Latest / Northwest Students / I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD | Meredith Pitts (I Am Who I Am)

Transcript

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD | Meredith Pitts (I Am Who I Am) · Northwest Students

• 0:00
  So, for as long as I can remember, all
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  right, my mama has coughed, okay? And
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  it's a hereditary thing. Natalie and
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  Davis will tell you that I cough easily
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  as well. It really gets on Natalie's
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  nerves, actually, when I cough. Um, but
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  one of the things about my mama is that
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  she coughs. And I remember this one time
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  we were at a store in the mall. You guys
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  know what a mall is, right?
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  >> Yeah. I mean they don't have them as but
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  like since co you don't really go to the
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  mall right but when I was growing up
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  when I was a kid the mall was the place
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  to go shopping and so I was there with
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  my parents in a department store in the
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  mall and we got separated as that
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  happens and I was walking around and I
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  was looking for them and across the
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  store I heard a cough and I knew I just
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  knew that that was my mama.
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  And so I continued to listen because I
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  was separated from them trying to find
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  them. I just continued to listen and
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  followed the sound of the cough until I
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  found her. And as I was preparing for
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  the lesson tonight, it made me wonder,
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  would anyone else in that store have
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  recognized her just from that one sound?
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  Okay, probably my dad. My daddy would
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  have and both my sisters would have
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  known who it was. But I doubt that any
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  other person would have picked out her
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  cough from the rest of the crowd. And
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  why is that? Well, it's because they
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  don't know her as well as I do, as well
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  as my family does. For the first 18
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  years of my life, I grew up hearing her
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  every day. And I know her. I know my
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  mama by her cough on that day in that
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  mall. She didn't speak. She didn't say
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  my name. She probably didn't even know I
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  was looking for her. I don't even know
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  if she knew that we were separated. But
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  um but she didn't call my name. She
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  didn't say here I am. She just coughed
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  and I knew her.
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  And it is an amazing thing to know
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  somebody so well that you know the sound
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  of their cough. But our scripture
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  tonight points to a God that knows us
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  and loves us even more than that. So
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  let's do a quick recap in case you
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  haven't been here in the past in case
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  it's your first time or in case you've
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  been out for a week like I was a couple
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  weeks ago. And also, just so you know,
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  you can find all of the past week's
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  lessons on Northwest YouTube channel
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  thanks to Pastor Josh. He's been filming
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  them and so you can go back on there and
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  catch up. That's how I caught up when I
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  was gone over fall break. So, we started
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  a series that Pastor Josh calls I am who
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  I am. And we're looking at seven
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  statements that Jesus makes about his
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  identity and his mission from the Gospel
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  of John. And these are seven metaphors.
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  and Jesus uses them to talk about who he
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  is and how he relates to us as his
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  followers and disciples. So these
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  statements paint a picture of who he is
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  and what he came to do, but they also
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  tie him directly to the way that God
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  describes himself in the Old Testament.
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  And this is so that Jesus's followers
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  will realize that Jesus isn't just some
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  human teacher, but that he's God as
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  well. He's God's son. So each of these
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  statements that we've been talking about
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  um start with the same two words I am.
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  So what was the first I am statement
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  that Pastor Josh preached about? Anybody
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  remember? I am the
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  >> bread of life. Thank you. Very good.
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  What about the second? I am the
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  >> light of the world. And the third from
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  last week. I am the
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  >> gate for the sheep. That was one we a
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  lot of us had not heard before. I don't
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  know that I'd really learned about that
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  one before. So this week's I am
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  statement comes from John 10 11-18 and
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  it picks up right where Pastor Josh left
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  off last week and continues this
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  comparison of Jesus and a shepherd.
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  So Jesus was talking with the Pharisees
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  and they were having a hard time
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  believing that he was the Messiah that
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  they were waiting for. Even when he
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  performed miracles like feeding the 5000
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  or healing the blind man, they still
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  weren't sure that Jesus is who he says
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  he is. And they had all these reasons
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  that they were coming up with to not
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  believe.
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  How many times do we find ourselves in a
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  similar situation
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  where we've seen him work in our lives?
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  We've seen him work in the lives of
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  loved ones, but we still aren't sure
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  that Jesus is who he says he is. We have
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  a hard time trusting him. Even though
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  we've seen him follow through on every
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  promise that he makes.
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  So what did Jesus do in scripture when
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  people had a hard time understanding him
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  and who he was and what he was trying to
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  say? He used metaphors.
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  So our scripture again, John 10, if you
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  got your Bible and you're following
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  along. We're going to look first at
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  verses 11 through 7 uh 11 through13. So
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  you can follow along. I think we're
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  going to put them up here on the screen
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  maybe. There you go. So these first few
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  verses say, "I am the good shepherd. The
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  good shepherd sacrifices his life for
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  the sheep. A hired hand will run when he
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  sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the
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  sheep because they don't belong to him
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  and he isn't their shepherd. And so the
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  wolf attacks them and scatters the
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  flock. The hired hand runs away because
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  he's working only for the money and
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  doesn't really care about the sheep.
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  Okay. So, in this section of scripture
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  this week, Jesus tells us about two
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  types of people that are usually tasked
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  to watch over sheep. And they are in
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  stark contrast to each other. They are
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  opposites. Okay? One is the hired hand
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  and the other is the shepherd. So, let's
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  look at the hired hand first, okay? And
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  look at characteristics of a hired hand.
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  He would be someone that just sees it as
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  a gig to make money and earn money for
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  himself. And so there's this there's
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  this self-interest there. And that
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  affects that impacts how far he's going
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  to go for the sheep that he's been hired
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  to care for. Okay? There is a limitation
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  there to how far the hired hand will go
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  in caring for the sheep. And so I was
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  trying to think of like more of a real
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  life since nobody here is a shepherd.
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  Okay. More of a real life um idea of of
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  what a hired hand would be. And so I was
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  thinking, you know, if you had a friend
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  that owned a like a candy store, let's
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  say a candy store because we all like
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  candy for the most part, right? Okay. We
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  like candy. So you have a friend that
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  was going to pay you to work there and
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  to watch over it. And so they give you
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  all of the instructions that you need
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  like how to restock the candy and how to
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  bag up people's purchases and take their
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  payment. And this friend expects you to
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  take care of his or her store because
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  that's what you've been hired to do. And
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  from the outside, you're going to be
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  doing the same things that the owner
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  would be doing if he or she were there.
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  But then all of a sudden, a burglar
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  comes in with a gun to rob the candy
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  store.
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  You would be out of there as quick as
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  you could, no matter how much you like
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  candy or how much you liked your friend,
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  the owner. I love Miss Maggie. She's one
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  of my best friends. If I was watching
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  over her candy store and a gunman came
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  in, I'd be out, okay, in a second.
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  Sorry. Love you, but I'm gone. Okay.
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  with a hired hand. There's a point at
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  which they would say like, "I've had
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  enough or I'm out." But then in our
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  scripture, Jesus talks about the good
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  shepherd. And who is the good shepherd?
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  >> Jesus. It's himself. That's right. What
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  Jesus is saying here is that no one is
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  going to care about the sheep more than
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  the shepherd does. The hired hand tends
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  to the sheep for money, for personal
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  gain, not because he loves the sheep,
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  not because he has this, you know,
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  unending affection and love for the
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  sheep. So at the first sign of danger,
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  he would be gone. Anybody else watching
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  over the sheep would be out of there in
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  a second if a wolf came and the hired
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  hand's life was in danger. But not
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  Jesus.
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  Just like with the shepherd, there is no
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  limitation to Jesus's love, no
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  self-interest. In fact, the scripture
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  says that he would sacrifice his life
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  for the sheep. In the same way, no other
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  love that we will ever experience is
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  like that of our good shepherd of Jesus.
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  He is the only one that loves everybody
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  here perfectly and without any kind of
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  limitation to it.
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  So now let's go on to verses 14 and 15.
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  And they say, I am the good shepherd. I
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  know my own sheep and they know me just
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  as my father knows me and I know the
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  father. So I sacrifice my life for the
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  sheep.
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  So Jesus is saying in these verses, he's
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  not simply doing a job. He has unlimited
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  love for us to the point that he's going
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  to lay down his life for us.
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  He says in these verses, I am the good
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  shepherd. He didn't say, I work as a
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  shepherd. Meaning that it's a job like
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  the hired hand. It is who he is. It is
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  part of his identity.
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  And what that means is that determines
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  our identity as well. Now, I don't want
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  you guys to get caught up in the fact
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  that in these verses that we are the
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  sheep in this metaphor. Okay? Don't get
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  caught up in that fact because these
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  verses don't focus on the
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  characteristics of the sheep. What it
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  what they focus on is the characteristic
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  of the good shepherd and that's who
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  gives us our identity.
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  Sometimes I have to kind of just sit
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  back and really appreciate the fact that
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  Jesus allows us to have a relationship
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  with him. That he wants to he wants to
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  know me. He wants to know you and he's
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  going to protect us. And he's the God of
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  the world. He wants to have a
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  relationship with us like he has with
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  his father. He knows us by our name, by
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  our physical appearance. He knows us by
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  our cough. Okay? He even knows how many
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  hairs we have on our head. Matthew 10:30
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  through32 says, "But not a single
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  sparrow can fall to the ground without
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  your father knowing it. And the very
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  hairs on your head are all numbered. So
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  don't be afraid. You are more valuable
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  to God than a whole flock of sparrows."
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  We have a shepherd that loves us so much
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  that he would fight off any danger for
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  us and he will never leave us. My
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  favorite verse and the one that I cling
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  to when I'm going through a hard time is
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  Exodus 14:14. And that is where Moses
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  says, "The Lord will fight for you. You
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  need only to be still."
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  So based on these verses that we're
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  looking at, if we if we we're looking at
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  verses in John 10, if we go back in John
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  9, the Pharisees are questioning whether
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  Jesus really was the Messiah. And they
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  told him, they told Jesus that they were
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  disciples of Moses. So they they knew
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  that God would fight for them because
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  Moses had told them that. They had been
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  taught this all the way back in Exodus
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  from Moses's time. From the very
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  beginning, they knew that God was on our
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  side, watching out for us and fighting
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  off the danger if we would just trust
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  him. And so what Jesus was trying to do
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  is help them to see that he was the son
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  of God. He was the Messiah. And all
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  these things that they had already
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  believed and they already knew to be
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  true and they had believed for
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  generations were true for him as the son
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  of God as well.
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  So, the scripture from last week that
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  Pastor Josh talked about, um, it says in
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  John 10, after he has gathered his own
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  flock, he walks ahead of them and they
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  follow him because they know his voice.
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  Okay, that's something that we read last
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  week. He will walk ahead of us
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  protecting us. We just have to believe
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  and follow.
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  But again, the scripture said they
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  follow him because they know his voice.
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  But how do you know?
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  How can you expect to hear the voice of
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  the good shepherd if you don't know him?
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  If you don't know his voice. A lot of us
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  think we know exactly who Jesus is
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  because we've grown up in church and we
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  know all the stories and we've heard
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  this one again and oh my goodness, Miss
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  Meredith's talking about the shepherd. I
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  know. I know. I know. Okay. But a
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  relationship with him is like any other
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  relationship that you have in your life.
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  If if you pursue it, it will grow and
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  develop, but it will wither and die if
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  it's ignored. So, what steps are you
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  taking to get to know this perfect
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  shepherd who cares so deeply about you
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  that he would die on your behalf? How do
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  you learn about that care? In what ways
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  does he care about you? And what does
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  that look like in your life?
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  So, Pastor Josh spoke last week about
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  learning the shepherd's voice and the
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  importance of that is repeated in this
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  scripture this week as well. Um, Pastor
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  Josh talked about how the Holy Spirit
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  can give us a supernatural ability to
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  hear from God. So, that's one way that
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  you can get to know him better. And
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  also, you guys already know this. What's
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  the main place to read about who Jesus
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  is?
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  >> The Bible. That's right. That's an easy
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  one because it shows us who Jesus is
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  through the story of his life and those
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  that he encountered while he was here on
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  earth.
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  And then knowing so much about him will
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  help bring you into that personal
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  relationship with him. And then of
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  course prayer, right? Prayer is another
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  way to get to know Jesus and pursue
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  relationship with him because he wants
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  to know all about your day. He wants to
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  know all about you and what's happening
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  in your life. And he wants you to come
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  to him with your wants and your needs.
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  And there are definitely other ways to
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  get to know him. These aren't the only
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  ways. But my point right now is just to
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  pursue him because he wants to know you
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  and trust me, you want to experience his
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  perfect limitless love.
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  So something important that I want you
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  to remember is that at some point all
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  other relationships, leaders, teachers,
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  parents, sponsors, friends, whoever, all
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  other relationships are going to fail at
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  some point in their caring of you. And
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  it may not be on purpose. Um it, you
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  know, we're just human. We're all human.
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  For instance, I love my kids more than
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  anybody else on this earth loves them.
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  But I can't be alert and protect them
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  all the time. I mean, I gotta sleep at
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  night, right? I don't hover over their
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  beds watching their every breath at
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  night while they sleep, right?
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  That'd be creepy. I absolutely would.
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  Okay. They aren't with me all the time.
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  They go to school. They go to sports
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  events. They go to practices and friends
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  homes. And so my ability to care for
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  them has limitations.
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  And you know, I get angry sometimes. And
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  sometimes I speak to them harsher than I
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  should or I react and sometimes I
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  overreact maybe a little bit maybe to
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  something that they do because I'm a
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  human too out of my own you know
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  personal humanness human experiences and
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  I'm the person that loves them the most
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  in the whole world and I still fail to
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  care for them perfectly. But Jesus, the
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  good shepherd, is the only one that can
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  care for you perfectly and without any
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  limitation. And he does. He does. All
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  right. So, let's continue in our passage
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  for this week. Let's go to verse 16. It
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  says, "I have other sheep, too, that are
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  not in this sheepfold. I must bring them
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  also. They will listen to my voice, and
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  there will be one flock with one
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  shepherd.
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  So again, Jesus is speaking to the
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  Pharisees here and they believed that
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  only the specific Jews were the chosen
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  people of Jesus and in fact that was
• 18:14
  part of their national identity. But
• 18:17
  here Jesus is speaking about gentile
• 18:20
  believers which was a very radical idea
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  for these Pharisees. And he is basically
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  saying that these other sheep, these
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  other ones already belong to him and
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  that all believers belong together in
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  one fold in one flock. And Jesus is
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  being clear that he does not stay in
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  human created boundaries of ethnicity
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  that he's going to go beyond Israel to
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  seek and save people. And that it's a
• 18:52
  worldwide mission. no one people group
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  is all that Jesus is looking after. He
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  tells us plainly that there will be one
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  flock. And so this has implications for
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  us as well. Okay. What a relief it is to
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  know that there is not one type of
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  person, one type of people in God's
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  flock. There is diversity in the
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  sheepfold. You don't have to have been
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  born into a certain ethnic group or
• 19:22
  social class. You don't have to have a
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  certain IQ or go to a specific school or
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  homeschool or wear certain clothes or
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  have a certain family history to be a
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  part of Jesus's sheepfold.
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  He wants everybody. You only have to
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  trust in him as your shepherd. The flock
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  is made up of all kinds of people with
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  the one good shepherd. And he wants you
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  there no matter of any of those other
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  things. and he sacrificed his life so
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  that you could join his flock. And that
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  should give us confidence that we all
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  have the opportunity to be in heaven
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  with Jesus.
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  And so as we close and the band starts
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  to come up, where's my keyboard player?
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  >> Okay. Oh, okay. Okay. I want us to think
• 20:14
  about a few things. Okay. There's a few
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  things that I want us to kind of think
• 20:18
  about and we'll talk a little bit more
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  about some of them as we go into small
• 20:21
  group.
• 20:22
  Who are the hired hands in our lives?
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  Are there certain podcasters or
• 20:30
  musicians or content creators or
• 20:33
  teachers that we forget are just human
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  and have limits to their care for us?
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  This kind of, you know, as I was
• 20:42
  thinking about this part of the lesson,
• 20:44
  I think back there was some previous
• 20:45
  controversy invaring involving um Lauren
• 20:49
  Dagel. Y'all remember that? Um, y'all
• 20:51
  know who that is, right? Lauren Dagel.
• 20:53
  Okay, paid saying no. Uh, she is a
• 20:56
  popular Christian singer. And in 2018,
• 20:59
  she was asked on a radio show if
• 21:02
  homosexuality was a sin. And she
• 21:05
  completely avoided giving a yes or no
• 21:08
  answer. She just said, "I can't honestly
• 21:10
  answer that in the sense of I have too
• 21:13
  many people that I love and they are
• 21:14
  homosexuals."
• 21:17
  So, she was not being malicious or
• 21:19
  uncaring in any way. Okay, I want to
• 21:21
  make that clear. But when it came right
• 21:24
  down to it, she was not bold on behalf
• 21:28
  of her Christian faith in that moment.
• 21:31
  And there's nothing wrong with listening
• 21:33
  to her music and worshiping with her
• 21:35
  music or learning from other Christian
• 21:37
  teachers or watching YouTube shorts from
• 21:40
  content, you know, Christian creators.
• 21:43
  But we just have to remember that they
• 21:45
  are human and the only completely
• 21:49
  perfect source of truth is Jesus.
• 21:54
  Here's another thing to think about. Are
• 21:56
  we hired hands to our friends?
• 22:00
  Are we just there when things are going
• 22:03
  well and it's easy to live a righteous
• 22:05
  example for them? When we can benefit in
• 22:09
  some way from the friendship? What about
• 22:11
  when the going gets tough? When they
• 22:14
  begin making poor choices? Can we be
• 22:16
  bold in our beliefs even when there's a
• 22:19
  chance that we're going to be made fun
• 22:20
  of? When it's the opposite of what
• 22:24
  everyone around us is doing, can we lay
• 22:26
  down our pride and our comfort to be
• 22:30
  more like the good shepherd?
• 22:32
  And then finally, are we actively
• 22:36
  pursuing relationship with Christ so
• 22:39
  that we can hear and know his voice?
• 22:42
  What steps are we taking each day to
• 22:45
  draw closer to him?