You Can Know The Bible And Still Miss Jesus

Ever feel like life is pushing you from behind instead of being led toward something good? We explore a vivid choice: be driven like cattle by fear and pressure, or follow the Good Shepherd who goes first, calls by name, and leads to rest, purpose, and change. Starting with Micah’s prophecy about Bethlehem, we wrestle with how the religious experts knew the words but missed the Word—and why information without transformation still traps so many of us today.

We unpack the difference between a ruler who hoards and a shepherd who gives, tracing how Jesus lives the life He invites us to imitate. From John 10 to Psalm 23, we paint a practical picture of leadership that isn’t manipulative or shaming but deeply present and sacrificial. You’ll hear why belief must become obedience, why “greater things” looks like daily faithfulness, and how small, repeating habits can tune our ears to the Shepherd’s voice. Along the way, we get honest about resisting calling, taking the long way around, and learning to trust God with provision when the next step feels risky.

If you’d do it for yourself, do it for someone else—buy the meal, share the time, make the call, give the coat. Tell one trusted person where you sense Jesus is leading you and invite real accountability. Want a simple way to stay focused? Grab a five-day devo and start your mornings aligned. Subscribe for more conversations that move truth from head to heart, share this with a friend who needs courage to take the next step, and leave a review to help others find the show. Where is the Shepherd leading you this week?

Transcript

Cow Or Sheep

Josh 0:00

Well, amen. And it's awesome to see the things that Jesus is starting to do. And when we do, Jesus will complete, right? I am faithful of this. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion on that day. Alright, so as we jump into the sermon this morning, our big idea is this do you want to be a cow or do you want to be a sheep? Alright, and make no mistake, you're gonna be one or the other. Now, obviously, I'm not talking about in the physical because no one in here is going to turn into a barnyard animal. However, I ask this because you're gonna be ruled by one thing or the other. Now, I'm gonna start with a little farming lesson. So some of you in here are like are ahead of the game. Does anybody know how you drive cattle? Like, all right. Well that's not fair because we talked about it in school this week. But what what is it, Kayla?

unknown 0:58

Circle around them and like push them in the back.

Rulers Who Push, Shepherds Who Lead

Josh 1:00

Yeah, you push cattle, right? When you go on a cattle drive, you're in the back, you have whips, you have cattle prods, which is just a giant, like what called a hot stick, and it just like gives that cow a shock to get going in the right direction. And that's how you do a cattle drive from behind with brute force, right? And a lot of us, that's how life is handling us. You're just kind of getting pushed through life, and and you're sitting here unwilling, because I'm gonna be honest, cows for the most part, are very stubborn animals. They don't like, especially if you're like trying to get them into a chute or something, they don't like that. So you have to just like forcefully push these animals through. Now, does anybody know how you drive sheep?

unknown 1:48

They follow you.

Micah’s Prophecy And A Shepherd King

Josh 1:49

What was that? They follow. Sheep do not respond to aggressive, forceful, like driving from the back. Sheep actually follow a shepherd. So the shepherd walks in front and leads them to where they're going to go, and the sheep just come up and follow behind. And I find it always amusing to me, like when the praise team sings certain songs, because most of the time they don't know what I'm about to preach on. But when we look at that song that we just sang, right, I will build my life, right? And I will follow where you want me to go. See, and this is what we are going to look at today. Because, see, last week we saw with Herod he is that type of ruler. I mean, he kills his own son to retain power. And a lot of times that's what we think of when we think of rulers. But shepherds, on the other hand, lead from the front and aren't abusive. So let me ask you again, which one do you want to be? A cow or a sheep? So, Father, I just pray as we go through your word today that it be your word. That Father, you just cut straight to our hearts. That God, we are transformed from the inside out, and that Father, we follow the good shepherd. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so starting in Matthew verse, uh chapter 2, verse 5, it says, They told him, and Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, and you, O Bethlehem, and the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Alright, remember from last week, as I as I get into this, we talked about this a lot. The religious leaders of the day who are worried because there's this new king born, and they're they're scared that they're gonna lose their power, they knew scripture. In fact, a Pharisee or a Sadducee or a scribe would be able to just run circles around any of us in this room. Because it it maybe like you grew up, you went through like Royal Rangers or Iwanas or one of these kind of programs, right? Where like scripture memory verses were like really, really like forced, not forced, like you didn't want to do it, but like emphasized, yes. Like I know some of us we did Bible quizzes and stuff like that. And and so you learned a couple of verses, right? And some of us in here, men, you may know 15, 20, 30 different verses, just like at the top of your head, ready to go. So the Pharisees, the scribes, and the Sadducees, they could pick up in Genesis 1 and run all the way through Micah, though. Anyone in here on that level? Malachi. I'm sorry. Micah is a verse I'm about to read.

unknown 4:51

Oh, and now that he said Malachi.

Information Without Transformation

Demons Believe Yet Do Not Change

Loving God And Others In Practice

Ruler Versus Shepherd Kingdoms

Jesus Lives As The Example

Sheep Facts And Spiritual Focus

Psalm 23 And Real Leadership

Greater Things And Everyday Faith

Calling, Resistance, And Surrender

Josh 4:55

See, like they knew the scriptures. And yet, even with all this information, we see that they weren't living like they knew the scriptures. See, remember last week we talked about there's this new king that was born, the magi have come, they asked Herod where he is, Herod's freaking out. He's like, I don't know where this guy is. Like, hey, hey, can you guys help me find him? And then they go to the religious leaders and they're like, hey, here's where he's gonna be born. Now, what they're doing is actually quoting Micah 5, 2. And in Micah, the prophet wrote this about the coming ruler. But you, O Bethlehem, Ephra, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from old from ancient days. Now, is that how the Pharisees and the scribes said it? No. Like, did you hear the word shepherd in Micah? No. So they literally, when they when they're quoting it back to Herod, they're literally adding things that Micah wasn't saying. You know how they're adding stuff? Because they know what the Messiah is. They know what to be looking for. They're sitting here going, we know where he's going to be born. And Bethlehem, what we have to understand, the reason if you listened, like the religious leaders and Micah both talk about how Bethlehem's just little podunk town. Like this, there's nothing special about Bethlehem. It's not like it's the power center of Judah. But yet, what's happening is they're sitting here going, we know this so well that not only can we quote, this is where the king is going to be born, but this is the kind of king he will be. He will be a ruler and a shepherd. And he will shepherd my people, Israel. And they knew the information so well, and they knew all of the things that scripture was going to say, and yet they stand right next to the Messiah and yell, crucify him. Think about this. Like if you put a Bible test in front of them, they're going to pass it. They know all of the right answers, and yet they do not know God. Is it true for us too? Is it possible for us in this room? Could we sit down and know everything to say, but yet still be very far away from the Messiah? Yeah, it is. And if that's you, I encourage you to understand, like, submission isn't a bad word. See, and if we make this all about the head and we forget about the heart, understand you're only getting half of the information. And I'm gonna tell you, information does not equate to transformation. You can know all of the right things, and yet never use that knowledge to do any of the right things. One of the things that we talk about a lot at the house, especially with JT, is this is JT is at a point in his life now where honestly, it's not even I have to send him to his room and then I have to come in and handle things. I could literally look at JT when he gets in trouble for something and go, go to your room, yell at yourself, and then discipline yourself. Because he already knows all of the things. Knowing isn't the problem. It's taking what you know and going, I need to do. And that's what submission actually looks like. See, I would I say this a lot. I I would be hard-pressed to think that there's people in here where information or lack of information is the problem. But what we have to start doing is taking that information and actually applying it to our lives. And actually following where the shepherd is leading. Because, see, if it was just about information, you know what we wouldn't have? Demons. Think about it. In James 2.19, it says this that you believe in it, you believe God as one and you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. Think about it, demons know who Jesus is. In Matthew 8.29, we see Jesus approach the man at the tombs. Now, this is a guy so possessed with the demonic forces that he's running around a graveyard naked. They try to like chain him up and he just breaks chains free. Like, this is definitely someone none of us in this room are gonna be like, hey, you know what? I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go witness to him. Like, I'm gonna go pray with them. Like, no, we would, these are those guys that, you know, when you you stop at the red light and you roll the windows up and you lock the door and you're like, you just like look forward and you're like, I'm not looking to the left or the right, we're just we're not even gonna make eye contact. And as Jesus is walking up to this man, listen to the response of the demons in verse 29. And behold, they cried out, What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? Do you think they know who Jesus is? Do you think they're sitting here going, hey, I have the information? But yet, what do they never do? Have transformation. These demons are fallen and they're going to stay fallen. Because they're not doing anything with the information they have. They're not sitting here going, you know what, I need to repent. They're not sitting here going, you know what, I need to do different. They're not sitting here going, hey, you know what? I need to have heart transformation. I need the Holy Spirit to come in and not just like make me a better person, but make me alive so that I can actually see what is going on. And that way, maybe I just don't have the right answers, but I also have the right actions to go along with those answers. Because listen to me very carefully. Jesus didn't come to teach good moral lessons. Jesus came to transform lives. Jesus isn't just this fable like Aesop, and he's just like, hey, here, just like tweak things. Jesus is sitting here going, you are dead and your trespasses and sin, but I will breathe new life into you, and and the old will pass away and the new will come. Because we have to do something with the information we have. Like raise your hand if you are sitting in this room and you do not know that in Matthew 22, Jesus says this there are the greatest commandment is to love your Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. So all of us know that, right? But yet all of us run to idols. And he says, in the second one, is like it, you are to love others the way that you love you. All of us know that, right? How many of us, that's what our lives look like, though? How many of us, like when people describe you, they would go, you know what? That Eric, man, he really loves Jesus. And everything in his life just points to that. The way he loves others. The way that he's always sacrificing for someone else. He just he doesn't even care about his own needs because he puts others before himself. And here's what I'm telling you the Bible tells us that's how we're to live. The Bible tells us that that is what we need to do. Think about it. Paul and Philippians would say this count others as more than yourself. See, I tell the high schoolers this all the time, because as soon as I go get your lunch and line up, there will be a fight. And not like a physical fight. They're not bad. Or that bad, let me rephrase. But right up here by the door, there will be like a mob of people. Like kind of just elbowing because if I can get out the door first, that means I can get to the side of the building first, which means I can run to the back first, which means I can use the microwave first. Which means I can eat my lunch first. And it happens every day. And I go, what is the difference, honestly, between being the first one to the microwave and being the last? Even if it's 15 minutes, you mean to tell me that that 15 minutes, you're gonna starve to death? Well, what if I run out of time at lunch? If you came to me and went, hey, I didn't have enough time to eat my lunch, you don't think that I would extend lunch to make sure you had enough time to eat? I know what it's like to be hungry. And honestly, I would much rather sit outside anyway than come back in here and get ready to teach in the afternoon. See, but that's what we all do. We never move past that. And that is why our lives look the way they do. Imagine if we actually lived the way that the shepherd said, that we were serving others, that we were giving radically, that we would allow the information to trigger a transformation. Imagine, if you would, those things in your life that you know you shouldn't be doing if you actually fought against that. But see again, most of us are ruled by a tyrant and not led by a shepherd. Most of us allow the ruler of this world to get in behind us and continue to push us to where we know we shouldn't be going to begin with, instead of just following after the shepherd. So moving on from that, why did the religious leaders when Herod asked them, why do they include both ruler and shepherd? Because in their mind, they knew the prophets, they knew Micah would say, hey, he's going to be a ruler. And in the religious leaders' minds, when Messiah came, here's what he was coming for: to be a warrior king like David. He's gonna throw off the power of Rome so that Israel could rise to be the superpower of the world. The problem with that is they didn't understand that when God went, I'm going to redeem creation to myself, he wasn't talking about like how we think of power. He was sitting here going, I am going to make this look like I designed it. See, if you go all the way back to Genesis, God makes Adam and Eve, puts them in the garden, and tells them to do two things. We call it the creation mandate. Well, three, technically. Does anybody know what they are? If you're gonna answer, answer. I can't hear mumbling. Multiply. So do the earth and have dominion over it. Our translation, here's what God's telling Adam and Eve when he puts them in the garden. Go make the rest of the earth look like this. Have kids, have fun, and go make the rest of the world look like the garden. That mandate never changes throughout Scripture. In fact, when we get to Matthew 5, and Jesus tells his followers, hey, you're to be a light in the darkness, that's what he's talking about. He's sitting here going, hey, now that I have redeemed you, now that I have made you new, take this, go out there, and make it look like this. See, and that's why they stand next to the Messiah when he arrives and they don't see him for who he is. Because information doesn't equal transformation. See, Micah never really stressed the shepherd thing. They added that in later because they were sitting here going, hey, he's gonna be like David. So if we were to contrast the differences between a ruler and a shepherd, it's this a ruler in his kingdom, everything exists to flow up to the king. Like anybody in here, you you you have like that weird fascination with like the Middle Ages and like knights and stuff like that? Think about it. Back then, what kind of what classes of peoples did we have? You had the peasants, you had the slaves, like all of these lower people, you had the knights, which were kind of in the middle, like they were allowed to have some, you know, things flowing up, and then you had like the noblemen, right? And then above the noblemen, you had the king. What was above the king though? Nothing. And that king had absolute control and power over everything, and the people and the resources and everything are meant to flow up to him, right? This is why, no matter what you read historically, what did a king always want to do? Gain more land, more resources. Look through history, like every single war that's ever been fought, what has it been fought over? Resources. Like that's what we want, right? And see, and when we look at this, the word ruler is no different. We know that all things, whether we eat or drink, we do to the glory of God. So, yes, Jesus is that ruler. King Jesus rules over everything, but he does it perfectly. And he doesn't have to worry about going to war for resources. Why? Because he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Everything is his anyway. Like, think about it, I don't have to fight for anything in my house, right? Like when I walk in the living room, even if everybody is sitting there watching TV, guess who that remote's coming to without even ever like saying a word? Like I just walk in, I'll grab it, and then turn and walk right over to the recliner. And it doesn't matter if they're watching TV? No. Why? Because it's mine. You don't want to watch what I'm watching? You are more than welcome to go somewhere else in this house. See, and that's what a ruler is, but Jesus isn't just a ruler. In John 10, 10 through 11, Jesus is describing himself. And he describes himself as a good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. And a shepherd, just like David, knows that his sheep are his most prized possession. In fact, in Samuel, when David's going to fight Goliath, and Saul sitting there and he's like, dude, you can't go fight. He's a giant, he's a warrior. He's been doing this since he was born. What is David's rebuttal to Saul? Okay, maybe I overshot on the information thing. David's rebuttal to Saul is simple. When a bear or a lion came from one of my father's sheep, I slayed the bear or the lion. And in David's mind, he's sitting here going, if I can kill a bear or a lion, I can kill a person. And I agree with this thought. Like I know, like last year they had that, oh, one gorilla versus 100 guys, and blah, blah, blah, blah. But think about it, one gorilla and one guy who wins that fight. And so David's sitting here and he's going, I can win this. And I will lay down my life to protect my sheep. See, and a shepherd knows where I go, my sheep follow. Like, think about it. Have you ever had little kids? Right? My dad used to tell Debbie all the time when we would say anything about our kids, his rebuttal was always this: Josh is more annoying than your kids ever were. He's like, I would get home from work and I would have to go hide because he would just follow me around everywhere and just ask question after question after question after question. But see, there's no difference, and that's how we should be following Jesus. Just everywhere Jesus goes, we should be going with him. Because that's what we're called to be. And see, and what happens is wherever the shepherd goes, the sheep just follow along. Now, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most of us don't have a lot of facts about sheep. Like most of us probably are not like out on the farm just following around sheep. So I'm gonna give you three quick like facts just so we can understand what it means to be a sheep. So number one, sheep are prey animals with limited, independent direction, making them rely on the guidance to find safe pasture and water. Here is what that is saying in a nutshell. You ready? Sheep are stupid animals who don't think for themselves. That's what it's saying. Number two, sheep, particularly fine wool breeds, have a strong, innate instinct to follow, even into danger. Okay? Here's the thing: they will follow, not going, where am I going? So even if it's dangerous where they're going, they're still going to follow. And number three, without a shepherd or a leader, sheep are prone to wander and get lost. This is why Jesus' illustration of leaving the 99 to go find the one made sense to them. Because they would have understood that sheep are prone to wander and get lost. Does that sound familiar to any of us in this room? Like if you are not like locked in on something and following straight after that, where are you going? Oh, look at this over here. Look at this. Oh, something's shiny over here. And spiritually, that's what we do. That's why, honestly, we that's why we started doing the five-day devos. It's one sheet. It should only take you five-ish minutes in the morning. Because we have to stay locked in on it. We have to stay with our eyes focused on that. Otherwise, we're going to wander and get lost. And you know what else? Another fact about sheep? This one's found in Psalm 23. Probably arguably one of the most famous Psalms in the Bible. Most of you can probably quote it and read along with me, and I hope I made it onto the slide. But it says this the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul. He's not a king living in a castle far away that isn't just doesn't even know what the peasants have going on. He is a shepherd that is intimately involved with his flock. Think about this. He makes me lie down. Any of you in here have like honri children who didn't know that sleep is actually a good thing for them? I'll tell you right now, my mom used to cry when I was little because I was that honri child who didn't know sleep was good for him. See, think about this. Jesus not only leads you places, but he makes you do what you need to do. Because again, we are children when it comes to this. We are these small sheep when it comes to this. And Jesus leads and guides and he gets us to where we need to be. Listen, whether we like it or not. Because some of us fight this with every ounce of bean. If you're anything like me, do you really want me to fight with you? Just try to make me do something I don't want to do. Like it just, there's something broken inside of me, and that is just like one of my triggers. Like, hey, we gotta go to a birthday party. That you might as well tell me I am going to go get beat. Because I go, to me, there's no difference between a birthday party and a beating. And I know some of you are like, you're kidding, right? Like birthday parties are fun, like they have water slides and stuff. I hate them. And I don't know why either. I think it's just because I'm forced to do something I don't want to do. But so many of us, we misunderstand what leadership actually looks like. See, making someone do something out of like shame or guilt or manipulation, that's not leadership. Or like, hey, either do this or die. Like, that's not leadership. That is forceful slavery. Leadership is going in front of people, doing what you should be doing, and have people follow behind you. And that's what we see with Jesus. See, think about it. If Jesus, if the only reason for Jesus to come to earth, okay, like most of us probably wrongfully believed, was to die, wouldn't it have made more sense for him to just be the sacrifice when Herod kills all the children that we're gonna get to in just a week or two? Like, why did he live a life? Why did he go for 33 years before he became that sacrifice?

unknown 28:30

To be the example.

Jonah, Detours, And Obedience

Desire, Fear, And Next Steps

Concrete Actions And Accountability

Closing Prayer And Final Charge

Josh 28:31

To be the example. It wasn't just Jesus was gonna step into creation and then be killed so that our sins could be forgiven. It was he went, I'm gonna come into creation and I'm gonna live a life to show you what life should look like. Then I'm gonna go be the sacrifice. And understand, and being that sacrifice, what is he showing? That I'm willing to lay down my life for others. Can any of us say that? And I know we all, well, especially you guys in here, you should have a fantasy somewhere in your mind of like someone running in and you jumping in front of that. And if you don't have that fantasy, go to the doctor, get your testosterone checked, okay? Because you should have that. But how many of us really will lay down our wants and desires for those in our lives to begin with? I mean, we'll sit here and go, I'll jump in front of that bullet, but yet you won't change because your wife is sitting here going, hey, this is causing a problem in our marriage? You won't change because your kids are wayward and going off on the wrong track. See, think about this. We have these grand ideas up here, but here's what you should be doing: leading, doing the things you're supposed to be doing so that others follow along with that. Because that's what we see in Scripture. Jesus is sitting here, God calling us to the same things he did. In fact, in John, when when Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, he tells his disciples this greater things you will do. Jesus literally tells us, we will do greater things than he did. How many of us are? Why not? Either Jesus is a liar or you're misunderstanding what he meant when he said you're gonna do greater things. And think about this. What do we have to do? Just things in faith, right? We plan a barbecue and then we let Jesus decide how that looks. We do it to the best of our abilities and faithfully, which is why all of you are like, man, this food's so good. That's Jesus giving us a reward for our faith. Went out shrimping Friday night, and I'll tell you right now, the kid that went out shrimping with us, like, he's sitting there catching shrimp, and some of y'all are like, oh, that's stupid, and blah, blah, blah, blah. He's like, this was the greatest day of my life. And then got to talk to his grandfather about Jesus. See, we do things in faith, and then we let Jesus handle all the tough stuff. All we have to do is the things that Jesus tells us to do. See, and if we are indeed sheep, where would we be following? After Jesus. Which means our lives should look like Jesus. Which means I should love God with all my heart, mind, body, and soul, and love others the way that I love me. So if you here's here's the standard, you ready? If you would do it for you, you should do it for someone else. So if you would buy you dinner, you should buy someone else dinner. If you would buy you clothes you should buy someone else clothes. If you would take care of you if you're sick, you should take care of others when they're sick. Like, we see how that works, right? Because this is what we're called to. And as we look at our hearts this week, ask yourself, do you hear the voice of the shepherd? See, Jesus said, My sheep will hear my voice, will know my voice, and will follow me. So let me ask you, if you were sitting in here going, hey, I believe Jesus is who he claimed to be, where is he leading you? Because it's not always to the same place. Like some of us, Jesus is going to lead to different places. For example, I will tell you right now, I knew at 13 I wanted to go into ministry. I knew while I was in youth group, like, hey, this is where my life is going to head. And then I decided somewhere around 17, 18, I don't want my life to go there anymore. I want to go do all of this other stuff. And here's why, you ready? Here was my big heart dilemma about going into ministry. I don't want to be poor the rest of my life. And my youth pastor did not show me this glamorous life in ministry as he's driving around like a 78 station wagon with wood paneling. And this was a long way away from 78, okay? This was back in the 90s. Like he had that car that you got high with the exhaust just coming into the cab with you. And I went, I don't want that for the rest of my life. Like, I don't want to struggle the rest of my life. Like, I want to have the things so that I can be happy. So here's what I did. I ran from where Jesus was leading to every single job I could that I thought was gonna bring me money. And I'll tell you, I worked a handful of them that brought me a lot of money. And I was completely miserable the entire time, which is why, if you were to see like my 10, like when I hired on at the sheriff's office, you have to do a 10-year work history. I had to print out 11 extra pages to cover all of the different jobs I had in a 10-year picture. Why? Because I was running from where the shepherd was leading. And when I found myself just completely broken and miserable, I went, okay, God, fine. I'll do things your way. And so what I decided was to start a company that I could only best describe as undercover Christian. This way I could still make money, because no one hires Christians, right? As soon as you go, hey, I'm Christian, you have now canceled out half the world. So I went, hey, we're gonna start this company where I'm gonna use like my prior law enforcement and military, and we're gonna go into schools and we're gonna talk about like the like at the time it was all about anti-bullying and all of that. So we're gonna go do this. We created presentations and we did things for marriage conferences and parenting and anti-bullying, and and you know, because I wasn't Christian about it, you know, I could appeal to more people, but I could still say churchy things. And I was trying to negotiate with God. And when I went, I don't like this either, and I'm completely miserable, and this isn't what I want because I'm not seeing any actual transformation, even though all of the information is good. I looked at Debbie one day and I went, I think God's calling us to plan a church. So here's what, and I give all of that for. I went a long way around a pig's butt to get a ham sandwich, only to wind up where? Right where Jesus went. This is where you're going anyway. And here's the thing: some of us, you may be that rebellious child that as soon as your parents told you to do something, you did the exact opposite. But just like Jonah, okay? Everybody in here familiar with Jonah? What happened with Jonah? Yeah, he got swallowed by the whale, right? Because when God went, go to Nineveh and preach repentance, for I'm gonna save them. Jonah went, they're not worth it. I'm gonna go this way, get on this boat, and God went, no, no, no, no, no. Here's what you don't understand. You're going to Nineveh. Remember in Psalm 23, right? He makes me lie down. Like you can lie down or you can be made to lie down. One of them's gonna be more painful than the other, though. And see, some of us, you're fighting Jesus on those things. And Jesus is sitting here going, no, no, no, no, you didn't hear me right. Like you're going to do this. You can kick and scream all you want to, but I'm telling you right now, those people that I arrested that kicked and screamed, pepper spray hurts. And getting tased hurts. And getting hog tied hurts. But guess what? One way or another, you're going in the back of that car. And that's what Jesus is trying to show us. So let me ask you, what desire do you have? Because I'm telling you right now, if you're sitting here going, I have no desire to do anything that Jesus is calling me to, here's what I want you to understand. You may not know Jesus. You may know about him, but if you don't have any desire to do the things Jesus put in front of you to do, you may not know him. And if that's you, you need to decide. Do I know Jesus? And if you're sitting here going, hey, like, I want to know him, then come see me after we get done. But if you would sit here and go, nope, I believe that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be, what's that one thing that keeps coming up in your life? What's that one desire that you just keep having? What's that one thing that you just constantly fantasize about? What's that thing that overtakes you as you're laying in the dark trying to go to sleep? And then let me ask you, why aren't you doing that? What is it that's stopping you from that? Is it fear? Is it sitting here going, well, if I do this, like, my whole life could fall apart? Let me, again, be just transparent with you. So three years ago, Debbie and I went, yeah, we're gonna cash in our retirement. We don't even care about a safety net. And we're gonna start a school. And if this doesn't work, God, I mean, thank God I have loving parents that that would be like, hey, like, we'll feed you, but I mean, you gotta figure something out. Like, I get it. And now here we are three years later, going, uh oh, we gotta get another unit because we're out of space. Because too many people are now going, hey, we want our kids to be there too. See, that's what faith is. Is sitting here going, yeah, I'm terrified. And this may fall apart. And it may not work out the way you think it's going to. Number one, Jesus was homeless, so you're in good company. Number two, understand you're gonna do it one way or another. Do you want to take the long way around? Or are you sitting here going, you know what, God? Jesus, fine. I'll do it. So, what is that one thing? Are you following where the shepherd is leading? So, as we close this morning, here's our call to action. Number one, tomorrow morning, go to Mission Scent, on there, you go to the church, you'll see resources. Click on resources and get your five-day devo. It keeps you locked in and it keeps you following all week long. Next, tell one person this week where Jesus is leading you. Tell one person, have one conversation with someone where you're sitting here going, hey, this is where the shepherd is taking me. It may be something simple like, you know what, I need to get outside more. This week's gonna be a great week to do it, guys. The weather is phenomenal. Okay? Great week to do it. It may be something simple like, you know what, I need to cook more. I need to like experiment with the smoker. I need to think of new things to put on the smoker. It may be something dramatic. You may be sitting here going, uh-oh, Jesus is leading me to a brand new career. And I'm terrified of that. Because this may not work out. But whatever it is, find a brother, find a sister, and tell them this is where Jesus is leading me. And here's why. We need accountability in our life. That's why I started the service with going, hey, there were these three things I told you guys to do last week. Who did any of them? It's not to call people out and it's not to shame people. What it is, is to keep us accountable to one another. That's why we come together. To be equipped to go do this stuff out there. So, you guys want to know what my sermon's gonna start with next week? There's three things I told you to do last week. Who did one of them? Father, I just thank you so much that we have the opportunity to be here today. And God, as it is cold this weekend, thank you for letting me get those words out, Jesus. I ask and I pray that you put it on someone in here's heart to go, hey, you know what? I'm gonna share a pot of chili. I'm gonna share biscuits and gravy, I'm gonna share soup, I'm gonna share something with someone. Father, I ask and I pray that as we move throughout this week, that we download our Devo, that Father, we stay locked in on you, and that God, we follow where the shepherd is leading. God, I ask and I pray that as we just enter into this, that God, we have a newfound love and affection for you. And that, Father, you just keep us on you, and that Father, we follow after you. Father, we pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen. That was the other thing. Download the Diva.