You Can Learn To Recognize The Voice Of Love

The loudest voice in your life is not always the truest one. On Good Shepherd Sunday, we sit with John 10 and let Jesus re-teach us what spiritual discernment actually feels like: not coercion, not panic, not religious pressure, but the steady voice of love that calls us by name.

We talk about attention as something sacred, because whatever we give our attention to gains power in us. With a simple body-based exercise and a few honest stories from our own home, we explore how anxiety can masquerade as “being faithful,” and how easily we can mistake ego, urgency, or old religious scripts for the voice of God. Then we slow down long enough to notice the Shepherd’s tone: patient, kind, nurturing, and deeply committed to our care.

From Eastertide “practicing resurrection” to Sabbath rest, hunger, and the unforced rhythms of grace, the thread is consistent: grace never opposes effort, but it does oppose earning. Jesus is the gate, the good shepherd, and the model of leadership that lays power down so others can flourish. Abundant life is not for a select few, it is God’s desire for everyone and for the whole world God loves.

If this message helps you breathe again, share it with a friend, subscribe so you do not miss next week, and leave a review to help more people find the podcast. What’s one voice you need to stop following this week?

Transcript

Welcome And Good Shepherd Sunday

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala, Florida.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Well, good morning. Glad that you're here at church. Glad that you're with us online. Happy Sunday to you.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

It's joy to be with you the fourth Sunday of Easter, Eastertide, and we're still practicing resurrection. That means we're still noticing death. That means there are still things around us, among us, even in us, that are death-like. And so in this season of Easter tide, we remember that there is a power that is greater than death. There is a power that is greater than the grave. And it is the power of love. Love is eternal. This is a really special Sunday in the church calendar for many reasons, but this Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. And right now, in this particular season, as it is always such an incredible like timing of how things work, because again, we're dealing with the eternal, not necessarily just a paper calendar. God knows these things. There is an assurance that comes to us when we remember that we have a good shepherd.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Yes.

Your Attention Is Sacred

SPEAKER_02 1:20

So I would like for you this morning just to put your hand over your heart, over your chest here, and just very gently, very quietly affirm to yourself, I have a good shepherd. Sometimes in the midst of all of the crazy, in the midst of all of the life that we are asked to live, reminding ourselves we have a good shepherd. A good shepherd, not just any shepherd, but a shepherd, a good one. And Jesus shows us that. So today we go into John's gospel, and John has been showing us beautiful things about the witness of Jesus. And one of the things that we do when we gather together is we read scriptures together. And what we do is in our reading, is that we say to each other, this is the word of the Lord. And we pay attention to it. And we give, and I want to remind you of something about your attention. Your attention is sacred and your attention is powerful. And that's why everyone wants it. That's why your device wants it. That's why the billboards want it. That's why the radio wants it. That's why everything wants it. And who you give your attention to is who you are giving power to. And so it's essential for us to remember that the attention that we give to the gentle voice inside of us, the voice of Christ.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

That's so good.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

We have a good shepherd. John's gospel.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

You know, I wanted to just say, you know, that was one of the things at the treatment center that uh I learned all those years ago when we were in Bible school. They explained to us as human beings that we're really three parts. You know, you're in this physical body, and uh you're a social uh creature uh that is also a spiritual being. And there's that three parts to you. And it's very easy for you to focus sometimes just overly on the social aspects. You want to hang around people, you want to do stuff, you want to know all that. And then some people are the people in the gym all the time working on that physical side of themselves. But uh it's very important to train yourself to give as much time on your spirituality as well, and so that's that attention, and where your attention is off, and you can kind of see when you when you know people are a little bit off, you'll find that one of those are just way out of balance, either neglected or just overfocused. And so, Lord help us have a good balance, and and of course, that's our goal here as pastors to remind you to pay close attention to that spiritual side of you and give give proper focus and attention to that.

A Practice For Focused Listening

John 10 And The Sheepfold

SPEAKER_02 4:19

I like what you asked us to remember. Why are we even here this morning? Not necessarily out of duty, but out of devotion. We understand that we are loved, and out of that love, we want to learn how to love better and how to love more and how to expand the love that we already have. And so I ask this morning that you would pay attention not just to the words, but to your own spirit. Do this little exercise with me this morning. Take your index finger and your thumb and just rub them together gently. Now think to yourself or be aware of you are feeling your finger, not your thumb. Now stop. Now go the other way, and now feel your thumb. The only difference is your attention. The motion is the same, but where you put your attention brings something different. And this is true, even right now, in this place, you can say, Oh, I've read the book of John before, I've heard it. And for those of you who have grown up in church, bless you. But I hope this morning that you allow the spirit, that you allow your inner eye to see something that is different and something that is not just different, so that you can say, I saw something different, but that so that you can live differently, so that you can live with hope, with power, and that you can live in the life of the Holy Spirit. And so as we come together in church, why are we here? We're here to follow Jesus. We're here to be discipled, we're here to allow Jesus to be the one that we apprentice under. I know that you have plans for your life, beloved, but what if you could live the life that Jesus has set for you? What if you could allow Jesus to apprentice you, to be the master, to say, this is how you love your family, this is how you do your work, this is how you take care of the earth around you. And so Jesus is speaking here, and we're listening together. We're learning together, we're allowing the Holy Spirit together to teach us. And we sing together and we listen to the word together, and we receive communion together, and we give offerings together, and we do projects together, like helping the poor and feeding the hungry, and all of these things are right reminding us that this is not a show that you attend. This is a life that you are invited to live, a life full of the Spirit of God. And so Jesus is talking to a group of people, and he said, Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. I would hope that if Jesus were ever talking and I was there and heard it, that my mind would not be somewhere else. I suspect that people were, and that's why Jesus said, I want this as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he's up to no good. He's a sheep rustler. And so Jesus is talking to people who understand this culture and whose sheep were a big part of their economy. And there were people who stole sheep on a regular basis. There were people who took from each, I know we can't imagine this, who out of greed took for themselves and left some without. And Jesus is saying, hey, I want you to be aware, I know what's happening. I know where you live, I understand the culture of where you live. There are people in leadership, there are people here who are saying they're the shepherd and they're not, they're nothing but a bunch of robbers. They're there just to get themselves the sheep and not to do for the benefit of all. So Jesus is really confronting. And a lot of times when Jesus talks about things, he has to talk about things with many meanings for lots of reasons, but partially because of the politics, partially because of Rome, where Jesus was in that time. And Herod Antipas, I mean, again, we remember just a few weeks ago we were talking about John the Baptist. John the Baptist confronts Herod and says, Listen, what you're doing is sinful against your neighbor, against your family. And Herod doesn't listen to that feedback Herod just says, now you're gonna die for that. And so, right here, Jesus is also living in a culture that says, if you confront the evil that is, you can die for this. And so Jesus is telling them, I want to say this plainly. Pay attention to who you're following. For the shepherd walks right up to the gate. Now, on Good Shepherd Sunday, we do read this that I am the Good Shepherd. Again, Jesus is going to talk about this in a moment. But then Jesus also said he's the gate. Jesus also is the gatekeeper. And so, in this story, in this allegory, in this understanding, it's not just the one thing, it has many, many layers. And that's why I ask you to pay attention to the spirit within you who will show you what this is. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him, and the sheep recognize his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won't follow a stranger's voice, but will scatter because they are not used to the sound of it. This is an instruction for us. Twofold. How do you learn to discern the voice of the spirit? How do you know the voice of your good shepherd? Where do you learn how to listen to the voice of your good shepherd? And then, beloved, how do you learn how to listen to yourself? Jesus is saying right here, the sheep know his voice. That means that you have responsibility to discern where is the voice calling me? What is the noise that is all around me? But where is the voice of my beloved? Where is the voice of the shepherd? Where is that inner witness? And Jesus is reminding us that we have our own sovereignty and power and that we can say, I know you're saying that, but that is not the voice of love inside of me. That is not the voice of the good shepherd, and so I do not follow that.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

When uh we were over at uh this church we worked at when Thomas was a baby, we were doing some work, and uh Heather said, Stop for a minute. And um I'm like, What? And she goes, Hear that? Thomas is crying. He was a baby, and I'm like that there's a baby crying on the other side of the church. And you're telling me that that there's a bunch of babies crying. She goes, Thomas is crying, and I'm going, okay. Okay. And so she runs over there and goes to there, and there, and then they're like, We can't do anything with him here. And and he'd tears her, and then of course he just stopped crying the minute she grabbed him. And I'm like, Oh, there's something to this woman. She is magical. Uh, you know, what what is that like she had to do all this work and it was so much pressure that she was responsible to learn the voice of her baby? And it was a big project, and she had to study, she had to commit to so many hours a week in the in the Word to learn this voice, or was it just out of love that she was drawn, and it was her desire to know that voice so that it was not mistakable and it's beautiful. And that I think you're tracking with me here that you know it is our responsibility, but it's not this overwhelming duty, but it's a it's a gift for us because in the time when there's all the voices going, you're gonna be so grateful that you made the effort, that you put the priority, that spirituality was important for you. Learning to hear that voice and recognize there is another voice that sometimes I do follow. And go ahead and admit that. See and begin to recognize those times and see, oh man, I was, I really thought that that was the Lord, and I and I was really wasn't the Lord at all. It was just pressures, my own flesh or my own idea, and and learn and and and grow in that, and you'll watch that when the time comes and the need is there, you will have have arrived at that place where just out of love you know.

Shepherd Stories From Scripture

SPEAKER_02 12:31

There's an invitation for us also to practice listening to the voice, slowing down enough to hear the voice of the good shepherd within you, to hear your own voice respond to what God is doing. I'm thinking about this and really paying attention to the fact that Jesus is using this beautiful illustration to a people that are surrounded by sheep all of the time, that are surrounded by shepherd. And even in the beginning of their book, I was thinking of some of the beautiful shepherd analogies from the very first testament. Rachel, who is the who becomes the wife of Jacob. And the people that Jesus are speaking to think Jacob is our father, but they also knew that Rachel is their mother. And they knew that Rachel was a shepherd. Rachel has always been a shepherd, and Rachel would have given all this wisdom to them. They would have recognized the shepherd is our mother. And then I think of Moses, who is, of course, the leader, and people would say, We are sons of Moses, we are daughters of Moses, and Moses' wife, Zipporah, is also a shepherd. And she was, and if you want to talk about getting a good wife, I mean, the scripture tells you this. If you find a good wife, you have found favor from the Lord. And it says that a woman is worth more than rubies. And listen, when God is frustrated with you, I'm not sure how that goes with your theology. I think that God is all loving. But in the scripture, we see at one point God is frustrated with Moses. Now, whether that is how it happened or that's how Moses felt, I don't know. But God was having a conversation, and God said, You know what? No, you are not doing it the way that I want to, and this is it, you're gonna die. You know this part of the story, right? If not, go back, it's really interesting. And Zipporah thinks, well, this is not gonna go good for me. So Zipporah, you want a wife like this who knows how God works and knows what's up. She goes in and she intercedes. I won't tell you the story. Well, I will tell you the story because why not? Let's talk about it. Zaporah, who is the shepherd, she also knows the voice of God. You know that when Moses is doing his own thing and he needs to learn the voice of God, he sent to the backside of the mountain to become a shepherd. Like, there is a lot of in this analogy of listening. I think there's a lot of quiet time. We, as a Christian culture in the United States, really like honor the shepherd David, you know, in the 23rd Psalm. We read it this morning. This is he's expendable as far as the family goes. He's got a lot of other brothers who are doing other things. And so the little one, the one who doesn't matter, gets sent to the sheep. So here we have Zipporah, and we also have, you know, this incredible Rachel who are showing us that as a culture, the women who bring the sheep, and that's why it's astonishing when Jesus says, I am the shepherd. He's recognizing this is the thing that you think is insignificant. No, it's me. I am the good shepherd. I am recognize the value in this incredible invitation. So anyway, God is frustrated, or so the story is told to us with Moses. I question that a little bit, and you should too, because love is patient. God is eternally patient. And so whenever I hear someone telling me that God is frustrated, I'm like, I'm not sure. Maybe you feel that frustration in yourself. But anyway, the story is told this way: God has said, you're gonna die. And Zipporah goes before the Lord. And before she does, she slaps a foreskin on the altar. Thank you for laughing because we don't know where she got that foreskin. That's not my business, is it? But she got it. And she also got the Lord's attention. I mean, that's a good thing to think about. This is the kind of woman you want. This is the kind of woman who will save you from a God who that you told yourself was wrathful. She throws uh the foreskin on the altar and she says to the Lord, I would like for you and I to have a discussion about this. And God does. So I'm telling you, when you go to find a wife, find a woman who will find whatever she needs to intercede between you and the Lord. I don't know where it came from. You figure that out later. But my point to you is this over and over again in this culture, and we read the book through a context of the culture. The women who shepherded the sheep, the people who shepherded the sheep, Jesus says, I want you to pay attention. They know what they're doing, and they're gentle, they're not coercive, they will not follow a stranger's voice. That's a beautiful thing to pray over yourself. I know the voice of my good shepherd, and the voice of a stranger I will not follow. You know, there's a beautiful hope for us in saying that we can learn to hear the voice of love in such a way that no matter who tells us that's the voice of your shepherd, you're like, no, I recognize the voice.

When Anxiety Masquerades As Faith

SPEAKER_01 17:16

You know, there's some times that you walk in victory in this, and and it's not like all of a sudden you just arrive at this place. It's a it's a journey. And I'll tell you, just try to tell you quickly. Um, last night after the the service, I came home and I fell asleep for a couple hours. And so it was like it was like eight. I realized, man, I got to get the the charts ready for the for the worship band. And so I got in the room and I started pulling them, and I got a catalog of papers. So and I'm going through and it's like, I can't find all the papers, you know. So I found a few of them. And so then I started photocopying the extra ones, and then I got a couple of those photocopied, and then the ink went out of the printer. And so I had different inks, and I put the inks in, and Heather, and by this time, I'm like, I can't get it printing, and I can't. So I woke up Heather because she's already in bed, because she's doing the right thing. And I'm like, I really need, I really need you, you know, and then part of me is like, just go to bed, you know, like, well, but the band's gonna need this, and I gotta do this for the Lord, all this pressure. And so I woke her up, she gets in about a half an hour. We're trying to be text, you know, computer text and reboot the printer, because now the printer just doesn't print anymore. And so I'm like, well, I'm gonna run and get another thing of ink. And so I get right before Target closes, I go over there and I get the ink, and I come back and we put it in, and that ink doesn't work. And then we get through the papers and we unscroll through the papers again. And and I'm like, Are you sure? And I'm like, Well, I just, you know, I can't, you know, I gotta get this done. She goes, well, maybe you could just trust it tomorrow. And I'm like, well, no, we gotta do this, gotta, you know. And so then I'm like, well, that's it. I'm gonna drive to Walmart and buy a new printer. So I drove to Walmart and I got there at 11.04. Walmart closes at 11, as it turns out, on Saturday nights. Didn't know that. Uh so then I'm I'm talking to the guard. Are you sure? Let me just go in and grab a real quick printer, you know? And he's like, you know, I even pulled the hole, I'm a pastor, I need to preach to the people, and I had to, and it's like, so I get home and we're like, and then Heather's like, well, I tried to boot my printer up. So then she gets her printer up, but then her printer only prints, like it doesn't print the margin. So all of the first letters of every of every chord chart is missing the first chord and the first letter. So then she gets out of ink thing, and we're going, okay, that's a G, that's a T, that, you know, like all the chords and all the letters, writes it all out, and I'm like, fine, and now it's like way after midnight. And I go to put the charts in my bag, and the reason why they weren't in the folder is because earlier in the week I did it already. So I must have did it like on last Sunday or Monday. And so that was a week ago. A lot of stuff has happened in my brain since that. So no wonder it wasn't in all the things. And and and Heather, and and Heather even said, you know, she's trying to, and she could tell her own story, but she was like laying in bed going, Do I really want to get involved in his crazy?

SPEAKER_02 19:57

I didn't say it quite like that. It was that was not the exact way.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

It wasn't loosely interpreted. And then she's like, But I care about him, and he's upset, and I'm freaking and I was trying to control myself. But at the same time, do you see how somewhere in there the Lord was telling me just go to bed? But I'm like, no, I gotta do it. I gotta get there, I gotta serve you, I gotta do that, you know. So, and so what I'm why I'm sharing this with you partly is Heather and I are like real time in front of you are going, we have to learn how to hear the voice of the Lord. Like for her own self to say, you know what, dude? I love you, but no, I'm in bed, I worked hard, you know, I didn't get the nap when I fell asleep for three hours on the couch before I got up to do my work, and now it's eight o'clock and I'm panicking. Do you see what I'm saying? All of this is learning. And so I encourage you, don't feel bad when you mess up, but don't think the first time you hit it, you're, you know, you're you're the king of it all, you can do it. You know, it's a process for us, but it's so important because the the energy that I created in the whole home made made Nathaniel uncomfortable, made uh Silas uncomfortable, Heather clearly uncomfortable, I was uncomfortable. All when the fact that the stuff was actually already in the briefcase.

SPEAKER_02 21:20

I remind you, there's also uh a few disciples, Jesus is asleep on the boat. There's a lot to be said about taking a nap, beloved. It changes a lot of things. Jesus is asleep, and according to Mark Gospel, he has a cushion. And I like Mark's gospel reminding if you're gonna sleep, sleep comfortably, get a cushion. So he's asleep on the boat, and the disciples wake him up and they say to him, Aren't you worried about the fact that we are gonna perish? Like, aren't you concerned that we're all dying here? Would you care?

SPEAKER_01 21:47

We're not gonna have the charts for the worship tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

And then I also remind you of the part in the Song of Songs. Maybe you don't read that very much, but maybe you should. It might change your life. Hang out there. At one point, the beloved Comes and he's really upset, and knocks on the door, and she said, Listen, I've already washed my hair and my feet are clean. I am not getting up. And so maybe you need to take a shower or a bath and just get into bed and just leave it be. And beloved, sometimes there's so many things that we're so worked up about. But Jesus is saying something to us, and I really loved this portion of the verse I was telling Dennis all week. This one was so exciting to me. Jesus told the simple story and they had no idea what he was talking about. And I love that because I love it for us. Sometimes we hear the words of Jesus and we just have no idea what they mean. And I want to remind you about that too. There's often people that tell you the scriptures, they'll repeat something out of it and they have no idea what it means. They are willing to say this is what it means, and it doesn't, beloved. And so we need to trust the inner witness. That's why Pentecost is coming. And as much as we are resurrection people, beloved, we are people that have been given the Holy Spirit. We are people full of God's own spirit. And so one of the things that we do when we gather together is we learn discernment. We learn to hear the voice of love. We learn to hear that God is patient and God is kind and God calls us. I want to even remind you, there's a prophet in the Old Testament, there's many prophets, but in the first testament, and his name is Jeremiah, and he's going on and on about how God is very upset with the people. And at one point, God said, Stop talking. You're making this up. So be mindful. That was their prophet. He said he was from God. They were just listening. And he was on his own tangent. And finally the word of the Lord came and said, just stop talking. And beloved, I just want to tell you that is one of the best things that we can all do. Just stop with the talking. Sometimes our brains are on such an exquisitely fast pace that there's no time to sit and be in the presence of spirit to recognize the voice. And Jesus is saying, Here's your job. Recognize that you may have no idea what Jesus is talking about.

Share Support And Subscribe

SPEAKER_01 24:02

You know, and this pertains to oftentimes even teaching that we get. You've gotten teaching from church, and so we just automatically assume it's all perfect and correct. And sometimes there's dogma and there's there's just the doctrine and stuff that were given to you. They're doctrines of devils. They're just, it's of no use. We were talking to someone the other day, and they were just talking about, and they were just throwing out these religious words, like, you know, how backslidden and how terrible they are, and all this. And I'm sitting here, man, I don't see it that way. I see you here at the church trying, and and you know, and it's like, but somewhere along the line, and we kind of know this person has a religious background, and so you can almost hear the old timey parents and grandparents just saying stuff that they heard and throwing it on these people, and it's like you are forgiven, you are loved. Today is a new day, you know? But we're carrying around all this stuff from the past and all this stuff that was heaped on us. So I wonder if we really do understand what it means to be in Christ. New.

Jesus The Gate Who Cares

Grace Opposes Earning Not Effort

SPEAKER_02 25:13

We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurch.org, reminding you to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you don't understand, don't be upset because Mary Magdalene reminds us in the Gospel of Mary, just return to the good. You may have thought that way yesterday, just return to the good. No shame. It has no power over us anymore. Jesus has taken that for us. So he Jesus looks at the people, he's like, they don't understand, they're not getting it. So again, he tries. Again, this again, we see the beauty of Jesus here. I have a good shepherd. When I don't understand, he's gonna tell me again. When I don't get it, he's gonna offer the offer the invitation again. So he tries again. I'll be explicit. I am the gate for the sheep. All of those others are up to no good. Sheep sealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for. Again, listen to the words of Jesus that are so nurturing. This echoes the words what he says. Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you burnt out on religion? Then come to me and I'll show you how to live freely and lightly. I will show you the unforced rhythms of grace. Jesus over and over again confronts the idea that this has got to be hard. There's grace to follow Jesus. There is grace to be able to say, I will let love have the last word. I am the gate, and anyone who goes through me will be cared for, will go in and out freely, and will find pasture. A thief is only there to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd puts the sheep before himself and sacrifices himself if necessary. Jesus is showing us this is what leadership looks like. This is what true understanding, if you have any power at all, it is for the good of all. It is not so that one person can have all the things. And in the event that it is not good for everyone, the shepherd will sacrifice himself. This is how love behaves. Love is not coercive, love is not domineering, love does not take for itself and leave others without. That is not the voice of love. And Jesus is saying, I'm the good shepherd. If you come to the Father through me, you are going to be well cared for. I also like the idea that he also said, In and out. You can go in and out as you please. You can leave and you can return as you please. This is the beautiful invitation of saying, you are not locked into this. This is not, this is a daily choice. This is an invitation to stay in love, to stay in the presence of the spirit. But I am the good shepherd. I hope that you allow the spirit to bring this to your attention in the next week when you feel overwhelmed by something, whatever thought it is that comes to you, that you are not enough, you will not have enough, it cannot change, whatever that thought is. But that you would gently remind yourself that I have a good shepherd. It is also a beautiful thing to remind yourself for your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. They also have a good shepherd. Everything is not on you, beloved. They have a good shepherd. They have the Holy Spirit also within them who will testify to them of the goodness of God. But it is an invitation from Jesus for us to say, I recognize I have an ability to hear the voice of the Lord myself. Now, what voice will you follow? There were voices, and again, Jesus is talking right of this place where John has been beheaded. And this invitation, like the powers that be sometimes do not want you to have those kind of thoughts. Those thoughts are dangerous. And Jesus begins to talk about the dangerous teaching that He is, I've come so that everybody would have life. In some of the versions, it says that they would have life abundant. And in the original language, that abundant life means that everyone would flourish, not just some, not a select few, not just two or three who have all of their needs met, but a flourishing for everyone. It includes nature, beloved. It includes the animals, it includes the whole earth. We sang a song this morning based on a text from John's gospel, John chapter 3, verse 16. You know it. Don't leave that without 17. For God so loved the world. That's foundational for us, beloved. It is out of the love of God that we recognize everything comes. And God's love is eternal. God's love is immeasurable. So there is nothing that you can do that will ever change God's love for you. You are deeply loved by God. Your children are loved by God. This world is loved by God. Every single little creature loved by God. The trees and the flowers that are coming into bloom, everything loved by God. And we're invited into this place of wholeness. We're invited into abundant life that Jesus gives.

SPEAKER_01 31:05

You know, we're talking here about, and Jesus is explaining to us what it is to be in Christ. And I gotta tell you that, you know, I started out this thing at Catholic school when I was really little, and they were telling me about Jesus. And I've gone to charismatic churches, I've gone to Baptist churches, I've gone all around, and what I've noticed is that there are voices at time to time and at different places that that tend to bring you out of that in Christ. Because I'm in Christ, I'm righteous, I'm saved, I'm transformed. But come on out here into works, you know? This is what you need to do. Make sure that you're behaving this way, and this is how we judge a Christian. And I noticed that group over there, they don't do it this way, so they're not one of us. And so we start making all of these voices who tell us what, and then you begin to be so uh focused on behavior. And and I I think all men, I know I am very drawn to that because my ego wants to do it. Yeah, thank you, God, but I'd like to, you know, I'd like to live this thing right and show you that I'm a good person. And I I so that's appealing, and those voices, but don't follow the voice of a stranger. We need to be in Christ. Be in Christ and be forgiven. Now, I'm not freed because of my good works, but I'm also not freed from good works. I'm freed in Christ for good works, but we get it mixed up. We try so hard to do the right thing and we can never accomplish it. But I'm saying in Christ, if you can get in that place and bury yourself in that death, and so that you can be risen in the resurrection, that's when the good works and the transformation begin to happen through you, not because of your ego and in your own strength. And we recognize every moment of every day I'm in Christ. And so then when you you know start, you know, having a bad attitude and whining and complaining and making your wife get up out of bed in the middle of the night when she's uncomfortable because you need some help, we can learn how to see. That's not loving, that's not what God wants from me. And and and we can and we can learn from those things and not walk away in shame. Well, I guess I'm a failure and I can't do the God thing. So I'm going. No, I'm learning now. I recognize, well, that's what not to do with the worship list next week, right? And so allow us to be in Christ and know that in Christ I am forgiven, and in Christ I'm made anew. I'm not the same guy who did that last night. God is making me new. But listen, it's not an excuse for me to continue to rob her of her sleep. It's for me to look and to bury myself in God so that I can become the kind of husband that does not cause a burden on my family. But when I'm around, I'm a joy and I'm I'm a blessing, not one to be feared. And oh God, here comes the workload. We gotta get the songs printed because he's got a whim. Now I know I'm the only guy who acts like that, so just stretch your hands out towards me. Or is there a real problem here where men we're not surrendering to the Spirit of God, we're trying to do things in our own strength.

SPEAKER_02 34:22

The scripture tells us, and we are affirmed many times, that grace never opposes effort. We need effort. Grace opposes earning. This idea that I will earn something, I will earn a favor. Beloved, the world is abundant. You don't earn anything. Everything that you have that is good is a gift. It's from God. The breath that you have, you didn't earn that. That's a gift. The fact that you have relationships, that's also a gift. Now, do you have to put effort into them? Yes, but you don't earn them. The things that you have are not because you did good enough. Because that's that whole idea that there is a way for some to have and some to not have. Jesus came so that we could all have. For God so loved the world that he sent Jesus so that whoever believed in him would not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but that the world through Jesus would be saved. Beloved, the saving of the world, Jesus is done it. Christ has done it and offers it to us and says, Come and be a part of this, come and enter into the gate, come and know the gatekeeper, come and be a sheep that has a good shepherd. Jesus is offering to us comfort. When everybody else says, you're gonna have to try harder. The spirit of God said, try softer. Let love have the last word.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

How many of us as Christians we we go in there and we get that and then we we come away? Those foolish Galatians who have bewitched you that you would start off in the spirit and end up in the flesh. You know, then we try to earn it. And so this is a practice of returning to the good, returning to love, and realizing, man, when I'm out there, that that's the kind of the fruit I have. It's you know, I'm not having the fruit. There's anger evident in my life, there's there's sadness, there's brokenness, there's shame, there's well, clearly there's there, then I have to return in there and and I have to surrender to the voice, and I realize, wow, I must have really been giving over to the wrong voice. And so we what do we do? Walk around shame and do a certain amount of repenting until we earn, or do we just I think the the mark of maturity isn't how often you sin, but it's how quickly you return to God from that sin.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

Jesus tells us a story of a God who with open arms says to the prodigal, come home. My son that was dead is now brought back to life. This is a practice of resurrection, beloved. Come into the party. I do love the story, and I I've spent years thinking about it, and and we could have big discussions over it. I hope sometime we have enough time to have dinner and have big discussions about the prodigal. I'm particularly fond of the older brother. I often suffer from older brother ishness, and the party is happening because the uh the prodigal has returned, and the father has been out watching, and the fat and again he comes home, he's gonna come home and he says, I know what I'll say. I'll say to my father. Now he didn't come up with this, God bless, it's liturgy, it's what the rabbis had said for generations. Father, I have sinned against you and against God and against everyone else, and I am no longer worthy to become your son. I will be called your servant. It's not really what he felt. He was like, I'll I'll rehearse something I heard someone else say. But he was hungry, beloved, and that is essential. We are talking about listening to ourselves. Do not bypass your own hunger for lots of reasons. Hunger and thirst. But that's what brings us to the communion table. I am hungry for communion, for oneness with God. Our hunger drives us to the dinner table, to the lunch table, to the breakfast table. Our hunger drives us. Very often we're told in this world, don't be hungry. Yes, beloved, Jesus in fact reminds us taste and see the Lord is good. You're hungry, eat. If you're tired, take a nap. Take it on a cushion, enjoy yourself. Because again, the entire system, if we follow God's system, is set up, it begins on the Sabbath. And the Sabbath is for rest.

SPEAKER_01 39:08

And if you're already in bed, leave your wife alone.

SPEAKER_02 39:12

This is the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 39:15

But here is I'm getting this in real time here.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

Rest is essential as part of our Christian discipleship, that we understand that we are not to run ourselves ragged until we are weak or until we are sick, that we are to recognize the rhythms of grace, a rhythm of rest. In fact, if you follow the ancient tradition and you rest on the Sabbath, that's the beginning of your week. You begin from rest, not you earn rest if you've worked hard enough. Like we begin from this place of rest, and rest is a reminder of our belovedness. Do you know who gets to rest in a family? Babies. And do you know? Yeah, but you also know yes. And we are, we're we are uh we're guards against other people. Do not disturb. Let that baby sleep. Let that baby sleep. And and we have this standard of don't, you know, you don't go dragging that baby out with you to make sure that you're gonna get the work done. You allow the rest. And I just want to remind you that you are a beloved child of God. And I ask that the spirit would protect your rest, that you would have the mind of Christ to be able to say, I need a nap. I cannot talk about this right now. I need a snack. Again, this is the word of the Lord. Over and over again, Jesus kept saying, We're gonna feed these people. So sometimes when you have bad thoughts, go eat a good protein, have a handful of almonds or a wonderful salad, and ask yourself, what am I doing to care for this body? But Jesus is affirming to us you know the voice of God. That gentle voice. Other people who have been trying to steal the sheep, other leaders have told you that the voice is harsh, and Jesus is saying it's not. You have a good shepherd, you have a gatekeeper who will know you.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

I sense there's some people listening under the sound of your voice, and they're saying that what you're saying is absurd.

SPEAKER_02 41:21

It might be, perhaps.

SPEAKER_01 41:23

And and I want to talk about that because I'm in all seriousness, it feels absurd for you to give yourself that kind of grace. And I'm being honest, there's many people here under the sound of our voice, and that's absurd. Oh, and the all the voices play in your head. Yeah, if it was to give myself that kind of break and never do anything for God, and I'd just be I'm telling you, here's the bottom line, too. The measure of grace that you give to yourself is a measure of grace that you give to other people. You're not gonna give people more grace than you know you can't give to yourself, and so you're going around distributing no grace for yourself or others when abundance is available, and it's out of that grace that I spring into those good works of wondrous glory for God. And so I gotta tell you that this might seem like a backwards path towards transformation, but it is the doorway that many of you have never even entered in because you do not offer your own self that kind of rest and grace and love that was provided for you. And maybe it was never, you know, that just wasn't your family of origin or just wasn't your view, concept of God. It just wasn't the voices of the people that taught you. But Jesus is saying, you know, you've heard it said this way, but I say unto you. And listen, I think some of you by in your spirits, you're going, maybe they're right. Maybe they're not trying to lead me astray. Maybe this is the direction that I've never gone to under, so I've never experienced the kind of grace, and I haven't gotten over some of these things that just continue to struggle and and torment us. Just maybe there's hope.

Other Sheep And Power Laid Down

Closing Blessing And Next Steps

SPEAKER_02 43:11

Allow your own spirit to be present with us now in this place. Jesus was talking to the group of people, and he could tell what they were thinking over and over again. The scripture says that. And at one point, Jesus says, I have sheep in another sheepfold that you don't know anything about. You know what that means? Mind your own business. Don't worry about yourself. Bring yourself into this sheepfold. Don't worry about the other sheep out there. But be mindful that they also have a good shepherd. You follow the voice of delight. You come to the table when the sheep are all gathering and the shepherd has said, Here is a pasture for grazing, here is gentleness, here is goodness. I am the good shepherd. Good shepherd puts the sheep before himself. Jesus shows us what leadership looks like, and Jesus shows us what following Jesus will look like. We will not be following someone who gathers all the goodness for themselves only, and the sheep are left with no with you know nothing to graze on. People said to Jesus, You have all the power in the world. We know you have power. You could call down angels and wipe these things out. In fact, at one point, the disciples say, Hey, we also know that we have power. Should we call down power from the skies to blow these people up? And Jesus said, Absolutely not. And he rebukes them and he goes, You don't even know what you're talking about. People say to Jesus, use your power, destroy Rome right now, destroy these people that are going to kill. And Jesus goes, Absolutely not. This is the inverted kingdom. The person with the power, the source of the power, lays it down, doesn't lord it over the people, doesn't use it for their own benefit, lays themselves down and even sacrifices himself if necessary. Jesus is showing us this is what God looks like. God loves us, and God will give God's own self for us. When we cannot find the way home, we have a good shepherd who is coming for us. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurch.org.