WEBVTT 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:02.399 Well, good afternoon to all of you. 00:00:03.540 --> 00:00:11.839 As I was preparing this week, I had to admit, or rather came to realize, something kind 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:17.539 of troubling about myself, which in itself is not a newsworthy event. 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:23.140 But in this case, I think it has particular relevance for what we're going to be talking 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:23.699 about today. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:29.039 I realize the habit that I have, and that is that a lot of times when I'm talking to people 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:30.759 and people ask me, how you doing? 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:37.119 I respond by referencing whatever else I say. 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:38.799 I reference how busy I am. 00:00:39.899 --> 00:00:40.560 How you doing, Tommy? 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:42.939 Well, it's a particularly busy season. 00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:44.740 Things have been crazy right now. 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:48.079 I thought the summer would be calming down, but the summer's been actually pretty full. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:49.780 Things are crazy right now. 00:00:50.179 --> 00:00:52.920 It's a Christmas season, so things are always kind of out of control. 00:00:53.739 --> 00:00:58.140 Whatever time of year it is, whatever time of day it is, however I'm actually doing, typically 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:00.219 I will make some reference to how busy I am. 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:00.799 And here's the thing. 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:02.640 I'm not just trying to sound important. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:04.079 I'm not just making things up. 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:07.319 I am, in fact, busy most of the time. 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:10.659 And then most people I talk to seem to do the same thing. 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:15.719 It seems to be a very common sort of language, almost an aspect of the D.C. subculture. 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:20.000 The only acceptable answer to how are you doing is to say, well, I'm all right, but things 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:21.040 are kind of crazy right now. 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:22.719 It's just a norm. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:24.780 And it got me thinking, why? 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:28.760 Why is this such a common way that we describe our lives? 00:01:29.019 --> 00:01:32.799 And if you're anything like me, and I know some of you well enough to know that a lot 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:33.579 of times it's true. 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:35.920 We're pretty busy people. 00:01:36.539 --> 00:01:38.680 We live at a pretty frenetic pace. 00:01:40.039 --> 00:01:45.079 So last week we started this series looking at Psalm 23. 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:46.099 You may have heard of it. 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:50.819 One of the most well-known psalms in the world, if not the most well-known. 00:01:51.299 --> 00:01:57.679 And we started this weekly meditation taking this psalm verse by verse and really trying 00:01:57.679 --> 00:02:04.899 to go deep into what it has to say to us about ourselves and about God. 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:11.959 And we know that for hundreds of years, Christians have looked at this psalm and believed that it's 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:17.640 describing Jesus, that when God talks about being the shepherd of his people, that Jesus 00:02:17.640 --> 00:02:18.820 is that shepherd. 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:20.460 He's the fulfillment of that promise. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:21.740 We talked about that last week. 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:25.680 And so this week, last week we looked at verse 1. 00:02:25.760 --> 00:02:27.360 This week we're going to look at verse 2. 00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:30.680 He makes me lie down in green pastures. 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:33.760 He leads me beside still waters. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:39.859 And as I looked at this verse and I thought about this aspect of my life, the busyness 00:02:39.859 --> 00:02:42.719 and the craziness, I came to ask this question. 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:45.939 Is that just a function of living in D.C.? 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:47.879 Is that just the way it is here? 00:02:48.359 --> 00:02:58.439 Or is there a deeper spiritual reason, a problem, the evidence of which is this frenetic lifestyle? 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.939 So that's the question I want us to consider. 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:04.439 We're going to look at verse 2 of this psalm and we're going to ask first, what does this 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:05.840 have to tell us about us? 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:12.240 And then second, what does it tell us about Jesus, the one who claims to be our shepherd? 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:14.259 So let's pray. 00:03:15.620 --> 00:03:24.159 Our Father, we do recognize that these are merely words generated by a human being, that 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:29.280 these words that we're reading are merely words printed on a page, in a book. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:32.659 And yet you're a God who's promised to speak to us. 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:37.080 You've said that through your spirit you can illuminate these words. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:38.840 You can fill them with power. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:43.900 That you can actually use them to bring us face to face with the living word, Jesus Christ. 00:03:44.420 --> 00:03:49.860 And we pray that through everything that happens here this evening, that we would come face 00:03:49.860 --> 00:03:50.560 to face with him. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:54.900 And that the eyes of our hearts would be open to recognize him. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:57.039 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:03:57.219 --> 00:03:57.439 Amen. 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:04.960 So Psalm 23, verse 2, what does this first have to tell us about us? 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:07.719 The truth about the human condition. 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:13.439 If you look at these words of David, who was himself a shepherd before he was a soldier 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:14.099 and king. 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:17.600 He says this, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:18.800 We looked at that last week. 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:20.700 And then what does that shepherd do? 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:24.080 He makes me lie down in green pastures. 00:04:24.580 --> 00:04:27.220 He leads me beside still waters. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:30.000 Now notice the language there. 00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:35.120 The shepherd is doing things for the sheep, which shows us what the sheep need. 00:04:35.220 --> 00:04:36.060 What do the sheep need? 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:40.160 Well, sheep need to be made to lie down. 00:04:40.760 --> 00:04:42.580 They don't lie down on their own. 00:04:42.579 --> 00:04:49.300 And second, they need to be led to clean, still, drinkable water. 00:04:49.859 --> 00:04:53.019 They're not very good at finding clean water on their own. 00:04:53.099 --> 00:04:56.680 In fact, a lot of times they'll settle for very dirty, polluted water. 00:04:56.919 --> 00:05:00.199 So sheep are, in essence, dependent beings. 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:02.680 They need to be made to rest. 00:05:02.799 --> 00:05:04.319 They need to be made to eat. 00:05:04.419 --> 00:05:06.000 They need to be made to drink. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:11.000 And if there's no shepherd, the sheep suffer. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:13.680 So they are very dependent. 00:05:14.259 --> 00:05:15.399 They need a shepherd. 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:19.000 And this is essentially what it's telling us about the human condition. 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:23.639 It's saying if we apply this metaphor of sheep to us, 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:28.480 it's saying our deepest need is to know our shepherd, 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:30.860 that we are as dependent as sheep, 00:05:31.540 --> 00:05:34.500 and that we need someone to make us lie down. 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:37.759 We need someone to lead us to good drinking water. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:39.680 Even in the Gospel of Matthew, 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:41.899 Jesus is looking out on a huge crowd of people, 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:44.379 and this is how it describes his reaction. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.040 It says that Jesus had compassion for them 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.019 because they were harassed and helpless like what? 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:52.360 Sheep without a shepherd. 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.800 This is Jesus' description of the human condition. 00:05:57.939 --> 00:05:59.600 Now, I don't know about you, 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:04.860 but being told that I need to think of myself like a sheep 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:07.879 is a kind of negative experience. 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:09.820 I don't hear that well. 00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:12.740 I don't think anybody hears that well, 00:06:12.820 --> 00:06:16.140 especially if you're a religious or spiritually inclined person. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:19.160 The idea of being a sheep is anathema 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.900 to everything that we value in our society. 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:23.640 We want to be critical thinkers. 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:27.860 We want to be questioning and asking and probing and going deeper 00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:32.139 and resisting naivety and having both eyes wide open 00:06:32.139 --> 00:06:35.800 and embracing doubt and uncertainty and all of those things. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:40.099 And being a sheep seems like the opposite of all that. 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:43.479 You know, we think of sheep as these kind of blind, dumb animals 00:06:43.479 --> 00:06:44.699 that just follow the flock. 00:06:45.039 --> 00:06:46.659 That's the last thing we want to be. 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:47.959 And I agree. 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:51.379 And yet there's something about this metaphor 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:55.759 that David would apply not only to himself, 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:57.680 but to all of us. 00:06:58.060 --> 00:06:59.839 And so what I want to do now for the next few minutes 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:03.459 is just consider this claim that we need a shepherd, 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:05.219 that in many ways we're like sheep, 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:06.179 whether we admit it or not, 00:07:06.659 --> 00:07:08.179 and just look at our lives and ask, 00:07:08.299 --> 00:07:11.000 is there any evidence that should make us consider 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:14.299 that this might be speaking about us? 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:16.899 There's an interesting book that I came across 00:07:16.899 --> 00:07:18.199 in my preparation for this 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.139 by a guy who's actually a shepherd. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.500 He, I mentioned it last week, if you were here, 00:07:22.859 --> 00:07:24.539 he spent years as a shepherd 00:07:24.539 --> 00:07:26.479 and then he wrote a book on Psalm 23, 00:07:26.979 --> 00:07:29.399 infusing it with all of his reflections 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:31.359 about being a shepherd. 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:32.759 Most of us are city people. 00:07:32.859 --> 00:07:35.639 I have no idea what a shepherd lifestyle is like. 00:07:35.659 --> 00:07:37.620 And this guy wrote a book from that vantage point. 00:07:37.679 --> 00:07:38.539 It's very helpful. 00:07:39.679 --> 00:07:40.879 And he looks at this verse, 00:07:41.359 --> 00:07:43.579 he makes me to lie down. 00:07:43.579 --> 00:07:47.279 And he says there are actually four common reasons 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:48.979 why sheep refuse to lie down. 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:51.800 There are four things that keep them on their feet 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:53.579 and moving, even if they're exhausted. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:58.459 And helpfully for us, he gives them all an F word, 00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:00.439 so there's nice alliteration. 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:02.339 So at least I'm happy with that. 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:04.539 But there's four factors. 00:08:05.039 --> 00:08:09.819 Fear, flies, friction, and famine. 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:12.339 One, hunger and thirst, right? 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:16.439 So fear, anxiety about primarily predators. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.860 If you look at sheep, they are 100% prey. 00:08:21.159 --> 00:08:24.879 There's nothing predatory about sheep. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.839 They're 100% there to die. 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:32.240 Probably at the hands of another creature, right? 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:34.399 And so they're defenseless. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:37.860 And so they're constantly on alert for threats 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:39.399 because everything is dangerous. 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:40.659 If you're a sheep. 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:42.519 And it's because they're helpless. 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:45.159 You know, most of their environment they cannot control. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:46.579 And so they huddle together 00:08:46.579 --> 00:08:48.299 and hope to be closer to the center 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:50.439 and less vulnerable, right? 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:52.939 That's basically all you can do if you're a sheep. 00:08:53.819 --> 00:08:55.840 The next thing that keeps them on their feet. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:57.799 So if they're wary about predators, 00:08:57.919 --> 00:08:58.959 they're not going to sit down. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:01.000 They're going to be nervous and restless 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:01.840 and looking around. 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:02.779 They're not going to rest. 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:05.679 The next thing that keeps them on their feet is flies. 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:07.679 Flies and pests and things 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.819 and things that are kind of buzzing around them. 00:09:09.939 --> 00:09:10.859 These annoyances. 00:09:11.099 --> 00:09:12.620 They'll stand and they'll stomp 00:09:12.620 --> 00:09:13.599 and they'll shake their heads 00:09:13.599 --> 00:09:14.459 and they'll shake their coats 00:09:14.459 --> 00:09:15.620 and they'll do everything they can 00:09:15.620 --> 00:09:17.379 to keep these bugs at bay. 00:09:17.439 --> 00:09:18.179 But they won't rest. 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:20.859 And then the third thing is friction. 00:09:21.939 --> 00:09:23.279 And by that, what he means 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:27.120 is there is constant infighting in any flock. 00:09:27.239 --> 00:09:28.000 I don't know if you know this. 00:09:28.059 --> 00:09:28.459 I didn't. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:30.519 But there's constant infighting. 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:32.980 Because sheep are very particular 00:09:32.980 --> 00:09:34.980 about the hierarchy. 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.019 Every flock has a hierarchy. 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:39.879 And every sheep knows their place in the hierarchy. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.120 And these things are pretty specific. 00:09:41.340 --> 00:09:44.000 So with chickens, you call it a pecking order. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.000 With sheep, you call it a budding order. 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:50.220 My kids in the morning worship service, 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:52.039 I heard this really loud laugh from my kids 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:54.620 who are four and seven when I said the budding order. 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:56.199 But there is a budding order. 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:59.660 And that means that they will headbutt each other 00:09:59.660 --> 00:10:03.180 and use that as a way to establish a hierarchy. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:05.320 So they're constantly jostling for positions. 00:10:05.420 --> 00:10:06.360 So that keeps them on their feet. 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:08.560 And then the last thing is famine. 00:10:09.520 --> 00:10:10.680 Hunger and thirst. 00:10:11.060 --> 00:10:12.460 If they're hungry or thirsty, 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:14.900 they will go off and wander and scatter 00:10:14.900 --> 00:10:16.320 and they will easily get lost. 00:10:16.640 --> 00:10:18.140 Sheep have a horrible sense of direction. 00:10:18.420 --> 00:10:19.460 And so they will just get lost 00:10:19.460 --> 00:10:20.860 looking for food and drink. 00:10:20.920 --> 00:10:23.720 And he says, of particular danger is the drink part. 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:27.139 Because there are lots of little polluted potholes 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:29.340 in places with stagnant, nasty water. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:31.560 And sheep don't really know the difference. 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:32.899 And if they can't find clean water, 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:34.920 they'll just settle for the polluted water. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.100 And so they get parasites and nematodes 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:37.960 and things like that. 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:40.379 So he says, all of these are reasons 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:44.700 why sheep will, instead of lying down and resting, 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:49.540 they will wander and scatter and stomp and shake 00:10:49.540 --> 00:10:50.580 and bud each other 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.240 until they're utterly exhausted and depleted. 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:54.840 And more vulnerable to die. 00:10:55.560 --> 00:10:57.299 And so he says, these are problems. 00:10:57.580 --> 00:10:59.720 And he says, unless all of them are dealt with, 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:01.659 unless all of them are dealt with, 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:02.720 sheep won't lie down. 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:05.460 And so as I looked at this list, 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:07.460 I did start to reflect on my life. 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:08.840 And I started to think, 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.180 what are the things that might have parallels 00:11:11.180 --> 00:11:12.180 into my life? 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:14.120 Is there evidence that I'm actually living 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.399 like a sheep without a shepherd? 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:18.600 And I wonder if you might ask the same question. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:21.379 As we look at the same four categories applied to us. 00:11:21.379 --> 00:11:23.480 First category is what? 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:23.980 Fear. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:26.620 You know, we talked a lot about fear and anxiety last week. 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:29.480 I've realized actually recently 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:32.279 that I'm more anxious than I thought I was. 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:34.159 I didn't used to think of myself as an anxious person. 00:11:34.939 --> 00:11:36.720 But man, I had this crazy dream this morning. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.720 I woke up at about five o'clock in the morning. 00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:41.420 I dreamed that I was in this tiny pond 00:11:41.420 --> 00:11:43.120 and I was on this really big wave runner. 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:44.279 I don't know. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:45.440 It started out as a fun dream. 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:48.540 And I was, all I could do was one big circle. 00:11:48.700 --> 00:11:49.220 So I was just going, 00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:51.580 yeah, yeah, yeah, around this tiny little pond. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:53.639 And then I lose my balance. 00:11:54.300 --> 00:11:55.759 And I fall. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:56.879 And I fall near the shore, 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:58.639 but I'm too far to kind of reach the shore. 00:11:58.800 --> 00:12:00.379 And I fall into the water. 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:02.220 And if you've ever jumped into a pond, 00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:04.399 you know the bottom can often be real slimy 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:05.639 and you can sink down into it. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:06.659 Well, I jump in the water 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:09.419 and I sink down into the slime under the water. 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:11.639 And I sink down so far that I get stuck. 00:12:12.319 --> 00:12:13.980 And in my dream, I'm holding my breath 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:14.679 and I'm panicking 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:16.379 and I'm completely stuck in the mire 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:17.959 and I'm looking up out of the water, 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:19.139 but I can't get out of water. 00:12:19.220 --> 00:12:21.000 And I'm feeling like any minute I'm going to drown. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.879 And I wake up throwing my pillows off 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:24.939 and gasping for air. 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:27.699 What does it mean? 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:31.079 Can somebody tell me? 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:33.500 Can somebody analyze that? 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:34.659 Well, whatever else it means, 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:37.600 I think there's some anxiety going on in here. 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:40.039 And I think we all wrestle with that. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:41.620 I think we all wrestle with the sense 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:43.740 that most things in life we cannot control. 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:46.019 Outcomes and other people's opinions 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:48.000 and the future and other people's choices 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:49.139 and our own health 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:50.360 and the health of people that we love. 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:51.820 We can't control these things. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:53.480 We are helpless. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:55.799 It produces tremendous fear. 00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:57.460 You know, I was just at the hospital 00:12:57.460 --> 00:12:58.259 visiting a couple. 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:00.539 Their child, they've done everything they can 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:01.559 for their child, 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.359 but the child is in the intensive care unit 00:13:03.359 --> 00:13:05.119 because there are health issues 00:13:05.119 --> 00:13:06.459 outside of their control 00:13:06.459 --> 00:13:07.419 and they feel helpless. 00:13:08.339 --> 00:13:09.179 They're right. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:10.419 We're helpless. 00:13:11.839 --> 00:13:13.159 So there's fear and anxiety. 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:14.500 I think that makes us restless. 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:16.059 And you say, 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:17.259 well, I lay down at night. 00:13:17.839 --> 00:13:18.759 I get good sleep. 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:21.039 That doesn't keep me from lying down. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:24.019 Well, I think what this is really talking about 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:24.619 and pointing to 00:13:24.619 --> 00:13:26.259 is not physically lying down. 00:13:26.259 --> 00:13:28.399 When does your soul lie down? 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:31.100 When does your heart lie down? 00:13:32.299 --> 00:13:33.460 How long has it been 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:35.000 since you had a sustained period 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:36.120 of feeling contentment? 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.519 I'm at peace. 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:39.879 I'm content. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:42.279 My heart is at rest. 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:45.059 My soul is lying down. 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:48.600 I think fear and anxiety drive us. 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:51.360 They churn away, right? 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:53.259 Now let's go to the next one. 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:53.860 Flies. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:57.680 Again, I don't think many of us 00:13:57.680 --> 00:13:59.220 have to literally deal with flies. 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:01.680 Actually, we were away for vacation 00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:02.399 and when we came back, 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:04.539 our house was infested with flies. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.300 I don't know why. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:06.720 It's horrible. 00:14:06.860 --> 00:14:07.860 It's like a biblical plague. 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:09.519 We've killed most of them. 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:12.440 But I think what this is talking about, 00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:14.019 as it applies to us, 00:14:14.060 --> 00:14:15.080 is not literal flies. 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:16.460 I think it's the effect 00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:18.300 that flies have on sheep, 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:20.519 which is perpetual distraction. 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:22.980 They're perpetually distracted. 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:24.019 They're so distracted 00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:25.320 that they can't lie down. 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:27.800 And think about our lives. 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:29.480 How many of you, 00:14:29.560 --> 00:14:30.300 how many of us, 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:32.580 are perpetually distracted? 00:14:35.100 --> 00:14:37.440 You know, this past Friday, 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:38.800 Laura and I celebrated 00:14:38.800 --> 00:14:39.860 ten years of marriage. 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:41.539 Ten years of marriage. 00:14:41.680 --> 00:14:42.180 Fantastic. 00:14:42.680 --> 00:14:43.800 Very excited about that. 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:45.159 Some of you here, 00:14:45.300 --> 00:14:46.620 that's like a drop in the bucket. 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:49.279 So thankful for you. 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:50.420 But for ten years, 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:51.420 that's a long time. 00:14:51.419 --> 00:14:53.599 It feels like we're no longer newlyweds. 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:55.039 And we, 00:14:55.299 --> 00:14:56.240 and that was great. 00:14:56.339 --> 00:14:56.979 And yet, you know, 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:58.219 we got married in 2007. 00:14:58.360 --> 00:14:59.139 That was a big year. 00:14:59.259 --> 00:14:59.519 Why? 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:00.539 Well, 00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:02.219 that was also the year 00:15:02.219 --> 00:15:04.459 that the first iPhone was released. 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:07.479 And so, 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:08.679 some of you weren't even born then. 00:15:08.839 --> 00:15:10.519 But the first iPhone came out. 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:11.779 And, 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:12.419 and, 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:12.599 and, 00:15:12.599 --> 00:15:13.539 and I remember, 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:14.399 it came out about a month 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:15.539 before our wedding, 00:15:15.599 --> 00:15:16.240 which was late July. 00:15:16.339 --> 00:15:17.480 It came out like late June. 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:18.860 And I remember not long after 00:15:18.860 --> 00:15:19.879 we got back from our honeymoon, 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.039 we went out to get new devices. 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:23.180 I guess one of the things you do 00:15:23.180 --> 00:15:23.759 is newlyweds. 00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:24.240 Whatever. 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:25.060 And we, 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:26.539 and Laura got, 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:27.659 I got a new iPhone 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:29.039 and Laura got a Blackberry, 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:29.580 which, 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:29.860 you know, 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:31.659 we called a Crackberry back then. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:32.879 Because they were all the rage. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:34.420 But this new iPhone thing 00:15:34.420 --> 00:15:34.820 had come out 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:36.519 and I remember sitting in bed that night 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:39.159 and like most newlywed couples are doing, 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:40.300 we're looking at our devices. 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:40.759 And, 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:41.659 and, 00:15:41.920 --> 00:15:43.240 Laura is, 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:44.220 has her Blackberry 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:44.820 and she's kind of, 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:45.900 and I have my iPhone 00:15:45.900 --> 00:15:47.800 and I remember Laura kind of looking 00:15:47.800 --> 00:15:49.260 and looking back and looking 00:15:49.260 --> 00:15:50.860 and then kind of setting hers aside 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:52.040 and leaning over and being like, 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:52.320 wow, 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:53.160 it can do that? 00:15:53.980 --> 00:15:54.800 And then the next day 00:15:54.800 --> 00:15:55.600 we went back to the store 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:57.980 and swapped her Crackberry out for an iPhone. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:00.300 And we've been an iPhone family ever since. 00:16:01.920 --> 00:16:03.220 And I'm not saying that proudly. 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.280 Because ten years in, 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:05.760 honestly, 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:07.220 we look back and we wonder, 00:16:08.220 --> 00:16:10.520 how different would our marriage be? 00:16:11.520 --> 00:16:13.240 How different would our home life be 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:15.399 if we hadn't made that decision? 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:18.700 If we had said no, 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:19.320 right? 00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:21.019 Now we couldn't have known then 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:22.139 where the world would be now. 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:22.899 We couldn't have known 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:24.060 what our life would be like. 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:25.139 But we wonder, 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:26.740 are we better off? 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:29.120 There's a man, 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:30.500 big deal in Silicon Valley 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:31.419 named Tony Fidel. 00:16:31.560 --> 00:16:32.240 You may have heard of him. 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:33.320 He founded Nest 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:34.340 and before that 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:35.820 he was a senior VP with Apple 00:16:35.820 --> 00:16:37.340 and he is called 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:38.659 the father of the iPod 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:40.360 because he was largely responsible 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:41.539 for the iPod's existence. 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:43.019 And then later he was instrumental 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:44.099 in bringing the iPhone 00:16:44.099 --> 00:16:45.819 into every home. 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:47.000 So he's a big deal. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:48.659 And he gave a talk recently 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:49.939 at a design conference. 00:16:50.079 --> 00:16:50.579 They're talking about 00:16:50.579 --> 00:16:51.539 the power of design. 00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:53.059 And he expressed 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:54.500 significant regret 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:56.539 over these devices. 00:16:56.719 --> 00:16:57.120 He says, 00:16:57.339 --> 00:16:59.620 I wake up in cold sweats 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:00.740 every so often 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:01.259 thinking, 00:17:01.819 --> 00:17:03.279 what did we bring to the world? 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:05.480 And he says that 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:06.779 our world is now one 00:17:06.779 --> 00:17:08.180 in which screens are everywhere. 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:10.360 And they're distracting us. 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:11.380 And they're interrupting 00:17:11.380 --> 00:17:12.180 what's important. 00:17:12.360 --> 00:17:13.340 And at the same time 00:17:13.340 --> 00:17:14.400 they're promoting 00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:17.120 a culture of self-aggrandizement. 00:17:18.080 --> 00:17:19.180 And he says ultimately 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:20.860 that all of this addiction 00:17:20.860 --> 00:17:22.180 and distraction 00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:23.400 and kind of perpetual, 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:24.140 you know, 00:17:24.340 --> 00:17:25.060 that all of that 00:17:25.060 --> 00:17:26.200 is actually designed 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:27.740 into the devices. 00:17:28.060 --> 00:17:28.900 And so he says 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:30.320 this is a design problem. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:31.900 If you know anything 00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:32.900 about Silicon Valley 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:33.600 and the history 00:17:33.600 --> 00:17:34.779 of the culture there, 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:35.980 back in the 60s, 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:38.160 there was a lot of idealism 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:39.120 in Silicon Valley 00:17:39.120 --> 00:17:40.160 about this new thing 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:40.860 called the internet 00:17:40.860 --> 00:17:42.319 and how the internet 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:43.519 was going to transform 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:44.059 the world 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:45.500 by bringing people together. 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:46.799 It was going to result 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:48.440 in this kind of utopian vision 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:49.480 being realized 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:50.900 where people all around the world 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:52.259 are connected as one 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:54.420 and it's this community building 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:56.480 relationship enhancing technology. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:17:59.079 And then Fidel says 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:00.380 all of that changed. 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:02.980 All of it changed. 00:18:03.140 --> 00:18:04.440 That got scrapped. 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:06.080 Why? 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:08.100 The designers. 00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:10.019 Who was designing 00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:10.880 these products? 00:18:12.059 --> 00:18:13.700 Mostly young, 00:18:13.860 --> 00:18:14.420 white, 00:18:14.620 --> 00:18:15.500 unmarried men 00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:16.279 in their early 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:17.180 to mid-twenties. 00:18:18.120 --> 00:18:19.180 They were the designers. 00:18:19.360 --> 00:18:19.620 And he said 00:18:19.620 --> 00:18:20.700 a lot of these guys 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:21.500 did not have 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:22.420 community building 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:23.019 and connection 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:23.720 and relationship 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:24.519 on their mind. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:26.080 And so the products 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:26.779 got designed 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:27.640 around values 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:29.920 like individual empowerment 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:31.140 and personal freedom. 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:33.279 And so what you have 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:34.740 is this whole community building 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:36.220 aspect pushed to the side 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:37.000 and you have devices 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:37.619 that create 00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:38.519 tiny little 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:39.859 microspheres 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:41.220 of individualism. 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:43.160 And that's the net impact 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:43.940 that they have 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:44.859 on us. 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.940 They atomize society. 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:50.019 And so he says 00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:50.420 a lot, 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:51.240 and this is really interesting, 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:52.059 a lot of those 00:18:52.059 --> 00:18:52.899 same designers 00:18:52.899 --> 00:18:55.000 are now older 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:56.019 and they're married 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:57.259 and they're having kids 00:18:57.259 --> 00:18:58.940 and they're looking back 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:00.000 and they're rethinking 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:01.339 these design decisions 00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:01.900 and saying, 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:02.960 like Fidel, 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:04.160 what did we do? 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:05.019 Right? 00:19:06.379 --> 00:19:07.379 So the point is, 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:07.740 I think, 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:09.140 regardless of what's happened, 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:10.220 we can't go back now. 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:12.000 We can't change that 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.420 and the impact 00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:13.920 that it's had. 00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:14.839 But I think the reality 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:15.740 that we need to admit 00:19:15.740 --> 00:19:16.660 is that I think 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:17.859 we are all addicted 00:19:17.859 --> 00:19:19.379 more or less 00:19:19.379 --> 00:19:19.920 to the internet. 00:19:20.059 --> 00:19:20.799 We're all addicted 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:21.359 more or less 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:21.940 to the devices 00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:22.599 in our lives. 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:24.579 And what that means is 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:26.199 we live in a constant state 00:19:26.199 --> 00:19:27.439 of perpetual distraction 00:19:27.439 --> 00:19:29.119 all of the time. 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:30.559 And the longer this goes on, 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:32.659 the more it deeply worries me. 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:35.099 It deeply worries me. 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:37.759 It's not that these technologies 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:38.819 haven't done good things 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:39.179 to the world. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:40.159 It's not that they haven't helped 00:19:40.159 --> 00:19:41.240 or benefited society. 00:19:41.679 --> 00:19:43.119 But there's a huge cost 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:43.799 that I don't think 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:45.159 we're fully aware of. 00:19:45.439 --> 00:19:46.579 Because what it means 00:19:46.579 --> 00:19:48.119 is that we experience, 00:19:48.399 --> 00:19:49.439 if you're anything like me, 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:51.639 we experience the most 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:53.440 wonderful aspects of life, 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:55.259 like our spouses 00:19:55.259 --> 00:19:56.800 and our kids 00:19:56.800 --> 00:19:57.860 and our friends 00:19:57.860 --> 00:19:58.720 and the people 00:19:58.720 --> 00:19:59.759 that we're dating 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.480 and love 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:04.580 and the wonderful dinner parties 00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:05.500 and great food 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:06.300 and nature 00:20:06.300 --> 00:20:07.840 and beautiful sunsets 00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:08.980 and amazing music 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:10.360 and all of the things 00:20:10.360 --> 00:20:11.980 that God built into creation 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:13.820 to make this world beautiful, 00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:16.080 that we experience all of that 00:20:16.080 --> 00:20:18.020 in a state of perpetual distraction. 00:20:19.100 --> 00:20:20.740 I'm never fully present 00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:21.580 with my kids. 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:23.759 I'm never fully present 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.480 with my wife. 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:28.280 I'm never fully present 00:20:28.280 --> 00:20:29.080 in any moment 00:20:29.080 --> 00:20:30.340 because there's constantly 00:20:30.340 --> 00:20:33.340 something pulling my attention away, 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:35.620 distracting me ever so briefly. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.460 There's a cumulative effect of that. 00:20:38.840 --> 00:20:39.940 So I like to say 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:40.860 I'm not like a sheep 00:20:40.860 --> 00:20:41.759 and I'm not bothered 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:43.180 by the distraction of flies, 00:20:43.300 --> 00:20:43.960 but I would say, 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:45.160 if I'm honest, 00:20:45.280 --> 00:20:45.840 I am. 00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:47.420 Only the buzzing isn't out here. 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:48.420 It's in my pocket. 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:51.600 But there's a constant buzzing 00:20:51.600 --> 00:20:52.759 in my life. 00:20:53.580 --> 00:20:54.519 Perpetual distraction. 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:57.460 The third thing I think 00:20:57.460 --> 00:20:58.579 that we should think about 00:20:58.579 --> 00:20:59.660 as it applies to us 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:00.220 is friction. 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:02.279 Friction. 00:21:03.559 --> 00:21:04.639 Why don't I lie down? 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:05.859 Is it partly because 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:07.259 I'm so wrapped up 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:08.359 in establishing 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:10.519 the hierarchy around me? 00:21:10.579 --> 00:21:11.339 What do I mean by that? 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:11.639 I mean 00:21:11.639 --> 00:21:13.799 comparing myself. 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:14.700 You know? 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:15.700 How do I measure up? 00:21:16.980 --> 00:21:17.140 You know, 00:21:17.140 --> 00:21:18.400 I'm turning 40 in a month 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:19.640 and I told you last week 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:20.640 it's kind of freaking me out 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:21.340 and one of the things 00:21:21.340 --> 00:21:22.019 that when you reach 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:23.380 a milestone age like 40 00:21:23.380 --> 00:21:25.240 and you're basically dying 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:27.039 is you look around 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:27.740 and you say, 00:21:27.980 --> 00:21:28.960 well, you know, 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:30.740 what have I done 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:32.160 in my life up to this point 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:32.840 and then what do I hope 00:21:32.840 --> 00:21:33.500 to accomplish, 00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:33.819 you know, 00:21:33.840 --> 00:21:34.620 before I die? 00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:36.200 And then you look 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:36.779 at other people 00:21:36.779 --> 00:21:37.460 who are 40 00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:38.620 or 35 00:21:38.620 --> 00:21:39.420 or 30 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:40.080 or 25 00:21:40.080 --> 00:21:40.720 and you look at 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.160 all the amazing things 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:42.720 they've done 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:43.700 and you look at yourself 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:44.380 and you look at them 00:21:44.380 --> 00:21:44.640 and you're like, 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:45.300 oh my gosh, 00:21:45.340 --> 00:21:46.420 I'm wasting my life, 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:46.660 right? 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:49.600 That person is so much 00:21:49.600 --> 00:21:50.460 more beautiful than I am. 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:51.180 That person is so much 00:21:51.180 --> 00:21:52.220 more successful than I am. 00:21:52.260 --> 00:21:53.120 That person is so much 00:21:53.120 --> 00:21:54.060 more, 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:56.400 they're a better parent 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:56.940 than I am. 00:21:57.060 --> 00:21:58.140 They're a better husband 00:21:58.140 --> 00:21:59.220 or wife than I am. 00:21:59.320 --> 00:22:00.080 That person is 00:22:00.080 --> 00:22:01.060 so much more educated. 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:02.000 They're so much more articulate. 00:22:02.140 --> 00:22:02.840 They're so much more gifted. 00:22:03.080 --> 00:22:04.980 However you play this game, 00:22:05.860 --> 00:22:06.720 social media makes it 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:07.340 that much easier. 00:22:08.100 --> 00:22:09.640 But it's that discontentment, 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:10.500 that unwillingness 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:11.080 to lie down 00:22:11.080 --> 00:22:11.960 because we're constantly 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:13.100 feeling like failures 00:22:13.100 --> 00:22:14.120 when we compare ourselves 00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:14.779 to other people. 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:16.239 Living in a place like D.C., 00:22:16.239 --> 00:22:17.419 it feels like everybody's smarter, 00:22:17.739 --> 00:22:18.859 everybody's job is cooler, 00:22:19.239 --> 00:22:20.679 everybody's doing amazing things 00:22:20.679 --> 00:22:22.079 and you're like, 00:22:22.199 --> 00:22:22.419 man, 00:22:22.479 --> 00:22:23.359 my life is just kind of 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:24.059 a disappointment 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:25.419 compared to that. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:26.979 And time's running out. 00:22:27.439 --> 00:22:28.139 I'm dying. 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:28.839 I'm falling apart. 00:22:29.659 --> 00:22:30.279 What do I do? 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:31.699 Work harder. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:32.299 Try harder. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:33.219 Make a change, 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:33.539 right? 00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:35.259 Not lie down. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:36.739 Time's running out. 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.900 So I think that friction 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:39.859 is there, 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:40.359 right? 00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:41.700 And then underneath 00:22:41.700 --> 00:22:42.339 these three, 00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:43.200 the fear 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:44.059 and the flies 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:44.779 and the friction, 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:46.339 I think the last one 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:47.640 is maybe the most fundamental. 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:48.440 You know, 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:49.779 what he refers to as famine, 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:51.380 hunger and thirst. 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:52.000 Now hopefully, 00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:53.599 praise God, 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:54.680 many of us are not dealing 00:22:54.680 --> 00:22:55.579 with actual hunger 00:22:55.579 --> 00:22:56.079 and thirst. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.779 But I think deep down, 00:22:58.859 --> 00:22:59.500 the way this applies 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:00.700 is there is a deep hunger 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:01.519 for fulfillment. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.799 There's a longing 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:04.900 for meaning 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:06.639 and satisfaction. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:08.680 And remember what he said 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:09.119 about sheep. 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:09.980 If they don't find 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:10.759 the clean, pure, 00:23:10.879 --> 00:23:11.619 clear water to drink, 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:12.759 they'll find a pothole 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:13.519 and they don't care 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:14.079 if it's polluted, 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:15.279 they will drink from it. 00:23:15.879 --> 00:23:17.119 And I think we're the same way. 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:18.579 We start to look 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:20.079 for fulfillment. 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:21.599 And we take things, 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:22.579 maybe good things 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:23.000 in our lives, 00:23:23.139 --> 00:23:24.400 but we begin to try 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:25.519 to draw fulfillment 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:26.139 from them 00:23:26.139 --> 00:23:27.859 and it's drinking 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:28.639 polluted water. 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:30.359 And you can do this 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:31.180 with really good things, 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:31.799 but when you try 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:32.820 to suck meaning 00:23:32.820 --> 00:23:34.259 out of those things, 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.940 they pollute you, right? 00:23:37.100 --> 00:23:38.220 So if it's your job, 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:38.440 you know, 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:40.140 well my job is really 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:41.220 the thing that gives me meaning. 00:23:41.340 --> 00:23:41.940 That's the thing 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:43.000 that makes me valuable 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:43.580 and worthwhile. 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:44.620 What happens? 00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:45.180 Well, 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:46.799 either you change jobs 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:47.759 every two years 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:49.500 because no job 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:51.220 can ever fully fulfill you 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:52.420 or you become 00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:53.100 a workaholic 00:23:53.100 --> 00:23:54.680 and you work 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:55.440 80 hours a week, 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:56.259 which many of us do. 00:23:57.539 --> 00:23:58.340 Looking for that, 00:23:58.440 --> 00:23:59.120 this is the thing 00:23:59.120 --> 00:23:59.860 that gives me value. 00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:01.060 I've got to succeed. 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:01.940 If I fail, 00:24:02.060 --> 00:24:02.519 what does that say 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:02.880 about me? 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:03.600 I can't fail. 00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:06.100 Or you can take 00:24:06.100 --> 00:24:07.100 really great things 00:24:07.100 --> 00:24:08.519 like your spouse, 00:24:09.100 --> 00:24:09.600 like your kids. 00:24:09.660 --> 00:24:09.759 Yeah, 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.799 I don't care about work. 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:11.799 I would never make that 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:12.539 my source of meaning. 00:24:12.860 --> 00:24:13.740 I'm a family man. 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:15.299 I most care about my spouse. 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:16.480 I most care about my kids. 00:24:16.600 --> 00:24:17.019 That's where 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:18.360 my meaning lies. 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:21.679 Do you know what will happen 00:24:21.679 --> 00:24:22.500 to those people 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:23.599 if you look to them 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:24.539 to give you meaning? 00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:26.500 You will crush them 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:28.500 because your expectations 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.699 will be so high. 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:31.539 They'll be inhumanly high 00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:33.119 and nobody can ever 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:33.899 live up to that. 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:35.500 No marriage can live up to that. 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:36.939 No marriage can give you meaning. 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:39.899 No marriage can satisfy you fully. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.339 No human being can do that. 00:24:41.399 --> 00:24:42.479 You'll crush that person. 00:24:43.099 --> 00:24:44.299 You'll crush your kids 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:45.679 because you'll need them 00:24:45.679 --> 00:24:46.399 to measure up. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:47.100 You'll need them 00:24:47.100 --> 00:24:48.180 to be everything for you. 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:49.060 You'll crush them. 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:50.220 They're humans. 00:24:50.300 --> 00:24:51.360 They can't sustain that. 00:24:52.320 --> 00:24:53.540 Whatever it is we look to 00:24:53.540 --> 00:24:53.820 and say, 00:24:53.820 --> 00:24:55.560 this will give me meaning. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:57.840 It'll end up making us sick. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:24:58.519 It'll make everybody 00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.460 around us sick. 00:25:01.540 --> 00:25:03.140 So anything in life 00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:04.100 can become that. 00:25:05.040 --> 00:25:06.540 So pulling all this together, 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.860 David in Psalm 23 verse 2, 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:11.019 he's reflecting on 00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:11.940 what he believes 00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:13.500 our deepest need is 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:14.200 as human beings. 00:25:14.300 --> 00:25:14.580 He's saying, 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:15.740 we need to know 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:16.420 our shepherd. 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:17.900 The one who can make us 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:18.359 lie down. 00:25:18.620 --> 00:25:19.660 The one who can lead us 00:25:19.660 --> 00:25:21.759 to good, still, clear water. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:23.720 So what's the evidence 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:24.660 that we are sheep 00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:25.299 without a shepherd? 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:26.539 If you look at your life, 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:27.400 how do you know 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:27.839 whether or not 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:28.880 this applies to you? 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:29.220 Well, 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:31.620 do fear and anxiety 00:25:31.620 --> 00:25:32.779 cause you to 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:34.799 to churn? 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:35.700 Right? 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:36.700 Do you wake up at night 00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:37.099 restless? 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:37.620 Do you 00:25:37.620 --> 00:25:39.440 do these things haunt you? 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:40.279 Right? 00:25:40.299 --> 00:25:41.200 Do you have weird dreams 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:41.880 about being sucked 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:42.519 into the slime 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:43.120 under the water? 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:43.720 I don't know. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:45.000 Maybe your dreams 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:45.440 are different. 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:47.339 Do these things haunt you? 00:25:47.660 --> 00:25:49.279 Are we perpetually distracted? 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:51.400 Why do we allow ourselves 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:52.640 to be perpetually distracted? 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:54.599 Are you dealing 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:55.880 with interpersonal strife 00:25:55.880 --> 00:25:56.799 or envy 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:57.480 or jealousy 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:58.160 or bitterness 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:58.839 or resentment? 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:01.119 And of course, 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:03.099 how do you deal 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:03.839 with your hunger 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:04.819 and need for fulfillment? 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:05.859 Where do you go? 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:06.920 What do you look to? 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:11.820 That's what it tells us 00:26:11.820 --> 00:26:12.460 about us. 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:14.100 All of this 00:26:14.100 --> 00:26:16.039 is evidence. 00:26:16.220 --> 00:26:16.960 It's all signs 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:17.500 and symptoms 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:18.660 of a life lived 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:19.480 without a shepherd. 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:21.320 So if that's the case, 00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:22.240 then I want to just spend 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:23.080 our last few minutes 00:26:23.080 --> 00:26:23.480 asking, 00:26:23.900 --> 00:26:25.180 if that's the life 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:25.840 without a shepherd, 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:26.519 then what is 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:28.100 the shepherded life? 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:29.460 What does that look like? 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:30.420 And what does this tell us 00:26:30.420 --> 00:26:31.060 about Jesus 00:26:31.060 --> 00:26:33.000 as our shepherd? 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:36.400 We said that all 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:37.259 of these F words, 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:38.160 fear, flies, famine, 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:40.059 that they all need 00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:40.539 to be dealt with 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:41.619 before sheep will lie down. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:42.940 Well, the author 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:43.359 of this book 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:44.160 I was telling you about, 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:45.099 he says that there's 00:26:45.099 --> 00:26:45.839 only one thing 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:46.380 that's needed 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:47.160 to deal with all 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:47.660 of the fear, 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:48.400 the flies, 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:49.039 the famine, 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:49.799 all of it. 00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:50.359 There's only one thing 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:50.740 that's needed. 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:52.720 It's the presence 00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:53.279 of the shepherd. 00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:55.660 He says with his flock, 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:56.400 the minute he would 00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.880 come in among his flock, 00:26:57.960 --> 00:26:58.480 the minute they would 00:26:58.480 --> 00:26:59.079 see him, 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:00.220 realize that he was there, 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:01.440 all these issues 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.019 would go away. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:03.839 They would become 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:05.160 palpably more relaxed 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:05.859 and many of them 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:06.220 would just, 00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:07.059 immediately when they 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.339 saw him, 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:08.059 they would just lay down. 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:09.339 The shepherd is here. 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:10.039 It's okay. 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:11.160 The shepherd is here. 00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:12.900 All the infighting, 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:13.539 all the headbutting 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:13.920 would stop 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:14.740 because they're no longer 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:15.500 looking at each other, 00:27:15.619 --> 00:27:16.460 they're looking at him. 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:18.799 And there's this 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:20.079 wonderful encounter 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:21.599 in John chapter 4 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:22.440 between Jesus 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:23.799 and a Samaritan woman. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:24.380 You know, 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:25.299 we said a moment ago 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:26.519 that unless we know 00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:27.539 where to find clean, 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:28.640 pure water, 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:31.039 we, like sheep, 00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:31.599 are going to drink 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:32.660 from polluted water. 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:33.560 If we can't find clean water, 00:27:33.620 --> 00:27:34.740 we'll drink from polluted water. 00:27:35.820 --> 00:27:36.220 Well, 00:27:36.300 --> 00:27:37.300 this Samaritan woman 00:27:37.300 --> 00:27:38.240 in John 4 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.279 is such a person, 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:39.519 right? 00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:41.140 She's looking for fulfillment. 00:27:41.320 --> 00:27:41.840 She doesn't know 00:27:41.840 --> 00:27:42.640 where to find it 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:44.259 and so she's not looking 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:44.840 at her job 00:27:44.840 --> 00:27:45.440 or at her kids. 00:27:45.620 --> 00:27:46.420 She's looking to 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:47.640 the attention of men, 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:48.960 right? 00:27:49.019 --> 00:27:49.820 She's looking to 00:27:49.820 --> 00:27:51.300 the sexual desire of men. 00:27:51.420 --> 00:27:52.120 If there are men 00:27:52.120 --> 00:27:53.380 out there who desire me, 00:27:54.060 --> 00:27:55.060 then I have value, 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:55.900 then I have worth 00:27:55.900 --> 00:27:57.240 as long as I feel desired, 00:27:57.560 --> 00:27:57.800 right? 00:27:57.940 --> 00:27:59.000 It's what somebody I know 00:27:59.000 --> 00:27:59.980 called lady lust. 00:28:00.259 --> 00:28:00.480 She goes, 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:00.640 you know, 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:01.460 I don't often lust 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:02.120 after men. 00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:02.319 Like, 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:02.940 I don't look at them 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:03.200 and think, 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:03.660 wow, 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:04.259 I really want to have 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:04.960 sex with that person. 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:06.160 She says, 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:06.339 you know, 00:28:06.360 --> 00:28:07.420 most often I look at men 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:07.799 and I say, 00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:08.079 wow, 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:09.120 I really want that guy 00:28:09.120 --> 00:28:09.839 to really want to have 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:10.319 sex with me. 00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:12.860 That's my version of lust. 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:14.500 And this woman is thinking, 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:16.860 as long as I can be desired, 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:17.819 then I have worth 00:28:17.819 --> 00:28:18.740 and value and meaning. 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:20.559 And so she encounters 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:21.700 Jesus at a well, 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:24.299 which is not a coincidence, 00:28:24.660 --> 00:28:25.460 and Jesus says, 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:26.140 give me a drink. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:27.840 And that enters them 00:28:27.840 --> 00:28:29.000 into this conversation. 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:30.440 And at one point, 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:31.180 Jesus says to her, 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:31.900 in verse 13, 00:28:32.320 --> 00:28:33.180 everyone who drinks 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:33.840 of this water 00:28:33.840 --> 00:28:35.620 will be thirsty again. 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:36.080 And of course, 00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:36.880 what's he talking about? 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:37.500 He's not talking about 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:38.120 the well water. 00:28:38.300 --> 00:28:38.980 He's talking about 00:28:38.980 --> 00:28:40.460 the men in her life. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:41.820 As long as you keep drinking 00:28:41.820 --> 00:28:42.980 from that polluted stream, 00:28:43.100 --> 00:28:44.220 it's going to make you sick. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:45.200 And you're just going 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:46.020 to be more thirsty. 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:47.600 It's not going to satisfy you. 00:28:50.300 --> 00:28:51.740 It's amazingly insightful. 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:52.960 And he says, 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:53.740 but whoever drinks 00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:54.200 of the water 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:55.200 that I will give him 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.900 will never be thirsty again. 00:28:57.400 --> 00:28:57.900 He says, 00:28:57.960 --> 00:28:59.220 you've been with five men, 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:00.519 and the one that you're 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:01.039 living with now 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:01.740 is not your husband, 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:03.559 and that's a polluted stream. 00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:05.240 And of course, 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:07.279 as we hear his language 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:07.859 and we think about 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:08.440 this encounter, 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:09.480 and she's a Samaritan, 00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:10.000 he's a Jew, 00:29:10.140 --> 00:29:11.359 she is bracing herself 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:12.359 to be condemned. 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:14.019 But what does he do? 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:15.059 He doesn't condemn her. 00:29:15.120 --> 00:29:16.240 This is not a condemnation. 00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:17.279 This is an invitation. 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:18.220 He doesn't say, 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:19.279 I can't believe 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:20.120 that you are sleeping 00:29:20.120 --> 00:29:20.740 with all these people 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:21.319 and you need to, 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:21.660 you know, 00:29:21.700 --> 00:29:23.539 become a secondary virgin 00:29:23.539 --> 00:29:24.539 and put your purity ring 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:25.500 back on and promise me 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:25.880 that you're never 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:26.440 going to do it again. 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:27.400 He doesn't say any of that. 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:29.019 He says, 00:29:29.259 --> 00:29:30.079 he says what? 00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:31.640 You're drinking 00:29:31.640 --> 00:29:32.720 from polluted water. 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:34.440 I can show you 00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:35.440 where to find clean water. 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:36.880 I can show you 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.279 where to find 00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:38.099 life-giving water. 00:29:39.019 --> 00:29:39.480 He's saying, 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:40.240 you're living like 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:41.420 a sheep without a shepherd, 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:42.460 but I'm here now. 00:29:42.519 --> 00:29:43.039 It's okay. 00:29:43.299 --> 00:29:44.039 I'm the shepherd 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:44.539 and I'm here 00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:45.759 and so you can lie down. 00:29:46.660 --> 00:29:47.259 He's saying, 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:47.980 I'm the one 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:49.440 that can make you lie down, 00:29:49.579 --> 00:29:50.519 cause you to lie down. 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:51.299 I'm the one 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:52.299 who can lead you 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:53.079 to the good water. 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:53.339 Why? 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:54.500 Because I am that water 00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:56.240 and you don't have 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.400 to wander anymore 00:29:57.400 --> 00:29:58.720 or drink polluted water 00:29:58.720 --> 00:29:59.460 because I'm here. 00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:02.500 So Jesus is the true shepherd 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:03.059 who has come 00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:04.200 to call his flock 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:05.579 to himself 00:30:05.579 --> 00:30:06.420 and so I think 00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:07.259 this psalm 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:08.220 is an invitation 00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:09.539 to all of us 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:11.920 to come into 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:13.579 the shepherd's presence 00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:14.779 even as he is present 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:16.379 with us. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:16.879 There's a, 00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:18.259 one final image 00:30:18.259 --> 00:30:19.119 that I'll share with you 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:19.919 before we close 00:30:19.919 --> 00:30:20.539 and it's an image 00:30:20.539 --> 00:30:21.899 that I heard last week 00:30:21.899 --> 00:30:23.379 after the service. 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:24.379 Steve Arpey, 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:26.719 the priest who serves, 00:30:26.919 --> 00:30:27.739 the retired priest 00:30:27.739 --> 00:30:29.019 who's a part of our community 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:29.899 and many of you know him 00:30:29.899 --> 00:30:30.559 because he's up front 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:31.319 from time to time. 00:30:31.719 --> 00:30:32.299 But he told me 00:30:32.299 --> 00:30:33.279 this wonderful detail. 00:30:33.399 --> 00:30:33.919 He and his wife 00:30:33.919 --> 00:30:35.019 lived in the Middle East 00:30:35.019 --> 00:30:36.159 for years and years and years. 00:30:36.639 --> 00:30:37.579 A lot of their ministry 00:30:37.579 --> 00:30:39.019 was spent there 00:30:39.019 --> 00:30:40.259 and in that time 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:41.039 they got to see 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:41.819 shepherds firsthand 00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:42.679 and he said last week, 00:30:42.899 --> 00:30:43.059 you know, 00:30:43.099 --> 00:30:43.899 there's a big difference 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:44.900 between the Western 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:47.180 approach to sheep herding 00:30:47.180 --> 00:30:49.320 and Middle Eastern shepherds. 00:30:49.860 --> 00:30:50.220 And he said, 00:30:50.280 --> 00:30:50.420 you know, 00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:50.960 in the West, 00:30:51.040 --> 00:30:51.920 like what we think of 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:53.580 as is driving the sheep. 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:54.540 You have the sheep dogs 00:30:54.540 --> 00:30:55.460 and maybe even people 00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:55.920 on horses 00:30:55.920 --> 00:30:57.420 and you're driving the sheep 00:30:57.420 --> 00:30:58.259 and you're behind them 00:30:58.259 --> 00:30:59.480 and it's fear driven, 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:00.000 right? 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:01.759 You're driving the sheep forward. 00:31:02.840 --> 00:31:03.940 Maybe that's why images 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:05.200 like God as being a shepherd 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:05.940 is not necessarily 00:31:05.940 --> 00:31:08.120 a comforting image for us 00:31:08.120 --> 00:31:08.540 because if we think 00:31:08.540 --> 00:31:09.240 about fear 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:10.360 and condemnation 00:31:10.360 --> 00:31:11.380 and being driven 00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:12.520 in a certain direction. 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:14.300 But that's not how 00:31:14.300 --> 00:31:15.880 a Middle Eastern shepherd operates 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:16.860 and that's not the image 00:31:16.860 --> 00:31:17.740 of Psalm 23. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:19.220 That's not how Jesus operates. 00:31:19.600 --> 00:31:20.320 In the Middle East, 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:22.000 shepherds lead their sheep. 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:23.320 And you know how? 00:31:23.360 --> 00:31:24.300 They go out in front of them. 00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:25.300 You know how they lead them? 00:31:26.020 --> 00:31:27.020 They call to them. 00:31:27.780 --> 00:31:28.900 They speak their names. 00:31:29.800 --> 00:31:30.300 Many times, 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:31.480 they'll even sing to them. 00:31:32.340 --> 00:31:33.780 So they're led by the voice 00:31:33.780 --> 00:31:34.780 of the shepherd. 00:31:34.780 --> 00:31:35.280 They go, 00:31:35.640 --> 00:31:36.500 not because they're driven 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:36.960 out of fear, 00:31:37.020 --> 00:31:37.980 but because they're called. 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:39.100 They're wooed. 00:31:39.180 --> 00:31:39.820 They're summoned. 00:31:40.180 --> 00:31:41.140 And they respond. 00:31:41.820 --> 00:31:43.040 Out of trust and love. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:45.620 And this is how Jesus, 00:31:45.880 --> 00:31:46.320 I believe, 00:31:46.560 --> 00:31:47.400 calls to us. 00:31:47.480 --> 00:31:48.560 In the midst of the fear 00:31:48.560 --> 00:31:49.220 and the anxiety 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:49.920 and the busyness 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:50.560 and the buzzing 00:31:50.560 --> 00:31:51.640 and all the craziness, 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:53.700 I think the voice of Jesus 00:31:53.700 --> 00:31:55.680 is always calling to us. 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:57.940 It may be through a movie 00:31:57.940 --> 00:31:58.980 or a poem 00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:00.200 or a conversation 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:01.520 or a sunset 00:32:01.520 --> 00:32:05.360 or a service like this. 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:06.680 But I think the voice 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:07.500 is always there. 00:32:07.600 --> 00:32:08.380 He's always singing. 00:32:08.620 --> 00:32:09.440 He's always calling. 00:32:09.780 --> 00:32:10.740 He's always drawing. 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:11.880 He's always calling us. 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:13.260 And so my prayer for us all 00:32:13.260 --> 00:32:14.640 is as we continue 00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:15.120 in this service, 00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:15.680 we're about to have 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:16.600 an amazing baptism. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:17.780 I'm very excited about that. 00:32:18.280 --> 00:32:19.300 As we spend some time 00:32:19.300 --> 00:32:19.680 in prayer, 00:32:19.740 --> 00:32:20.620 as we come to the Lord's table 00:32:20.620 --> 00:32:20.980 together, 00:32:21.460 --> 00:32:22.320 that we would all 00:32:22.320 --> 00:32:23.580 have our ears opened 00:32:23.580 --> 00:32:25.580 to cut through the noise 00:32:25.580 --> 00:32:26.920 and to hear and respond 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:27.980 to the voice of our shepherd 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:30.100 even as he calls to us. 00:32:30.600 --> 00:32:31.200 Let's pray. 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:32.299 Yes. 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:32.900 Amen. 00:32:32.900 --> 00:32:44.860 Good morning.