SPEAKER_01: Good morning, everyone.
SPEAKER_01: Are you doing well today?
SPEAKER_01: Come on.
SPEAKER_01: I am excited about all the great things that God is doing in his church.
SPEAKER_01: We are excited about what God's doing in his church.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: God's doing so many great things.
SPEAKER_01: So many great next steps to take.
SPEAKER_01: And uh I'm gonna jump right into the word uh this morning.
SPEAKER_01: We are in a series uh called I Am.
SPEAKER_01: Have you enjoyed this series so far?
SPEAKER_01: It's been great.
SPEAKER_01: Pastor Jeremy has just preached the house down over the last month or so.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we are in week five of this series, and this morning we're gonna look at a special name and a special title for Jesus that just carries a lot of weight and a lot of significance.
SPEAKER_01: This morning, will you stand with me?
SPEAKER_01: Stand with me as we get right into the word.
SPEAKER_01: Turn with me to John.
SPEAKER_01: John chapter 10.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna start in verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: Start in verse 11 this morning.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna read through verse 18, and here's what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 11.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
SPEAKER_01: Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to remember that.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna come back to that later on.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: The man runs away because he is a hired hand.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 14, I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 15: just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 16, I have other sheep that are not of this pen, and I must bring them also.
SPEAKER_01: They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Let's say that again.
SPEAKER_01: There will be one flock and one shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 17, the reason my father loves me and that I lay my life down only to take it up again.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 18, no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: This command I received from my father.
SPEAKER_01: You received the word this morning.
SPEAKER_01: This morning I want to I'm gonna teach from uh the topic a better shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: A better shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Well, you turn to your neighbor and just tell him real quick, say you need a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: You need a shepherd this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, let me pray.
SPEAKER_01: Father, we thank you this morning for who you are.
SPEAKER_01: We thank you for your presence that's in the house today.
SPEAKER_01: Father, we thank you that you have already spoken to us, but I pray that this word would confirm what's already in this room.
SPEAKER_01: And I pray today, as we leave here, we would leave knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are our good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: In Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen and amen.
SPEAKER_01: You may be seated.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Caleb.
SPEAKER_01: I want to start this morning by giving us two overarching principles for John chapter 10, specifically verses 11 through 18, two overarching principles that I think are gonna guide us through John 10 and really lay some foundation for this.
SPEAKER_01: Let me also say this: two weeks ago, Pastor Jeremy preached on the first part of this passage, okay, where he talks about I am the door.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus being the good shepherd and Jesus being the door are very closely connected.
SPEAKER_01: So if you miss that or you've missed any of them, go to our YouTube channel and check those out because these are really, really closely connected, all right?
SPEAKER_01: But I want to give you two overarching principles of John chapter 10 and what Jesus is saying here, because they really help, these two principles really help to guide us this morning and give us a better understanding for what's being communicated through Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the first one that we got to know, and I want you to take some notes this morning, write this down.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, number one, you got to know this.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, we are the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we are the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: When he mentions sheep in John chapter 10, guess who he's talking about?
SPEAKER_01: Us.
SPEAKER_01: We are the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Now I have a friend this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Um, I love a good visual, so I have a friend that's gonna help me today.
SPEAKER_01: Um I ordered a sheep off of Amazon.
SPEAKER_01: I did not know it was gonna be life size.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I thought I was getting a lamb.
SPEAKER_01: And I got a sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: But I but I got them this morning because I really do.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna leave them up here on stage because I I I want you to be reminded.
SPEAKER_01: Did someone just say bye over there?
SPEAKER_01: All right, there we go.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm gonna leave them up here because I do.
SPEAKER_01: I love a good visual, and I want you to be reminded all throughout this message that we are the oh, good, all right, good.
SPEAKER_01: All right, so I'm gonna pick them up, and I may just randomly pick them up, just walk around with them, okay?
SPEAKER_01: If I do, just act like it's no big deal.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: So we are the sheep in this passage.
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's what you gotta understand is that all throughout the Bible, over 50 times the Bible references us as sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Over 50 times we are referenced as sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Let me just give you a few illustrations of this in Isaiah chapter 53.
SPEAKER_01: It says in verse 6, we all like what?
SPEAKER_01: We all like sheep have gone astray, and each of us have turned our own way.
SPEAKER_01: Psalms chapter 95, verse 7, um, he says this, for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, okay, and the of his hand.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: One more reference.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have it on the screen, but I'll give it to you.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew chapter 9, verse 36.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says this.
SPEAKER_01: He says, when he saw the crowds, he had compassion, for they were harassed and helpless.
SPEAKER_01: They were like a what?
SPEAKER_01: Without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Fifty times we are called sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Now that's good news and that's bad news.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Sheep are not naturally the smartest animals on the planet, but we are cute.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: All right, not the smartest, but we are cute.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if we could have picked any image for ourselves, it probably would not be a sheep, right?
SPEAKER_01: We would have picked something that was strong, that was independent, that could take care of itself, that was impressive.
SPEAKER_01: If we could go back and rewind time of what God would call us, we would have Him call us a lion or an eagle or something big and bold, right?
SPEAKER_01: Instead, we're sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: But there's a reason for that.
SPEAKER_01: Sheep were never, ever designed to make it on their own.
SPEAKER_01: Ever designed to make it on their own.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to write this next statement down is that sheep were created to live under the care of a good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Sheep were designed to live under the care of a good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: They have no defense mechanism, they cannot defend themselves at all.
SPEAKER_01: One of my favorite books that I try to read every year, and I want to encourage you, I think I have a picture of it on the screen, is it's called A Shepherd's Look at Psalms 23.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Every year I try to try to read this.
SPEAKER_01: It's just a good book that's just good for the soul.
SPEAKER_01: And what Philip Keller does, Philip Keller was not just a Bible teacher.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't just teach the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Philip Keller was a shepherd himself.
SPEAKER_01: He was an actual shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: He owned sheep.
SPEAKER_01: So he writes about Psalms 23, not just from the perspective of a Bible teacher, but he writes from Psalms 23 from the perspective of a shepherd and someone who actually cared for sheep.
SPEAKER_01: So all throughout Psalms of our uh this book, as shepherds look at Psalms 23, he paints this beautiful picture of what we are like as sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Of what we are like as sheep.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to show you this of what from this book of what sheep teach us about us.
unknown: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: So all throughout the Bible, he all throughout the book, he he references these topics.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to show you this this morning because we are sheep.
SPEAKER_01: So what sheep teach us about us.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the first one that he talks about.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, uh, is that sheep are helpless.
SPEAKER_01: Sheep are helpless, they do not defend themselves well.
SPEAKER_01: They have no defense mechanism.
SPEAKER_01: If you're gonna attack this sheep, it basically can't do anything to defend itself.
SPEAKER_01: Except be cute.
SPEAKER_01: That's the only thing it's got going for it.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: So let on their own, they're completely vulnerable, they're exposed, and really can't do anything to defend themselves.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the other thing um they are needy.
SPEAKER_01: Turn to your neighbor and just say you're a little needy.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, I didn't mean to get all the married people all irritated at each other.
SPEAKER_01: They require constant attention and care.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the other one uh is they are creatures of habit.
SPEAKER_01: They're creatures of habit left on their own, they will keep falling into the same unhealthy patterns.
SPEAKER_01: Over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_01: They are creatures of habit, they go down the wrong path every time.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Uh they're easily disturbed.
SPEAKER_01: Sheep are very, very easily disturbed.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't take much to get them to fear, to get them to panic, or just to generally be unsettled.
SPEAKER_01: They are naturally easily disturbed animals.
SPEAKER_01: And then lastly, is that they are prone to wonder.
SPEAKER_01: They are prone to wonder.
SPEAKER_01: They drift, they stray, they they get themselves in trouble a lot.
SPEAKER_01: Now, does this list sound like anybody?
SPEAKER_01: It sounds like us because we are sheep.
SPEAKER_01: We are sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Now, why is it important for us to understand that we are sheep?
SPEAKER_01: Why is it so important?
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you two reasons, and I want you to put these down because I think these are fundamental to our faith and for us to really better understand who the Lord is in our life.
SPEAKER_01: Why do we need to understand we are sheep?
SPEAKER_01: Number one, um, because if you never see yourself as sheep, you will never truly see your need for your shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I want you, I want this to get into your heart.
SPEAKER_01: If you never see yourself as a sheep, you will never truly see your need for the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot fully appreciate who Jesus is until we first admit that we need him.
SPEAKER_01: We need a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Because a sheep is only as strong as the shepherd that they stay close to.
SPEAKER_01: That's it.
SPEAKER_01: So you and I and everyone watching online, we need a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: But it starts with us realizing we are a sheep that is in desperate need of a good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the second one is that you will grow in Christ, but never outgrow your need for a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: You will grow in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That is the goal of Christianity, is that we go from glory to glory, faith to faith.
SPEAKER_01: We go to the next level in our faith.
SPEAKER_01: But it doesn't matter how mature you think you are in the faith, you never outgrow your need for a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: You need a good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Spiritual maturity does not make us less dependent on Jesus, it makes us more aware of how much we need a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: So the first overarching principle of John chapter 10, verses 11 through 18.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, we are the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, I want to spend just a few minutes on this.
SPEAKER_01: Number two is that Jesus is the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: In John chapter 10, two times, Jesus declares, I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: This is in verse 11 and in verse 14.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to spend just a moment looking at this because there's so much depth to this.
SPEAKER_01: There's so much meaning.
SPEAKER_01: There's so much significance behind this.
SPEAKER_01: Because when Jesus stands up and he declares, I am the good shepherd, he's not just giving himself another name.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't just wake up that day and say, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: I'm just gonna tell everybody I'm the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't just throw that name out there one day and decide to call himself that.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what happens, and it's not gonna be on the screen, but I want you to write this down.
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus declares, I am the good shepherd, two things happened.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, he fulfilled prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna show you this.
SPEAKER_01: He fulfilled prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, he was exposing the bad shepherds of his day.
SPEAKER_01: He was fulfilling prophecy, and he was exposing the bad shepherds of his day.
SPEAKER_01: In biblical times, um, a shepherd was more than a job.
SPEAKER_01: A shepherd was more than someone who was just out in the field and was just hanging out and keeping sheep.
SPEAKER_01: A shepherd in biblical times, especially in the Old Testament, and then it drifted into the new, a shepherd was someone who provided leadership and care.
SPEAKER_01: Someone who provided protection and guidance for groups of people.
SPEAKER_01: So, what happens is in the all throughout the Bible, leaders in the Bible were considered shepherds.
SPEAKER_01: You can see this all throughout the Old Testament is that leaders, kings and priests, prophets, they were considered the shepherds of their day.
SPEAKER_01: A shepherd was so much more than someone who was just in the field.
SPEAKER_01: A shepherd was someone who was providing leadership for people.
SPEAKER_01: So when leaders failed, it was more than just a leadership failure, it was a bad shepherding failure.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: And I want you to see this.
SPEAKER_01: So when Jesus stands up and he says, I am the good shepherd, he was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy, but he was also speaking to the leaders of his day.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Pharisees and the Sadducees were considered shepherds to their people, but they weren't leading them well.
SPEAKER_01: So this was transformational.
SPEAKER_01: This was a moment when Jesus stands up and he declares this.
SPEAKER_01: All of the religious people's jaw would have dropped to the ground when he says, I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Because it had so much significance.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to take a minute and I want to show you this.
SPEAKER_01: So all throughout the Old and the New Testament, it was full of people that were shepherds that had failed the people that they were called to lead.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what happens in the Old Testament, God uses two prophets to bring correction.
SPEAKER_01: In the Old Testament, we see that again, shepherds were kings and prophets and priests that failed the people.
SPEAKER_01: So God says, I've got a better plan.
SPEAKER_01: And he uses two people, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to take a moment and show you this.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to go to Jeremiah chapter 23, and then we're going to go to Ezekiel chapter 34.
SPEAKER_01: Because there's so much significance here.
SPEAKER_01: God uses these prophets, and it's in these two prophetic pictures from Jeremiah and Ezekiel 34 that John 10 comes alive.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: John 10 and these two prophecies are intimately connected, especially Ezekiel 34.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what Jeremiah chapter 23, verse 1 and 2.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Woe to the what?
SPEAKER_01: Shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture.
SPEAKER_01: Declares the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 2.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, this is what the Lord says.
SPEAKER_01: The God of Israel says to the shepherds who tend my people.
SPEAKER_01: Again, it's not people out in the fields.
SPEAKER_01: It's active leaders that were ruling over his people.
SPEAKER_01: Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away, and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 5 The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up from David's line a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: So this prophecy begins with Jeremiah and then it goes to Ezekiel.
SPEAKER_01: And Ezekiel's prophecy goes even more in depth.
SPEAKER_01: And I'll give you some homework.
SPEAKER_01: Go and read Jeremiah chapter 23, Ezekiel 34, and Zechariah 10, because they all bring together this prophecy about who Jesus is that's fulfilled in John chapter 10.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Ezekiel 34, I want you to see this this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Ezekiel 34 and John 10 mirror one another.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 2.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to write this down.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 2.
SPEAKER_01: Son of man, prophesy against the what?
SPEAKER_01: The shepherds of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Prophesy and say to them, This is what the sovereign Lord says.
SPEAKER_01: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves.
SPEAKER_01: Should not shepherds take care of their flock?
SPEAKER_01: Verse 11 and 12.
SPEAKER_01: For this is what the sovereign Lord says.
SPEAKER_01: I myself will search for my sheep.
SPEAKER_01: God says, I'm gonna get involved now.
SPEAKER_01: And I will look after them.
SPEAKER_01: As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so I will look after my sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Are you seeing this this morning?
SPEAKER_01: And I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness, verse 14 through 16.
SPEAKER_01: And I will tend them in good pastures and mountain heights of Israel's will be their grazing land, and they will lie down on grazing land.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: And I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 16, and I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.
SPEAKER_01: I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.
SPEAKER_01: And I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the weak.
SPEAKER_01: And then verse 23, I want you to see this because this is where it becomes alive.
SPEAKER_01: In John chapter 10, when Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, this is where the religious people, the Pharisees and Sadducees, in that moment, the light bulb would have gone off in their mind, and they would have realized we are not the shepherd anymore.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what verse 23 and then verse 24 says.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 23, and I will place over them one shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: I'll place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them, and he will tend them and be their shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: When he speaks of David, he's not talking about David.
SPEAKER_01: David's been dead for 400 years in Ezekiel 34.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: He's talking about somebody that's going to come from this line.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says in verse 30, and they will know that I am the Lord their God, and that I am with them, and they are my people, declares the sovereign Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 31.
SPEAKER_01: You are my sheep.
SPEAKER_01: He's still declaring this over us today.
SPEAKER_01: You are my sheep.
SPEAKER_01: The sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: God was using Jeremiah and Ezekiel to declare one big thing, and that is there is a better shepherd that is coming.
SPEAKER_01: There's a better shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus was and is still the better shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: When leaders have failed, he's the better shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: When they didn't know which way to go, he was the better shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you how good he is in the New Testament?
SPEAKER_01: That not only in the New Testament is Jesus called the Good Shepherd, he actually has three names for being the shepherd in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_01: In John 10, he's called the Good Shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: In Hebrews 13, he's called the Great Shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: In 1 Peter 5, he's called the Chief Shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: He's so good, being the shepherd, he gets three names.
SPEAKER_01: He's good, he's great, and he's chief.
SPEAKER_01: He's that good of a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: So when all of these people had been let down, it was the good shepherd in Jesus that would fulfill.
SPEAKER_01: When other shepherds failed and they didn't know which way to go, and the people were confused, Jesus was saying, I am the promise.
SPEAKER_01: I am the shepherd your leaders failed to be.
SPEAKER_01: These prophecies mattered to them in biblical days because it showed that God had not forgotten his people.
SPEAKER_01: And they matter to us today because it shows us that God is a promise keeper.
SPEAKER_01: That in Ezekiel and Jeremiah and Zechariah, that if God promised it, he would fulfill it.
SPEAKER_01: And if he speaks a promise over your life today, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: He will fulfill it.
SPEAKER_01: He's the good shepherd this morning.
SPEAKER_01: So we know that we are the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: And we know that he is the good shepherd, right?
SPEAKER_01: So what kind of shepherd is he?
SPEAKER_01: I want to go back to John chapter 10.
SPEAKER_01: I want to give you just real brief this morning.
SPEAKER_01: I want to give you three three things about the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Three things from John chapter 10 about the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, number one, uh, the good shepherd knows his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say he knows me.
SPEAKER_01: I want to just, anytime you're reading scripture, um, number one, slow down when you're reading scripture.
SPEAKER_01: All too often we just read scripture just to read and read and read and read.
SPEAKER_01: But you have to slow down and read scripture.
SPEAKER_01: And when you're reading scripture, look for things that are repeated.
SPEAKER_01: Look for things that often come up multiple times because it's in those moments that the author is trying to communicate something to us.
SPEAKER_01: But if we read the Bible really fast, you can miss on those things.
SPEAKER_01: And here in John chapter 10, there is a word, especially 11 through 18, that is repeated over and over and over again, and it's the word no.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say no.
SPEAKER_01: It's repeated over and over again.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to see these, these references in verse 4, 14, and then 27.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 4, when he is brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they what?
SPEAKER_01: They know his voice.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 14, I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 27, my sheep listen to my voice.
SPEAKER_01: I know them, and they follow me.
SPEAKER_01: You need to understand and get a grasp of this word.
SPEAKER_01: This word know in John chapter 10 is the Greek word gonosko.
SPEAKER_01: It's the Greek word gnosko.
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's what that means.
SPEAKER_01: This word it means to know personally.
SPEAKER_01: It means to know by relationship and experience.
SPEAKER_01: To know personally, to know by relationship and experience.
SPEAKER_01: Here in John chapter 10, Jesus is communicating that he is a personal God who wants to be known personally, that we really can know the Father, that we can be in relationship.
SPEAKER_01: It's not a distant relationship, it's meant to be a close relationship.
SPEAKER_01: Because how many know that there's a difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone?
SPEAKER_01: You can know about someone and not really know someone.
SPEAKER_01: When you know about someone, you know the facts about their life.
SPEAKER_01: You know some information.
SPEAKER_01: You may even know some stories.
SPEAKER_01: But when you really know someone, you know what makes them mad and what makes them sad.
SPEAKER_01: You know what makes them hurt.
SPEAKER_01: You know what makes them happy.
SPEAKER_01: You you know the inner workings of their life.
SPEAKER_01: It's me and my wife, she knows me and I know her.
SPEAKER_01: I know her voice in a crowded room and she knows mine.
SPEAKER_01: I I know what she's gonna do before she does it, and she does the same for me.
SPEAKER_01: I know what I do that gets on her last nerve.
SPEAKER_01: Where's all the husbands at?
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because we know one another.
SPEAKER_01: Because you can know someone and not really know them, and that's what Jesus is communicating here in John chapter 10 is I want you to write this down is that there is a difference.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, there's such a difference between having information about Jesus and having a relationship with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: You can have all the information in the world and never have a relationship with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what he's boiling John chapter 10 down to in this word is that he wants to know his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: He wants to know the people that he's leading.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 14.
SPEAKER_01: I I want you to see this again.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to, I want you to get this verse in your heart.
SPEAKER_01: Just write this down somewhere in your phone or whatever, wherever it may be.
SPEAKER_01: This is the verse for me that stuck out this week as I was just reading it over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_01: I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.
SPEAKER_01: That is such a simple but profound verse.
SPEAKER_01: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.
SPEAKER_01: I want this verse to be the cry of my heart.
SPEAKER_01: It's not just that he knows me, but I know him.
SPEAKER_01: In biblical times, as a shepherd would let out the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: They were in the pen.
SPEAKER_01: They would have to go through busy areas.
SPEAKER_01: They would have to go through crowded streets and crowded corridors, and they would have to go through areas where it was dangerous and there was a lot of people around.
SPEAKER_01: And the only thing that would guide the sheep was his voice.
SPEAKER_01: It was a shepherd in biblical times when he would have a call, he would have a whistle.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes he would have a chant.
SPEAKER_01: And the only way that they would find safety, and the only way that they stayed on the path that they were supposed to be on was by knowing the shepherd's voice.
SPEAKER_01: And it hasn't changed for us today, church.
SPEAKER_01: Is God wants us to know his voice.
SPEAKER_01: So when life feels confusing, it can lead us and guide us to the place that he's calling us to go.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: The good shepherd, number one, he knows his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Number two.
SPEAKER_01: The good shepherd protects his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: He protects his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to see this in verse 11, 12 and 13.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I am the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Are you thankful for a savior that lays down his life for us?
SPEAKER_01: Verse 12, the hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
SPEAKER_01: Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 13.
SPEAKER_01: The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: These three verses show us some really, really important things.
SPEAKER_01: Two primary things they show us.
SPEAKER_01: They show us the goal of the enemy, and they show us really the number one goal of the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, in this moment, he's really doing something brilliant when you really look at it.
SPEAKER_01: He's showing us how the enemy works in John chapter 10.
SPEAKER_01: It's as much about him being the good shepherd as it is him exposing the tactics of the enemy.
SPEAKER_01: Because here's what he does: he starts off contrasting himself to the hired hand.
SPEAKER_01: That this hired hand, when the wolf comes in and attacks the sheep, he takes off and he runs.
SPEAKER_01: But Jesus, in essence, is saying, I'm never going to leave you, I'm never going to forsake you.
SPEAKER_01: That when life gets tough, I'll always be there.
SPEAKER_01: Are you thankful for a Savior that never leaves us?
SPEAKER_01: That'll always be there for us.
SPEAKER_01: But I want you to see this in verse 12 because this idea this week just exploded into my heart in verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: The hired hand is not the shepherd, and he does not own the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: But when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
SPEAKER_01: And then I want you to see this next part.
SPEAKER_01: Scatters it.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to see this this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Write this down.
SPEAKER_01: You need to get this in your spirit, is that the primary goal of the enemy is to get you scattered.
SPEAKER_01: Follow me here.
SPEAKER_01: What happens is the wolf comes in and the wolf attacks the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: But the ultimate goal of the enemy is not the attack, it's to get you scattered.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what happens: is because again, they're defenseless, they have no defense mechanism whatsoever.
SPEAKER_01: So the enemy comes in, the wolf comes in and he attacks the sheep to get them scattered.
SPEAKER_01: So this lamb is now over by itself.
SPEAKER_01: So when the enemy comes in and he attacks, what he's really trying to do is to get you by yourself.
SPEAKER_01: All throughout the Old Testament, go back and read in Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Zechariah, God rebukes the leaders of their day because the enemy had come in and he was so sneaky that he had caused the sheep to be scattered.
SPEAKER_01: And here's why this is a big deal.
SPEAKER_01: Because if he can get you isolated, he can pick you over.
SPEAKER_01: So maybe the attack is not as much about the attack as we think it is.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's really the enemy trying to get us isolated.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe the attack on our mind is not as much about the attack as we think.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe what's happening in our family is not as much about the initial attack, but to get us isolated and scattered and alone.
SPEAKER_01: Because an attack is bad, but when you've been attacked and you're alone, this is a miserable place.
SPEAKER_01: This is a dangerous place.
SPEAKER_01: But it brings me then to the primary goal of the sheep.
SPEAKER_00: To stay as close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: So when life hurts, stay close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: When life is confusing, stay close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: When you've got more questions than you've got answers, stay close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: When you don't understand and you're fighting for your marriage, and you're fighting for kids, and you're fighting for the next day, stay close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: This is your only defense mechanism.
SPEAKER_01: You're not as strong as you think you are.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not as strong as I think I am.
SPEAKER_01: I'm only as good as I am to the proximity of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: Stay close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_00: Because if he can get us isolated, he's one.
SPEAKER_01: So from Genesis to Revelation, the enemy is attacking, but he's really attacking to get us alone.
SPEAKER_01: But the way we win is by staying close.
SPEAKER_01: We stay close, we stay close, we stay close.
SPEAKER_01: Because if we stay close, two things happen.
SPEAKER_01: You can hear his voice, and he can protect you.
SPEAKER_01: So when we stay close, we can hear what he's saying, and we can hear how he's guiding us, and we can hear in the moment what he's saying, but he can also provide protection.
SPEAKER_01: It's hard for him to provide protection when we're way out there.
SPEAKER_01: We gotta stay close.
SPEAKER_01: Then number three, stand with me.
SPEAKER_01: Stand with me all over the house.
SPEAKER_01: We're going in.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna spend a minute praying.
SPEAKER_01: The good shepherd, he knows the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Number two, he protects the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: But then number three, he keeps his sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Can I just remind us today that the same shepherd who calls you is the same one who will keep you?
SPEAKER_01: That we have a strong shepherd, that we have a secure shepherd, that our shepherd can be trusted.
SPEAKER_01: Verses 27 through 30.
SPEAKER_01: He says, My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, they follow me.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 28, and I give them eternal life.
SPEAKER_01: Are you thankful for eternal life this morning, church?
SPEAKER_01: And they shall never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
SPEAKER_01: I love this promise.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 29, my father who has given them to me is greater than all.
SPEAKER_01: He's greater than all.
SPEAKER_01: And no one can snatch them out of my father's hand because I and the Father are one.
SPEAKER_01: Church, he knows you, he protects you, and he holds you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: You receive the word.
SPEAKER_01: You just close your eyes, just right where you are.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have a time of prayer here in just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: But I believe in this moment, I believe that there's a moment where the Lord wants to draw some of us back.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you need to come back close to the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: And I want to give you that chance this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you, when I was talking about the difference between information and knowing, if you were really, really honest this morning, you don't really know if you know know him today.
SPEAKER_01: With every head bowed and every eye closed across the house today, if you say, Pastor Noah.
SPEAKER_01: This morning, I I need to recommit my life to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I've had information about him and I've heard some stories, but I'm not really sure if I Ganosco, if I really know the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: If that's shoot, or I'm gonna call you to the front, but I'm gonna pray for you.
SPEAKER_01: If that's shooting you say, Fashion today, I I need to commit my life to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I need to know him.
SPEAKER_01: Will you just slip your hand up just right where you are so I can pray for you this morning?
SPEAKER_01: If you say, Pastor Noah, I need to know the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I need to know him today.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: See one hand right there.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Will you just do this with me, church?
SPEAKER_01: Will you repeat this prayer after me?
SPEAKER_01: Say, Jesus, be my Lord and be my Savior.
SPEAKER_01: Today, I commit my life to you.
SPEAKER_01: I put you first and foremost in my life.
SPEAKER_01: Today, I receive you as my good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the other prayer, and I want to invite my prayer team forward this morning.
SPEAKER_01: As I was prepping and praying this week, even as just in this moment here, there's some of you that you are under attack.
SPEAKER_01: There's areas of your life that the enemy has just, I mean, it's just one blow after another blow after another blow.
SPEAKER_01: And you need this morning to be reminded that the Good Shepherd is near, that he's for you, that he is fighting for you this morning.
SPEAKER_01: The attacks have been heavy, they have been constant, and you feel like at times you cannot even catch your breath.
SPEAKER_01: I want us to spend just a moment here in worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have my prayer team up here to the left and to the right.
SPEAKER_01: And I want you to respond today in faith.
SPEAKER_01: If you say, Pastor Noah, the attack has been real, but I know that God is also fighting for me as my good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you, it just resonates with your heart and you need prayer.
SPEAKER_01: You need to surrender the areas that the enemy has been fighting and allow the Lord to work on your behalf.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna pray for it as soon as I get done praying, we're gonna spend just a moment worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to respond.
SPEAKER_01: If this registers with your heart, you can already begin to move and receive prayer this morning.
SPEAKER_01: But God is for you, He is the good shepherd and he wants to be near you today.
SPEAKER_01: Father, I thank you right now over your people, that you are our good shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: And I thank you, God, that you want to know your people today.
SPEAKER_01: But I also pray over every person that the enemy has attacked certain areas of their life.
SPEAKER_01: I pray that the attack ends today.
SPEAKER_01: That you would be their good shepherd, that they would be near you and they could hear your voice more clearly than they've ever heard it.