WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.400 When I was in college, some friends drove down to Florida. 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.179 One of our friends lived down there, a guy named Scott. 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:14.400 And we went on this kind of surfing trip for a few days 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:15.780 to go down there and stay with him. 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:18.580 And it required driving many hours into the night. 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:21.699 And we didn't really arrive at Scott's house 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:23.699 until the early morning hours. 00:00:23.740 --> 00:00:25.300 It was like two or three o'clock in the morning. 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:27.519 And everybody in the family had gone to bed. 00:00:27.580 --> 00:00:29.280 We had never been to Scott's house before. 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:33.679 They left the key under the mat for us and some blankets and things. 00:00:33.800 --> 00:00:36.219 So we just basically came in at like three in the morning 00:00:36.219 --> 00:00:39.880 and just crashed on the floor and figured we'd meet 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:41.640 and say hello to everybody the following day. 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:42.400 That was the plan. 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:46.480 About five o'clock in the morning, 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:51.700 I'm awakened to the sound of Scott's mom. 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:54.240 Scott? 00:00:56.760 --> 00:00:57.200 Scott? 00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:57.480 Scott? 00:00:57.479 --> 00:00:57.919 Scott? 00:00:58.919 --> 00:01:00.519 And I kind of open my eyes and I think, 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.759 okay, well, it's, you know, Saturday morning. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:06.939 They must be early risers. 00:01:08.200 --> 00:01:09.159 So I go back to sleep. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:10.579 And then coming in a little later, I hear, 00:01:11.179 --> 00:01:11.579 Scott? 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:14.319 Scott? 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:15.840 And I kind of open my eyes again. 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:18.519 I'm thinking, all right, Scott, you know? 00:01:18.519 --> 00:01:21.920 I know it's early, but, you know, your mom needs you. 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:23.879 Can I close my eyes? 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:24.640 Scott? 00:01:26.679 --> 00:01:27.000 Scott? 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:32.140 So I put my, I put, I'm like, I don't know the dynamics in this family, you know? 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:39.420 But I'm like, we need to have a conversation about, you know, or maybe figure out a more, 00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:43.579 you know, kind of efficient way to get Scott's, maybe you could go to Scott, you know? 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:48.200 Maybe Scott's dead asleep, like we should be, you know? 00:01:49.379 --> 00:01:52.939 Or maybe Scott's kind of weirdly, maybe their dynamic's off. 00:01:53.019 --> 00:01:54.459 Like maybe Scott's ignoring his mom. 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:55.219 I don't know. 00:01:55.340 --> 00:01:59.200 But this stuff starts to go through my mind and I've got the pillow buried over my head. 00:01:59.539 --> 00:02:03.560 And for the next like 30, 45 minutes, Scott? 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:05.219 Scott? 00:02:06.980 --> 00:02:07.340 Scott? 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:09.719 And I'm just building rage. 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:11.920 I'm just like, this is not okay. 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:14.319 I'm like, either she is in severe trouble. 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:15.840 Has she fallen in the bathroom? 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:16.740 She can't get up. 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:18.259 Is she, is she in trouble? 00:02:18.699 --> 00:02:20.319 Why is Scott ignoring his mom? 00:02:20.480 --> 00:02:21.420 What's going on here? 00:02:21.480 --> 00:02:23.439 And I'm just getting more and more and more angry. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.640 And so finally, after about 45 minutes, I'm like, I'm not going back to sleep now because 00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:32.319 I've been 45 minutes listening to this poor woman call for her son who's clearly ignoring her. 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:35.659 And so I stand up and I'm like, we're going to have a family intervention. 00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:38.620 I'm like, I've never met these people, but this is not okay. 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:42.939 And so I start going through the house all bleary out and I'm going from one room to the next. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.319 And I'm trying to follow the sound of this poor one's voice. 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:49.719 And I walk into the living room and across the room, I see a birdcage. 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:54.259 It was a, it was a parakeet. 00:02:56.019 --> 00:02:59.139 And apparently its favorite word to say was, Scott? 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:00.259 Scott? 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:04.000 I realized my blunder. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.180 And then I was wide awake, ready to start the day. 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:10.740 The point is this. 00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:16.199 There are a lot of voices out there. 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:22.080 The question that we're going to ask this morning is, what are the voices that we are listening to? 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:22.900 Right. 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:25.699 And are they worth listening to? 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:28.460 Are they credible? 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:30.180 Are they trustworthy? 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:33.420 Are they the voices we think they are? 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:35.679 Are they coming from reliable sources or not? 00:03:35.799 --> 00:03:37.659 Who should we be listening to in our lives? 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:44.259 And in John chapter 10, Jesus says that there's only one voice that we need to listen to. 00:03:44.579 --> 00:03:46.539 There's only one voice that we need to hear. 00:03:46.739 --> 00:03:51.219 And if you hear that voice, that becomes the most important voice. 00:03:51.279 --> 00:03:54.199 And all other voices rank down from that. 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:58.759 And he says the voice that we need to hear is the voice of the good shepherd. 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:00.959 The voice of our true shepherd. 00:04:01.959 --> 00:04:08.399 And Jesus deliberately uses this metaphor of a shepherd to describe the kind of relationship that we're meant to have with him. 00:04:09.519 --> 00:04:12.539 He's saying that we are like sheep and he's like a shepherd. 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:14.719 And we're meant to have that kind of relationship. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:20.259 And there are a few things in this passage that show us why Jesus is the good shepherd. 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:23.939 Why his voice is the most important voice. 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:27.000 And the things that we see in this passage are this. 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:32.740 The reason that we should listen to his voice of all other voices is because he's the good shepherd. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.480 And so he knows his sheep, number one. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:37.759 He loves his sheep, number two. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:40.879 And then three, he unites his sheep. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:44.560 He loves, he knows, and he unites his sheep. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:45.099 Let's pray. 00:04:45.539 --> 00:04:46.300 And then we'll get started. 00:04:46.420 --> 00:04:48.579 Lord, we thank you for your word this morning. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:51.379 We thank you that you are our good shepherd. 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:53.319 And it's actually your voice we're here to listen to. 00:04:53.779 --> 00:04:58.019 So I pray that you would help us to tune out, to quiet the other voices. 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:01.139 Not only the external, but the internal voices. 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:03.079 Quiet us. 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:09.839 Give us a peaceful, open spirit that we might receive and hear from you this morning, Lord. 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:13.079 And it's in the name of Jesus that we pray. 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:13.519 Amen. 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:20.860 So first of all, Jesus is the good shepherd because, as he says, he knows his sheep. 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:23.740 He says in verse 14, I am the good shepherd. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:26.959 I know my own, and my own know me. 00:05:27.799 --> 00:05:32.759 Now, if you know anything about shepherds, they might have hundreds of sheep in their flock. 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:34.120 In some cases, thousands. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:41.860 But a good shepherd actually is able to know and recognize each individual sheep. 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:47.659 And often, especially in Palestine, shepherds would give each sheep a name. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.199 They would have a specific name for each of their sheep. 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:55.199 I actually watched a clip of an experiment conducted by the BBC. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:03.259 This was back, I think, in the 70s, where they took a shepherd who had several hundred sheep, this massive flock. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.839 And they moved the shepherd away. 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:07.819 They got him off site. 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:11.500 And then they brought in a few sheep that were not part of his flock. 00:06:11.659 --> 00:06:13.279 But they were the exact same breed. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:24.059 And from an onlooker's perspective, like if you were to watch this video, there's absolutely no way to tell these sheep apart. 00:06:24.179 --> 00:06:25.619 They all look identical. 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:28.919 They mix these plant sheep in. 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:30.339 Then they bring the shepherd back. 00:06:30.419 --> 00:06:36.219 And they just want to know, can he recognize sheep that aren't a part of his flock? 00:06:36.259 --> 00:06:37.579 And how long will it take him to do it? 00:06:37.579 --> 00:06:41.259 And what's amazing is he's able to do it within minutes. 00:06:42.539 --> 00:06:44.500 I mean, from me looking, I'm like, there's no way. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:47.740 I immediately lost sight of, but he just walks around. 00:06:48.479 --> 00:06:51.839 And within minutes, he's like, that one, that one, that one. 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:54.799 And they come, and the reporter's amazed. 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:56.939 And the reporter says, well, how's that possible? 00:06:57.019 --> 00:06:57.620 What's your trick? 00:06:57.659 --> 00:06:59.279 And he says, there's no trick. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:02.240 There's no, he says, I just know my sheep. 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:04.519 I know my sheep. 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:13.039 And so he has this kind of blink instinct where he immediately recognizes when sheep come in from the outside. 00:07:13.159 --> 00:07:17.879 And so this kind of intimate knowledge is what Jesus wants to convey. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:23.120 And shepherds not only recognize their sheep, but they know their individual quirks. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:24.620 They know their individual tendencies. 00:07:25.479 --> 00:07:27.319 More to the point, they know their weaknesses. 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:29.659 Right? 00:07:29.719 --> 00:07:30.879 They examine them every day. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:31.579 They understand. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:34.419 They know immediately when they're sick or ill. 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:35.519 They know their weaknesses. 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:38.879 And that's a good thing because sheep have a lot of weaknesses. 00:07:40.039 --> 00:07:41.560 I mean, sheep are weak animals. 00:07:42.539 --> 00:07:46.799 Among all the animals in the animal kingdom, sheep are probably some of the most helpless. 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:51.339 You know, when sheep got lost, they don't last long in the wild. 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:52.959 They don't survive very long. 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:57.199 That's partly because they're, frankly, not very intelligent. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.319 But it's also because they are herd animals. 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:04.319 They are hardwired to be followers. 00:08:05.219 --> 00:08:11.939 You know, when a sheep's trotting along, that sheep is not thinking about where it wants to go or where it should go. 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:13.319 It's not plotting a plan. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.480 Its executive function is kind of low. 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:18.160 It's not setting goals, right? 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:19.939 It's not being strategic. 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:29.000 The sheep is literally just looking at the animals around it and trying to do exactly what they do as closely as possible. 00:08:29.100 --> 00:08:31.699 Its only goal is to stay with the herd. 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:42.779 I read this one story from a farmer who raises sheep who said that one morning, as his sheep were kind of walking around feeding, one of his sheep tripped over its own feet. 00:08:43.580 --> 00:08:52.299 And then for the rest of the day, all the other sheep in the herd leapt over that spot where there was no obstacle, but all the sheep saw that one trip. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.340 And so they all just wanted to make sure they didn't trip. 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:59.919 And so they're leaping over this invisible obstacle for hours, right? 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:03.500 And, you know, so it can be funny. 00:09:03.599 --> 00:09:04.719 It can also be disastrous. 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:07.199 I read a news story. 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:09.799 This is from years ago, maybe 2005. 00:09:10.959 --> 00:09:20.519 There were some shepherds in Turkey, and they had a combined flock, and they neglected their sheep one morning because they all wanted to eat breakfast. 00:09:20.699 --> 00:09:26.159 And so they took their eyes off the flock, and they're on a cliffside. 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:33.719 And one poor, unfortunate sheep gets too close to the cliff edge and slips and falls. 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.959 So you can guess what happens, right? 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:44.240 Hundreds of sheep just start plunging off the cliff because the first one did, right? 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:49.720 And 1,500 sheep plunge off this cliff. 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.100 You know, it was a massive economic impact to the community. 00:09:54.620 --> 00:09:57.060 I think roughly 400 didn't survive. 00:09:57.180 --> 00:10:03.039 The rest did because they landed on the fluffy mountain that had been formed by the first 400. 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:05.240 Right? 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:09.940 So when the Bible says that we are all like sheep, that's not a compliment. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.519 It means that we're spiritually helpless, number one. 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:20.700 It means that we're not meant to survive on our own apart from God. 00:10:21.680 --> 00:10:27.000 It means that we're not meant to be autonomous beings in the world. 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:28.460 Right? 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:30.620 We're not designed to survive that way. 00:10:30.900 --> 00:10:32.220 We need a shepherd. 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:37.300 And it also means, to say that we're like sheep, that we are hardwired to be followers. 00:10:38.540 --> 00:10:43.820 That we are hardwired to be social, cultural, spiritual herd animals. 00:10:44.780 --> 00:10:45.240 Right? 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:48.820 And everyone, every human being follows someone or something. 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:52.700 We have a kind of herd instinct wired into us. 00:10:52.780 --> 00:10:53.740 We want to conform. 00:10:53.740 --> 00:11:01.500 You know, this was famously demonstrated in 1951 when Solomon Asch conducted an experiment 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:06.740 in which he asked participants to look at a line on the left. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:07.919 It was one line. 00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:10.480 And then he would show them three lines on the right. 00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:15.000 And he would ask the participants to pick out which of the three lines on the right. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:16.919 And they're all of varying lengths. 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:21.799 And he said, pick out which line on the right is the same length as the one on the left. 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:26.059 And so they would go down the line, each participant giving an answer. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:31.240 And under normal circumstances, when asked to pick out which of these lines is the same 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:35.379 length as this line, 99% of participants got it right. 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:38.759 So it was a fairly easy, fairly straightforward task. 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:40.579 Then they made one change. 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:47.559 They had, they set it up, but everybody in the line was a confederate. 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.179 They were working with the researchers except for the last person. 00:11:50.179 --> 00:11:56.659 And they had all of the people go down the line and all of these confederates gave the wrong answer. 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:01.379 And then they got to the test subject and they wanted to see what the test subject would do. 00:12:01.579 --> 00:12:02.439 Well, what do you think happened? 00:12:03.979 --> 00:12:09.759 75% of the time, the test subject knowingly gave the wrong answer. 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:14.620 They knowing, because they would listen to this person and this person and this person and they're all giving 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:20.580 and they're looking at it and they're looking and it would get to them and 75% of the time they would give the wrong answer. 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:28.320 And the reason, Ash concludes, is because even though they suspect that all of their peers are wrong, 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:37.320 they would rather fit in and say the wrong thing than say what they really believe and risk rejection. 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:43.400 And there's an incredible study for showing us how we actually operate. 00:12:44.680 --> 00:12:51.340 And I would suggest that this is how many of the conversations in the public square happen today. 00:12:52.040 --> 00:12:57.040 People sheepishly agree with things that we know deep down are wrong, 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:01.000 but we would rather fit in than face rejection. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:04.639 You know, when it comes to all of the major issues, 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:10.200 most people don't take time to really thoughtfully discern what is true or right. 00:13:10.779 --> 00:13:15.799 It's much easier to adopt the opinions of the people around us, 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:20.399 especially the people whose admiration or respect we crave, 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:25.899 and to just assume that if we do that, it will put us on the right side of all of the issues. 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:26.899 Right? 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:31.340 When in fact, it actually might be leading us right over the edge of a cliff. 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:33.539 Right? 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:39.579 So what this is telling us is that we need a shepherd who knows this about us. 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:45.379 We need a shepherd who understands that we are spiritually helpless, 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:50.659 who understands that we are not meant to survive apart from him, 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:54.159 who understands that we can tend to be herd animals 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.860 and that our ability to discern and figure out truth, 00:13:57.759 --> 00:13:59.339 it can be very, very impaired. 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:03.659 So we need a shepherd, first of all, who knows us. 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:09.559 And Jesus says that he knows each one of us as intimately as the Father knows him 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:11.659 and as he knows the Father. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:17.899 He's saying this eternal relationship within the Trinity that has existed always 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:19.860 and the intimacy that you find there, 00:14:19.860 --> 00:14:22.079 Jesus says the same intimacy exists here. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:23.259 I know you just as well. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:25.519 He's the good shepherd. 00:14:26.319 --> 00:14:28.079 But then he goes one step further. 00:14:28.839 --> 00:14:30.779 Jesus not only knows us and our weakness, 00:14:30.939 --> 00:14:34.360 but he loves us and has compassion for us. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:38.219 And this is really, I would say, the main emphasis of this passage. 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:44.000 There were many self-appointed leaders, religious leaders, in Jesus' day. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:51.200 And in the previous chapter, we see Jesus confronting them and exposing the truth about their ministry. 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:59.659 He heals a blind man, and then that becomes a foil against which he condemns the religious leaders 00:14:59.659 --> 00:15:06.659 for their spiritual blindness, because they don't recognize or affirm Jesus as the Christ. 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:10.299 And he says, therefore, you are false shepherds. 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:13.179 You're blind to what is right in front of your eyes. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.879 And so he compares them to thieves and robbers. 00:15:17.319 --> 00:15:20.179 They're hired hands who care nothing for the sheep. 00:15:20.339 --> 00:15:23.299 They're here to benefit from the religious institution. 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:28.279 But they're not interested in the truth when confronted with Jesus. 00:15:29.459 --> 00:15:36.879 And the thing that sets Jesus apart from these religious leaders who really only care about their own clout, 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:43.359 what sets Jesus apart is his love for his sheep. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.940 And this isn't just a sentimental feeling of love. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:47.659 It is that. 00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:51.759 But it's a willingness, he says, to lay his life down for his sheep. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:57.899 And as I read this, I thought, and I encourage you to take a moment and think. 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:00.039 Think about your own life. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:03.139 Think about the voices that you tend to listen to. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:06.899 And they could be voices from good sources. 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:10.600 But think about the voices that you tend to listen to, 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.600 the voices that are most influential in your life, 00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:13.659 voices from the past. 00:16:13.800 --> 00:16:15.759 Maybe it's coaches or teachers or parents. 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:17.040 Voices from the present. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:18.840 Could be external or internal. 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:19.960 Think about those voices. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.080 How many of those people love you? 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:29.659 How many of those voices truly have your best interest at heart? 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:33.700 How many of those voices would suffer for you? 00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:36.740 How many of those voices would lay down their life for you? 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:44.399 Lee Stein wrote an op-ed in the New York Times back in a couple of years, 2021, I think. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:46.419 It was coming, right coming out of the pandemic. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.980 And the title of the op-ed was The Empty Religions of Instagram. 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:56.440 And she talks about younger generations who have turned their backs on religious tradition. 00:16:57.139 --> 00:17:03.139 She says, you know, we've, a lot of us, meaning her and other people, her, in her age and demographic, 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.880 a lot of us have found alternative scripture online. 00:17:07.620 --> 00:17:12.140 Our new belief system is a blend of left-wing political orthodoxy, intersectional feminism, 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:16.240 self-optimization, therapy, wellness, astrology, and Dolly Parton. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:23.640 She calls, she refers to all of these social media influencers, these kind of gurus, 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.859 as the neo-religious leaders of our era. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:34.700 And she actually compares them to the prosperity gospel televangelists of the previous generation. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.559 These are the new prosperity gospel televangelists. 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:45.259 And then she talks about the comment sections of a lot of the feeds of these influencers. 00:17:45.259 --> 00:17:53.500 And she says sometimes their followers will post these incredibly vulnerable, incredibly sort of self-effacing 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:58.599 disclosures in the comment section, sharing about the pain that they're going through, 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:00.579 the suffering that they've endured. 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:05.140 And she notes how many times their comments go unanswered. 00:18:06.379 --> 00:18:09.940 And she calls it a confession without a confessor. 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:14.339 These people longing to be known and loved. 00:18:14.339 --> 00:18:19.279 So I would suggest that these are among the hired hands of our day. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.439 Most of them care very little for their followers. 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:25.779 They're interested in building their brand. 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:28.659 Some of them are just in it for the money. 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:32.779 And then Stein goes on to say this. 00:18:32.859 --> 00:18:35.919 She says, I've hardly prayed to God since I was a teenager. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:44.259 But the pandemic has cracked open inside me a profound yearning for reverence, humility, and awe. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:53.440 I want moral authority from someone who isn't shilling a memoir or calling out her enemies on social media for clout. 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:55.759 This woman's not a Christian. 00:18:57.180 --> 00:18:59.240 Can you imagine somebody saying that? 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:04.720 I'm longing for moral authority from someone who isn't shilling a memoir. 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:05.620 And then she comes on. 00:19:05.859 --> 00:19:07.079 She concludes this way. 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:10.539 She says, we are looking for guidance in the wrong places. 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:15.460 Maybe we actually need to go to something like a church. 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:21.100 And I would say that whether she knows it or not, I don't know this woman personally. 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:22.360 I don't know where she is spiritually. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:28.279 But I would say whether she knows it or not, this is a woman who is longing for a true shepherd. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:35.240 This is someone who is longing for a good shepherd because she's seen the hired hands and the thieves and the robbers. 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:36.900 And she's disillusioned with that world. 00:19:37.360 --> 00:19:38.940 And she wants something real. 00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:43.539 Someone who knows her and loves her and will respond in the comments section. 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:47.359 You know, this reminds me of a book by Philip Keller. 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.500 No relation to Tim Keller. 00:19:50.139 --> 00:19:52.720 Philip Keller about his time spent as a shepherd. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.920 And he was a good shepherd. 00:19:55.019 --> 00:19:56.539 He loved and cared for his sheep. 00:19:56.639 --> 00:19:57.480 He took care of them. 00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:00.460 The grass was green and they were clean and safe. 00:20:01.139 --> 00:20:02.259 But then there was a fence. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:05.480 And on the other side of the fence, his neighbor also raised sheep. 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:07.659 And he really neglected his sheep. 00:20:07.659 --> 00:20:10.859 Those sparse grass, they were all underfed. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:12.319 They were all covered with parasites. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:14.679 But here's the thing that broke my heart. 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:20.599 He said that every morning, all of the sheep in the neighboring pasture would line up along the fence. 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:28.480 And they would just sit there staring into his yard and staring at his sheep. 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:33.379 And he says it's almost as though they were longing to come in and join the flock. 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:37.560 And I think the world is full of people like this. 00:20:37.820 --> 00:20:42.640 I think the world is full of people who are disillusioned with the voices that they have been following. 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:50.980 And they're longing for a shepherd who not only knows them fully, but loves them completely and without reservation. 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:56.860 And of course, this is exactly what we see Jesus fulfill on the cross. 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:05.819 When Jesus lays his life down for the world, he is saying, I'm the good shepherd who not only knows you and knows your weakness and knows that you're helpless, 00:21:05.819 --> 00:21:18.399 but I'm willing to give my life to do what you could never do, to attain salvation for you, to make it possible to open the gate and welcome you in. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.600 And this raises the third and final question for us. 00:21:23.820 --> 00:21:30.620 When Jesus talks about sheep, and when we talk about us, who is the us that we're referring to? 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:32.519 Who are Jesus' sheep? 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:36.780 And this brings us to the third thing about Jesus that we see. 00:21:36.840 --> 00:21:40.120 He not only knows his sheep and loves his sheep, but he unites his sheep. 00:21:40.560 --> 00:21:44.040 Earlier in chapter 10, Jesus uses the image of a sheepfold. 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:50.099 All sheep who belong to God are in the fold, Jesus says. 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:54.279 And up to this point, you have to understand, he's talking to the religious leaders, the Jews, 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:58.579 and up to this point, they all assume he's talking about Israel. 00:22:00.639 --> 00:22:03.539 When he talks about the sheepfold, clearly he's talking about Israel, 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:06.480 because that's sometimes, you know, what we see in the Old Testament. 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:11.159 But then Jesus says in verse 16 something that they're not expecting. 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:14.940 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. 00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:16.860 I must bring them also. 00:22:17.300 --> 00:22:21.860 And they will listen to my voice, so there will be one flock, one shepherd. 00:22:22.080 --> 00:22:25.300 And he is very clearly talking about non-Jewish people. 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:26.660 He's talking about Gentiles. 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:30.040 He's talking about people who would have been considered unclean. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.279 The unclean outsider. 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:37.220 This would have shocked many of Jesus' hearers. 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:42.140 And if you look down in verse 19, we see that at this statement, the crowd is divided. 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:51.539 And there are some people who react with violent anger at the idea that outsiders would even be mentioned by somebody like Jesus. 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:52.839 Right? 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.299 And some of them accuse him of being insane or demon-possessed. 00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:59.039 Because who would talk like this? 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.539 No faithful Jewish rabbi would speak this way. 00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:04.440 It's close to blasphemy. 00:23:05.879 --> 00:23:07.980 And so they're horrified and offended. 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:15.259 Many of the Jews in Jesus' day had forgotten that God's promises were never meant for Israel alone. 00:23:15.899 --> 00:23:20.460 All through the Old Testament, God reminds people of his ultimate plan. 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:31.779 And in fact, in the passage that we read earlier from Ezekiel chapter 34, God is saying that the day will come when he will judge the false shepherds of Israel. 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:36.420 And that he will come himself as the true shepherd. 00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:41.539 And he says this, I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 00:23:41.620 --> 00:23:45.320 I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 00:23:45.460 --> 00:23:51.640 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:56.060 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. 00:23:56.259 --> 00:23:58.420 And I will bring them into their own land. 00:23:59.320 --> 00:24:03.580 And Jesus is deliberately invoking this Old Testament imagery. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:09.559 And he's saying the time has come and this promise is being fulfilled. 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:15.019 Jesus is God who has come to be the true shepherd of his people. 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:22.000 And now is the time to gather God's people from all of the nations of the earth. 00:24:22.099 --> 00:24:25.559 And so the invitation has gone out all around the world. 00:24:26.339 --> 00:24:30.839 The gospel is the good news of Jesus' victory over sin and death. 00:24:30.879 --> 00:24:33.339 And that message is circling the globe. 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:35.939 And it's the invitation that has gone out to everyone. 00:24:36.699 --> 00:24:39.659 That the door, the gate has been flung open wide. 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:47.179 And anybody who thought of themselves at best as having to stand along that fence line. 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:50.220 Either because they felt like they were too immoral. 00:24:50.659 --> 00:24:52.299 They weren't religiously inclined. 00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:53.899 They messed up too bad. 00:24:53.980 --> 00:24:55.799 That they've been too hurt or disillusioned. 00:24:57.199 --> 00:24:57.599 Right? 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:00.199 All of those people who feel like this is not for them. 00:25:00.199 --> 00:25:02.959 Jesus is saying you're exactly who it's for. 00:25:03.139 --> 00:25:05.279 You're always the one that God had in mind. 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:10.759 Because the people who belong to Jesus are not necessarily the good people. 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:15.220 They're not necessarily the moral people. 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:19.099 They're not necessarily the religiously inclined people. 00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:22.799 The church is pretty ragtag. 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:28.559 The people who belong to Jesus are the people who hear and respond to his voice. 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:37.000 See, in Jesus' day, the shepherds of various flocks would sometimes at night, they would mix all the flocks together. 00:25:37.159 --> 00:25:38.000 They would all go to bed. 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:39.639 And then they would wake up in the morning. 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:44.319 And you're like, well, how do we separate out and know who's in whose flock and all of that? 00:25:44.539 --> 00:25:45.200 Well, easy. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:47.559 They would just call their sheep by name. 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:52.500 And the sheep would only recognize and respond to the voice of their shepherd. 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:55.920 So they would just stand back and call their sheep. 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:56.759 Come here. 00:25:57.059 --> 00:25:57.440 Come here. 00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:00.019 And their sheep would separate out. 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:03.720 Sheep know the voice of their shepherd. 00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:08.440 And when sheep come to know and trust the voice of their shepherd, that's the only voice they'll respond to. 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:13.759 So this brings us back to the question that we asked at the beginning. 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:16.680 What are the voices that we are listening to? 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:19.519 What are the voices that we're responding to? 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:26.640 For those of us who are Christians, are we listening to the voice of our shepherd? 00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:30.700 Is that the voice that we hear most clearly and most consistently in our lives? 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:32.420 Because our lives are full of voices. 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:40.839 If your life is anything like my life, our lives are so busy and so noisy and so chaotic. 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:48.819 So the question is, are we creating any time, any space in our lives to hear the voice of our shepherd? 00:26:50.439 --> 00:26:53.240 Because we can't follow his voice if we're not listening to it. 00:26:54.399 --> 00:27:00.939 And, you know, this morning in our adult Sunday school class, we started a new class and we're talking about habits, habits of the household. 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:03.460 And so we talked about how we start our day. 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:05.039 You know, when we wake up. 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:07.960 What is our wake up routine like? 00:27:09.080 --> 00:27:15.460 And I have to say, most of the time, the first thing I do when I open my eyes is look at my phone. 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:24.120 And so the voice that I'm hearing is coming from the news or it's coming from my inbox or it's looking at my calendar. 00:27:26.380 --> 00:27:27.860 Not the voice of my shepherd. 00:27:28.579 --> 00:27:37.620 The times when I'm intentional about making sure that the first voice that I'm tuning into in the morning is the voice of Jesus, the voice of my shepherd. 00:27:37.619 --> 00:27:40.759 It sets me on a completely different course for the day. 00:27:41.219 --> 00:27:48.299 It actually, over time, if I do it consistently, it meaningfully shifts and impacts my days and weeks. 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:48.899 Right? 00:27:48.939 --> 00:27:50.859 The rest of the day kind of flows out of that. 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:57.419 So the question that we need to ask if we are Christians is, are we allowing the voice of our shepherd to be crowded out? 00:27:57.420 --> 00:28:07.300 Or are we intentionally seeking to hear and respond to the one who truly knows us, truly loves us, the one who calls us by name? 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:12.340 For those of us who are not Christians, I ask the same question. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:13.759 What voices are you listening to? 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:20.420 What are the voices that you have fallen in love with, the voices that you most trust? 00:28:21.180 --> 00:28:22.880 And where are they leading you? 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:27.520 You could be hearing this and you're totally content in your life. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:30.680 You feel like things are going well. 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:34.060 You don't really feel any, you know, kind of stirring. 00:28:34.260 --> 00:28:37.020 You're just kind of like, okay, well, this is interesting, but it's not really for me. 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:38.340 That's totally fine. 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:46.460 You know, if you're not in a place where you're ready to hear this, then no one here, including me, can convince you otherwise. 00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:47.800 That's between you and the Lord. 00:28:47.799 --> 00:29:00.440 But I would suggest that perhaps there are some people hearing this where you're just beginning to get to a place where you're beginning to question where you're being led. 00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:08.039 And you're beginning to question the influences in your life and whether or not they actually have your best interest at heart. 00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:15.399 Like that author of the op-ed talking about the empty religions of our world. 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:22.279 And maybe you are feeling a kind of stirring as you're hearing some of this. 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:29.839 Maybe it feels sometimes like when I came to faith when I was 22, I remember feeling like something was waking up inside me. 00:29:30.639 --> 00:29:32.139 I had heard this a thousand times. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:32.859 It never penetrated. 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:38.920 And then all of a sudden it just felt like I was, something in me was responding when I was hearing it. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:45.839 If that's the case for you, then I would humbly suggest that you are beginning to hear the voice of your shepherd. 00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:50.559 And it may be that your shepherd is now calling you by name. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:58.879 And if that's the case and you would like to talk to somebody about what to do with that or how to make sense of it, I would love to do that. 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:00.399 And you can find me after the service. 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:01.879 Let's pray. 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:14.740 Lord, we thank you and recognize that we're talking in metaphors that you've given us to try to understand something that is actually very profound. 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:22.819 That the eternal God of the universe who made all of this would know each one of us by name. 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:29.180 As intimately as the members of the Trinity are known amongst themselves. 00:30:29.180 --> 00:30:37.120 That the God of the universe would love us so deeply and dearly that you would be willing to lay your life down for us. 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:47.080 And that even now you are calling, you are calling out across the world, calling us to come home to you. 00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:51.919 And I pray, Lord, for our hearts to leap at that invitation. 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:57.539 That we would join together, join one another on our journey home. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:30:59.319 Back into your fold. 00:30:59.699 --> 00:31:00.899 We pray this for your glory. 00:31:00.899 --> 00:31:02.059 Amen.