WEBVTT 00:00:00.750 --> 00:00:03.250 Some of the most comforting words in scripture 00:00:03.250 --> 00:00:07.629 and when God calls himself our shepherd Psalm 00:00:07.629 --> 00:00:10.330 23 says the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not 00:00:10.330 --> 00:00:14.310 want We love that picture the green pastures 00:00:14.310 --> 00:00:17.769 the still waters a soul restored when life wears 00:00:17.769 --> 00:00:21.350 us down But if you've ever seen how sheep behave, 00:00:21.350 --> 00:00:24.269 you know, the comfort of that image comes with 00:00:24.269 --> 00:00:28.070 the dose of reality There's a story from Turkey 00:00:28.070 --> 00:00:30.850 where one sheep wandered too close to the edge 00:00:30.850 --> 00:00:36.710 of a cliff and fell. And the rest of the sheep 00:00:36.710 --> 00:00:43.649 followed. All 1 ,500 of them. One right after 00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:47.329 another right over the edge. And most of them 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:50.689 survived only because they landed on the pile 00:00:50.689 --> 00:00:55.390 below. It's a vivid reminder. Sheep don't always 00:00:55.390 --> 00:00:59.250 make the best choices. They wander. They follow 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:02.369 blindly. They get shoved around. And sometimes 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:04.930 the very shepherds meant to protect them turn 00:01:04.930 --> 00:01:09.109 out to be selfish or corrupt, even as those very 00:01:09.109 --> 00:01:12.430 shepherds who were on their break came back and 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:16.230 only then realized what had happened. That's 00:01:16.230 --> 00:01:19.150 why God keeps reminding His people of this promise. 00:01:19.689 --> 00:01:24.689 I myself will be your shepherd. I will seek you 00:01:24.689 --> 00:01:29.030 out. I will rescue you. Today we'll see how that 00:01:29.030 --> 00:01:33.549 plays out in two passages. Ezekiel 34 and Luke 00:01:33.549 --> 00:01:37.790 15. One is a grand prophecy to a people scattered 00:01:37.790 --> 00:01:42.109 and hurting in exile. The other is a parable 00:01:42.109 --> 00:01:45.590 Jesus told when sinners and tax collectors were 00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:48.709 drawing near. Put them together and we get a 00:01:48.709 --> 00:01:52.329 picture of God's heart. A shepherd who rescues 00:01:52.329 --> 00:01:55.629 his flock from every danger. Corrupt leaders, 00:01:56.349 --> 00:01:59.349 harmful communities, and even our own wandering 00:01:59.349 --> 00:02:02.930 hearts. Ezekiel shows us the problem clearly. 00:02:03.409 --> 00:02:06.250 Leaders who fed themselves instead of the flock, 00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:09.030 sheep who trampled and shoved one another, and 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:12.650 others who wandered away into danger. And then 00:02:12.650 --> 00:02:17.169 in Luke 15, Jesus seeing those who had wandered 00:02:17.169 --> 00:02:20.150 away. tells a story of a shepherd who leaves 00:02:20.150 --> 00:02:24.129 a 99 to search for the one. Together it's a story 00:02:24.129 --> 00:02:26.889 of a God who refuses to give up on his people, 00:02:27.330 --> 00:02:30.710 even when the trouble is one we brought on ourselves. 00:02:32.289 --> 00:02:35.009 Listen to how Ezekiel records God's promise. 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:39.150 For thus says the Lord God, behold, I myself 00:02:39.150 --> 00:02:42.389 will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:46.240 as a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:49.919 among his scattered sheep. So will I seek out 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:54.379 my sheep, and I will rescue them." Do you hear 00:02:54.379 --> 00:03:01.000 the intensity? I myself, not an angel, not a 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:05.159 prophet, not a hired hand, God says, I will come, 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:11.319 I will search, I will rescue. This week, We remember 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:14.939 the images from 9 -11, when firefighters and 00:03:14.939 --> 00:03:19.039 first responders rushed into burning towers as 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.039 others fled. They weren't calculating risk or 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:24.979 weighing odds. They were compelled by love and 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:30.659 duty to seek, to rescue, to save even one more. 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.719 That's the kind of shepherd God promises to be. 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:38.300 He doesn't stand at a distance. He comes into 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:40.919 the smoke, the rubble of our lives to find us, 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.520 even when the danger is great, even when the 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:49.139 odds seem impossible, even when life may be offered 00:03:49.139 --> 00:03:53.219 in exchange for our own. And when Jesus tells 00:03:53.219 --> 00:03:55.819 the parable in Luke 15, he's saying the same. 00:03:56.340 --> 00:04:00.360 A shepherd leaves the 99 for the one. See, from 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:02.759 the outside, it looks like something reckless. 00:04:03.819 --> 00:04:07.740 But when it's the perspective of love, it's the 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:12.819 only thing that makes sense. But who were the 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:16.399 shepherds that Judah had at the time? The ones 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:20.639 that Ezekiel seems to be condemning? They were 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:24.540 Judah's kings, princes, priests, and leaders. 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.879 The very people God had appointed to care for 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:30.779 His people. And instead of protecting the flock, 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:36.209 they exploited them. What was happening at the 00:04:36.209 --> 00:04:40.990 time, King Jehoiakim imposed heavy taxes to pay 00:04:40.990 --> 00:04:44.509 tribute to Egypt and to Babylon, while ordinary 00:04:44.509 --> 00:04:47.769 people struggled to survive, even though they 00:04:47.769 --> 00:04:51.560 would still be taken into exile anyway. Leaders 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:54.579 indulged in luxury while the poor went hungry, 00:04:55.019 --> 00:04:57.600 and priests oftentimes neglected their duties, 00:04:58.279 --> 00:05:02.339 leading worship astray with their own corruption 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:07.860 and tolerating idolatry, even the practices of 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:12.100 the local priests of other religions. These leaders 00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:14.879 ate the fat and clothed themselves with the wool, 00:05:15.290 --> 00:05:18.490 while failing to strengthen the weak, heal the 00:05:18.490 --> 00:05:22.189 sick, seek the lost. Because of their neglect, 00:05:22.290 --> 00:05:25.250 the people were scattered. They were left vulnerable 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:28.970 to enemies, both human and spiritual. We've all 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:31.910 seen this kind of failure. The boss who takes 00:05:31.910 --> 00:05:34.329 credit for the team's work while the employees 00:05:34.329 --> 00:05:37.110 are unseen. The politicians enriching themselves 00:05:37.110 --> 00:05:39.529 while ignoring the ones they're meant to serve. 00:05:40.029 --> 00:05:43.550 The lifeguard at the busy pool who's just busy 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:47.810 tanning and sipping soda, and we wonder why they 00:05:47.810 --> 00:05:52.170 didn't notice the kid that was failing. That's 00:05:52.170 --> 00:05:55.550 the kind of failure that God is confronting through 00:05:55.550 --> 00:06:01.050 Ezekiel. But we even saw it 24 years ago. The 00:06:01.050 --> 00:06:03.370 fraudulent charities that cropped up claiming 00:06:03.370 --> 00:06:06.629 to help victims' families only to pocket donations. 00:06:06.990 --> 00:06:09.509 People that were in desperate situations and 00:06:09.509 --> 00:06:13.389 preyed upon. Some employees who survived or lost 00:06:13.389 --> 00:06:16.290 co -workers at the World Trade Center facing 00:06:16.290 --> 00:06:20.810 retaliation, unsafe working conditions, or wrongful 00:06:20.810 --> 00:06:24.649 termination as companies tried to protect financial 00:06:24.649 --> 00:06:28.430 interests in the chaos. and how many of our own 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:31.209 leaders, even the ones claiming to be Christian, 00:06:31.889 --> 00:06:34.449 did nothing unless they were forced to do so. 00:06:35.370 --> 00:06:38.170 Sometimes people are hurt where they should be 00:06:38.170 --> 00:06:41.730 cared for. Leaders, even religious leaders, can 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:46.569 fail. God sees it, and He says, enough, I will 00:06:46.569 --> 00:06:51.389 shepherd them myself. Jesus later calls Himself 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:53.709 the Good Shepherd, and part of His goodness is 00:06:53.709 --> 00:06:56.959 that He is nothing like the false leaders. He 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:59.439 lays down his life for the sheep instead of using 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.540 them up. Where human shepherds fail, the divine 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:08.139 shepherd rescues. But it wasn't just the shepherds. 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:13.360 The stronger Israelites mistreated the weaker 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:19.139 ones. While in exile in Babylon, wealthy Jewish 00:07:19.139 --> 00:07:23.110 exiles with connections would sometimes prosper, 00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:26.050 even while the poor were trampled down all around 00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:29.949 them. Remember, this is Ezekiel speaking before 00:07:29.949 --> 00:07:34.649 and after the beginning of the exile. Back in 00:07:34.649 --> 00:07:37.949 Judah, though, even those who were left behind 00:07:37.949 --> 00:07:40.870 fought over the scarce resources that had left 00:07:40.870 --> 00:07:45.069 after Babylon had pillaged them, and some oppressed 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:48.810 their own neighbors rather than sharing. And 00:07:48.810 --> 00:07:51.990 the social injustice, the strong pushing with 00:07:51.990 --> 00:07:54.889 flank and shoulder, muddying the water so others 00:07:54.889 --> 00:07:58.329 couldn't drink, was a metaphor for how the privileged 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:03.889 kept others from survival. Ezekiel wasn't only 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:06.910 criticizing the leaders, he was talking that 00:08:06.910 --> 00:08:10.269 ordinary people could wound and exploit one another 00:08:10.269 --> 00:08:14.509 instead of living in faithfulness. God says, 00:08:14.589 --> 00:08:17.129 is it not enough for you to feed on the good 00:08:17.129 --> 00:08:20.250 pasture? that you must tread down with your feet 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:24.389 the rest of your pasture. You push with side 00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:27.209 and shoulder and thrust at all the weak with 00:08:27.209 --> 00:08:30.430 your horns till you have scattered them abroad. 00:08:31.050 --> 00:08:35.929 Some of the sheep were muddying the waters, trampling 00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:41.470 the grass, shoving others aside. Even with God's 00:08:41.470 --> 00:08:44.490 people, there were sheep who harmed one another. 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:49.720 Sheep do behave this way. They jostle at the 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:53.340 trough. They stir up the mud. Others can't drink, 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:57.460 and sometimes that's us. We muddy the water of 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:01.440 God's truth for others by impatience, gossip, 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:04.679 even selfishness. Why would they want to hear 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:08.379 God's word if that's what we come up with? In 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:11.220 everyday life, we see people who do this. The 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:14.240 kid at the recess who monopolizes the water fountain. 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:17.769 The co -worker. The one emptying the coffee pot 00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:20.230 and doesn't think about refilling for others, 00:09:20.529 --> 00:09:24.389 the player who refuses to pass the ball, selfishness, 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:27.029 thoughtlessness, pushing and shoving, muddying 00:09:27.029 --> 00:09:30.370 the water for everyone else. But let's think 00:09:30.370 --> 00:09:33.289 of something a bit, maybe even more serious than 00:09:33.289 --> 00:09:38.590 these. After the towers fell, families of victims 00:09:38.590 --> 00:09:42.070 and survivors were sometimes exploited by insurance 00:09:42.070 --> 00:09:45.350 companies and fraudulent charities. pressured 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:47.750 to accept settlements far below what they were 00:09:47.750 --> 00:09:51.509 owed. Some adjusters delayed payments, tried 00:09:51.509 --> 00:09:54.070 to minimize claims taking advantage of grief 00:09:54.070 --> 00:09:57.450 and crisis. People desperate for help were taken 00:09:57.450 --> 00:10:01.009 advantage of, preyed upon in their grief. And 00:10:01.009 --> 00:10:04.750 that's exactly what Ezekiel is describing. Sheep 00:10:04.750 --> 00:10:08.230 hurting one another, getting what was theirs 00:10:08.230 --> 00:10:12.649 and not caring for the flock, even when they 00:10:12.649 --> 00:10:15.700 should care for one another. Sometimes the threat 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:19.279 doesn't come from bad leaders up top, but from 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:22.340 the way sheep treat each other in the flock. 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:26.940 Gossip, criticism, harshness, pride, they muddy 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:31.000 the waters and the weaker sheep go thirsty. God 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.340 promises to rescue us from that too. He seeks 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:37.740 the weak, the exploited, the vulnerable, and 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:42.840 He will act. And yet, Sometimes the sheep do 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:46.139 not need false shepherds to lead them astray 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:49.320 or to misuse them. Sometimes they do not need 00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:53.320 other sheep trampling all over them. Sometimes 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:57.179 the sheep just wander off and lose themselves. 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:03.620 After Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, many Israelites 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:06.899 were carried into Babylonian exile while others 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:10.210 were left behind in Judah. And those who were 00:11:10.210 --> 00:11:13.809 left behind faced poverty, danger from surrounding 00:11:13.809 --> 00:11:17.409 nations, and strife from within. Without faithful 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:19.649 leaders, the people were scattered. They were 00:11:19.649 --> 00:11:23.850 vulnerable. And spiritually, many of them drifted 00:11:23.850 --> 00:11:27.750 from God in their hopelessness. Seeking security 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:31.889 with foreign alliances, with countries that they 00:11:31.889 --> 00:11:35.490 had no business making treaties with, and even 00:11:35.490 --> 00:11:38.950 idolatry. losing sight of what God wanted for 00:11:38.950 --> 00:11:42.070 them. The flock was literally and figuratively 00:11:42.070 --> 00:11:46.470 lost. But the shepherd goes out and searches 00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:49.190 until he finds the lost sheep. Not if he feels 00:11:49.190 --> 00:11:54.210 like it. Not if the sheep deserve it. He searches 00:11:54.210 --> 00:11:58.509 until he finds it. And then there's joy. The 00:11:58.509 --> 00:12:01.509 heart of the Gospel, when he has found it, he 00:12:01.509 --> 00:12:05.649 lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. The shepherd 00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:09.590 doesn't scold the sheep. He doesn't say, boy 00:12:09.590 --> 00:12:12.070 sheep, you've gotten yourself into this mess. 00:12:12.110 --> 00:12:15.370 You can get yourself out, can't you? He lifts 00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:19.789 it onto his shoulders, carrying the weight, rejoicing, 00:12:20.009 --> 00:12:22.289 and calls his friends and neighbors, rejoice 00:12:22.289 --> 00:12:26.289 with me. I have found my sheep that was lost. 00:12:26.990 --> 00:12:30.889 This is the Gospel. Whether our wounds came from 00:12:30.889 --> 00:12:34.169 corrupt shepherds, or from muddy sheep, or from 00:12:34.169 --> 00:12:36.950 our own wandering, God Himself comes to rescue 00:12:36.950 --> 00:12:40.669 us. He doesn't tell us to clean up and find our 00:12:40.669 --> 00:12:45.029 way back. He comes and lifts us onto His shoulders 00:12:45.029 --> 00:12:49.649 and carries us home. We don't do this on our 00:12:49.649 --> 00:12:53.830 own. Like a search and rescue team combing flood 00:12:53.830 --> 00:12:57.440 waters for a single person. grateful for the 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:00.399 99 they've already found, but knowing that there 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:05.820 is one more, there is always one more. The first 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:08.940 responders climbing into the burning towers, 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:12.360 the stairs that kept collapsing, the smoke and 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:17.539 the fire, and still saying, who can we save again? 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:20.940 Not scolding the people they were rescuing, why 00:13:20.940 --> 00:13:24.179 were you there in the first place? But the joy 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:28.820 of rescuing one more, even as Jesus rejoices 00:13:28.820 --> 00:13:32.980 when one sinner is found and carried home, and 00:13:32.980 --> 00:13:36.220 even remembering that those 99 who are still 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:40.340 with the other sheep, each one of them has needed 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:44.360 to be rescued themselves in their own time and 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:48.299 in their own way. The shepherd delights to rescue. 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:53.360 Not just out of mere duty, but out of love. because 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:58.179 God rescues to bring us home safely, and He's 00:13:58.179 --> 00:14:01.860 willing to give of His own self to do so. See, 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:03.960 there's an image that oftentimes had been in 00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:07.220 my head since I was a kid about sheep. See, I 00:14:07.220 --> 00:14:11.019 never had this image of sheep as being these 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:14.080 really intelligent creatures. Shepherds would 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:18.000 tell of sheep that learned how to jump over a 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.740 fence because they wanted to get to another field. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:25.539 But even when the fence was gone, they kept jumping 00:14:25.539 --> 00:14:30.559 at the same spot. No fence, no barrier, nothing 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:35.159 there but still acting the exact same. But isn't 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:39.519 that just like us? Following our old patterns, 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:43.299 or the habits that other people showed us? Not 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:45.700 realizing the Good Shepherd is calling us to 00:14:45.700 --> 00:14:48.679 freedom, but the question is whose voice are 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:51.860 we listening to? Are we listening to corrupt 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:54.419 shepherds who feed themselves while the flock 00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:57.399 suffers? Are we listening to pushy sheep who 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:00.120 muddy the waters for others? Are we listening 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:03.320 to our own wandering desires and following patterns 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:07.519 that lead to danger? On social media, trends 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:12.580 arise and fall by the day. Everyone follows someone, 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:16.860 but few ask if the voice is the right one to 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:22.129 follow. Is this the meme I want to post? Is this 00:15:22.129 --> 00:15:25.929 the person I want to quote? We're currently at 00:15:25.929 --> 00:15:29.210 a turning point in our society, a watershed moment. 00:15:30.590 --> 00:15:33.169 This past week has been one of tragedy and tension. 00:15:34.210 --> 00:15:36.529 We have seen people gunned down in schools with 00:15:36.529 --> 00:15:39.769 children and schools with adults. We've seen 00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:42.090 a public figure shot in front of his own family 00:15:42.090 --> 00:15:44.769 and people struggling with the feeling of mourning 00:15:44.769 --> 00:15:49.370 and loss. We need time to grieve. No matter what 00:15:49.370 --> 00:15:52.690 people may think of a person himself, this is 00:15:52.690 --> 00:15:55.070 not how civilized people should ever respond 00:15:55.070 --> 00:16:00.269 to one another. The danger though, it comes from 00:16:00.269 --> 00:16:04.230 going beyond grief and seeking out a desire to 00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:08.110 be a movement. A movement that may not always 00:16:08.110 --> 00:16:12.090 be going where it needs to go. People whose sorrow 00:16:12.090 --> 00:16:15.679 has turned to rage want a place to put their 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:19.580 rage. Many of them are picking up their Bibles 00:16:19.580 --> 00:16:23.379 to use as swords against other people, even though 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:25.519 the irony is that the sword of the Spirit, the 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.879 Word of God, is only meant to divide between 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:33.240 our own soul and spirit. The Word of God is only 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:36.960 meant to divide between our own joints and marrow, 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:40.639 in order to penetrate us deeply, helping us to 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.639 discern our own thoughts. and intentions. God's 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:47.279 Word cannot be an actual weapon in any sense 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.879 that people are looking for right now against 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.700 the world. There are those who will try to find 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:57.120 things in Scripture to create a modern day crusade, 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:59.740 bringing back one of the darkest chapters in 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:04.559 history, unless we say no. The Good Shepherd 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:07.359 doesn't lead us into a battle that requires attacking 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:10.680 other people. Our battle belongs to the Lord. 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:14.680 Only Christ Jesus can strike the blow and He 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:19.079 already did it into His own flesh. The answer 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:22.259 is not to find whom we should attack. The answer 00:17:22.259 --> 00:17:26.759 is to offer, believe it or not, forgiveness and 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.839 hope. We're meant to be salt and light, not to 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.339 be salty and lit up with anger. Listening to 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.079 our leaders and other sheep who are attempting 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:39.799 to take us down their paths will only lead us 00:17:40.009 --> 00:17:43.950 away from the Good Shepherd. Even when Protestant 00:17:43.950 --> 00:17:47.029 reformers attempted to stand up for their oppressed 00:17:47.029 --> 00:17:50.329 leaders five centuries ago on the battlefield, 00:17:51.210 --> 00:17:53.829 all they ended up doing was bringing about bloodshed 00:17:53.829 --> 00:17:57.849 instead of the Gospel message. Following other 00:17:57.849 --> 00:18:01.930 sheep brings death. The shepherd's voice is the 00:18:01.930 --> 00:18:06.589 one that leads to life. Jesus says, my sheep 00:18:06.589 --> 00:18:09.130 hear my voice and I know them, and they follow 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:13.079 me. Even when we fail to listen, even when we 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:16.240 wander, He comes after us. He calls. He lifts 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:20.079 us up. He carries us home. No one else can do 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:26.799 that. No other name. No other legacy. During 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.240 9 -11, while the chaos raged, the firefighters 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.619 and the first responders went into the danger 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:35.400 to rescue the lost. They weren't waiting for 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.339 permission or passing responsibility to someone 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:42.289 else. And that's Jesus with His sheep, seeing 00:18:42.289 --> 00:18:47.390 us lost and trampled and coming Himself. See, 00:18:47.450 --> 00:18:49.490 the ones who were the true heroes were the ones 00:18:49.490 --> 00:18:55.049 who served, the ones who sacrificed, the ones 00:18:55.049 --> 00:18:58.630 who gave up their own lives, the ones who brought 00:18:58.630 --> 00:19:02.230 us hope and life. And it wasn't until later that 00:19:02.230 --> 00:19:05.150 decisions made for the sake of vengeance and 00:19:05.150 --> 00:19:08.250 punishment got us into making terrible decisions. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:13.220 that would haunt us for decades to come. May 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:17.720 we not do so again. When we listen to the Good 00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:20.799 Shepherd, He is not like the corrupt leaders 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:24.220 or the selfish sheep. He does not exploit or 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:27.700 shove or leave us to wander. His call is not 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:31.460 just practical, it is full of love and joy. And 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:33.920 when we hear His voice and follow Him, we step 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:39.180 into life, freedom, and safety. Ezekiel told 00:19:39.180 --> 00:19:41.240 us of a shepherd who would come to rescue his 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:45.220 sheep from corrupt leaders, from selfish sheep, 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:49.579 from their own wandering. I myself will search. 00:19:50.299 --> 00:19:55.279 I myself will rescue. We know what this looks 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:58.579 like. Even when so much has already been taken, 00:19:58.740 --> 00:20:02.079 the answer is to be willing to give of our very 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.720 lives, our very selves, for the sake of forgiveness 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:10.200 and mercy. And that's the picture Jesus gives 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:14.599 us. He doesn't just give us home. He comes for 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:18.279 us, lifts us up, and gives us the true example 00:20:18.279 --> 00:20:21.359 that we should follow by giving us of Himself 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:26.180 in humility and service. Because the truth is, 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:32.700 we need rescue, now especially, from the true 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:36.319 shepherd. So whose voice are we listening to? 00:20:36.969 --> 00:20:39.950 Don't follow the muddy waters. Don't follow the 00:20:39.950 --> 00:20:43.390 pushing horns. Don't even follow your own wandering 00:20:43.390 --> 00:20:47.190 heart, no matter what it may feel. Follow the 00:20:47.190 --> 00:20:51.890 shepherd. Because even when we don't, the shepherd 00:20:51.890 --> 00:20:56.589 is already on his way to us. Searching, lifting, 00:20:57.490 --> 00:21:00.910 rejoicing, carrying us back no matter what this 00:21:00.910 --> 00:21:05.109 next week may reveal of itself. May we follow 00:21:05.109 --> 00:21:09.960 Christ? Christ alone. Thanks be to God.