WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:11.580 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:15.419 ! use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at Christchurcheastbay.org. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:25.320 Good morning. 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:31.480 I'm Hannah Sue and I'm a member of the North Berkeley Community Group and volunteer with 00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:32.200 CC Kids. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:36.000 A reading from the Gospel according to John. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:43.539 Very truly, I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate but 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:47.420 climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. 00:00:47.939 --> 00:00:51.560 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:56.280 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.880 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:06.000 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:07.040 they know his voice. 00:01:07.520 --> 00:01:09.159 But they will never follow a stranger. 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:13.359 In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. 00:01:14.540 --> 00:01:18.939 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:21.920 Therefore, Jesus said again, 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:26.239 Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 00:01:26.759 --> 00:01:32.159 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:34.120 I am the gate. 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:37.259 Whoever enters through me will be saved. 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:40.340 They will come in and go out and find pasture. 00:01:41.259 --> 00:01:44.659 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:01:44.659 --> 00:01:48.840 I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. 00:01:49.759 --> 00:01:51.399 I am the good shepherd. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.780 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:58.939 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. 00:01:59.259 --> 00:02:02.819 So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:06.140 Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:10.879 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.039 I am the good shepherd. 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:16.099 I know my sheep and my sheep know me. 00:02:16.579 --> 00:02:19.740 Just as the father knows me and I know the father. 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:22.199 And I lay down my life for the sheep. 00:02:23.019 --> 00:02:26.000 I have other sheep that are not part of this sheep pen. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:27.740 I must bring them also. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.599 They too will listen to my voice and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:38.620 The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:43.060 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:47.480 I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:50.500 This command I received from my father. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:54.140 My sheep listen to my voice. 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:56.680 I know them and they follow me. 00:02:57.300 --> 00:03:00.280 I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:02.840 No one will snatch them out of my hand. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.659 My father who has given them to me is greater than all. 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.799 No one can snatch them out of my father's hand. 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.219 I and the father are one. 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:15.219 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:17.579 Praise to you, Lord Christ. 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:19.819 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.419 It's really good to be back for my trip. 00:03:23.519 --> 00:03:27.180 I was on an 11-day trip and got back late Thursday night, 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:32.159 which means that you are probably more prepared for this sermon than I am. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:38.599 But I very much enjoyed my pastor's retreat and connecting with family and friends. 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:43.979 And then this past week I've been connecting at two different seminaries, 00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:48.780 recruiting potential people to come and serve with us here at Christ Church. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:54.859 And it was great to be back in the place where I began training for ministry about 25 years ago. 00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:59.060 And just to think of God's faithfulness to me and to this church. 00:03:59.580 --> 00:04:06.860 I would love for you to pray as we follow up with these potential ministry candidates in these coming weeks and months. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:14.640 But given the time change and seeing how well-rested you all look, 00:04:15.320 --> 00:04:16.800 we should just dive right in. 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:22.259 We are preparing for the 20th birthday of Christ Church. 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:24.139 We're going to be celebrating that after Easter. 00:04:24.659 --> 00:04:29.079 And so we're renewing our mission as we come to that milestone. 00:04:29.659 --> 00:04:37.519 And it's so important when you sit down to hammer out the mission, vision, and values of a new organization or institution 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:43.839 to adequately and clearly capture your core identity and purpose. 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:44.599 Who are we? 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:46.639 Why do we exist? 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:48.819 What are we here to do? 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:54.019 And I remember when we were crafting the mission statement of Christ Church, 00:04:54.420 --> 00:05:06.300 we were not satisfied to simply say that we exist to lead people into a deeper relationship with Christ, period, full stop. 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:14.620 We were concerned at that time that in our individualistic culture, 00:05:14.960 --> 00:05:22.580 people might think that you could be connected to Christ apart from his church. 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:30.400 That the church could somehow be optional or irrelevant to having a deeper relationship with Christ. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:34.139 That people would say, well, I don't need the church. 00:05:34.239 --> 00:05:35.500 I don't need other Christians. 00:05:35.599 --> 00:05:37.359 I can follow Jesus on my own. 00:05:38.159 --> 00:05:46.519 Or that someone might say to themselves, I don't know any, I don't really need to know anything about the Lord's work in his church over the past 2,000 years. 00:05:46.659 --> 00:05:50.719 I'll just set out on the Christian life and sort of make it up as I go along. 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:58.700 And I've heard people actually say out loud, like, I love Jesus, but I'm not really sure about the church. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:07.880 But Jesus says, the reason I came down from heaven to earth and the reason I laid down my life is because I love the church. 00:06:08.900 --> 00:06:12.880 And if you want a relationship with me, you've got to love what I love. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:17.680 And so there are many metaphors in the Bible about the church. 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:22.319 They're meant to spark our imagination about the relationship between Christ and the church. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.779 The vine and the branches, we heard about that last week. 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:27.699 There's the head and the body. 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:30.420 There's the groom and the bride. 00:06:31.159 --> 00:06:32.699 The cornerstone and the temple. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.060 The shepherd and the flock of sheep and many, many others. 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:47.600 Each of these are meant to bring out a different dimension of the union, the love, the commitment that Christ has for us, his church, 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:52.660 and the identity and the mission that he wants his beloved church to live by. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:03.279 And so today I want to invite us and challenge us to renew our commitment to Christ's church through this metaphor of the flock of sheep and the good shepherd. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:13.719 And Jesus gives us some critical elements for what it means to have a deeper relationship with Christ in the context of his church. 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.339 And so I want to explore three aspects of this passage. 00:07:17.039 --> 00:07:19.279 First of all, the shepherd's presence with his flock. 00:07:20.239 --> 00:07:23.559 Secondly, the shepherd's costly love for his flock. 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:27.199 And third, the shepherd's mission through his flock. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:35.219 So the shepherd's presence with his flock, the shepherd's costly love for his flock, and the shepherd's mission through his flock. 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:37.599 You guys awake? 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:39.180 All right, here we go. 00:07:39.719 --> 00:07:41.579 The shepherd's presence with his flock. 00:07:41.719 --> 00:07:42.300 Verse 2. 00:07:42.599 --> 00:07:43.719 Yeah, verse 2. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:45.740 Jesus says, 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:48.160 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 00:07:48.780 --> 00:07:52.699 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.620 He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 00:07:57.060 --> 00:08:04.360 The scene that Jesus depicts in this parable is basically a typical morning in a village in the ancient Near East 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:18.180 where the shepherd shows up in person, and his first task is to call the sheep out of the sheepfold and into the street and through the village out into the green pastures. 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:34.500 And when the shepherd comes, he gives his own unique call, and out of like a hundred sheep, a little flock of about 20 or 30 sheep, they hear that unique call, and they respond to his voice. 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:36.060 They respond to his calling. 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:40.879 And the shepherd, of course, has a special attachment with his sheep. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:52.500 He loves these sheep, and so typically will give them an affectionate pet name like Shorttail or Bright Eye or Black Spot or Big Red. 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:53.720 It says in verse 3, 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:58.220 They listen to his voice because he calls them by name, and he leads them out. 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:09.600 And the sheep, you know, they line up and they file behind their shepherd to a new day that's full of lush grass and fresh air and shady trees and rests beside peaceful waters. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:18.279 Now pause here to make an observation that the church is not merely a non-profit organization. 00:09:19.680 --> 00:09:23.960 The church is not merely a historic institution. 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:30.360 The church is not a voluntary community that's built on shared values and interests. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:38.639 The church is not a social club where people belong because they're part of the same class or the same race. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:45.360 The church is not a social service provider that's dedicated to just and noble causes, primarily. 00:09:46.500 --> 00:09:51.139 Jesus is teaching us here that the church exists because of the incarnation. 00:09:51.419 --> 00:09:56.059 The church exists because of the person and the work and the presence of the shepherd. 00:09:58.199 --> 00:10:00.340 The flock is not self-generated. 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:11.200 It exists only because the shepherd arrives on the scene in the flesh, and he comes in person, and he summons his flock into existence. 00:10:11.660 --> 00:10:20.280 And he calls them out by the word of the gospel, and he herds his sheep and his flock to follow behind him. 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:21.860 That's what the church is. 00:10:21.940 --> 00:10:27.160 The church is a flock filled with people whom the good shepherd has called out by name. 00:10:27.159 --> 00:10:31.439 The Greek word for the church. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:36.959 Anytime you see the word church in the New Testament, it's this Greek word ekklesia. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.079 Ekklesia means called out. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:41.899 The called out ones. 00:10:42.819 --> 00:10:46.899 The church is the people who've been called out from the darkness into the light. 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:50.439 Called out from sin and death into righteousness and life. 00:10:50.579 --> 00:10:55.139 Called out into the presence of our resurrected and living shepherd. 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:56.860 That's what a church is. 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:01.399 And Jesus says in verse 27, he says, 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:03.819 My sheep listen to my voice. 00:11:03.980 --> 00:11:05.539 I know them and they follow me. 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:08.419 I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:11.220 No one shall snatch them out of my hand. 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:19.220 See, the church exists because of the shepherd's presence and the shepherd's initiative. 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:28.279 The true identity of the church is grounded in the fact that we are a flock that's known by the shepherd. 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:33.200 He says, I know the ones that I've called out by name and they follow me. 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.500 They follow my leading. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:43.720 So that if any of you ever moves away from here, God forbid that any of you moves on from Berkeley. 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:49.840 But if you ever move away from here and you need to find a new church, the first thing you should ask yourself is not, 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:51.180 How good is the music? 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:53.920 How good is the kids program? 00:11:54.620 --> 00:11:55.940 How good is the youth group? 00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.180 How good is the coffee? 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:01.980 No, the first question you should ask yourself is, 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:03.379 Is the shepherd here? 00:12:04.540 --> 00:12:08.820 Is the shepherd present here in this place and with these people? 00:12:08.820 --> 00:12:15.080 Is this flock aware that the shepherd is actually alive and in their midst? 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.440 Do they know themselves? 00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:22.320 Are they living as people who've been called out by name? 00:12:23.920 --> 00:12:28.560 Is this a church where they're following wherever the shepherd is leading them? 00:12:30.700 --> 00:12:33.360 That's how you know you're in a real church. 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:37.940 And notice what happens when the shepherd comes to be present. 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:42.260 Jesus says in verse 3 that he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:43.040 In verse 4 he says, 00:12:43.180 --> 00:12:50.560 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 00:12:50.660 --> 00:12:52.180 But they will never follow a stranger. 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:57.260 In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:00.060 So follow the parable. 00:13:00.300 --> 00:13:07.040 To get the flock out to the green pastures, the shepherd must first get through the chaos of the village. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:12.519 Where the sheep are going to be encountering many other voices. 00:13:12.839 --> 00:13:18.639 The voices of strangers who are offering alternative paths to the sheep. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:33.240 And it's so tempting in the village for the sheep to just wander off after a dozen or more voices that are just calling loudly, calling persistently for their attention and for their loyalty. 00:13:33.580 --> 00:13:37.039 Even though these strangers care nothing for the flock. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:43.579 It's as if Jesus knew that one day there would be podcasts. 00:13:45.179 --> 00:13:52.019 You know, that one day there was going to be Instagram and Substack and YouTube. 00:13:52.599 --> 00:13:58.019 Alternative voices of strangers that are distracting and dividing and destroying the sheep. 00:13:58.019 --> 00:14:05.840 You see, when Jesus calls us sheep, he's actually not giving us the most flattering of descriptions. 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:07.360 Right? 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.379 I so wish that Jesus said, you are stallions. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:11.419 Right? 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:13.460 I mean, you are tigers. 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:15.079 You're eagles. 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:16.759 You're sharks. 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:18.240 I mean, tough. 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:19.399 You're strong. 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:21.179 But what is a sheep? 00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:22.220 A sheep is vulnerable. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:23.539 A sheep is weak. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.319 Sheep easily lose their sense of direction and they start to panic. 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:36.219 If the sheep wander off by themselves, they're the most defenseless, most helpless, most pitiful of all the animals. 00:14:37.819 --> 00:14:41.120 If you go home today, sometimes I do this on a Sunday afternoon. 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:42.980 I'll watch YouTube videos of sheep. 00:14:45.079 --> 00:14:48.539 And you'll see that they're constantly getting stuck in a ditch. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:50.179 Or in a fence. 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:54.159 Or in, I mean, my favorites, they get stuck in a tire swing. 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:56.059 Swinging back and forth. 00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:01.879 They'll get stuck on their own backs and they need someone they literally cannot turn over to walk again. 00:15:01.939 --> 00:15:03.959 They need somebody to come set them free. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:07.739 And why is Jesus insulting us by telling us that we're sheep? 00:15:08.079 --> 00:15:10.159 Because he wants to convince us, you need a shepherd. 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:12.459 You need a good shepherd. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.179 Notice that these strangers are not the only enemies of the flock. 00:15:17.319 --> 00:15:18.719 That Jesus mentions several others. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:22.480 He says there are also hired hands who care nothing for the sheep. 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:25.580 And they won't protect the sheep from real danger. 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:30.500 He says that there's the thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy the sheep. 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:35.800 He talks about the wolf who comes to snatch the sheep and just devour them for lunch. 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:42.840 And what Jesus is telling us is that we are far more spiritually dependent. 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:44.560 Far more spiritually vulnerable. 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:48.120 Far more spiritually weak than we often realize. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:52.820 But sheep possess one remarkable quality. 00:15:53.860 --> 00:16:02.160 And that is that they can readily recognize and trust the specific voice of their shepherd over all the clamoring voices of strangers. 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:07.120 Jesus says this word five times in this passage. 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:09.600 He says, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:10.220 Listen. 00:16:12.420 --> 00:16:24.500 Listening is fundamental to the survival and the safety of the flock as it relies on the shepherd to guide them into green pastures and prevent us from wandering off and protecting us from all these dangerous enemies. 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:26.680 So let's pause here for some application. 00:16:27.680 --> 00:16:28.759 What does this mean for us? 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:36.620 Jesus is teaching us that his church, his flock, is filled with people who are listening to his voice as a matter of survival. 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:42.340 The church listens to his voice through the reading and preaching of God's word on Sundays. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:49.299 The church listens to his voice in groups of eight to 12 people meeting weekly, opening the Bible to learn together. 00:16:49.299 --> 00:16:56.419 The church listens to his voice daily in a time alone with God as he speaks to us in the scriptures and by his spirit. 00:16:56.539 --> 00:17:04.759 The health of our flock, the health of any church is measured in a large part by the way that we listen to the shepherd. 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:14.420 So what is your daily predictable pattern and plan and place where you are listening to the voice of the shepherd? 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:32.460 Any church, any flock that's worth being a part of is spending at least 10 to 20 minutes a day listening for the real, genuine, authentic, authoritative voice of its shepherd as he's speaking in the Bible. 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:42.240 And if you don't know where to begin, if you're new to this, typically I put people in the green pastures of Colossians 3, 1 to 17. 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:43.700 And you say, why there? 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:45.579 Well, go read it and you'll know. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:52.660 And I say, read it daily, read it over and over until you basically have that memorized. 00:17:52.660 --> 00:18:04.840 Jesus is saying that you can tell a true flock that is centered on the authoritative presence of the incarnate and resurrected shepherd because he says, quote, 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:06.440 they will never follow a stranger. 00:18:06.580 --> 00:18:08.779 In fact, they will run away from a stranger's voice. 00:18:10.580 --> 00:18:16.040 And what he's saying there is that there's to be only one authoritative voice for his flock. 00:18:16.039 --> 00:18:27.859 So the question is, are you getting enough of the voice of your shepherd in your head and in your heart so that you can discern the voice of strangers who want to shepherd you not to green pastures? 00:18:27.940 --> 00:18:29.659 They want to shepherd you to the slaughterhouse. 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:39.920 Jesus says his church is filled with people who are listening to his voice in order that we might follow him where he leads. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:48.100 And what that means is that when we read the scriptures in which his voice is speaking, we are to also pray, Lord, show me where you're leading. 00:18:49.880 --> 00:18:51.519 Lord, give me faith to follow. 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:52.920 Give me obedience to follow. 00:18:53.060 --> 00:18:55.019 Give me courage to follow you. 00:18:56.820 --> 00:19:07.039 A deeper relationship with Christ and his church means that we are committing to live day by day as part of a flock that's listening to the authentic authoritative voice of the shepherd 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.980 and prayerfully following him in obedience. 00:19:10.180 --> 00:19:14.119 That's the kind of flock our good shepherd desires to lead. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:19.220 So we talked about the shepherd's presence with his flocks. 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:23.099 I want to talk about the shepherd's costly love for his flock. 00:19:23.899 --> 00:19:24.960 Look at verse 7. 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:27.839 Therefore, Jesus said again, 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:55.759 So in this shepherd, in this parable, the shepherd has led his flock out of the village and into the wilderness 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:02.059 where the sheep are to spend their day just grazing and drinking and playing and resting. 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:10.400 And in the late summer and early fall, you come into a dry season, much like where we live. 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:15.579 And you have to travel far to find green pasture. 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:24.659 And so the shepherd will take his sheep out there and what he'll do is he'll build a little enclosure of field stones. 00:20:25.439 --> 00:20:30.039 And that enclosure will provide shelter and protection at night for the sheep. 00:20:31.139 --> 00:20:34.659 But there's only one vulnerable spot. 00:20:35.319 --> 00:20:38.339 And that is when the sheep all come inside this enclosure, 00:20:38.899 --> 00:20:41.500 the one vulnerable spot is across the entrance. 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:45.700 And so that's where the shepherd will sleep across the threshold. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:46.700 He'll become the door. 00:20:46.819 --> 00:20:50.339 He'll become the gate to protect the sheep. 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:53.279 You've got all these nervous sheep. 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:56.500 And they're out here in this boundless, howling wilderness. 00:20:57.299 --> 00:21:00.740 And there's all these lurking threats and dangers of thieves and wolves. 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:01.920 And the shepherd says, 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:02.980 No, I'm the gate. 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:06.480 I'm here to keep you safe. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:07.819 I'm here to keep you secure. 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:09.140 That's what a shepherd does. 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:13.780 The enemy is wanting to steal and kill and destroy you. 00:21:14.900 --> 00:21:17.240 And left on your own, you guys are dead meat. 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:19.480 But Jesus says, 00:21:20.420 --> 00:21:20.920 I'm the gate. 00:21:21.020 --> 00:21:30.100 I've come to defend and protect my flock so that it can go in and it can come out and it can be free and it can find pasture and sustenance. 00:21:30.340 --> 00:21:35.440 And the result of that, Jesus says, is that my flock will have life to the full. 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:38.200 My flock will have life in abundance. 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:43.559 My flock is going to be given a generous measure of all that it needs. 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:55.759 And this brings us to the heart of Jesus' teaching that the shepherd is willing to die so that his flock will be alive with the eternal life of God himself. 00:21:55.759 --> 00:22:08.599 The only reason Jesus can talk in verses 9 and 10 about his sheep being saved and about them having abundant life is because of his substitutionary and life-giving death. 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:10.319 And this is where he gets at it in verse 11. 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:11.440 I'm the good shepherd. 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:14.339 The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.940 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:21.820 So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. 00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:24.799 Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:29.759 The man runs away and because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep, he says, 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:30.559 I am the good shepherd. 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:35.420 I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:38.680 And I lay down my life for the sheep. 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:46.660 Now if you're Jewish and you hear Jesus say, I am the good shepherd, what do you immediately think of? 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:49.580 Psalm 23. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:53.000 Yahweh is my shepherd. 00:22:54.180 --> 00:22:57.140 Therefore, I lack nothing that I really need. 00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:04.279 And you remember that in Psalm 23, the shepherd Yahweh, he goes out into that dangerous wilderness. 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:12.599 He goes down into that valley that's dark and where there's death, where the big bad wolf lives. 00:23:13.819 --> 00:23:20.839 But because the shepherd is here with me, I will fear no evil because his rod and his staff, they comfort me. 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:26.200 So John 10 is Jesus' brilliant retelling of Psalm 23. 00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:28.700 And in fact, Jesus is doing way more than that. 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:29.660 He's thinking of the prophets. 00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:31.940 And I'll just give you one example. 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:37.680 This is a short snippet from the prophet Ezekiel chapter 34. 00:23:37.900 --> 00:23:38.460 Here's what it says. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:40.480 This is what the sovereign Lord says. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.340 I myself will search for my sheep. 00:23:45.340 --> 00:23:50.559 I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:53.980 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:57.019 I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. 00:23:57.720 --> 00:24:00.620 I will save my flock and they will no longer be plundered. 00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:05.379 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them. 00:24:05.419 --> 00:24:07.319 He will tend them and be their shepherd. 00:24:08.139 --> 00:24:16.619 I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forest in safety. 00:24:17.639 --> 00:24:19.059 And no one will make them afraid. 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:25.940 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the sovereign Lord. 00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:30.740 Jesus has Psalm 23 on his mind. 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:33.399 He has Ezekiel 34 on his mind. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:45.119 He knows the promises that God has made to rescue his sheep from danger, especially the ones that are afraid, the ones that are lost and strayed, the ones that are injured and weak. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:52.839 But Jesus also knows that this promised rescue operation will cost the shepherd dearly. 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:55.839 And so in verse 11, he says, 00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:10.000 When the big bad wolf comes to attack the sheep individually and the flock collectively, a good shepherd will not run away like the hired hand who's just in it for short-term rewards. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:17.900 Who feels no sense of ownership, no sense of responsibility for the sheep. 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:26.480 The good shepherd, he says, will not abandon his sheep when the wolf attacks because he cares so much for his flock. 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:34.299 And five times in this passage, Jesus talks about the shepherd laying down his life in costly love. 00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:43.539 He's saying that he will not only get hurt in the great battle with the wolf, but he will be killed, he says, for the sheep. 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:50.779 In place of the sheep, on behalf of the sheep, as a substitute for the sheep. 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:54.839 So how much does a shepherd love his flock? 00:25:56.119 --> 00:25:57.319 Jesus says in verse 15, 00:25:57.319 --> 00:26:11.859 And the ultimate demonstration of his love for his flock is that Jesus did not run away to save his own skin. 00:26:13.399 --> 00:26:19.200 But he willingly paid the price of the infinite preciousness of his life to rescue his flock. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:24.319 But Jesus wants to make two things crystal clear. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:27.099 And here's what he says in verse 17. 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:28.000 He says this, 00:26:30.419 --> 00:26:34.720 The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. 00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:38.639 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:42.480 I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. 00:26:43.639 --> 00:26:45.980 And what Jesus is saying there is he says, first of all, 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.460 The wolf is not going to take my life from me. 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:56.480 I'm not going to be a passive victim of the Roman Empire or the Israelite establishment. 00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:02.779 I'm not going to be crushed by the greatest government and the greatest religion that the world has ever seen. 00:27:02.860 --> 00:27:06.700 No, Jesus is saying, I lay down my life of my own accord. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:07.460 I lay it down voluntarily. 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:12.240 I lay it down authoritatively on my cross. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:21.599 And the second thing Jesus wants us to know is that laying down my life only has meaning if I take my life up again. 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:28.000 The substitutionary death of the shepherd means nothing if the shepherd is still dead. 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.339 What good is a dead shepherd? 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:37.400 If the shepherd is still in his tomb, how could he call us by name? 00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:40.460 How could he bring us out? 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:43.259 How could he go ahead of us? 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:46.519 How could he lead us to follow him? 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:55.340 The only way that the shepherd can give us an eternal life that never perishes is if he has this life in himself. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:05.120 It's only because Jesus physically, literally, historically was raised from the dead by his father. 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:14.299 It's only because Jesus authoritatively took up his life again on Easter Sunday that Christianity makes any sense at all. 00:28:15.879 --> 00:28:21.079 And so Jesus predicts his powerful resurrection when death will be swallowed up by life. 00:28:21.919 --> 00:28:26.619 And he affirms his victory over death before it ever even happens. 00:28:26.619 --> 00:28:33.839 And by the way, we didn't print this part for you, but after Jesus says these things, it says his audience said, 00:28:33.959 --> 00:28:34.919 You're raving mad. 00:28:35.859 --> 00:28:37.559 You are demon-possessed. 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:40.779 And they picked up stones to kill him. 00:28:42.179 --> 00:28:43.619 Pause for some more application. 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:45.259 What does this mean for us? 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:53.259 Well, first of all, Jesus is teaching us that the church, the flock that he loves so much, 00:28:54.379 --> 00:29:02.000 it's filled with people who delight themselves in the way in which he saves us, 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:04.759 in the way in which he gives us abundant life. 00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:14.279 And so the question for us is, are you living with the full weight of your trust on the costly, 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:21.440 sacrificial, self-giving love that the shepherd has demonstrated for you on his cross? 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:23.339 Is that at the center? 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:26.740 Is that at the core of your identity? 00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:33.440 And more than that, are you living as if Jesus was raised from the dead? 00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:44.619 Are you living as if he actually won the victory for you already over your greatest enemies of sin, death, hell, and the devil? 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:47.460 Because that's what he said he's come to do. 00:29:49.259 --> 00:29:56.680 And are you living as if you have this new life, this abundant life, this eternal life that never perishes? 00:29:56.680 --> 00:30:00.779 Because Jesus is saying, this is the definition of my church. 00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:04.240 This is the definition of what it means to be part of my flock. 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:13.119 Second application is that if our shepherd paid such a great price, 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:22.059 if he came and he bore such a high cost of shedding his blood to do battle with this wolf, 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:29.299 then his flock ought to be marked by a willingness to sacrifice. 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:41.639 His flock ought to be marked by a willingness to suffer in order that our lives might be conformed to the image of the good shepherd himself. 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:48.640 And what that means is that any patterns of our thought life, 00:30:50.320 --> 00:30:52.600 any habits of our speech, 00:30:53.320 --> 00:30:56.560 any routines of our conduct 00:30:56.560 --> 00:30:58.980 that are not worthy 00:30:58.980 --> 00:31:00.960 of our good shepherd, 00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:03.080 they have to go. 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:06.960 no matter what it costs you, 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:11.119 no matter how much it hurts you, 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:12.759 because 00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:18.799 the good shepherd wants his goodness to be seen in his sheep. 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:21.519 And so the question for us is, 00:31:22.099 --> 00:31:23.839 when people are looking at our lives, 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:25.679 are they going to say, 00:31:25.679 --> 00:31:26.159 ah, 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:31.639 there's a person who's been loved with a costly love? 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:35.519 When people experience us, 00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:36.079 are they going to say, 00:31:36.220 --> 00:31:36.480 ah, 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:39.799 I think I'm experiencing something of the goodness, 00:31:41.220 --> 00:31:41.959 of the good shepherd? 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:45.460 So we've talked about 00:31:45.460 --> 00:31:48.700 the shepherd's presence with his flock, 00:31:48.779 --> 00:31:50.680 and the shepherd's costly love for his flock, 00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:53.319 and I want to close by talking about the shepherd's mission 00:31:53.319 --> 00:31:54.779 through his flock, 00:31:54.860 --> 00:31:55.279 and I'm sorry, 00:31:55.360 --> 00:31:55.819 this is a little 00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:57.920 longer than I wanted, 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:59.740 but I wrote it on a plane on Thursday night, 00:31:59.880 --> 00:32:00.180 so 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:01.680 bear with me. 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:03.519 Verse 16, 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:04.200 Jesus says, 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:06.539 I have other sheep that are not of this pen, 00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:07.420 the sheep pen, 00:32:08.340 --> 00:32:09.400 and I must bring them also. 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:10.900 They too will listen to my voice, 00:32:10.900 --> 00:32:12.200 and there shall be one flock 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:13.440 and one shepherd. 00:32:14.800 --> 00:32:15.980 The other sheep 00:32:15.980 --> 00:32:18.440 refers to the Gentiles. 00:32:20.280 --> 00:32:21.960 And the shepherd is saying here, 00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:25.019 he wants to lead his flock out beyond Israel 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:26.519 into the wider world 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:27.960 of all the nations, 00:32:27.960 --> 00:32:30.640 and he wants to enlarge his flock 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:33.820 as big as it can possibly become. 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:37.640 He wants his flock to become considerably larger 00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:43.660 by bringing in a whole lot of very different sheep 00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:48.880 who can also come and belong to this shepherd-loved, 00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:51.520 shepherd-listening, shepherd-led flock. 00:32:53.560 --> 00:32:55.800 And what's interesting to me is when you read the New Testament, 00:32:56.300 --> 00:32:58.040 it's clear that Jesus' disciples, 00:32:58.180 --> 00:32:58.700 his apostles, 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:00.020 understood this. 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:04.259 The apostle Paul took the gospel 00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:07.059 way far away from his home 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:11.019 to a city called Corinth in Greece. 00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:14.180 And we read about this in the Acts of the Apostles, 00:33:14.240 --> 00:33:15.059 Acts chapter 18, 00:33:15.799 --> 00:33:16.559 and Paul's there. 00:33:16.639 --> 00:33:19.059 This is a very difficult place to take the gospel. 00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:22.259 And Paul is needing some encouragement, 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:24.980 and so it says that the Lord Jesus came to him in a dream. 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:25.819 He came in a vision, 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:27.419 and he said to Paul, 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:27.859 he said, 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:30.579 I have many people in this city. 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:34.220 It's the good shepherd coming to Paul 00:33:34.220 --> 00:33:34.500 and saying, 00:33:34.619 --> 00:33:36.579 I have many other sheep 00:33:36.579 --> 00:33:40.619 that I've sent you to find in this city. 00:33:41.939 --> 00:33:43.159 That's in the city of Corinth. 00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:44.399 And what's interesting is that 00:33:44.399 --> 00:33:46.099 in 1 Corinthians 9, 00:33:46.939 --> 00:33:47.819 Paul says this, 00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:48.240 he says, 00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:51.099 I made myself a slave to everyone 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:53.859 to win as many sheep as possible. 00:33:53.859 --> 00:33:56.000 He says, 00:33:56.099 --> 00:33:57.899 I became all things to all people 00:33:57.899 --> 00:33:59.919 so that I might save some. 00:34:03.159 --> 00:34:04.759 He knew what Jesus meant 00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:05.500 when Jesus said, 00:34:06.379 --> 00:34:08.759 I want other sheep to hear my voice too. 00:34:10.940 --> 00:34:11.819 When Jesus said, 00:34:11.940 --> 00:34:14.119 I must bring my other sheep in, 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:16.279 also Paul and all the other apostles, 00:34:16.579 --> 00:34:17.119 they got that. 00:34:17.179 --> 00:34:17.960 The first Christians, 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:19.299 the early church, 00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:20.900 they were willing to go out. 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:23.539 They were willing to lay down their lives 00:34:23.539 --> 00:34:24.679 in costly love 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:27.099 in order to share with people 00:34:27.099 --> 00:34:27.980 the good news 00:34:27.980 --> 00:34:31.440 that you too can belong 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:33.059 to a good shepherd. 00:34:34.739 --> 00:34:37.559 And what motivated them to share this news, 00:34:37.699 --> 00:34:39.099 Jesus tells us in verse 28, 00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:39.440 he says, 00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:40.739 I give them eternal life 00:34:40.739 --> 00:34:41.880 and they shall never perish. 00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:44.019 No one will snatch them out of my hand. 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:46.039 My Father who has given them to me 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:47.179 is greater than all 00:34:47.179 --> 00:34:48.859 and no one can snatch them 00:34:48.859 --> 00:34:50.799 out of my Father's hand. 00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:54.039 This shepherd 00:34:54.039 --> 00:34:57.619 who gave his life for the sheep 00:34:57.619 --> 00:34:58.440 will see to it 00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:00.039 that every sheep 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:02.159 for whom he bled and died 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:05.059 will be safe and secure 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:08.119 in his nail-scarred hands 00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:09.399 and in the omnipotent hands 00:35:09.399 --> 00:35:10.379 of his Father. 00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:13.039 You know, 00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:14.500 we live in a kind of scary world. 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:16.860 We live in a world 00:35:16.860 --> 00:35:19.079 that's increasingly filled with fear. 00:35:21.059 --> 00:35:22.119 But the church 00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:24.480 is to be filled with people 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:26.760 who are resting 00:35:26.760 --> 00:35:29.140 in the double grip 00:35:29.140 --> 00:35:31.940 of the Father and the Son. 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:34.480 That we are to be a people 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:36.200 who are resting in the security 00:35:36.200 --> 00:35:38.820 that we're safe in his hands forever. 00:35:38.820 --> 00:35:41.440 And that even in death 00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:43.240 we cannot ultimately be harmed 00:35:43.240 --> 00:35:44.260 because we're in this 00:35:44.260 --> 00:35:46.059 unbreakable bond 00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:47.059 of the union 00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:47.680 and the love 00:35:47.680 --> 00:35:48.840 that the Father and the Son 00:35:48.840 --> 00:35:50.240 share with each other. 00:35:51.200 --> 00:35:52.860 And that these are the hands 00:35:52.860 --> 00:35:55.019 that are going to raise us up 00:35:55.019 --> 00:35:56.940 from the dead on the last day 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:58.300 and we will never be separated 00:35:58.300 --> 00:35:59.300 from the love of God 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:01.140 that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:36:03.720 --> 00:36:04.940 And that's good news. 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:07.260 That's a good news 00:36:07.260 --> 00:36:08.440 that's worth sharing 00:36:08.440 --> 00:36:09.220 with other people. 00:36:10.340 --> 00:36:11.340 And Jesus is saying 00:36:11.340 --> 00:36:12.540 that he wants his church 00:36:12.540 --> 00:36:13.280 to be filled 00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:14.120 with people 00:36:14.120 --> 00:36:15.420 who share his heart 00:36:15.420 --> 00:36:16.720 for other sheep. 00:36:17.780 --> 00:36:19.000 Sheep who are currently 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:20.580 outside of the sheepfold. 00:36:20.680 --> 00:36:21.860 That they might come in 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:23.080 and share our comfort. 00:36:23.560 --> 00:36:24.380 That they might share 00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:24.980 our security. 00:36:25.520 --> 00:36:26.480 That they might share 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:27.080 the hope 00:36:27.080 --> 00:36:28.600 that we have. 00:36:29.340 --> 00:36:30.300 That our past 00:36:30.300 --> 00:36:30.900 and our present 00:36:30.900 --> 00:36:31.500 and our future 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:33.400 rests not in my hands. 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:35.520 Rests not in your hands. 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:38.159 Man, they rest in the hands 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:39.559 of somebody 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:40.400 who's trustworthy. 00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:44.840 What will happen 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:45.699 when these other sheep 00:36:45.699 --> 00:36:46.179 come in? 00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:46.719 Jesus says 00:36:46.719 --> 00:36:47.280 there will be 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:48.440 one flock 00:36:48.440 --> 00:36:49.719 and one shepherd. 00:36:51.019 --> 00:36:52.259 Out of all the 00:36:52.259 --> 00:36:53.480 differing languages 00:36:53.480 --> 00:36:54.659 all the cultural 00:36:54.659 --> 00:36:55.920 boundaries 00:36:55.920 --> 00:36:57.280 all the unique foods 00:36:57.280 --> 00:36:58.820 all of our distinctive dress 00:36:58.820 --> 00:36:59.880 all of our particular 00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:00.840 styles of worship 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:02.239 all of our social values 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:04.259 all of our political emphases 00:37:04.259 --> 00:37:05.059 Jesus says 00:37:05.059 --> 00:37:05.779 there is going to be 00:37:05.779 --> 00:37:07.779 one worldwide flock 00:37:07.779 --> 00:37:10.259 under one 00:37:10.259 --> 00:37:12.339 authoritative shepherd. 00:37:14.199 --> 00:37:14.919 And friends 00:37:14.919 --> 00:37:16.379 in a world full of suspicion 00:37:16.379 --> 00:37:17.779 a world full of division 00:37:17.779 --> 00:37:19.419 a world full of conflict 00:37:19.419 --> 00:37:20.779 that's fueled by pride 00:37:20.779 --> 00:37:23.399 our shepherd wants us 00:37:23.399 --> 00:37:24.619 to be one flock 00:37:24.619 --> 00:37:26.419 under one 00:37:26.419 --> 00:37:28.119 authoritative shepherd. 00:37:28.119 --> 00:37:31.059 the bond of love 00:37:31.059 --> 00:37:31.779 that unites 00:37:31.779 --> 00:37:33.359 the father and the son 00:37:33.359 --> 00:37:35.219 the bond of love 00:37:35.219 --> 00:37:35.920 that unites 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:36.599 the shepherd 00:37:36.599 --> 00:37:37.299 with his sheep 00:37:37.299 --> 00:37:39.460 that's the bond 00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:40.420 of love 00:37:40.420 --> 00:37:41.920 that's to unite us 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:42.559 with each other. 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:45.480 And so I want to invite you 00:37:45.480 --> 00:37:46.139 to join me 00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:47.900 as we renew our love 00:37:47.900 --> 00:37:48.599 for the flock 00:37:48.599 --> 00:37:50.659 that our good shepherd 00:37:50.659 --> 00:37:51.539 loves so much 00:37:51.539 --> 00:37:53.000 that we might pray 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:53.599 for the mission 00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:54.199 of the church 00:37:54.199 --> 00:37:56.279 and that we might pray 00:37:56.279 --> 00:37:57.019 more earnestly 00:37:57.019 --> 00:37:57.719 for the unity 00:37:57.719 --> 00:37:58.420 of the church 00:37:58.420 --> 00:38:01.159 that through us 00:38:01.159 --> 00:38:02.059 many more people 00:38:02.059 --> 00:38:03.119 many other sheep 00:38:03.119 --> 00:38:04.599 might enter into 00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:05.440 the security 00:38:05.440 --> 00:38:07.219 that we enjoy 00:38:07.219 --> 00:38:08.739 of resting 00:38:08.739 --> 00:38:10.699 in the strong hands 00:38:10.699 --> 00:38:11.380 of the father 00:38:11.380 --> 00:38:12.500 and the son 00:38:12.500 --> 00:38:14.380 by the power 00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:15.860 of the Holy Spirit. 00:38:16.980 --> 00:38:17.280 Amen? 00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:19.199 In the name of the father 00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:20.119 son and Holy Spirit 00:38:20.119 --> 00:38:20.900 Amen.