WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:22.160 Well, good morning, Awakening Church. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:23.519 Great to be with you. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:25.359 And wow, you guys did amazing. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:27.280 Way to get up this morning. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:30.640 Why, Daylight Savings, it just gets me every year. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:33.039 When are we going to be done with this? 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:38.159 Anyways, that's another another talk for another time that doesn't need time up here. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:40.960 We're in a series called Jesus Is. 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:45.679 And we've been asking this question, who is Jesus? 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:56.000 In fact, we've said it this way over the last couple weeks that if you have any intellectual intelligence, you have to fundamentally ask that question, who is Jesus? 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:01.359 He is absolutely the most important figure in all of human history. 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:05.359 We date our time to his life. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:10.000 We're in the year 2023, Ano Domini, the year of our Lord. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:25.439 He was this obscure carpenter-turned rabbi that was in this part of the Roman Empire that was very obscure and then eventually was executed by Rome itself. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:32.959 And yet, 2,000 years later, we're still talking about him, intrigued by him. 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:35.280 Who is this man? 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:41.439 I think even a better question or bigger question is who did Jesus say that he was? 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:42.879 Like who does he say? 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.599 Like if you ask him, Jesus, who are you? 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:46.799 What would he say? 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:51.359 And in John's Gospels, we actually get seven I am statements. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:52.239 Jesus, who are you? 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:54.079 This is who I am. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:55.840 Week one, we talked about Jesus. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:57.840 He said, I am the bread of life. 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:01.040 Week two, last week, he said, I am the light of the world. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.799 This week, Jesus says, I am the gate or I am the door. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:10.479 Next week, we're going to look at Jesus being the good shepherd, the way, the truth, and the life. 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:11.439 I am the vine. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:19.280 And then the series will conclude on Easter Sunday with Jesus, where he declares, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:20.319 No. 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:26.719 I was 16 years old, and I actually, this is another girl story. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.599 I realize all three weeks have been a girl story. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:32.080 Um, I don't know why. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:38.560 But it was my first real girlfriend because I could finally drive. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:40.240 You know what I mean? 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:46.479 And I was just like absolutely smitten, as any teenager is. 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:58.080 And I remember my dad sitting me down to not have the talk, that had already happened, but have a very important talk about what I was going through in this dating process. 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:02.560 And he sat me down, I said, son, I I know that you think you're in love. 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:07.759 And and I go, in my mind, I go, um, I don't think I am, I am in love. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:10.319 I know that you think you're different. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:12.400 I'm different. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:21.120 I mean, in my mind, I am just arguing with him the entire time, uh, you know, and like this is gonna last forever. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:33.520 He said, but son, these are things that just happen as a teenager, and all in my mind, I am arguing with him, disagreeing with every single point that he brought up. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.159 Of course, not out loud, just in my mind. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:43.280 And of course, as you all now know, I wasn't any different. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:49.280 She was not the love of my life, and thank God I did meet the love of my life later on. 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:57.360 And there's something interesting that I think we all do, but I I definitely did there. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:06.639 What's interesting is we can often think that those who have our best interests are the people who agree with us or say what we want. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:14.719 Instead of like my parents who go, like, oh no, they're just out of touch. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:19.360 They just don't understand what it's like to be a teenager anymore. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:28.319 You see, what's fascinating though is we grow up in life, but some of us don't ever grow out of that way of thinking. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:30.079 Let me ask you this. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:34.560 Who do you believe has your very best interests at heart? 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:36.560 Like, who do you fundamentally go? 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.240 They have my best interests. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:42.000 And here's why this is important. 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:55.920 Those who you believe have your best interests, you actually will listen to, and perhaps you might even follow after. 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:06.720 In Jesus' day, those who were supposed to have the very best interests of the people of Israel were the religious leaders. 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:22.639 And yet they exploited their relationship, they put all these burdens onto people, they set stuff up for their own gain, for their own popularity, their own influence and effluence. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:43.519 And no surprise, Jesus had incredible conflict with the religious leaders because they were supposed to be the ones shepherding the best interests of the people of Israel, and yet they were the ones who were exploiting and taking advantage of them. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:06:00.399 And we pick up this next I am statement of Jesus, and it's actually Jesus confronting the Pharisees and where they're actually thinking they are the gatekeepers for who's in the community, who's a part of the people of God, and who are not. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:09.360 And so the context for what Jesus is about to say happens just after someone got kicked out of synagogue. 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.360 You're like, whoa, you can do that? 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:12.720 They did that. 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.279 In fact, uh it was on a Sabbath day. 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:22.319 Jesus sees a man who was born blind, he has compassion on them, he heals him. 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:23.439 Think about this. 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:31.439 You have never seen in your entire life, and one day, all of a sudden, whoa, sight, you get to see everything. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.680 How joyous and how amazing. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:39.199 And he's seeing his friends, and they're like, oh my gosh, it's you can see his parents. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:46.639 The Pharisees get word of this and they call him in and they begin to examine him and go, who did this? 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:49.120 Well, it was a Sabbath, you shouldn't heal. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:50.720 That's silly, by the way. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:59.519 Um and they examine them, and he says, This Jesus does, and they bring in his parents. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:00.560 Is this true? 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:02.879 They say, Ask him, he's a man. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:18.639 And then they go back at him, and Jesus or and the Pharisees are saying, Listen, now that you are a follower of Jesus, get out of the synagogue. 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:21.839 And they literally kick him out of the synagogue. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:26.560 They were the gatekeepers of who was in and who was out. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:28.319 Now think about this. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.800 This man, he's like, I don't even really care about all that anymore. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:33.680 I couldn't see. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:38.000 I was begging on the side of the road, and now I can see. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:49.759 And the Pharisees are so resistant to Jesus, not even recognizing that one of the great signs for the coming Messiah was that he would bring sight to the blind. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:08:00.319 In fact, if you're following along in our journey through Lent last yesterday, we read Isaiah 41, where it foretold this is what this coming Messiah would do. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:07.759 And Jesus had some very stern words for the gatekeepers of Israel. 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.319 We pick it up in John chapter 10, verse 1. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:13.920 If you got your Bibles, wouldn't you go ahead and open up there? 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:15.519 John 10, verse 1. 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:17.040 He's speaking to the gatekeepers. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:29.680 He says, Very truly I tell you, Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.879 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.559 The gatekeepers open the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.080 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:46.879 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:48.799 But they'll never follow a stranger. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:53.759 In fact, they'll run away from him because they are do not recognize a stranger's voice. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:01.519 Verse six Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:07.120 They're like, Okay, shepherds, sheep, we get this picture, we use that. 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:09.840 A shepherd is used of the picture of God. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:19.840 Uh, it's also used of our kings and leaders and spiritual leaders, it's used of the coming picture of the one who would be the Messiah in Ezekiel chapter 34. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:22.559 Jesus, what are you saying to us? 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:24.480 Therefore, Jesus said it again. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:30.559 Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.159 O you self-proclaimed gatekeepers. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:40.799 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:42.159 I am the gate. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.039 Whoever enters through me will be saved. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.559 They will come in and go out and find pasture. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.480 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:57.440 I have come that they may have life and have it to the fool. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:02.240 And then he's going to go on and talk about him being the good shepherd. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:04.399 Here's what I want to do with our time. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:15.360 Jesus introduces uh really four elements or four characters: the thief, the shepherd, uh, the sheep, and the gate. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:31.039 And I just want to draw your attention and pull out some things that are really important for us in this day of what it means of who Jesus is and how we follow him and and who has our very best interests at heart. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.120 Let's take a look at the thief. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:38.879 The thief, by the way, doesn't come to bring freedom but destruction. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:42.879 The free the thief doesn't come to bring freedom but destruction. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:45.919 He says the thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:53.440 In ancient uh Palestine and all throughout the ancient days, thievery was a big issue and it was a big problem. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:11:01.600 Uh, and having your flock, which was also part of your wealth stolen, was a major issue. 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:16.879 The way they would guard and protect, uh, especially during the winter months, is they would in the one city, one town, they would have one major pin that everyone would use, and they would pay a gatekeeper or a guard to stand guard over that. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:33.200 All the sheep would come in at the end of the day there, and they would watch over that and protect it from any outside um robbers or bandits or wolves or uh lions or whatnot that would want to kill or destroy the sheep. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:39.360 Now, it may seem obvious that the thief doesn't come to bring freedom but destruction. 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:41.279 And yet, here's what's interesting. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:47.200 Jesus uses two different words here, thief and robber, and they mean something subtly different. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:56.399 Thief means subtlety and trickery, and robber is one that does so by violence and plundering. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:05.039 And I think in our mind, when we're thinking about the thief, we often think about the violence and the plundering, and we miss out on the subtlety and the trickery. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:15.360 And so we aren't aware that the thief is actually at work and drawing and wooing us away from the pen. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:16.799 Well, what does that look like? 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:25.679 See, I think the thief comes and the enemy comes and he says to the sheep and the pen, and he doesn't go, hey, you see this lovely pen for your safety? 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:26.720 No, no, no. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:28.559 This is a prison. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:32.240 This isn't, this isn't, you know, like stealing you. 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.519 This is a prison break from this, it is not a pen, this is a prison. 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:38.879 Don't you see outside and see all that vast landscape? 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.679 Wouldn't you want to roam free out there? 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.240 Look at how the moon's hitting the mountains. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:46.960 Doesn't that look so enticing out there? 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:52.159 Aren't you tired of always listening to that shepherd that's calling you? 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:59.919 You know, he uses this whistle and you just perk up and you run after him, and you know, you have to go everywhere he leads. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.919 Don't you want to go somewhere on your own? 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:03.679 Don't you want to have your own freedom? 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:05.440 Do your own thing? 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:14.879 Don't you get tired that when you do start to stray off the path that he he either calls you or he might even use his staff to kind of correct you and move you around? 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:19.279 Aren't you so tired of that? 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:28.080 See, the enemies always use subtlety and trickery all the way from the beginning. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:39.279 Uh back in the garden with Adam and Eve, the enemy shows up, says the serpent was more crafty than all the other creatures. 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:41.120 And you know what he did? 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:44.960 First, he cast doubt on God's word. 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:52.000 First thing that the enemy wants to do subtly in our hearts is to cast doubt on God's word. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:57.759 Did God really say you must not eat of any tree in the garden? 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:02.080 And then he cast doubt on God's character. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:08.320 See, God doesn't want you to do that because then you'll be like him. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:18.960 See, fundamentally, we know that the thief comes for our destruction, not for our freedom, but the thief is constantly telling us, no, it's for your freedom. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:22.879 That's the reason we keep buying into it. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:27.840 Keep thinking, beyond the pen, there's actually something better for me. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:34.080 Beyond the shepherd's voice and beyond the shepherd's guidance, I actually can do this all on my own. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:39.679 And we buy into it time and time again. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:45.519 My friend was telling me about the tactics of uh coyotes, and he was telling me this. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:52.240 I looked it up, and there's actually some dispute on whether this really happens, but it makes a really good illustration, so here we go. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:59.519 That coyotes will come and actually play with a dog. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:11.360 They'll send one in, a younger one, and just kind of play around and eventually lure the dog away from its home and to where the pack is waiting to kill it. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:19.919 See, I think that's so often true of us, and that the enemy is like, hey, I'm just toying with it, I'm just playing with it. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:21.200 I I just got some stuff. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:21.679 You know what? 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:26.320 That pornography, that's not really that big of a deal, but it's actually gonna kill your marriage. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:28.799 It's actually gonna kill your thriving. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:39.840 You know, that conversation uh at work, and she's really nice, and he's really wonderful, and wow, they listen to you the way your spouse doesn't at home, and man, you guys are in it together. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:55.759 You're building something important, and you play and you hang out, and eventually it undermines the thief, doesn't come to bring freedom but destruction. 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:58.960 The shepherd, on the other hand, we know this. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:03.120 The shepherd's purpose is for the flourishing of his flock. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:08.639 Fundamentally, the shepherd's purpose is for the flourishing of his flock. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:14.639 I have come that they may have life and life to the full. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:21.840 Now, when we translate this word full, we don't really get the full meaning of it. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.080 Fool is like, oh, that's nice. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:25.279 Life to the full. 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:30.480 This word full means exceeding abundantly above. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:34.320 I just realized some of you can't even see the screen because of my door. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:40.799 That better. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.840 We'll move it off to the a little more to the side next service. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.879 It means exceeding. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:53.600 It exceeds abundantly above. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:55.279 What is abundantly above? 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.399 Well, it's an extraordinary amount. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.080 It's beyond measure. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:09.200 And Jesus came, he said, I came that I would give you life, and life that exceeds abundantly above, it's beyond measure. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:13.440 Like my purpose is for your flourishing. 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.960 It's the reason I showed up. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:25.839 And so my ways, my guidance brings flourishing. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:32.880 Sheep are pretty helpless on their own. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:36.559 In the wild, they can kind of survive, but not for long. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:46.799 In fact, uh, you'll see this if you Google this and I did, uh, that you'll find that there are some sheep that have gotten lost and have been found. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:48.720 A lot of this happens in Australia. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.920 A lot of sheep herding goes on there. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:18:03.920 And what's interesting is I think in our minds, we think, if only I could get out and wander and do my own thing, then I'd finally be free. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:11.119 And actually, we end up shackled down and stuck, and we're just trying to survive and rather than thrive. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:13.519 I want to show you a slide. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.240 This is uh a sheep named Chris. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:34.319 Chris, uh they found him and he was uh on his own for about five or six years, got lost from some uh, you know, um flock, and he had 89 pounds of wool on him. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:37.519 He only weighed his actual body 97 pounds. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:39.599 About half of his body weight was wool. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.960 He became so heavy that he could barely walk. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:49.759 Um, he had multiple burns because of urine that got stuck in his wool. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:58.000 And as they saw where he was at, they thought there's a good chance he wouldn't survive the very next summer heat. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:03.599 And so they actually had to uh put him under and shave him. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.559 Next slide, you can see there's Chris all, oh, it's all stretched out on you. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:15.680 Uh, but there's Chris all um, you know, shorn up, and you can see the wounds. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.480 Here's what I just want to say. 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:25.680 Just because it's for your flourishing doesn't always mean it feels good. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:36.799 See, we translate flourishing with feeling good, and that's the reason we resist the good shepherd in our life. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:54.000 The shepherd at the end of the night, as he's coming in, he would take his staff and he would put it low, and as the sheep would go into the gate, they would have to go in and climb under his staff. 00:19:54.240 --> 00:20:03.519 And what he was doing is he's inspecting every single sheep to see if there's anything that happened throughout the day, any wounds they incurred. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:05.440 He would anoint them with oil. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:07.839 That's where we get that picture out of Psalm 23. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.880 It's what the shepherd would do to bring healing and to bandage any wounds. 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:17.839 Like the tender care of, like, you know, it's kind of a hassle to go down. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.759 It's kind of, yeah, but he sees what you're going through. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.279 Think about the good shepherd of what Jesus says here. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:27.039 He goes ahead. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:29.680 He says, He goes ahead of you. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:35.519 Think about, he doesn't drive you forward, he guides you in front of you. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:38.240 He's not like, get going, get going, get going. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.640 He says, Do you want to come? 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:43.039 I'm going this direction. 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:45.279 He guides you, he sets the pace. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:49.440 The shepherd would uh the shepherds would lead either from the back or the front. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:51.279 It was common to do either way. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.880 Jesus says, I'm the shepherd that leads from the front so that I set the pace. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:21:02.559 And so if you're weak, if you're young, you're not gonna get worn down or injured along the way. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.359 He sets the pace, he scouts the path. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:10.160 He goes in front to check and make sure, hey, is this all safe? 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.039 And think about the intentionality. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:16.640 We don't know how si how big the flock was. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:21.839 It could be a dozen, a few dozen, it could be actually up to a couple hundred. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.480 He says he knows them by name. 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:29.839 You're not a number to this shepherd. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.839 He knows you by name. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:37.519 He personally knows you and calls you by name. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:39.440 You're precious to him. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:41.039 The thief. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.640 He doesn't come to bring freedom but destruction. 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:49.440 The shepherd his purpose is for your flourishing. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:55.839 And sheep, they fundamentally need a shepherd to thrive, not just survive. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.759 And here's what I want to point out about the sheep that's so great. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:05.440 Did you notice the sheep actually know the voice of their shepherd and follow him? 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:20.400 Like I said, in the town, and this was really mainly during winter season, they would uh keep the flock in a big pen and they'd have multiple flocks in there. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:30.799 They weren't concerned about getting confused, their flocks getting confused, because every flock of sheep understood and knew their shepherd's voice. 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:36.720 Many had a little whistle that they would use to call them, and they would come out. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:45.599 And so the shepherd would come and he would call his sheep, he'd use the whistle, and then all the sheep that were part of his herd, his flock would come out. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:50.480 And here's what I just want to draw for us the sheep. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:53.759 Know the voice of the shepherd. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.279 And they follow him. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:02.160 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.200 But they'll never follow a stranger. 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:07.599 In fact, they'll run away. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:13.440 When they hear a stranger's voice, they're like, nah, that's not my shepherd. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:21.279 Friends, we need people, we need the church to know the voice of their savior. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:28.559 And my fear and my concern is that we don't know his voice, and so we don't recognize the stranger's voice. 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:41.119 And we're listening to so many voices, and we're plugged into so many areas, and yet we we have cast doubt on his word, and we don't get into his word. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:46.160 This is the reason we're doing a year through the life of Jesus, of studying Jesus. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:49.039 I want you to know his voice and to follow him. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:52.240 He said, I came for your flourishing. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:57.279 Let me ask you a few questions. 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:01.519 Who's leading your life? 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:05.519 See, that's the problem with shepherds, is they lead. 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:19.039 We don't mind Jesus being, you know, um a consultant. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:20.000 Right? 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:25.920 Hey, yeah, with love, consult, good, but you can't be in charge. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:30.000 Who's leading your life? 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:33.200 Let me ask you. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:35.359 Do you know the voice of Jesus? 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:49.519 I'd really encourage you, if you aren't already, go do the silence and solitude that uh Jen Smith is putting on, that you can begin to work and learn to hear the voice of your Savior. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:51.599 Do you know the voice of Jesus? 00:24:55.680 --> 00:25:05.680 And then final question if Jesus is in front and he's leading the way and we're to follow him, are you running ahead of Jesus? 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:13.119 That's by nature, I think many of us just simply run ahead of Jesus. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:23.920 I got to coach my son's seventh-grade basketball team, and we made it to the playoffs, um, not because of my great coaching, but because of some really talented kids. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:32.400 Uh, we the playoff was at this uh junior college about 40, 45 minutes away. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:38.240 We drive up, I had four kids, one of them was mine, in the car, and we get out. 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:46.160 I had studied the map, they had marked everything out for me, and the boys, this is so funny. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:49.680 Seventh graders makes sense. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:58.640 Four of them, they get out of the car and they're just chirping, talking, and they start walking. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:02.880 They have no idea where they're going. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:13.200 They start going this way, but the gym is that way, and I just watch them for a little bit, and they get about 50 yards away. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:19.440 And I go, hey, hey boys, what? 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:20.799 What? 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:26.240 Oh, oh, and then they follow me. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:37.359 See, I think we get so consumed with what we're doing and what we want to do, and we're just kind of chirping with one another that we don't recognize our Savior's over here, and we're not checking in with him. 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:41.599 We're getting way out ahead, we're not ending up where we should be, and we're curious. 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:47.119 No, no, no, we're wondering why in the world this Jesus thing doesn't work. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:52.720 The thief. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.039 He doesn't come for your freedom but for your destruction. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:00.240 The shepherd's sole purpose is for your flourishing. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:08.240 Jesus says, the life that I came to bring you exceeds abundantly more his sheep. 00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:13.759 Well, they know his voice and they follow him. 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:20.160 Are you getting out ahead of Jesus? 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:22.000 And then it brings us to the gate. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:24.079 You know, like, when are you gonna get to this door? 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:25.279 It's been up here for a while. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:27.440 You haven't even used it yet. 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:29.920 I want to thank Wyatt for putting this together. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:30.960 Good job, buddy. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:38.559 The gate provides access to life and protection from harm. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:42.480 The gate provides access to life and protection from harm. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:45.119 And you'll notice uh that there's two paragraphs. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:54.000 First, Jesus tells a story, the Pharisees didn't understand it, and then he explains it even more clearly the next time, saying, I am the gate. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:58.079 Uh many scholars believe that Jesus is kind of mixing metaphors here. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:15.359 And so if you think about the first story really being about shepherding during the winter season in town, when they would be close and bringing the flock in for warmth and safety, uh the next, those who know, you know, I don't really know a whole lot about shepherding. 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.759 I've never shepherd my a day in my life. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:20.559 I read a lot about it this week, though. 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:36.160 But during the summertime, the springtime, when you needed to go up into the highlands and go days away to bring, you know, get just the right uh food and nourishment for the flock. 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:47.359 They would camp out with the sheep and they would have either a makeshift pen that was built out uh in the plains there, or they would use a cave. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:51.599 Now, these pens didn't have doors, they didn't have gates. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:29:02.240 What a shepherd would do is at night he would be the gate. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:10.319 And he would lie down in front of the opening to protect the flock. 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:18.079 To say, if you're gonna come in here, if you want what's in here, you gotta go through me. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:29.200 And Jesus says, I am that gate. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:38.240 That fundamentally, when you walk in and you come in, you experience life. 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:40.880 And he says, Salvation through me. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:49.200 And by the way, at the same time, I am standing guard and protecting you, safety and security. 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:56.480 He'd say it this way in another part, he'd say, No one can snatch you from my hands. 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:04.960 The gate, it provides access to life and protection from harm. 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:12.079 In my backyard, uh, the other day, it's got this kind of opening. 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:14.559 It's it's it's not a nice big door like this. 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:17.119 It's about the backyard entrance. 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.680 It's got a half gate, and then an opening. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:21.680 You can literally, I'm across the street from a park. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:24.880 You can see into the back yard. 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:26.960 You can even kind of see into the house from the backyard. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:29.920 It's a little too exposed for us, but we're working on that. 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:37.680 The other day, what something odd happened is all of a sudden we looked in our backyard and there was a man there. 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.880 Thankfully, I happened to be home. 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:45.440 My daughter sees this man first, and I was like trying to figure out what was going on. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:52.400 It was a homeless man, unfortunately, and he looked like he was uh probably on something and not in a good space. 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:53.599 It was really sad. 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.400 But I go back, I mean, it was alarming, it was scary. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:01.759 I'd go back there and I go, hey man, this ain't your backyard. 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:10.400 And I lead him out because our gate there was insufficient, but my presence there was. 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:20.400 See, we have all these things that we think are gonna be the safeguard that we're gonna put our security in, and it's just insufficient. 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:24.000 His presence, Jesus' presence, is. 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:32.799 He says, I'm here, I'm gonna show up, and what threatens your peace, what threatens your security, what threatens your identity, I stand guard at it. 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:37.119 The gate. 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:44.720 Well, the gate provides access to life and protection against harm. 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:52.880 And so Jesus is the entrance into the life that is truly life, bringing freedom and security. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:54.319 Who is Jesus? 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:56.880 He says, I'm the entrance. 00:31:57.039 --> 00:32:13.200 I I'm the if you want to know what life is really like, life that exceeds abundant, it's not like some hoops you gotta jump through, some kind of levels you gotta attain. 00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:15.680 It's me. 00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:20.319 And the and the door's not locked for you, by the way. 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:24.720 And you don't have to earn your way or good your way or do better. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.160 He says, no, no, no. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:33.200 The door to life, the entrance to life is a person and it's me, and I long for your flourishing. 00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:35.039 Would you come into me? 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:41.680 Bringing life and security. 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:48.400 Who do you? 00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:55.519 Who do you believe has your very best interest at heart? 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:10.240 See, I would argue we often buy into the enemy's lies, believing his best interest rather than the shepherd's heart that he paid for with his life. 00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:21.920 I'm gonna invite the band up as we close. 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:27.039 I just want to ask you a few questions. 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:35.359 What door have you been knocking on to bring you life? 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:42.640 Knocking on the door of success. 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:48.240 Knocking on the door of finally getting a family. 00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:56.960 Knocking on the door of image management. 00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:59.279 What door have you been knocking on? 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:08.480 And whose voice are you listening to? 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:13.519 There's so much noise. 00:34:14.239 --> 00:34:16.239 And so many voices. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:19.280 Whose voice are you listening to? 00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:23.920 You know what's interesting about Jesus? 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:26.639 He says he's the gate, he's the door. 00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:33.840 In Revelations 3.20, he says, Behold, I stand at the door of your heart and knock. 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:36.320 He reverses the image on us here. 00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:41.519 Because I think some of us, we have a door up from Jesus. 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:43.760 We actually have a barrier up. 00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:46.239 And today you need to let your barrier down. 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:51.360 You've been believing a lie where you thought, no, his best interest, he doesn't have the very best interest. 00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:53.920 I want to look out beyond in the pasture. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:55.119 I want to roam free. 00:34:55.199 --> 00:35:01.840 And by the way, you're looking a whole lot more like Chris, the sheep, but you have your freedom. 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:07.679 And Jesus saying, I'm standing at the door right now, knocking. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:16.719 Anyone who opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me. 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:20.079 It's personal, it's a relationship with him. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:27.199 And maybe you've never started a relationship with Jesus. 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:29.280 Today's your day. 00:35:31.679 --> 00:35:40.000 Where you say, Jesus, I believe you are the shepherd that brings flourishing and the gate to life. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:43.920 Today, I open the door of my life to you. 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:46.079 Would you come in and make me new? 00:35:46.239 --> 00:35:49.920 And it's just that simple, honest conversation. 00:35:50.159 --> 00:35:52.159 He says yes every time. 00:35:54.719 --> 00:36:11.519 And others, you've been well, you've been doing the Jesus thing, but you've been listening more like a consultant to Jesus. 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:13.840 And you have doors up. 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:18.639 Would you actually what would change? 00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:19.280 Think about this. 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:25.360 What would change if you actually believe Jesus has your very best interest? 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:31.199 What would actually change if you actually believed in him through him alone? 00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:33.840 You will experience abundance. 00:36:34.480 --> 00:36:39.440 No, no, no, exceeding abundant life. 00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:45.519 I just want to give you a moment. 00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:48.480 Where are you at? 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:50.800 Would you wrestle with those questions? 00:36:50.960 --> 00:36:51.840 Just take a moment. 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:52.960 Close your eyes. 00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:54.559 The band's gonna play. 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:06.000 If you've never started a relationship with Jesus, I want to invite you today to start. 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:15.679 It's simply a prayer. 00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:18.880 Prayer is just a conversation with God. 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:27.840 God, I'm tired of doing life my own way, and I've been seeking stuff to finally bring life. 00:37:29.440 --> 00:37:31.280 And it hasn't worked. 00:37:31.840 --> 00:37:45.760 Today, I believe you are the good shepherd that you came for my flourishing, that you died for my brokenness and my sin. 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:51.119 And you came back to life that I might have life to the full. 00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:56.800 Today I opened the door of my heart to you. 00:37:57.039 --> 00:38:01.119 Would you come into my life and make me new? 00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:07.920 And all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved. 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:44.719 And friends of who are followers of Jesus, would you would you invite your heavenly father to do whatever's necessary in your heart, break down any walls that's somehow keeping you from experiencing his goodness, his life. 00:38:46.960 --> 00:38:48.320 Jesus' name. 00:38:55.440 --> 00:38:59.840 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:02.159 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:08.239 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.