The Shepherd Who Knows Your Name

Today we're getting into the book of John, chapter 10. If you brought your Bibles, I want you to get it out and wave it in the air like you care. Keep it up in the air. We're going to get into this great book because it's not an ordinary book. This is the living word of God. This is a sword that will defend you from the enemy. I want everyone to participate by the count of three. You're going to shout word. Even those watching online, I need you to shout this, type this, and believe it today that God's going to speak through this word. On the count of three, shout word. Here we go. One, two, three. Word. We are getting into God's word so that God's word gets into us. Today we look at John chapter 10. We're coming right off the great story of John chapter 9 of Jesus spitting in the dirt, making a mudpie and anointing a man's eyes with the mudpie. Then he tells the man to go wash it off and he would see. And the

man was obedient. As Pastor Noah so greatly preached last week, obedience brings some miracles. Even through the mess of whatever you're going through right now, if you would just do what Jesus tells you to do, that there's a breakthrough miracle on the other side. We pick up in the story today where Jesus is going to let his hearers know who he is. He He doesn't leave us to our own understanding to come to the wrong conclusion of who he is. And today you'll see that he is a good shepherd. He's a good shepherd. He gives us an illustration that although many of us won't see shepherds walking down Wall Street or even Bond Street today, we still know what a shepherd is and what a shepherd does. This is an illustration that 2,000 years later, we can still resonate with in our hearts. And God

doesn't want us to just see this symbolically. He wants us to surrender our lives to him as the good shepherd. Ezekiel the prophet was speaking on behalf of God when the Lord speaks to us and he says this and you just look at your neighbor and say you and you you are my sheep human sheep of my pasture and I am your God declares the Lord God. The Lord uses the illustration of his people being the sheep so that we would understand our position with the Lord God. That we wouldn't come up with a a wrong conclusion that we wouldn't just be religious but we would actually have a living relationship with God. And the

Bible speaks much about shepherds. Some of the most famous people in the Bible were shepherds. Consider Abraham, the father of our faith. He was a shepherd. His son Isaac was a shepherd. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, a shepherd. We see so many shepherds in the Bible. In fact, the first shepherd ever mentioned is in the first book of the Bible in the fourth chapter when God tells us, "Now Abel was a keeper of sheep." Do you remember who Abel's parents are? Adam and Eve. So, right from the beginning, we see shepherds. This is never just meant to be a job that we see in the Bible. This is never meant just to be symbolism. This is meant to be a reality that we would understand what it

means for God to be our shepherd. One of the greatest illustrations of this was written by probably the most famous shepherd that we have in the Old Testament. He is the greatest king that Israel has ever had. But before he was a king, before he slayed Goliath, he was a shepherd. Do you know who I'm talking about today? David. David was a shepherd and he wrote many poems and songs. Over 70 psalms in the Bible were written by David. And probably the most famous of the psalms is Psalm 23 where David wrote these words, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me

in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Hallelujah. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. David of all the descriptions he could give God, he doesn't say the Lord is my king. He doesn't say the Lord is my

priest. David decides to say the Lord is my shepherd. And if God speaks so often of shepherds in the Bible, we ought to understand what this means. What does it mean for the Lord to be the shepherd that provides for us? For the Lord to be the shepherd that guides. What does it mean to be the the for the Lord to be the shepherd that protects us? Shepherds play a vital role in God's plan. Throughout history, they haven't always been heroes, though. They've often been overlooked, marginalized. In the days of Jesus, shepherds were considered so uh unworthy in society, they could not even testify before a judge. And yet, of all the people, God could reveal that the Messiah has come. Emmanuel, God with us.

He did not come to kings. He did not come to priests, nor did he come to prophets. He announced his coming to who? Shepherds. Shepherds seem to be significant to God. Moses was a shepherd. He was hurting his sheep when God interrupted his plans through the burning bush that was not consumed. Just this week, I was in our daily reading going through the Bible in a year and I found myself in the book of Amos the prophet. And Amos says, "I was not raised in a house of prophets. I was not born a prophet." He says, "I am simply a shepherd. God chose a shepherd to be a prophet and to speak his word.

Now Jesus is speaking to a group of religious people. He's just healed a man who was blind. There was confusion about why bad things happen. The disciples asked, "Did he sin or did his parents sin? Why do bad things happen?" And Jesus to teach us a lesson for each and every one of us. Why do you go through what you go through? It's all to reveal God's glory. It's all to reveal God's goodness. God has a plan for whatever you're going through, whatever you've been through. He can use that for his glory. He opens the man's eyes. And not everyone will celebrate when God's doing a good thing in your life, especially the religious people. And in response to this, Jesus tells us in John chapter 10 who he is. So, I want

to ask you today, if you're able to stand for the reading of God's word, I'm going to read verse 1- 21 of John chapter 10. I want you to work with me here because there's quite a bit of text, but if you would be willing, God will reveal himself to you today. John 10 1- 21. Jesus starts off speaking today. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. a

stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of the strangers. This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who come before me are thieves and are robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. And if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a

shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason, the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority

to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. There was again division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said he has a demon and is insane. Why listen to him? Other said these are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Lord, today would you speak to us through this word that we would see you clearly for who you are, a good shepherd. And may that change our lives. Not to live a simple easy life, but may we surrender and say yes to you wherever you go. May you lead us in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. This is the word of the Lord. John tells us that

Jesus starts off by saying truly, truly, truly, truly. It's a statement that Jesus has now said 16 times in just 10 chapters of the book of John. It's a favorite statement of Jesus. Truly. Truly. The original Greek words are amen. Amen. Which is where we get our English word. Come on, shout it out. Amen. Amen means it's true. So be it. Let this be done as the truth. When you say amen, it's not the end of your prayer. It's believing what you've just prayed. When Jesus says truly, truly, he is simply saying amen and amen. He's letting us know that he's telling the truth.

God is in the flesh. Heaven's best is right here and he's telling us the truth. We ought to lean in and hear what he has to say. This means that he has a message for you today. And this message is he's a good shepherd. And he's got a message for his sheep who are willing to hear his voice today. Church, there are a lot of voices vying for your attention. Everywhere you go, even today, you have many voices that are trying to capture your attention to tell you what to believe, to tell you what to think, to tell you what to do, to tell you what to say. Some voices are so quiet they come in the midnight hour. You know not if they're from God or where they came from. Some voices are loud and are trying to stop you from experiencing all

that the good shepherd has for you. But there is one voice that's greater than any other voice. This is the voice that speaks to dry bones and they come to life. This is the voice that calls to a tomb and the dead will come out. This is the voice that knows every single one of us by name. And if you would just listen today and you are lost, you will come home. Jesus starts off by simply saying, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber." Jesus is going to liken an enemy of your soul to a thief. He's going to tell us several times that there is someone trying to do something that he does not have permission to do.

In the days of Jesus, shepherds didn't heard like we often see today from behind with dogs or with technology. Shepherds would go in front and they would lead simply by their voice. Their flock would be so familiar with their voice, they would go wherever the shepherd would go. The shepherd would simply say certain phrases and the the sheep would follow him wherever he goes. that if someone else would say the same phrases, they would not be familiar with that voice and they wouldn't go to that voice. Jesus warns us in verse two, "He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice. And if you hear the voice of the shepherd, he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."

Jesus tells us that you're listening to someone. Some of us are listening to the voice of shame. You're not good enough. You failed. This is who you'll always be. Some are listening to the voice of comparison. Oh, I'll tell you today, comparison is a thief. It will never allow you to be content or to have peace or to have the joy of the Lord if you're always thinking you've got to be like somebody else or have something someone else has. There are of course the voices of fear which will stop you from accomplishing God's destiny in your life. The fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of what could happen, not what is happening but what could happen. Fear is the exact opposite of faith. Faith says

says, "I'll hear a voice and I'm going to go where the voice is taking me even though I don't know where it is." Because as David so poetically says, I can look back and see that my God has good plans. He's going to take me to green pastures. He's going to take me to still waters. It was Jesus in Matthew 11 that gave us an invitation. Come to me. What will happen when you accept the invitation to the good shepherd? He doesn't say, "I'll beat you for all the bad things you've been doing." He He doesn't say, "I'm going to put some more burdens on your shoulders." He says, "If you are heavy laden and you are burdened, you come to me." And here's what the good shepherd offers you today. Rest. That if you are so exhausted you can't even walk anymore spiritually, the good shepherd will carry you on his shoulders

and bring you back to the flock. He will nurture you. He will bless you. He will anoint your head with oil. See, early sheep, they would get flies that would surround their heads and they would go in their ears and they would lay eggs and they would they would actually be such an infestation that they would even get in their brains and sheep would go so crazy because of those little gnats, those flies that they could hear in their ears, they would bang their heads on the rocks until they died. But yet the shepherd would take oil and anoint the head with oil to protect from all those fleas that are driving you nuts. And you have a real enemy that maybe you can't see today, but he is real. And Jesus is going to describe him over and over. And he's trying to take that which is not rightfully his. He's trying to drive you

crazy. He wants you to think thoughts that are not of God. But I'm here to tell you, if you receive the anointing of the good shepherd today, you will be set free from that which has been driving you crazy. You will listen to the voice that's going to lead you. I want you to hear this. He leads you. He doesn't come behind and beat you forward. He doesn't call you by your past. He doesn't call you by your failures. Rather, we're told in verse three, he calls you by name. He knows your name. You see, the devil wants you to start believing some truths that are not real about you. He wants you to believe that you're broken because of what's happened to you. And undoubtedly, you've had a lot of things happen to you, but your name is not broken.

Some of you have failed miserably. You've sinned, but because of Jesus Christ, you're no longer defined by your sin. You are not sinner. In the eyes of Jesus, your name is righteous today. One of the worst names that the devil gives us today is the very name that we declare over our own lives. When someone asks you, "How you doing?" and we respond with the same answer. I'm busy. Busy is a bad name. Busy will stop you from listening to the voice of the good shepherd. Busy will get you so distracted that you think it's something you have to do or something you have to earn or that you have to go fix something and and you'll find yourself far from the good shepherd. Busy is not a good name. It's not a good badge of honor to say I'm so busy trying to find green pastures and still waters that if we just surrender today, he's going to take us to this place.

Some of you have the name bitter, but you're not willing to confess it today. It's when you hold an offense. When you hold unforgiveness, you harbor unforgiveness in your heart. And bitterness, like a cancer of the soul, will stop you from being who God has called you to be. He knows you by name. He wants to set you free from any name that is not of God, whether it's burnt out. Maybe you're not even sure what your name is today. But when he speaks, his sheep follow. Some of us today have been listening to the wrong voices for too long. The voice of guilt. I'll never change. I'll never be disciplined enough. I'll never stop doing those things. The voice of the culture that says choose your own truth.

Be who you want to be. But I'll tell you today, the voice of the good shepherd leads us out. Leads us out of what? leads us out of darkness into his marvelous light. The good shepherd leads you out of depression. He will not leave you there. I tell you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, depression ceases today. You have the hope of salvation. You have a God that calls you by name. You need to listen to the right voices. The voice of the good shepherd. He calls you out of your sin. He calls you out of your addiction. Oh, you don't need to wallow in that addiction. You're numbing what Jesus can give you.

Yes, you've been hurt. Yes, you don't know how to do it. But the good shepherd can. And from this day forward, you do not have to define yourself with the name of an addict. You can be born again, a child of God. You can be his that he calls by name. And he leads you out of that addiction today. If you would receive it in Jesus name, he will lead you out of fear. He'll lead you out of oppression. He'll lead you out of your past. And he will call you into the places that you've never been before. He will lead you and guide you. He will not drive you, he leads you to the place of freedom. And Jesus is confirming today that just as he is greater than Moses, he spoke that earlier in the book of John. Just as he is greater than

Abraham, the father of faith, he says before Abraham was, I am. He's identifying himself with Yahweh. I am who I am. The sacred great almighty God. And David says, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want." David identifies, "I was a shepherd." And he became a great king of Israel. And he says, "The Lord is my shepherd." Jesus declares, "I am greater than David. I'm a greater shepherd than David. I'm a greater king than David. I am the shepherd that led David. I shall not want. God will give you everything you need. He knows you better than you know you.

And if you don't surrender to the Lord as a good shepherd, you'll get to the green pastures and think you got yourself there. You won't thank God for the goodness of the green grass you're eating. You'll think it was your hard work. But the Bible says every good gift comes from God. that if you got something to eat today, you better be thanking God, your good shepherd. You got a good shepherd that leads you to still waters, not a raging river that's going to suck you in and take you down the river. You shouldn't say, "I'm so smart. I got myself to this place today." You can thank God that he led you to this place. He brought you to this place. He restores my soul. Verse three says, "This is a good shepherd. When I'm broken, he brings me back to the place

that I'm meant to be whole." My friend, healing happens with Jesus. He heals your brain. He heals your heart. He restores your soul. The devil wants you to think you're traumatized and you got to stay in that place. You don't have to stay there any longer. He takes you on a path of righteousness. Receive it today. It's who you are. He calls you righteous and you have the choice to hear his voice or not hear his voice. Not everyone will. And it breaks my heart because as a preacher, I can preach one message and someone says, "My life was changed by the word of God and the power of God himself." And that same day of preaching, someone can leave exactly the same.

Some can even have bitter things come off of their lips. One person's life is changed by the word of God. The other person's life stays the same. And so we see with Jesus, the figure of speech, John 10:6, that Jesus used with them, they did not understand what he was saying. This sounds like a pretty simple metaphor. Jesus didn't go complex trying to explain physics or cryptocurrency or some crazy thing that's hard to understand. He used an illustration that they would have witnessed every single day. And still somehow they failed to comprehend the simplicity of this meaning because of their spiritual hardness. If you're spiritually hard in your heart, you won't hear what God has for you.

Instead, you get a religious spirit and you start to criticize what God's doing. But you won't say it's God doing it. you'll actually criticize it as if you know what God's doing. But Jesus goes on to explain. He he wants us to know that he is the only way. So he says again in verse 7, Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, amen and amen." Someone shout amen today. Amen. Jesus is the yes and amen. He is the truth. Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. There is no mistaking now which way we get to heaven. There is no mistaking now who Jesus is. This is the third of the I am statements of Jesus. The first was I am the bread of life.

The second was I am the light of the world. And now Jesus declares I am the door of the sheep. In the days of old, there was literal no literally no gate on the pens that would hold the sheep because shepherds would travel great distances. They would find green pastures. They would let their sheep feed on the green pastures until the the the grass was gone and they would move on to the next location. And sheep are not like goats that can climb rocks and go to crevices. And Jesus doesn't want you to be a goat. He wants you to be more like a sheep. There's a warning of this. They may look similar. They might do things that are similar. They might both have a shepherd, but not both are equal. You can find this in Matthew chapter 25. You might look like a Christian. You might act like a

Christian, but deep down inside, you may not be a Christian. And Jesus says, "I am the door. I am the only way." And in the days of old, and you can still find these in the Middle East today, there are still shepherds that lead in the ancient methods. You'll find these rock pens that have been created by shepherds to bring their sheep into to find provision at night. And with these rock pens, some of them are circular. Some of them are rectangular or even square. They are made really firm. They do not need to be very high. They just need to keep the sheep inside. And none of them have a literal door or a gate. What the shepherd would do is he would go to the entrance that once all of the sheep are inside, he would simply lay at the entrance. And metaphorically speaking, he was the gate.

None of the sheep would go over the shepherd. None of them would go over the wall. And if anyone wanted to try to get one of those sheep, they would have to go through the shepherd. And Jesus is simply saying,"I am the only way. You want to be protected, I'm the one that protects you. You want to be guided, I'm the one that will guide you." There are many that will try to sneak over and snatch you, but those aren't the real shepherds. Those are thieves. That's what Jesus tells us. He is the door. You're not going to find this by being good enough that that's the entrance into heaven. That's not the

gate that will get you there. You're not going to find it from good vibes or good thoughts. There's a voice today crying out that when someone's sick, all you got to do is throw some good vibes their way. And that's where the healing comes. But the message of Jesus has not changed. He is the door to healing. He is the one that gives you the helper, the Holy Spirit. That if you want to be restored, Jesus has all authority over every sickness. Every sickness bows down to the name of Jesus. Oh, you will not find peace and comfort and crystals. Or nor will you be a good person with karma. I'm here to tell you there's one door and his name is Jesus Christ. It's through Jesus that Paul says in Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. He

doesn't say, "I'm smart enough. I'm strong enough. I'm talented enough." I like how the King James version says this. I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me. We need to bring back the thus the strengthenest me. That's what the good shepherd does for me. I I can't do this on my own. That even it says in Psalm 23:4, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, oh, God's word warns you, it won't always be green pastures. It won't always be still waters. But when it is, you ought to thank your good shepherd. And even when God allows you to go through a valley, don't be deceived. It's just a shadow. You're not going to stay there. This is not the end of your story. If you're in a valley right now, I prophesy over you.

Your good shepherd, Jesus says, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. Lo, I will be with you always to the end of the age. So if you're going through a dark valley right now, I want you to know, fear no evil. Jesus has all authority. Oh, you see a hired hand. When the wolf comes, he says, you know, this isn't worth giving my life for. I I I'm just I'm just a shepherd. I'm not going to die for these sheep. The owner can get some new sheep. But Jesus says, "I'm not I'm not a a hired hand. I'm going to defend. When the wolf comes, I'm not going to let him take what is not rightfully his." Jesus said in John 10:10, "The

thief." He's referring to the devil. And the devil's not alone. There's a legion of principalities, authorities. You may not see them, but they're real. This is spiritual war. Jesus likens them to a thief that comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. From the beginning of this text in verse one, Jesus has warned us of a robber. The devil's trying to steal something from you. When you have no joy, the devil has stolen that joy from you. When you have no peace, it's the enemy that has stolen your peace. His aim is to rob from you that which God has put inside of you. If your dreams are dead right now, that's because the devil has stolen them. God has destined you for hope. God has destined you to prosper you. So, it's time to get your dreams back in the name of Jesus Christ.

You are not defined by what you've done yesterday or any day before. His mercies are new every morning. The thief is a liar and he's come to steal that which is rightfully yours in the name of Jesus. He comes after your marriage. He comes after your family. He goes after the church. He goes after your health today. He's going after your mental health. He's trying to get you to think that suicide is a legitimate option. It's a lie of the devil. It's time to take it back and say that's not the good option. I am not going to be here permanently. I'm gonna get through this dark valley. And I know who's the one that's going to comfort me. And his name is Jesus. The thief just steals. He kills. And he destroys. But I've got to understand God's plan for my life. Jesus says,

"Don't come up with the wrong conclusion here. Don't think that I came for a religion that's boring or burdensome. I came that you might have life and have it abundantly." There are too many lies about who our God is. Oh, he's a distant deity. Oh, he's this old guy in the sky. Oh, let's pray to the guy up above. Oh, let me just tell you, he gives life, and he gives it abundantly. I'm not talking about like a surviving life that you're going to limp through this life with. I'm talking about a God of abundance that never runs out. He knows what you need and he can give you everything you need according to the riches of his glory. He is a God of abundance. I'm not talking ordinary life. We've got to crucify the lie of what American Christianity is. This is abundant life.

We have a God of abundance. And the devil's tried to rob us of this. That somehow you got to survive to get through this life. Oh my friend, you don't need to survive. Jesus wants to give you overflowing abundant life. My cup overflows. Not my cup has just enough to get through the day. No, he gives me abundant life. And when I don't have that, and it seems like it's dead, I've got to prophesy who Jesus is, he is still the resurrection and the life. And so I call upon the good shepherd to be what I need him to be in the hour that I need him to be it. I need him to lead me. And the Lord sent me here to tell you about the good shepherd that he wants to give you this life. He wants to give you abundant life. So how do you get this abundant life? Let me just make sure it's really clear. It's not through you.

You can never do enough or not do enough. As Pastor Brandon said several weeks ago, there's already too much doodoo in the church that we got to clean up. It's not about what you can do or not do. That will slip into our hearts often. If you're not careful, you'll still think that God will love you based upon what you do. He does not love you more because you came to church today. He does not love you more if you look like you have a cleaned life. He loves you because God is love. So you love God because he loved you first. This is abundant life. So here's how you get this abundant life. Here it is. Listen carefully. I Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Now normally, just if we were just to take normal life here, if the shepherd dies, it's not good for the

sheep. Normally, they don't last years, months, or even weeks. A sheep would be lucky to live a few days without a shepherd. Literally, I've heard so many stories within our staff about dumb sheep stories. If you want to find them, just go to YouTube and look for dumb sheep videos where the shepherd rescues a sheep out of the hole only to end up back in the hole. Any of us be like a sheep before? One of our own, Landon, shared with us when he was in England going to Bible school, he walked by and found a little lamb stuck under the the roots of a a dead tree and he was stuck and he went and told the shepherd, "Hey, there's a lamb under this tree." And he says, "Oh, this happens all the time, but don't worry, we have enough sheep. We we count

the cost. We're not going to get him." And so Landon spent the day trying to get that sheep out who thought that he was trying to harm him. So he kept burying deeper and deeper until he had to rescue that dumb sheep from that place. I've come here to tell you you cannot rescue yourself. Jesus is not like an ordinary shepherd. He's not a hired hand. He says, "I lay down my life so the sheep live." So the only way you get this abundant life is Jesus. He's the door to this abundant and everlasting life. He is the way that we're going to live and be protected against the wolves. Jesus explains that the hired hand is not actually a shepherd. even though it looks like he's caring for the sheep. Some of you have

been hurt by the church, you've been hurt by parents, you've been hurt by teachers, but they were never ever meant to be your God. If you've been hurt by a spouse, or maybe someone that should have been close to you, but they weren't. And Jesus warns, please don't put your hope in the wrong place. You put your hope in Jesus, he's going to do for you what needs to be done. Look at verse 14. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Just as the father knows me and I know the father, I lay down my life for the sheep. Here's what Jesus is saying. He did it. He's not a victim here. God Almighty, who never sinned, came in the flesh and bore our sin on the cross on purpose. It

was his plan, not plan B. It wasn't the Romans that did this to him. It wasn't the Jewish people that did this to him. Jesus laid down his life for you because he loves you. He willingly went to the cross. He could have called down heaven that day, but he didn't because he paid the price for your sins. He says in verse 11, "I am the good shepherd and I lay down my life." Five times he says that same phrase just in this text. Verse 11, 15, 17, and two times in verse 18, I lay down my life. He's trying to let you know that he did what needs to be done. So, it's not about what you can do or not do. It's all about what he's done for you. Hallelujah. No one, Jesus says in verse 18, takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own accord and I have authority to lay

it down. I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my father. This is how we know that Jesus is not a victim. He is the victor overall. He is the savior. He defeated the devil and he defeated death and he told us in advance what he was going to do. He willingly laid down his life. He was not forced to death. He offered it to you. He was the price to be paid. And like a lamb, he went to the slaughter for us, his sheep. That's how much you're loved. And today, you determine how you respond to his voice. A preacher can't do it for you. No other person, a spouse, a parent, you determine how you respond to his voice.

Listen carefully. As we finish the text today, verse 19 through 21, there was again a division among the Jews because of these words. When Jesus speaks, there's always a division because it's black and white. There's no gray. Like, yeah, he's just a good teacher. Christianity is just a good religion. It's one of many religions. Nope, there's a divide. He's either the door, the way, the truth, and the life, or he's not. As CS Lewis said, he's either a lunatic and a liar or he actually is Lord. And there was division this day upon what Jesus said. And many of them shout many. Many of them said, do not miss this here. Most of them said he has a demon and is insane. Why listen to him? Let me just warn you today. Sheep, if you listen to his voice, you might be called insane. Some people might say you have a devil in

you. Some people might slander you. Some people say you're not doing God's will and you're a blaspher. The reality is they did it to Jesus. And if they did it to Jesus, who are you to think that I'm just going to live a comfortable life and everyone's going to accept it and celebrate it? You got to go back to John chapter nine. When a blind man sees, they're not so concerned about celebrating the healing as they are trying to crucify Jesus. They wanted to arrest him and they wanted to put him to death. Why? To silence him so their voice can speak louder. And the religious voice wants to silence the insanity of God. That you are so loved by God. He died for you so that you could be righteous. So that you could be redeemed. So that you could receive all that God has for you because he loves you so much. All you got to do is listen and follow.

That's what a disciple is. Is following Jesus. Others said, and I don't know how many the others were, but they weren't as many as the many. Others said in verse 21, these are not the words of one who was oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Let me tell you today, you can't just respect the shepherd Jesus. You can't just even like his teachings. They are either truth or they're not. There's no neutrality about the good shepherd. You either obey him or you rebel against him. And today, if you've rebelled against him, even if it's two or three or four times, he constantly is bringing you back into your flock because he's a God of grace. But Jesus is asking you right now, who do you say he is? Are you responding to his voice or are you resisting it today?

Have you been listening to the wrong voices, trying to go through the wrong gates, wondering what your identity is? Today I remind you, he knows you. He calls you. And he wants you to follow him. He laid down his life for this purpose. Isaiah 53:6 puts us on a level playing field. Whether you're young or old, whether you're poor or wealthy, he says, "All," someone shout, "All." All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Jesus took your sin not because you were so good. He said, "I'm going to do it for you." As you leave here today, look

at that lamb and think, "Would I die for that lamb?" I could tell you my answer right now. No. That lamb's got nothing to offer me except for maybe lamb chops or pork chop or roast the lamb. I But the reality is, would I lay down my life so that that sheep could live? If you put this in the perspective of creator, almighty, eternal, all powerful, all- knowing God who knows you, laid down his life for you, that's pretty amazing. That's enough to say, "Whoa, I did not deserve this. I did not earn this." So, I speak to two hearts today as I invite the worship team up here as we conclude our time.

Some of you have yet to be saved. Going to church will not save you. Calling yourself a Christian does not save you. Reading the Bible does not even save you. Being a good person does not save you. Those are all good things. But the reality is only Jesus the savior can save you. And I want to give you an invitation today to be bold and say, "I need Jesus. I want to be forgiven. I want the hope of heaven. I want to start following Jesus." Because when you do that, the Bible says when you call upon the name of Jesus, you're saved. There's no legal language here that says, "Well, you better earn that salvation. You're just saved from this day forward." You could say, "On this day, August 3rd, 2025, I was saved." It is the best decision you could ever make. And I can't assume because you

came to church today that you're already saved. You have to say you need Jesus. And if you want that salvation, in just a moment, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand. I want you to be bold and not care about anybody else around you but Jesus, saying, "Today, I follow you, Jesus." There's a second person I want to speak to for a moment. You've already said yes to Jesus, but you're listening to the wrong voices. You've been led astray. you're not doing well mentally, spiritually, maybe financially, relation. I you know where your situation is and it's not where God would want you to be. He's a God of abundance. It's time to come home today. And there's no shame in this. Jesus gives an illustration in Luke 15 of a lost sheep and the shepherd leaves the 99 to go after the one. And he tells us

that when one person repents, there's more joy in heaven over one person who says, "I need you, Jesus. I repent of my thinking. I'm going to start following you and listening to you. There's more joy in heaven than over 99 people who need repentance. I've been praying over this church for a long time that we would be a church that has the spirit of repentance. Because if you don't acknowledge your need for Jesus, why would he entrust you with more? But the moment you come home, he gives you your identity back. He puts a robe of righteousness around you. He gives you a a ring of your identity that you are the king's son. Your feet are fitted with the gospel of peace wherever you go. He takes the fattened calf and he celebrates you. Heaven has a party because you come home. So just because

you've believed in Jesus, don't be satisfied with a mediocre life. Let's be so sold out and surrendered people think we're insane. [Music] Let them say it and let them let us love him like Jesus. Somebody don't fight back. We need no vengeance. We just need to go where the good shepherd takes us. So if you've wandered today, I'm still here to tell you follow his voice home. The Bible says if you're hungry in John chapter 6, he is the bread of life. He will satisfy you. If you're thirsty, come to Jesus. Out of your belly is going to flow rivers of living water. John tells us in John chapter 7, he's referring to the Holy Spirit. Some of you might think, "I never thought the Holy Spirit would use me." Yep, you are

who he chooses to use. He wants to use you. He wants to show off to the world that you are his and he is yours. So, let's start with salvation today. If you want to be saved, that's a whole new life. Jesus describes it as born again from this day forward. You want to believe in Jesus and you're willing to testify out loud and be bold. Would you just wave your hand at me? Just let me know that you're making that decision. Just put your hand up in the air. Wave. We got a little booklet. We want to give you next steps. Say, "Yeah, that's me. I want to be saved." If your heart's racing, that's you, my friend. Raise your hand. Jesus is for you. He loves you right now. You're never too young, never too old. Praise be to God. Amen. Praise God.

We got another one over. We Oh, praise God. I see that little hand. The lamb of God. Praise God. Amen. You're never too young to trust in Jesus. God now gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit. No matter how young you are, no matter how old you are, no matter where you've been or what you've done, receive forgiveness and grace today. You're forgiven of all your sins from this day forward. Walk in the path of righteousness. Anyone else? Just wave your hand. Say th from this day forward. I'm not the same person. I've crossed over from death to life. Just wave your hand. Say that's me. I'm crossing over. I'm going from darkness to light. Anyone else? I don't want you to miss this opportunity.

Today is the day of salvation. You don't know what tomorrow holds. So why not just say, "Today is it. I want to be saved." Anyone else say, "I want to know where I'm going forever and ever." That's the hope of heaven. Just say yes. Give me a Give me your hand raised. Oh, praise God. I see that hand. Amen. Hey, praise God. Amen. Such joy in the father's heart. Not just from your earthly father, but your heavenly father. God's so happy. He's so happy for you. It's like he's been waving at you his whole life saying, "I made you. I love you. I've never stopped. Praise God. Anyone else want to be so bold as to say, "Yes, I want to be a child of God. I want to please my

father, not my own life." Just wave your hand right where you are. My fear is when I give these invitations that someone's got the butterfly in their bellies, their heart is racing, and yet they let fear stop them from entering into a new season of life. If that's you, would you just would you crush death? Like step on the serpent, Satan, and say, "No more. No more death. I want life." Just raise your hand high. I just want to see this. This is your new story. This is your new identity. This is your new name. Anyone else? [Music] Praise God. I want to pray with those who raised their hands. All those who have believed in Jesus. Let's pray with them. Prayer is talking to God. You could do it

anywhere, anytime. In your car, in your house, at church, out loud, quietly. All God desires from you is your real heart. Just get real with God. I'm going to make this simple just so you can repeat these words, but you've got to believe them in your heart. Confess them out loud. Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I believe in you. Forgive me of my sins. You are the good shepherd. I am your sheep. Lead me, Lord. Thank you for hope. Thank you for your grace. I receive your Holy Spirit. Lead me Lord in Jesus name. Amen. And amen. Praise be to God.