00:15:10.629 And that's all you get. And you're living through 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:16.230 that. And I think to myself how scary it is if 00:15:16.230 --> 00:15:18.289 we attempt to live through the snippets and soundbites 00:15:18.289 --> 00:15:23.269 instead of the true intimate relationship and 00:15:23.269 --> 00:15:27.570 voice of the person. The person of Christ. The 00:15:27.570 --> 00:15:30.700 person. Not the clips that are made available, 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:34.659 not the voices of someone that is hearing from 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:37.200 him and talking to you, but hearing his voice 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:41.960 himself day after day. And why is this so important? 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:45.539 Because we're in an era where there's more voices 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:49.860 available than ever. We're talking to the students 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:52.940 at Converge Conference this weekend and talking 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:55.320 about the fact that they have access to voices 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.759 all over the globe. Think about some of your, 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.960 and this just used to be a people in the network. 00:16:02.650 --> 00:16:05.809 really tech type people. Now it's all of us. 00:16:05.870 --> 00:16:08.429 I think about how my morning started. Unfortunately, 00:16:08.629 --> 00:16:10.950 first thing this morning, I think I better check 00:16:10.950 --> 00:16:12.549 my texts and make sure everything's going well 00:16:12.549 --> 00:16:16.210 at home. I check my social media and invite people 00:16:16.210 --> 00:16:18.330 to the service back at home. And then I check 00:16:18.330 --> 00:16:20.450 my email to make sure I'm not missing anything. 00:16:20.690 --> 00:16:23.029 And then I roll over and I say good morning to 00:16:23.029 --> 00:16:25.909 my wife. And how many different voices, how many 00:16:25.909 --> 00:16:28.230 different voices potentially did I hear and experience 00:16:28.230 --> 00:16:34.500 already before my day has even started? And I 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:39.519 think even more crucial is the fact that there 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:42.159 are voices out there that can make themselves 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:49.100 sound so right, so godly. They can make themselves 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:52.340 sound so convincing about topics, so convincing 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:56.460 about subjects that mean a lot to us. And some 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:59.139 of those voices are actually leading us into 00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:02.809 this position called deception. In John chapter 00:17:02.809 --> 00:17:06.509 10, what we read as Jesus is talking is that 00:17:06.509 --> 00:17:10.009 he's trying to keep us from deception. And as 00:17:10.009 --> 00:17:12.089 he's trying to keep us from deception, he's helping 00:17:12.089 --> 00:17:14.130 us understand the voice that we're supposed to 00:17:14.130 --> 00:17:16.650 be listening to and following. See, in John chapter 00:17:16.650 --> 00:17:19.730 9, Jesus healed this man who was blind, and they 00:17:19.730 --> 00:17:23.059 even took this man in front of the... in front 00:17:23.059 --> 00:17:24.559 of the council and they called his parents in 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:25.920 and they're saying, how did this happen? And 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.259 they're frustrated. They don't believe that Jesus 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:31.079 is capable of doing what he did. And now Jesus 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.359 is having this conversation with these Pharisees. 00:17:33.710 --> 00:17:36.809 See, the Pharisees, they knew what they had available 00:17:36.809 --> 00:17:39.210 of scripture. They knew what they had available 00:17:39.210 --> 00:17:41.730 of the word at the time, but they didn't believe 00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:43.990 that Jesus was the Messiah. They didn't believe 00:17:43.990 --> 00:17:46.789 that Jesus was the savior of the world. So oftentimes 00:17:46.789 --> 00:17:49.069 in scripture, we see them having this back and 00:17:49.069 --> 00:17:51.750 forth debate with Jesus, challenging him as he 00:17:51.750 --> 00:17:56.390 gives answers. And in this passage, we see in 00:17:56.390 --> 00:17:59.150 the first few verses, Jesus is just basically 00:17:59.150 --> 00:18:01.970 giving an understanding. There's no other way. 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:05.539 but me there's no other way to the father but 00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:07.420 through me there's no other way to salvation 00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:10.200 but through me in the first few verses he's establishing 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:12.839 once again who he is he's letting the pharisees 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:16.299 know whether you believe or not i am who i say 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:22.579 i am and i love in verse 3 how he talks about 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:26.079 that he calls his sheep by name He calls his 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:28.099 sheep by name. Whether you're a pastor in this 00:18:28.099 --> 00:18:30.420 room or whether it's your very first time and 00:18:30.420 --> 00:18:32.039 you don't know another soul in this house, you 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:35.299 were called by name. You were chosen by name. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.819 The same person that created, the same God that 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:42.099 created the heavens and earth knows your name 00:18:42.099 --> 00:18:44.380 and selected you to be a part of his kingdom. 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:47.420 There's no surprises in the kingdom of God. There 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:49.200 are no accidents in the kingdom of God, even 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:50.660 though every once in a while we have to check 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:52.640 our face when a certain person walks in and we're 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:55.660 like, oh my gosh, they're here. There are no 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:57.460 accidents. They're called by name. But I want 00:18:57.460 --> 00:18:59.559 to lean into verse 4. I want to lean into verse 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.500 4 because it says that sheep follow him because 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:08.480 they know his voice. They know his voice. Two 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.660 really key points I just want to give in this 00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:13.660 passage, in this talk, and I'm going to get out 00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:15.359 of the way. But two key points. And the first 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:17.059 one is the most simple statement you can ever 00:19:17.059 --> 00:19:18.900 make but sometimes harder to believe than others. 00:19:19.059 --> 00:19:21.140 The first statement is this. Number one is God 00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:26.279 speaks. God speaks. For some of us, we hear that 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:28.220 all the time. For some of you, that is a very 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:32.039 hard understanding to gather. It's a hard reality 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.000 to believe the fact that the God of the universe, 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:40.420 the God of all creation speaks today. The God 00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:43.279 of all creation speaks and makes his voice available 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:48.079 to us. Makes his voice available to us even when 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:50.180 it comes to the topics that we're convinced that 00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:54.650 we already know. He speaks even into the areas 00:19:54.650 --> 00:19:56.490 that we're so offended about we don't want to 00:19:56.490 --> 00:19:59.950 hear anymore. Speaks into the minor details. 00:20:00.009 --> 00:20:01.789 I'm raising an eight -year -old and six -year 00:20:01.789 --> 00:20:05.690 -old girl right now. I need to hear him. Surrounded 00:20:05.690 --> 00:20:09.690 by women. Help me, Lord. Actually, matter of 00:20:09.690 --> 00:20:11.349 fact, speaking of that, I want to make a statement. 00:20:11.490 --> 00:20:13.930 There's something very cool. I said this before, 00:20:13.970 --> 00:20:15.289 and you guys are spoiled, and this church is 00:20:15.289 --> 00:20:17.190 incredible, but there's one thing that's incredibly 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:20.470 unique to your guys' church that I hope you really... 00:20:20.750 --> 00:20:23.549 Grasp, understand, and gather. I think this is 00:20:23.549 --> 00:20:26.269 a statement I can dig into later someday if you 00:20:26.269 --> 00:20:28.410 want to have a conversation. But I think in the 00:20:28.410 --> 00:20:32.690 past decade, a lot about our worship experience 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:36.309 in the contemporary church, I guess you can say 00:20:36.309 --> 00:20:38.529 in the non -denominational church, became a bit 00:20:38.529 --> 00:20:42.549 feminine. I had super tight pants just like a 00:20:42.549 --> 00:20:46.170 month ago. And I'm not saying that's a reflection 00:20:46.170 --> 00:20:50.279 of that. But it seemed like, and I think one 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:52.119 of the greatest indicators is me and my friends 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:53.660 who would go and speak and preach or whatever 00:20:53.660 --> 00:20:55.359 else, we'd always say, man, I love going to a 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:58.359 women's conference. Why? Because women, you pop 00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.980 those doors open, they're here ready to worship. 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:02.079 They're about it. They're up front. They're praying. 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:04.440 And we started to realize, at least for the last 00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:07.240 decade, that it wasn't as easy to get the masculine 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:09.200 men to really offer themselves up in worship. 00:21:11.380 --> 00:21:14.119 It's not the case anymore. And it's not the case 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:18.910 here at Life Bible. I love seeing men. that love 00:21:18.910 --> 00:21:21.470 Jesus, that unashamedly lift their hands and 00:21:21.470 --> 00:21:24.990 sing, and they're leading their family in a way 00:21:24.990 --> 00:21:28.049 that I think that God has designed us to do. 00:21:29.269 --> 00:21:31.910 See people up here in worship who look like they 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:34.609 killed a deer on the way to church. It's still 00:21:34.609 --> 00:21:38.230 in the back of the truck on ice. I love it. I 00:21:38.230 --> 00:21:42.109 love it. Where am I at, man? Sorry about that. 00:21:42.170 --> 00:21:46.670 All right. The things I'm thinking about during 00:21:46.670 --> 00:21:51.329 worship. I'm sorry. God speaks. Okay, Jeremiah 00:21:51.329 --> 00:21:54.049 33, it says this, call to me and I will answer 00:21:54.049 --> 00:21:56.250 you. I will tell you great and hidden things 00:21:56.250 --> 00:22:00.269 that you have not known. The number one way God 00:22:00.269 --> 00:22:04.450 speaks is through his word. The number one way 00:22:04.450 --> 00:22:08.750 God speaks is through his word. Why? That makes 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:10.529 perfect sense, right? Because it's his word. 00:22:11.410 --> 00:22:16.220 It's his word. Oftentimes, And I love the prophetic. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:18.720 I love the prophetic. But sometimes we're desperate 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:23.539 for a word but haven't turned to his word. We're 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:27.880 desperate for a word. We're desperate to hear 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:31.779 directly from him regarding things that he's 00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:34.339 already left us instruction on. And clearly, 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:38.660 I don't know if you grew up like I did and at 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:40.420 times you'd wake up and your parents are already 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.559 gone for work or maybe they're gone for travel 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:46.190 and they leave you that long note. And on that 00:22:46.190 --> 00:22:48.470 note on the counter, on that note on the counter, 00:22:48.529 --> 00:22:50.930 they'll tell you how they feel. Hey, I just know 00:22:50.930 --> 00:22:53.470 that I love you. We'll be back in a few days. 00:22:54.150 --> 00:22:56.329 Hot pockets are in the freezer. Just live off 00:22:56.329 --> 00:22:59.240 of them. Make sure you get your chores done. 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:01.660 Make sure you take care of your siblings. Check 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:04.099 in on them. Make sure if anything goes crazy, 00:23:04.180 --> 00:23:06.539 just run to grandma's house. All these different 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:09.460 instructions. And I can't imagine if my parents 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:12.079 left no stone unturned and they left me all the 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:14.819 instructions on that paper. And when I woke up 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:16.559 that morning, instead of paying attention to 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:19.200 that paper, I get on my landline phone and call 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:21.319 the landline phone wherever they are. And I say, 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:24.319 hey, mom and dad, you're gone. What do I do? 00:23:25.930 --> 00:23:28.269 I believe they'd be bothered and offended because 00:23:28.269 --> 00:23:31.509 they can say, hey, I left you all the instructions 00:23:31.509 --> 00:23:34.009 you need. And I say, well, but I need to hear 00:23:34.009 --> 00:23:37.130 your voice. That is my voice. I need to hear 00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:39.450 your thoughts for me. Those are my thoughts for 00:23:39.450 --> 00:23:41.849 you. I need instruction. That is my instruction. 00:23:43.910 --> 00:23:47.710 Listen, we've got to get a hold of this thing. 00:23:48.430 --> 00:23:50.670 The answers are here. Struggling in your marriage, 00:23:50.730 --> 00:23:52.529 it's here. Struggling in your parenting, it's 00:23:52.529 --> 00:23:54.349 here. Struggling in your finances, it's here. 00:23:54.730 --> 00:23:57.069 Struggling on the inside, mental health, it's 00:23:57.069 --> 00:23:59.210 here. And believe me when I say I'm all about 00:23:59.210 --> 00:24:01.230 small groups. I'm all about counseling. I'm all 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:03.630 about all the different things that we can do 00:24:03.630 --> 00:24:06.789 in order to help be healthy individuals, mind, 00:24:06.970 --> 00:24:09.130 body, and soul, mind, body, and spirit. But I 00:24:09.130 --> 00:24:11.630 will say this. There's nothing more important 00:24:11.630 --> 00:24:14.269 to invest your time in when it comes to your 00:24:14.269 --> 00:24:17.509 health than this right here. God speaks through 00:24:17.509 --> 00:24:20.950 his word. Romans 10 says, so faith comes by hearing 00:24:20.950 --> 00:24:24.130 and hearing through the word of God. 2 Timothy 00:24:24.130 --> 00:24:26.289 3 says, all scripture is God -breathed and useful 00:24:26.289 --> 00:24:29.509 for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training 00:24:29.509 --> 00:24:33.329 in righteousness. And every bit of this word 00:24:33.329 --> 00:24:35.849 is still true. Every bit of this word remains 00:24:35.849 --> 00:24:38.650 true. I remember one time my dad took me to his 00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:42.390 bookshelf when I was in school. I was a lazy 00:24:42.390 --> 00:24:44.710 student, to be completely honest, and he took 00:24:44.710 --> 00:24:48.809 me to his bookshelf. And he showed me this section 00:24:48.809 --> 00:24:51.710 of his bookshelf. And he has, of course, he has 00:24:51.710 --> 00:24:54.029 all his different books of, I don't know, Charles 00:24:54.029 --> 00:24:56.849 Spurgeon and Charles Stanley and every other 00:24:56.849 --> 00:24:58.990 Charles and all these other different people 00:24:58.990 --> 00:25:01.130 and all these different Bibles. And then he has 00:25:01.130 --> 00:25:03.750 this little section of these little yellow books. 00:25:04.750 --> 00:25:07.670 You see, my dad used to help out and work at 00:25:07.670 --> 00:25:11.630 a school. And they used to make him at least 00:25:11.630 --> 00:25:13.450 come to a good understanding of what the students 00:25:13.450 --> 00:25:15.529 are learning as they're reading To Kill a Mockingbird 00:25:15.529 --> 00:25:16.849 and all these different books, and they have 00:25:16.849 --> 00:25:19.170 to write all these assignments. So once he started 00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:20.950 working that area, he had this little yellow 00:25:20.950 --> 00:25:22.369 section of books. And then when I said, hey, 00:25:22.390 --> 00:25:24.289 Dad, I got a book report to write, and I didn't 00:25:24.289 --> 00:25:25.589 read that book. I'm going to be completely honest. 00:25:25.730 --> 00:25:27.509 He took me to that little yellow section of books, 00:25:27.609 --> 00:25:29.369 and he pulled it out, and he said, here you go, 00:25:29.390 --> 00:25:33.230 son. This is the Cliff Notes. You can read these 00:25:33.230 --> 00:25:35.759 little. 40 pages in this book and it tells you 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:37.619 everything you need to know about that entire 00:25:37.619 --> 00:25:39.519 book. You don't need to read that entire book 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:41.200 because everything you need to know about that 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:44.000 book is in this little snippet and section of 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:47.500 this Cliff Notes. My dad's been my pastor for 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:50.079 30 years now. He never handed me Cliff Notes 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:54.119 for this thing here. He never gave me a way out. 00:25:54.200 --> 00:25:58.019 He never gave me a hack. He never gave me a cheat 00:25:58.019 --> 00:26:00.359 code. He said, son, there's nothing to take out 00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:02.640 of this right here. We read this entire word. 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:04.579 We learn this entire word. We hear this entire 00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:07.099 word, but we gotta have the patience to learn 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:11.079 it. We've gotta take the time to dig in. It's 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:14.000 incredible how much effort we'll put in to learn 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:17.369 how to make our own lattes at home. Some of you 00:26:17.369 --> 00:26:19.809 guys took the time, effort, and years to learn 00:26:19.809 --> 00:26:23.170 how to rebuild a classic car, how to learn these 00:26:23.170 --> 00:26:25.650 recipes, and you made mistakes, and you stumbled, 00:26:25.769 --> 00:26:28.730 and you had to call people for help. You had 00:26:28.730 --> 00:26:31.089 to call buddies over. You had to call mentors 00:26:31.089 --> 00:26:32.829 and all these different things. Can we do that 00:26:32.829 --> 00:26:38.430 when it comes to Scripture? Number two is this. 00:26:38.730 --> 00:26:41.750 Hearing and knowing the voice of God grows with 00:26:41.750 --> 00:26:47.089 relationship. It grows with relationship. I love 00:26:47.089 --> 00:26:49.930 the story in 1 Samuel chapter 3. This man named 00:26:49.930 --> 00:26:53.789 Samuel, his mom, Hannah, was a person of prayer. 00:26:53.970 --> 00:26:58.390 And Hannah prayed fervently and prayed for long 00:26:58.390 --> 00:27:00.269 periods of time in order to have a son. And finally 00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:01.549 she made a deal with God. She said, if you give 00:27:01.549 --> 00:27:03.730 me a son, I'll have him raised in the house of 00:27:03.730 --> 00:27:06.630 the Lord. And she stayed true to that. She took 00:27:06.630 --> 00:27:09.329 her son Samuel to live with Eli the priest. And 00:27:09.329 --> 00:27:11.910 there came a point in Samuel's life where he's 00:27:11.910 --> 00:27:15.970 with Eli. And he hears this voice call his name. 00:27:16.690 --> 00:27:19.750 And he runs to Eli and he says, what do you need? 00:27:19.809 --> 00:27:22.930 And Eli, I'm paraphrasing, Eli says, no, I didn't 00:27:22.930 --> 00:27:24.769 call you, go back to bed. He hears his name again. 00:27:25.890 --> 00:27:28.609 Eli says, I didn't call you, go back to bed. 00:27:29.009 --> 00:27:31.730 Samuel hears his name a third time. Clearly, 00:27:31.809 --> 00:27:34.170 audibly, he hears his name a third time. He goes 00:27:34.170 --> 00:27:40.049 to Eli and Eli says, he says, I didn't call you, 00:27:40.089 --> 00:27:42.109 but this is what I want you to do. The next time 00:27:42.109 --> 00:27:43.569 you hear your name called, I want you to say, 00:27:43.630 --> 00:27:47.059 speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Samuel 00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:49.420 goes back to bed. He hears his name called. He 00:27:49.420 --> 00:27:51.119 says, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:54.880 And he begins to hear the voice of God download 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:57.160 into him the things that are to be prepared for 00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:59.000 when it comes to the kingdom, when it comes to 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.519 the nation at that time. I'm gonna give you one 00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:02.700 more example, and then I'm gonna give you just 00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:04.900 this phrase that goes along with this. I remember 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:07.240 being a kid growing up in our neighborhood. And 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:09.039 I would hang out and we would just kind of hang 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:10.500 out in the streets right there on our block. 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:13.180 And I would sometimes be two, three, four doors 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:15.359 down and we'd be playing football or basketball 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.519 in the front yard. And oftentimes we'd be playing 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:20.720 and all of a sudden I'd hear my mom step out 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:22.279 the front door. And you know, moms don't come 00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:23.759 too far out the front door, but they just step 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:25.759 out the front door and she'd yell my name, Tyrone. 00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:30.539 And I'd tell my friends, hey, I gotta go. And 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:32.940 they'd say, what happened? And I said, you didn't 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:34.180 hear that? My mom just called me. And they're 00:28:34.180 --> 00:28:38.230 like, no, no, she didn't. Yes, she did. And I 00:28:38.230 --> 00:28:42.990 got to go. You see, no matter what I was doing, 00:28:43.170 --> 00:28:47.009 matter of fact, no matter how far I was, I was 00:28:47.009 --> 00:28:49.470 able to hear my mom call my name because my ear 00:28:49.470 --> 00:28:51.839 was tuned to her voice. Why? Because that's the 00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.720 same voice that would sing me to sleep as a baby. 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:55.160 That's the same voice that would pray for me. 00:28:55.180 --> 00:28:56.539 It's the same voice that said, have a good day. 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:58.299 It's the same voice that says, I love you. It's 00:28:58.299 --> 00:28:59.900 the same voice that would discipline me. And 00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:03.099 because of my relationship with her, my ear was 00:29:03.099 --> 00:29:05.279 tuned to her voice. So even if I'm with people 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:07.480 who can't hear her, I can hear her because my 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:11.779 ear is tuned to her voice. Samuel, in that moment, 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:14.319 his ear wasn't tuned to the voice of God, but 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:17.019 in that very brief moment, Eli taught him how 00:29:17.019 --> 00:29:20.509 to. Tune his ear to the voice of God. And sometimes 00:29:20.509 --> 00:29:22.970 we can tune our ear to the voice of God just 00:29:22.970 --> 00:29:25.490 by opening up our heart and opening up ourselves 00:29:25.490 --> 00:29:30.529 and saying, okay, God, I'm listening. Tuned to 00:29:30.529 --> 00:29:31.930 the voice of God, and that happens by way of 00:29:31.930 --> 00:29:33.650 a relationship. What does a relationship mean? 00:29:33.710 --> 00:29:37.390 It means time. And it means being alert when 00:29:37.390 --> 00:29:40.109 you spend that time. Anybody ever do a sleepy 00:29:40.109 --> 00:29:43.809 devotional? Check that box. I'm only 20 days 00:29:43.809 --> 00:29:49.269 behind now, all right? We're getting there. Those 00:29:49.269 --> 00:29:53.450 Bible reading plans. That's not conviction, it's 00:29:53.450 --> 00:29:56.509 condemnation. Don't put that there. It takes 00:29:56.509 --> 00:29:59.650 investment. Just like any other relationship. 00:30:00.470 --> 00:30:03.650 Sometimes hearing the voice of God can come in 00:30:03.650 --> 00:30:06.170 different ways. Is there anybody here who can 00:30:06.170 --> 00:30:07.529 honestly say, and you can actually do a show 00:30:07.529 --> 00:30:09.470 of hands here, is there anybody here who's heard 00:30:09.470 --> 00:30:13.809 the audible voice of God? Okay. That's your prayer 00:30:13.809 --> 00:30:15.660 partners. Look around. That's who you want praying 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:18.019 for you. Heard the audible voice of God. I've 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:19.619 never heard the audible voice of God. But as 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:23.880 we just saw, he still speaks audibly. Sometimes 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:26.980 we experience just this holy conviction. We don't 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:28.940 hear a voice, but you go to send that email and 00:30:28.940 --> 00:30:34.240 it's like, nope. You go to text back, nope. Young 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:37.720 people, you go to get in that car, nope. That's 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:42.059 God speaking through that conviction. Sometimes 00:30:42.059 --> 00:30:45.849 you experience confirmation. something happens 00:30:45.849 --> 00:30:49.450 or something's said to you by a person or even 00:30:49.450 --> 00:30:51.990 you see an event play out and you're just like, 00:30:52.069 --> 00:30:55.730 yes, Lord. You just told me that the direction 00:30:55.730 --> 00:30:58.329 we're heading is good. You just revealed to me 00:30:58.329 --> 00:31:00.309 that we're in the right vein. We're in the right 00:31:00.309 --> 00:31:02.230 lane. I was having the right thought. God didn't 00:31:02.230 --> 00:31:05.509 speak it audibly to your ear, but by way of a 00:31:05.509 --> 00:31:08.509 holy confirmation in that moment, you're like, 00:31:08.549 --> 00:31:10.690 yes, thank you, Lord. Thank you for revealing 00:31:10.690 --> 00:31:12.190 that to me. Thank you for making that clear. 00:31:12.230 --> 00:31:14.380 Sometimes it's an unexplainable peace. That you're 00:31:14.380 --> 00:31:16.480 experiencing. God's speaking to you through that 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:18.579 peace that you have. And the peace that, like 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:19.940 the Bible says, surpasses all understanding. 00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:21.839 Your unsaved friends don't get it. Sometimes 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:23.359 even the people in your family don't get it. 00:31:23.380 --> 00:31:25.660 But that's the voice of God bringing peace to 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:30.220 you. The voice of God bringing joy to you. Some 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:31.940 of you guys need to experience and hear that 00:31:31.940 --> 00:31:34.480 voice at work or in certain relationships where 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:37.779 every other thought that comes to your mind is 00:31:37.779 --> 00:31:41.740 struggling and tough. But you got this voice 00:31:41.740 --> 00:31:43.240 of God saying, we're gonna make it. We're gonna 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:45.960 make it. Don't quit. Keep going. Keep pushing. 00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:49.160 And he speaks that through sometimes just this 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:51.779 unexplainable joy. Other times it's a call to 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:53.799 action. I know this is a very, a church that 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:56.180 believes in missions, foreign missions and local 00:31:56.180 --> 00:31:58.740 missions and different things. There's people 00:31:58.740 --> 00:32:01.240 who've gone on missions and they said, the Lord 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:03.099 led me. The Lord told me to go on this trip. 00:32:03.180 --> 00:32:05.480 But here's the thing. God didn't audibly tell 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:07.940 them. Go to Thailand. God didn't audibly tell 00:32:07.940 --> 00:32:11.059 them go to India, but the promotion came up on 00:32:11.059 --> 00:32:14.039 the screen or the advertisement came up through 00:32:14.039 --> 00:32:17.140 the church media and everything inside of them 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:21.019 said, I have to go. That's the voice of the Lord, 00:32:21.059 --> 00:32:23.099 but the voice of the Lord is speaking to you 00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:29.000 through that call to action. There may be people 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:31.539 here who are headed to Texas who don't want to 00:32:31.539 --> 00:32:35.759 go there. There's bugs. Trying to scare people 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:41.680 away. Stay here. But it's a call to action. It's 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:45.180 God speaking through a call to action. And as 00:32:45.180 --> 00:32:47.839 we know with the voice of the Lord, and I love 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:50.259 how this house honors it, but with the voice 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:52.559 of the Lord, no matter how God speaks to you, 00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:55.900 no matter how your ears tune to him, and no matter 00:32:55.900 --> 00:32:59.640 what he says, it always, always, always. Someone 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:02.619 say always. Always. Someone say always. Always. 00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:07.019 always aligns with the word of God. The voice 00:33:07.019 --> 00:33:10.599 of God will never misalign with the word of God. 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:14.339 So I don't care how many times they say, thus 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:17.920 says the Lord. If it doesn't align with this, 00:33:18.059 --> 00:33:24.440 you can miss me with that. Jesus goes on to say 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:26.920 that they will not flee or follow a stranger 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:29.140 because they don't know the stranger's voice. 00:33:30.200 --> 00:33:32.180 There's a voice that speaks louder in their life, 00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:34.299 louder in their decisions, louder in their processing 00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:39.539 than the shepherd. And those people, they allow 00:33:39.539 --> 00:33:41.380 themselves to be deceived. But it's interesting 00:33:41.380 --> 00:33:43.700 that the Bible compares us to sheep, that Jesus 00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:47.059 compares us to sheep in this passage. And really 00:33:47.059 --> 00:33:49.440 the sheepfold they're comparing, it's really 00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:52.480 a metaphor, a comparison to the kingdom of God. 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:56.200 As Jesus is talking, he's giving us this illustration. 00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:59.220 And it's not the only time that we're compared 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:02.390 to sheep. Some people make the false claim like, 00:34:02.470 --> 00:34:05.710 oh, the Bible calls us sheep because we're so 00:34:05.710 --> 00:34:08.769 dumb. No. I mean, maybe you, I don't know, but 00:34:08.769 --> 00:34:12.570 I don't feel that way, you know? And then I did 00:34:12.570 --> 00:34:15.969 some research on sheep, and sheep aren't that 00:34:15.969 --> 00:34:18.369 way either. In fact, this is some things I learned 00:34:18.369 --> 00:34:22.409 about sheep. I did some extensive research on 00:34:22.409 --> 00:34:27.199 Google, and it says this. Got a little snippet 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:30.739 and soundbite of sheep stuff. It says sheep are 00:34:30.739 --> 00:34:34.039 clever and relational. One thing I saw said that 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:35.719 sheep can actually recognize up to 50 faces. 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:40.340 This is interesting. It says sheep have a 360 00:34:40.340 --> 00:34:44.079 degree radius of vision. Does this sound familiar? 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:47.239 They can see everything going on next to them. 00:34:48.059 --> 00:34:50.239 They can see what everyone else has going on 00:34:50.239 --> 00:34:53.480 from side to side. And if they want to or need 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:57.039 to or just have the desire to, they can look 00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:00.119 back behind from where they came from. They can 00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:02.539 look back behind and they can pay attention to 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:04.800 everything going on side to side, but they don't 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:06.440 have foresight for what's ahead. Matter of fact, 00:35:06.460 --> 00:35:08.260 they have poor depth perception, which means 00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:10.360 in order to know what's going on from side to 00:35:10.360 --> 00:35:12.219 side and behind, they can look. But if they want 00:35:12.219 --> 00:35:13.559 to know what's coming ahead, they have to look 00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:22.340 to the shepherd. Sound familiar to anyone? And 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:24.619 there's something else that this is, I did have 00:35:24.619 --> 00:35:26.159 to spend a little more time to make sure I could 00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:30.260 confirm, but it's incredible. And it just, once 00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:32.239 again, reminds us the beauty of what we can learn 00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:33.820 through the word of God and through scripture. 00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:40.920 With sheep, when they're in their pasture, we 00:35:40.920 --> 00:35:46.099 can be, this can be at an American pasture. This 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:48.460 can be in my hometown. Matter of fact, there 00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:50.519 is one not too far. You guys have way more than 00:35:50.519 --> 00:35:55.630 we do. But there's one not too far away. I can 00:35:55.630 --> 00:35:59.969 go to that pasture and I can use the same accent, 00:36:00.170 --> 00:36:06.489 the same words, the same tempo, the same tone, 00:36:06.690 --> 00:36:09.570 and I can say all the same things that the shepherd 00:36:09.570 --> 00:36:12.269 would normally say when it's time to gather and 00:36:12.269 --> 00:36:17.050 round them up. And the sheep won't budge. But 00:36:17.050 --> 00:36:20.469 the shepherd can step up and say exactly what 00:36:20.469 --> 00:36:25.119 I said. exactly how I said it, at the exact time 00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:28.579 I said it, in the exact moment that I said it, 00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:32.239 and all the sheep by the sound of his or her 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:36.320 voice will respond and come running to be gathered. 00:36:36.420 --> 00:36:38.679 Why? And this is a true statement for them and 00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:41.840 it's a true statement for us. Sheep only respond 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:44.980 to the voice of their shepherd. Sheep only follow 00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:49.719 the voice of their shepherd. Which makes it understand 00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:53.059 why Jesus in John chapter 10 is saying they can 00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:56.860 be deceived by other voices. Why? Because they 00:36:56.860 --> 00:37:00.840 aren't tuned to their shepherd. The sheep that 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:03.159 can respond to other voices, they don't belong 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:09.500 to the shepherd to begin with. Verse 7, Jesus 00:37:09.500 --> 00:37:13.000 says, I'm the gate. I'm the door. I love the 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:15.559 fact that Jesus calls himself multiple things 00:37:15.559 --> 00:37:18.159 in the same passage. Jesus, when you want to 00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:20.820 talk about Jesus saying, I am, this is a great 00:37:20.820 --> 00:37:22.619 moment. We see in the Old Testament, God says, 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:25.840 I am. But Jesus is saying, I am. In black culture 00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:27.539 right now, people are going around saying, I 00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:29.260 am him. Well, Jesus in this moment is saying, 00:37:29.300 --> 00:37:33.099 I am him. Because he calls himself the gatekeeper. 00:37:33.960 --> 00:37:36.659 And then he calls himself the gate. And then 00:37:36.659 --> 00:37:38.760 he calls himself the door. And then he calls 00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:41.210 himself the shepherd. All in the same passage, 00:37:41.289 --> 00:37:45.829 all of it is an example and a vision of me. You 00:37:45.829 --> 00:37:49.289 come through by way of me, and then what you're 00:37:49.289 --> 00:37:51.889 walking through is me, and who is responsible 00:37:51.889 --> 00:37:56.730 for it is me. And then verse 10, he says that 00:37:56.730 --> 00:37:58.849 the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 00:37:59.530 --> 00:38:01.769 What is he trying to steal, kill, and destroy? 00:38:02.489 --> 00:38:06.670 Your confidence, your hope, your marriage, your 00:38:06.670 --> 00:38:11.449 faith, your relationships. It's not just, let's 00:38:11.449 --> 00:38:13.570 remember that this enemy that's after your soul 00:38:13.570 --> 00:38:15.929 is not just after your church body as a whole. 00:38:16.489 --> 00:38:21.889 It's not just after our nation as a whole. He's 00:38:21.889 --> 00:38:25.389 a thief that's trying to deceive us as individuals. 00:38:25.750 --> 00:38:30.510 And at times will make this attempt to deceive 00:38:30.510 --> 00:38:33.610 us in these subtle ways so that he can steal 00:38:33.610 --> 00:38:36.130 our thoughts, he can steal our understanding, 00:38:36.369 --> 00:38:41.619 he can even steal our loyalty. But Jesus comes 00:38:41.619 --> 00:38:45.199 and says, I have life and life in me is life 00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:48.739 more abundantly. Abundant life doesn't mean a 00:38:48.739 --> 00:38:51.039 long life. Abundant life doesn't even mean a 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:53.139 rich life. Abundant life is actually what we're 00:38:53.139 --> 00:38:56.099 truly aiming for in this life on earth. It's 00:38:56.099 --> 00:39:00.119 fulfilled and content. Fulfilled and content. 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:02.800 And the only way to have a fulfilled and content 00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:07.210 life is a life in Jesus. A life in response to 00:39:07.210 --> 00:39:09.869 his voice, a life in response to his sacrifice 00:39:09.869 --> 00:39:12.190 for us. And the greatest thing that he says is 00:39:12.190 --> 00:39:17.150 in verse 11. In verse 11, he says this, I am 00:39:17.150 --> 00:39:19.889 the good shepherd and the good shepherd lays 00:39:19.889 --> 00:39:24.710 down his life for the sheep. In an actual real 00:39:24.710 --> 00:39:27.719 natural sense, what the shepherd does. At the 00:39:27.719 --> 00:39:29.920 end of the evening is all the sheep come into 00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:32.659 the sheepfold and the shepherd lays down. And 00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:35.199 the only way that the deceiver can get to the 00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:38.179 sheep is by trampling over the shepherd first. 00:39:39.460 --> 00:39:42.780 He's a defender. He says, take my life before 00:39:42.780 --> 00:39:47.039 you take my sheep. But we now, the New Testament 00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:49.460 church, the church and body of believers, we 00:39:49.460 --> 00:39:51.559 don't have to worry about anyone having to give 00:39:51.559 --> 00:39:53.500 their life for us because Jesus already gave 00:39:53.500 --> 00:39:56.590 his life. Jesus already gave his best. Jesus 00:39:56.590 --> 00:39:59.010 already gave his all so that we can have life 00:39:59.010 --> 00:40:01.550 in him and life forevermore. I'm gonna ask you 00:40:01.550 --> 00:40:03.190 guys to stand and I'm just gonna pray to close 00:40:03.190 --> 00:40:07.570 out. For those of you here who maybe never understood 00:40:07.570 --> 00:40:09.710 the goodness of this gospel, never understood 00:40:09.710 --> 00:40:12.889 the fact that Jesus died on the cross for you 00:40:12.889 --> 00:40:15.960 and for me. Knowing that you would stumble and 00:40:15.960 --> 00:40:17.940 make mistakes and knowing there would be seasons 00:40:17.940 --> 00:40:19.619 in your life when you're not serving him, where 00:40:19.619 --> 00:40:21.960 you're allowing yourself to be deceived or you're 00:40:21.960 --> 00:40:24.019 allowing yourself to give your heart and your 00:40:24.019 --> 00:40:26.659 mind and yourself away to other forces, other 00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:28.699 relationships, other thoughts than the one who 00:40:28.699 --> 00:40:31.480 actually gave everything for you. If that's you, 00:40:31.539 --> 00:40:33.320 I want you to understand you're never too far. 00:40:34.139 --> 00:40:37.679 You're never too lost. Because he calls you by 00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:40.880 name, he creates a pathway. He creates a way 00:40:40.880 --> 00:40:46.199 for you. And it is him. He loves you. He sees 00:40:46.199 --> 00:40:50.159 you. And he cares. So with every head bowed and 00:40:50.159 --> 00:40:53.519 every eye closed, I just wanna pray. If you're 00:40:53.519 --> 00:40:56.099 here today and you need to receive Jesus, I wanna 00:40:56.099 --> 00:40:58.739 pray for you. For those of you here who may want 00:40:58.739 --> 00:41:02.019 to hear more of the voice of God, I wanna pray 00:41:02.019 --> 00:41:05.239 for you. But as we close here, I think they're 00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:06.460 gonna give you different opportunities for prayer 00:41:06.460 --> 00:41:07.780 and different things. So I just wanna close this 00:41:07.780 --> 00:41:10.260 message. Lord, I thank you. I thank you for your 00:41:10.260 --> 00:41:12.579 word. I thank you that you are a God that speaks, 00:41:12.739 --> 00:41:17.400 a God that cares, a God that knows us. Holy Spirit, 00:41:17.500 --> 00:41:19.179 we thank you for your presence here. We thank 00:41:19.179 --> 00:41:21.679 you that we get to experience you in fullness. 00:41:21.800 --> 00:41:23.800 We don't have to go through anyone to experience 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:26.780 you. We thank you that you inhabit our praise. 00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:30.260 We thank you that you hear our thoughts, even 00:41:30.260 --> 00:41:33.820 the ones that are unspoken. I ask today, first 00:41:33.820 --> 00:41:36.840 of all, for anyone who needs to know you, first 00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:39.239 and foremost, that needs to know you as Savior, 00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:44.179 I pray. a way that they can't resist. Lord, I 00:41:44.179 --> 00:41:46.219 pray that they say yes to you, say yes to your 00:41:46.219 --> 00:41:49.619 sacrifice, yes to your death, burial, and resurrection. 00:41:50.179 --> 00:41:52.519 I pray today that they confess you as their Lord 00:41:52.519 --> 00:41:57.739 and Savior. And for those, Lord, that we just 00:41:57.739 --> 00:42:00.780 wanna hear you more clearly. We wanna hear you 00:42:00.780 --> 00:42:03.619 and we wanna respond in the way that you've designed 00:42:03.619 --> 00:42:07.159 for us to respond. I thank you for a church and 00:42:07.159 --> 00:42:11.619 a house that hears you, that loves you, Lord, 00:42:11.679 --> 00:42:14.219 I pray that as we go forward this week, that 00:42:14.219 --> 00:42:16.679 we get into our word, that we get into moments 00:42:16.679 --> 00:42:21.159 of alert intimacy with you, times where we're 00:42:21.159 --> 00:42:29.579 spending with you with full intentionality. The 00:42:29.579 --> 00:42:33.739 Lord says over Life Bible, you're a church that 00:42:33.739 --> 00:42:36.820 models 2 Chronicles 7, 14 in such a way that 00:42:36.820 --> 00:42:40.920 you have humbled yourself, you have prayed. I 00:42:40.920 --> 00:42:44.199 see right now that there's just an ear in this 00:42:44.199 --> 00:42:48.340 house that the Lord says, you give me your ear 00:42:48.340 --> 00:42:52.460 and you have my ear. Pray bigger, pray by name. 00:42:53.579 --> 00:43:02.739 There's a harvest for this house. Lord, I thank 00:43:02.739 --> 00:43:05.440 you that this house has a specific anointing 00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:08.260 for this season, a specific anointing for this 00:43:08.260 --> 00:43:12.769 region. I thank you for the prayers that came 00:43:12.769 --> 00:43:18.869 generations ago that prayed for this time, for 00:43:18.869 --> 00:43:20.750 this season in the life of Pastor Brad and Jenny, 00:43:20.829 --> 00:43:23.250 for this season in the life of the NextGen ministry, 00:43:23.389 --> 00:43:25.590 for this season, for the businesses that are 00:43:25.590 --> 00:43:30.469 represented here. We love you. We thank you. 00:43:30.710 --> 00:43:32.409 We give you all the glory, honor, and praise 00:43:32.409 --> 00:43:42.000 in Jesus' name. Amen. If you are interested in 00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:44.679 hearing other podcasts or contacting Life Bible 00:43:44.679 --> 00:43:49.119 Church, go to www .lifebiblechurch .org or call 00:43:49.119 --> 00:43:52.579 us at 541 -995 -8282.