WEBVTT

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 Open your Bibles to John 10, John chapter 10.

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 So my aim tonight is to be short, clear and simple.

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 I don't think there's anyone here who shouldn't be able to understand me this evening.

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!

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 There is a difference, isn't there, between being childish and childlike.

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 A massive difference.

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 And so children, your parents might say to you, grow up, isn't it?

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 They don't want you to stay childish.

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 And doing things that you should have left behind.

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 To grow up is a good thing.

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 So don't be childish.

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 But to be childlike is a different thing.

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 To be childlike means that you never lose that simplicity.

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 You never lose that wonder of what it is to be a child.

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 That excitement.

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 And particularly when it comes to the Bible, Jesus' message is, be childlike.

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 Never lose your wonder at the simplicity of the truth.

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 And John 11 is a very, very simple passage.

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 It is a wonderfully simple passage.

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 Jesus is the shepherd.

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 And so guess who I am?

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 I'm his little lamb.

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 Jesus is the shepherd.

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 I'm his little lamb.

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 And there is John 10 in a nutshell.

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 This wonderful, wonderful passage of John 10.

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 Jesus is the shepherd.

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 I'm his little lamb.

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 Where have you heard that language of lamb before?

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 Do you remember John 1, 29?

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 John the Baptist sees Jesus and he says, doesn't he?

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 He cries out in a loud voice, behold the lamb of God.

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 Who takes away the sin of the world.

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 John particularly, of all the writers in scriptures, is obsessed with Jesus as the lamb of God.

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 And yet in John 10, what we see is that the lamb of God has become the shepherd of the sheep.

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 The lamb of God has become the shepherd of the sheep.

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 Isn't that the truth?

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 Who could be a better shepherd than the lamb?

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 Who would know better what sheep need than a lamb?

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 And John tells us that Jesus is the lamb of God who has become the shepherd of his people.

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 And so how does John set out this relationship?

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 Jesus set out this relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.

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 What does he tell us is this lovely secret?

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 What does it mean for you and I, if we're trusting and loving the Lord Jesus tonight, to be his little lambs?

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 There's three pictures.

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 And the first picture is the shepherd and his flock.

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 And the second picture is the shepherd and the fowl or the sheep pen.

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 And the third picture is the shepherd and the sheep.

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 Here's the first picture.

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 The shepherd and his flock.

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 It says that no one enters the gate.

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 The one who enters the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

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 The gatekeeper opens to him and the sheep hear his voice.

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 He goes in and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them and he leads them all out.

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 And when he's brought them out, he goes ahead of them.

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 The picture is this.

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 All the shepherds of the village would make kind of common cause together.

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 They'd work together.

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 And they would bring all of their sheep into an overnight sheep pen near the village.

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 They'd bring all their flocks into one large sheep pen.

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 And then they would appoint one of the shepherds to be a night watchman.

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 To watch through the night.

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 While the rest of the shepherds went off and got a good night's sleep.

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 And the night watchman's task was to keep this multiplicity, these many flocks, safe through the night.

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 To ward off people who would come.

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 To ward off sheep rustlers who would steal the sheep.

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 Bandits.

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 And then in the morning, all the shepherds would come back.

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 And the gatekeeper, the night watchman, they would recognize the shepherd and they would open the gate.

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 And the shepherd would stand there.

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 The shepherd would stand there.

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 He'd be faced with a crowd of two or three or four or five flocks of sheep.

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 And he would begin to call those who are his.

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 And the shepherd knew the sheep by name.

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 And they recognized his voice.

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 They knew his voice.

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 And as the shepherd called his sheep, they came out one by one.

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 And they passed him by the gate.

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 And they waited from outside.

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 And when he'd call all his own sheep out like that.

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 He didn't drive them like you see shepherds do in Wales or in the Lake District.

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 He didn't call the dogs and whistles for the dogs to herd them.

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 He'd call them by name.

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 And now he takes his position in front of the flock of sheep and he leads them out to pasture.

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 Have you got that picture?

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 The shepherd and the flock.

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 It's the first of the three pictures that John gives us in this marvelous shepherding chapter.

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 The shepherd and the flock called by name led out into pasture.

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 The background to each one of us who are believing at this moment and trusting the Lord Jesus.

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 The background is that in his loving way, the Lord Jesus has called us to belong to him.

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 The background to this chapter, of course, is chapter 9, isn't it?

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 Do you remember him?

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 The man who was born blind.

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 He was lovely last week, wasn't he?

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 And Jesus came and he gave him sight.

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 Do you remember?

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 But because it happened on the Sabbath day, the religious authorities, they were greatly offended.

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 They were furious that Jesus had healed again on the Sabbath day.

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 They questioned the man twice.

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 They called in his parents and questioned them.

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 And then they called the man back for a third time.

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 And when they could get no satisfaction from them, according to what we're told,

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 they really excommunicated him.

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 They chuck him out of the church.

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 And then we read at the end of chapter 9, don't we?

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 That Jesus found him.

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 Jesus found him.

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 Verse 35.

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 He heard they'd cast him out.

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 And having found him, Jesus said to him,

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 Do you believe in the Son of Man?

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 And the man said to him, didn't he?

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 He said,

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 Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?

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 Jesus wonderfully said,

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 I who speak to you, I am the man.

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 The man said, I believe, and he worshipped him.

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 Do you see how Jesus, in chapter 9, is calling out one of his flock?

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 That is the background to every single one of us who trust in Christ.

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 You may remember a day when you heard the voice of Jesus,

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 when you knew that Jesus was calling you,

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 and you said yes, and you received him as your Lord and Saviour.

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 I can remember such a day.

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 Or you may be one of those fortunate people,

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 who can't remember a time,

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 when you didn't love the Lord Jesus,

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 and trust him,

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 and know him as your shepherd and Saviour.

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 Or you may be one of those people who say,

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 I can't put a date to it,

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 but over a certain period, over the last few months,

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 this has become true of me.

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 Jesus has called you out.

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 He has called you by name,

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 and he has made you one of his flock,

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 and now he will never cease to go before you.

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 It's a strange way to put it,

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 but I was talking with someone this week,

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 and I was talking about,

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 I don't know why I talked to them about being in the soup.

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 They were in a difficult situation.

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 And the conversation kind of went in a really strange direction,

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 about different kinds of soup,

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 and it was just a strange thing.

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 But what I was trying to do was,

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 explain to them that they were in a difficult situation.

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 And so one day,

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 you might find yourself in the soup,

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 in a real patch of difficulty.

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 You might find yourself in trouble,

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 or sorrow,

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 wherever it might be.

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 And so you ask yourself the question,

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 how did you get there?

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 How are you in the situation you are in tonight?

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 Because the answer is,

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 he led you.

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 He led you.

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 The Lord Jesus,

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 the Good Shepherd,

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 he never stops leading his sheep.

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 And so as this slightly odd man said to me this week,

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 if you are in the soup,

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 it is he who has decided whether it is tomato soup,

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 or carrot soup.

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 And it is he who has decided whether it is cold soup,

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 or very hot soup.

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 And you are there,

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 you are in the circumstances you are in,

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 because that is where the shepherd has led you.

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 Can you get that picture?

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 It is very simple,

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 isn't it?

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 It is part of our safety and security.

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 Those words,

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 safety and security,

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 they belong really to the last picture,

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 but they are here as well,

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 aren't they?

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 We belong to his flock.

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 He leads us,

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 and he will never stop leading us.

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 Second picture is the shepherd and the foal.

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 It begins in verse 7.

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 Jesus said to them,

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 verse 7,

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 truly, truly,

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 I tell you,

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 I am the gate of the sheep.

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 And so here is a different picture.

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 The shepherd has been out on the hills,

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 he has been pastoring his sheep,

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 and when the night time comes,

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 there is a kind of enclosure,

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 it is a walled enclosure,

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 so that the sheep may be kept safe,

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 but there is no gate on it.

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 It has got the kind of walls around it,

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 but there is a space for the gate.

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 It is an un-gated enclosure.

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 It has got no door on it,

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 it has got no gate on it,

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 no lock on it,

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 except the shepherd.

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 And so,

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 staying overnight with his sheep,

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 the shepherd sits down at the opening.

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 And the shepherd,

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 he himself,

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 is the gate.

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 he stood there at the end of the day,

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 and he's called his sheep by name,

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 and they've gone past him into the enclosure.

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 And so Psalm 100 says,

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 doesn't it,

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 we are the people of his pasture,

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 the sheep of his hand.

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 The people of his pasture,

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 the sheep of his hand,

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 he's been out pasturing all day,

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 his sheep,

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 and at the end of the day,

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 the sheep pass under his arm.

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 And he or she goes into the safety of the enclosure,

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 and within the enclosure,

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 the shepherd sits.

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 And just as he was the gate that let them in,

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 so he is the gate that keeps them safe.

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 The shepherd into the fold.

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 The shepherd and the fold.

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 And they are admitted into the fold,

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 and they are kept safe in the fold,

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 by the action,

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 and by the presence,

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 and by the faithfulness of the shepherd.

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 And that's us, isn't it?

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 The picture goes on, verse 9.

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 He says,

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 I am the door.

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 Whoever enters me will be saved.

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 And that is our way into safety.

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 And salvation,

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 to pass under the shepherd's hand,

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 into the fold.

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 But then he says,

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 he will go in and out,

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 and find pasture.

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 You see here,

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 it's not so much the leading shepherd,

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 but it is the providing shepherd.

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 The shepherd who makes sure

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 there will be,

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 always be pasturing for his sheep.

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 There will always be green grass.

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 There will always be food for his sheep.

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 And that is the point of faith for us tonight.

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 All through our lives,

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 we are to say,

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 we're in the hands of a shepherd.

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 We're in the hands of a shepherd,

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 and he will provide.

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 And some of you can look back over a long life,

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 and you will say tonight,

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 yes,

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 he does,

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 he did,

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 and he will.

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 He is the providing shepherd.

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 You will find pasture.

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 The thief comes in,

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 in verse 10,

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 only to steal,

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 and to kill,

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 and to destroy.

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 The thief is out for himself,

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 but Jesus says,

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 I am come,

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 that they might have life,

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 and they might have it abundantly.

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 He's a providing shepherd.

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 And then we come to the third picture,

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 which begins in verse 11.

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 I am the good shepherd.

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 It's the picture of the shepherd and the sheep.

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 The shepherd and the flock.

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 The shepherd and the sheep fold.

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 The shepherd and the sheep.

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 The first one is the shepherd and the flock leading.

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 And then there's the shepherd and the flock,

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 the shepherd and the sheep pen,

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 safeguarding and providing.

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 And then there's the shepherd and the sheep,

00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:12.139
 and he is out and about,

00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:13.480
 with his flock,

00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:14.259
 day and night.

00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:17.779
 Day and night.

00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:21.319
 And perhaps as the days darken,

00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:23.519
 the wolves begin to gather.

00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:26.539
 And the shepherd has a choice,

00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:26.980
 doesn't he?

00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:29.240
 The shepherd has a choice.

00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:31.259
 Am I going to guard my sheep from the wolf,

00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:33.000
 certainly at the risk of my own life,

00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:35.419
 from that savage creature,

00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.759
 or am I going to leave the sheep

00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.600
 to the savaging of the wolf?

00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:42.580
 And Jesus says,

00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:44.279
 if he's only a hired hand,

00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:46.700
 and has no care for the sheep,

00:14:46.819 --> 00:14:47.980
 do you notice that expression?

00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:49.779
 So he runs.

00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:53.819
 If you have no care for the sheep,

00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:54.299
 you run.

00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:55.259
 But Jesus says,

00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:56.379
 I am the good shepherd.

00:14:56.379 --> 00:14:59.299
 And I give my life for the sheep.

00:14:59.379 --> 00:14:59.840
 What a picture.

00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:03.600
 The laying down of a life,

00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.939
 so that others may live and be safe.

00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:07.460
 It's beautiful.

00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:11.220
 The good shepherd.

00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:14.840
 And Jesus takes us just a little bit deeper into that one.

00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:15.200
 He says,

00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:17.639
 the father loves me because I lay down my life.

00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.360
 He brings the father into the picture.

00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:23.620
 The father loves me.

00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:25.960
 And he doesn't say,

00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:26.200
 does he?

00:15:26.280 --> 00:15:26.440
 Well,

00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:27.259
 what does he say there?

00:15:27.300 --> 00:15:27.600
 He says,

00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:29.620
 the father loves me because,

00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:31.420
 I mean,

00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:31.759
 son.

00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:34.000
 He could say that,

00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:34.860
 but he doesn't.

00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:36.720
 No,

00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:37.080
 he says,

00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:38.300
 he loves me because,

00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:40.740
 I lay down my life,

00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.379
 for the sheep.

00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:46.500
 And so we must ask ourselves tonight,

00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:47.800
 how greatly,

00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:50.759
 the father must love the sheep,

00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:53.860
 if he is content and willing,

00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.320
 even to see his son dying for them.

00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:00.320
 How greatly the father loves the sheep.

00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:03.840
 How greatly the father loves you.

00:16:06.060 --> 00:16:07.700
 And so this third picture,

00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:08.780
 we are in the area,

00:16:08.920 --> 00:16:09.320
 aren't we,

00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:13.960
 of love and self-sacrifice and devotion,

00:16:14.640 --> 00:16:16.379
 and in the deepest sense of the word,

00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:16.940
 salvation.

00:16:18.280 --> 00:16:20.420
 And this is what the father wants,

00:16:20.420 --> 00:16:22.120
 and he loves his son,

00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:24.940
 because the son gives his life for the sheep.

00:16:26.660 --> 00:16:27.980
 So the truth here,

00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:29.760
 is saved,

00:16:30.400 --> 00:16:31.460
 and then secured.

00:16:33.160 --> 00:16:35.120
 Because Jesus goes on with those lovely verses,

00:16:35.340 --> 00:16:36.240
 later in John 10,

00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.040
 where he picks up the shepherding theme,

00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:38.360
 doesn't he?

00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:38.840
 He says,

00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:40.240
 my sheep hear my voice,

00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:42.300
 and I know them,

00:16:42.680 --> 00:16:43.600
 and they follow me.

00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:46.860
 And listen,

00:16:47.060 --> 00:16:49.180
 I give them eternal life.

00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:53.940
 It's not just a temporary rescue,

00:16:53.940 --> 00:16:55.680
 from a worldly wolf.

00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:58.039
 This is an eternal rescue,

00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:00.019
 from the eternal enemy.

00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:02.959
 I give them eternal life,

00:17:03.959 --> 00:17:05.940
 and they will never perish.

00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:07.500
 I give them eternal life,

00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:08.419
 and they will never perish,

00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:10.740
 and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:14.079
 My father who has given them to me,

00:17:14.299 --> 00:17:14.440
 well,

00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:16.279
 he is greater than all,

00:17:16.379 --> 00:17:18.279
 and no one is able to snatch them,

00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:19.319
 out of the father's hand.

00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:20.659
 Talk about double security.

00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:20.779
 Security.

00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:24.640
 No one will pluck them out of my hand.

00:17:25.080 --> 00:17:27.380
 No one will pluck them out of my father's hand.

00:17:27.580 --> 00:17:28.740
 What a picture of security.

00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:32.300
 What a picture of our daily lives.

00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:37.279
 And so tonight,

00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:38.119
 are you in the soup?

00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:41.240
 Are you in trouble?

00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:45.220
 Where were you,

00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:47.519
 when what happened to you,

00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:48.279
 happened to you?

00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:51.440
 You were in his hand,

00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:54.580
 and in the father's hand,

00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:56.460
 and he never lets us go.

00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:00.600
 There is no point,

00:18:00.600 --> 00:18:02.940
 where he is an absent landlord.

00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:06.740
 There is no point,

00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:07.940
 when he is away,

00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:09.920
 on some other business.

00:18:11.080 --> 00:18:12.720
 There is no point,

00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:14.259
 at which some other call,

00:18:14.380 --> 00:18:14.860
 on his time,

00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:15.840
 has overtaken him.

00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:18.059
 He is always there.

00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:20.360
 We are always in his hand.

00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:23.580
 And when we pass,

00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:24.320
 through the valley,

00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:25.660
 of the shadow of death,

00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:28.019
 we'll fear no evil,

00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:28.519
 for,

00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:30.559
 you are with me.

00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:33.779
 And when we pass,

00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:34.759
 through that final time,

00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:36.359
 when we come to our deathbeds,

00:18:36.399 --> 00:18:37.639
 at the hour of our death,

00:18:37.679 --> 00:18:39.200
 we will still be in his hand.

00:18:41.659 --> 00:18:43.599
 And we will still be in his hand,

00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:44.440
 at the day of judgment.

00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:47.000
 And nothing can touch us,

00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.240
 because we are eternally,

00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:49.039
 in his hand.

00:18:50.159 --> 00:18:51.659
 And he gives us eternal life.

00:18:53.419 --> 00:18:54.839
 And we will never perish,

00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:56.700
 because he is the good shepherd,

00:18:56.919 --> 00:18:58.259
 who lays down his life,

00:18:58.379 --> 00:18:58.799
 for the sheep.

00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:03.159
 And so,

00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.440
 we are loved,

00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:06.919
 by the dying shepherd,

00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:09.480
 and we are gripped,

00:19:09.659 --> 00:19:10.599
 by the living shepherd.

00:19:13.159 --> 00:19:14.039
 We are loved,

00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:15.240
 by the dying shepherd,

00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:17.740
 and gripped,

00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:18.899
 by the living shepherd.

00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:21.480
 Jesus says,

00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:22.179
 I have power,

00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:23.279
 to lay down my life,

00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:25.480
 and I have power,

00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:26.319
 to take it up again.

00:19:28.700 --> 00:19:29.139
 Loved,

00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:29.960
 by the dying shepherd.

00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:30.200
 The living shepherd.

00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:32.519
 Gripped,

00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:34.319
 by the living shepherd.

00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:35.240
 I have called,

00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:37.840
 these pictures,

00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:38.240
 haven't I,

00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:39.400
 but they are not pictures.

00:19:41.120 --> 00:19:41.600
 Actually,

00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:42.500
 they are the reality,

00:19:42.600 --> 00:19:43.340
 of your life and mine.

00:19:45.380 --> 00:19:45.860
 Belonging,

00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:46.759
 to his flock,

00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:48.200
 and led by him.

00:19:50.120 --> 00:19:50.559
 Welcomed,

00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:52.480
 into his fold,

00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:53.579
 and guarded,

00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:54.980
 and provided for,

00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:55.539
 by him.

00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:57.660
 And gripped,

00:19:57.660 --> 00:19:58.380
 in his hand,

00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:01.000
 and saved,

00:20:01.120 --> 00:20:02.000
 by him for all eternity.

00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:08.080
 Let's pray together.

00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:08.080