June 17, 2025 • 43 mins
"I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me." These words from Jesus offer profound comfort in a world where we often feel unseen and unknown. What would change in your life if you truly believed you were fully known and completely loved by God?
Our spiritual journeys are often hindered not by what's absent, but by what we're blind to seeing. Like a guitar placed in an unexpected case, God's provision and presence may be right before us, yet invisible because of the stories we've convinced ourselves to believe. The Good Shepherd invites us to see differently—to recognize that we are never abandoned, never forgotten, never beyond the reach of divine care.
This message explores how our narratives shape our reality. Whether it's assuming the worst about family members who disappoint us, feeling God has gone silent when we desperately need answers, or believing we're separated from those we love, these stories can blind us to the greater truth: nothing can separate us from God's love. Not trouble or calamity, not fears of today or worries about tomorrow, not even our own failures or mistakes.
Jesus prays for our oneness—with God and with each other—yet this unity often feels impossible amid the forces that drive us apart. The path forward isn't trying harder but surrendering our defenses, our need to be right, our reluctance to see differently. When we can hold our pain with open hands while exhaling our burdens, we discover what it truly means to have a Good Shepherd who leads us beside still waters and restores our souls.
How might your life change if you began retelling your story with beauty as the centerpiece? What blindness might be healed if you allowed yourself to see God's goodness where you've only perceived absence? The invitation stands: to be known, to be led, to be loved by the Good Shepherd who gives eternal life that nothing can take away.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
florida.
This is John's Gospel and thisis the fourth Sunday of Easter
time and this is such abeautiful portion of the
scripture and we got togetherthis morning and we sang songs
(00:23):
to remind us of our place in thebeauty and in the family of
Christ.
On the 23rd of this month is aFriday night and we're just
going to come here and you'reinvited.
We would love for you to comeand bring someone with you, but
we're just going to sing thehymns.
If you thought, wow, that wasgreat, but that was only one of
the songs, like I'm sure thatyou grew up, like I did, with a
hymnal.
There's a lot of songs and so,while we won't sing the entire
(00:46):
hymnal, we will sing a lot ofthe songs, and so we invite you
to be a part of that.
But we go here to John's gospeland John has a really unique way
of telling things and he'sreminding us even from the
beginning of John.
He says in the very beginning,god was with God, that love was
(01:06):
with God, that the Logos wasthere, and we begin to see a
retelling of the story, andsomething that we've been
practicing in Eastertide are twoparticular things.
One of them is we arepracticing making the beautiful
the story.
Whatever the stories that youtell yourself in your mind, the
stories that you tell otherpeople, find the beautiful and
(01:29):
make that the story.
Let us practice resurrection,let us practice new life.
The other practice that we dois following Mary Magdalene, who
is the first personcommissioned by Jesus to preach
the resurrection, and she says Ihave seen the Lord, I have seen
the Lord, and so this is apractice for us.
Where have you seen the Lordthis week?
(01:50):
Where have you seen goodness?
Where have you seen beauty?
Where have you seen hope?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
You know, and you and I've been talking about that a
lot in our own personal life isthe uh, the need to retell the
story sometimes, and I thinkthat some of us were handed
religion and so the story in theBible became cumbersome for
some of us and a true burden andfor this huge cross to bear.
(02:17):
And when we find out thatChrist's work is completed and
we walk into that kind of loveand grace and forgiveness, it's
a different story and maybe thatstory needs to be retold.
And uh, and your own story.
I was talking to somebodyyesterday and he said I wonder
how my story is going to end upand and it made me think of of
(02:40):
uh, the greatest story ever told.
Uh, and and all of the storiesthat would inspire us are
inspired.
We're inspired because of thestory's arc and then it's draw
from obscurity to greatness, youknow, and really for us to be
(03:00):
outside of God's grace and to benow in the family of God we are
among and in and hopefullywould really experience that
greatness, amen.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I remind us that this particular portion of the text
that we're reading comes rightafter Jesus has healed the blind
man, and so it's important toknow what Jesus has already done
.
People are asking questions.
In fact, this is the questionwhere somebody says you know who
are?
You Tell us who you are in thisparticular chapter.
And so when Jesus says thesewords, it's a response to what
(03:33):
has happened.
It is a response to healing ofblindness, and I wonder this
morning if we could, by theprocess of the Holy Spirit
expanding our imaginations, butif we could imagine that there
may be areas in our life wherewe experience blindness.
There may be things in our lifethat we see and we might need
(03:56):
the healing power of God tochange the way that we see
things.
And in fact, I believe that'swhy Jesus begins sharing this,
begins telling this, becausethere are many of us that suffer
with all kinds of blindness.
Jesus says this to the peoplewho are listening, to the people
who have just witnessed a blindman being healed, and he says I
(04:18):
am the good shepherd, I know myown sheep and they know me.
This verse is such a comfort tous it really is, if you would
think about the fact that how itstarts is I know my own sheep,
beloved.
You are known by God, you areknown and you are loved.
(04:42):
And the God who reminds us thatJesus said this I wished that I
could gather you like a hengathers chicks.
I wish that I could protect youfrom all of the danger around
you and just bring you close tome.
This is an invitation for us tohave a healing in our mind that
says I am known by God, I am nota stranger, I am not an orphan,
(05:05):
I am known by God, I am not astranger, I am not an orphan, I
am known by God.
I know my sheep and they knowme.
And just as the Father knows meand I know the Father, so I
sacrifice my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep too that arenot in in this sheepfold and I
(05:26):
must bring them there also, andthey will listen to my voice and
there will be one flock withone shepherd.
I love this verse becausesometimes, when I don't
understand what something ishappening, I love it because it
reminds me oh, they might be ina flock that I'm not aware of.
That's that the good shepherdis in charge of that.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And and and the good shepherd is bringing all of the
sheep to himself and I justreally hope that today, as we're
sharing this entire messagethat it's, it would stir
something in us to be, uh, justkind of remembering or maybe
realizing that God is a goodshepherd, that Jesus is this
(06:12):
good shepherd to us, becausemaybe Jesus has been the
taskmaster.
You know, you make sure you'rekeeping those commandments right
.
You know, have you been doingenough?
Have you been telling enoughpeople about me?
You know, I've noticed thatyour numbers are down this
(06:32):
quarter.
That is not the voice of theSpirit, my love.
So you know that feels like theaggressive boss being not the
good shepherd, and so I want youand I to experience the good
shepherd, because you know the,the, the pushy boss, is making
(06:52):
us meet quota, but as we learnand know the good shepherd, we
can't help but share.
You know you can't help butwant other people to know that
peace.
And so, uh, the good shepherdis, um, is concerned for the
well-being of the flock.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
You know, is it knows that you're there, knows you
and loves you the father lovesme because I sacrifice my life
so I may take it back again.
No one can take my Again.
We're asked here to see adifferent way, that we're asked
(07:40):
to see that the power insacrifice not that it is owed,
not that it is expected, butthat's how love behaves in this
cruciform shape giving, and thisis an invitation for us to
allow goodness to really besomething that leads us.
In fact, when Mary Magdalenebegins to speak of Jesus and
(08:00):
begins to tell, she reminds usreturn to the good, it is the
good.
It is that word that reallyidentifies, reminds us return to
the good, it is the good.
It is that word that reallyidentifies who Jesus is.
Jesus is good.
Jesus went about doing good andhealing all those oppressed by
the devil.
And this hope and thisinvitation to us is that we also
would follow the good, that wewould be people who would do
(08:22):
good everywhere we go.
And this is an invitation notto see it as something that is
demanded, but it's an invitationinto loving the world the way
that Christ does, lovingourselves the way that the good
shepherd does, and hearing thegood and listening for the good
and practicing resurrection.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
You know, the Bible's filled with names that God has
called.
But I mean, that's my favorite.
The Good Shepherd yeah good, youknow, because it helps us line
with what's going on.
Because sometimes, you know, inthis part of the story, it's
(09:09):
the part before the glory, thefirst act, that sets up what's
going on and the evil in theuniverse and all that, and we
haven't maybe seen the partwhere God comes and makes the
big rescue, you know.
And so in that part we have toremind ourselves sometimes that
(09:31):
I'm not abandoned, that I'm notforgotten, that there's a good
shepherd who's looking out forme.
And that's why I say sometimeswe need to read, tell the story.
You know I love Star Wars.
You know, is Luke just anorphan on an obscure planet, you
(09:51):
know, where he's just flyingaround shooting swamp rats, or
is he destined to?
And that's why that story stirs, you know, because he's
destined to be a part ofbringing the force to the
universe and bringing change anddestruction of the oppression,
(10:12):
and be a part of that rebellionthat stands up against that
system and that stirs within us.
But what part of the story doyou see?
And sometimes we need to retellour story, because in our story
we're just the orphan who'sstuck.
So I'm excited, I'm reallyexcited about what is the what's
(10:34):
, what's the rest of your story?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
and I asked this morning by the holy spirit if
you would open yourself to beable to maybe become aware of
the fact that maybe the storythat you have told yourself, to
be able to maybe become aware ofthe fact that maybe the story
that you have told yourself orothers have told you is
incomplete or it isshort-sighted, and if you would
allow the Spirit to minister toyou this morning or expand in
(10:57):
you that you have a goodshepherd and what a hope it is
for those of us who havechildren for us to remember that
our children also have a verygood shepherd and there is a
peace for the whole world, forplaces that we cannot comfort,
for people that we cannot bewith in their grief.
(11:18):
They have a very good shepherdand there is a hope for us in
practicing this peace.
So Jesus says I am the goodshepherd, the father is in me, I
know this, I submit to this.
And then it says and when hesaid these things, the people
were again divided in theiropinions with him, and so I
remind you of this, because youwill hear people talk about
(11:40):
Jesus and they will have dividedopinions.
This is what has been happeningsince the beginning.
Beloved, don't panic.
We have a very, very goodshepherd.
Some said of Jesus, of theChrist, of the Messiah.
He's demon possessed, he's outof his mind.
Why listen to a man like that?
(12:00):
This seems ridiculous to us,because that is not how we see
Jesus.
We see Jesus as someone we love, as someone we can trust.
But Jesus was saying things tothe people there that were so
different than what they knewthat they thought oh no, this is
something else.
This, perhaps, is ademon-possessed person.
(12:21):
We have to be careful.
We cannot listen to this kindof goodness.
But, beloved, I want to remindyou you know who Jesus is, I
know who Jesus is.
The Spirit testifies to us ofwho Jesus is.
You have a good shepherd, andothers said that doesn't sound
like a man possessed by a demon.
(12:42):
Can a demon open the eyes ofthe blind?
And I remind you, this is aconversation that we are still
having thousands of years later,when someone says it's too good
To have a God.
Who is that good?
Who is the good shepherd who'sgoing to make everything right?
(13:02):
I don't think that could work.
And then I remind you he is thesame Jesus who opens the eyes
of the blind, and may theirblindness be open.
May that healing be opened.
Now it was winter and Jesus wasin Jerusalem at the time of
Hanukkah, at the festival ofdedication.
This particular little portionof the text is essential to us
(13:24):
if we understand the time thatit's in.
It's the time of reded.
Portion of the text isessential to us if we understand
the time that it's in.
It's the time of rededicationof the temple, which meant at
one point the temple wasbeautiful and offered to the
Lord, and then it was defiled,and then people that did not
belong in the temple did thingsto it that made it no longer
able to worship there, butsupernaturally, by the Spirit,
(13:44):
the oil was replaced, and soeverybody had in their mind this
is the time when what wasdesecrated is now being
re-offered, and there is a hopeand a beauty in that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Amen, I think, for you and I, we can count on these
temples that God has given us,for it to be transformed, for
you and I to be consecrated, foryou and I to be cleansed, amen,
amen.
And I think that, again, I'mjust so stirred on the idea that
(14:23):
when we're talking aboutHeather saying in the beginning
of the service, consider yourblindness.
And then I heard so many peoplesay, well, I can't see it.
Okay, and here's the problem,here's the problem, the story
that we're telling ourselves,that's the thing that we
authentically believe.
(14:44):
So why would I, why would you?
I just I can't see it, I can'tsee another story.
Well, that's why we asked theHoly Spirit to open up, because
I mean, if you just see thingsI'm going to wrap myself out
here real quick but I asked onething.
I asked one thing of my family.
I asked one thing.
(15:05):
I asked one thing of my family.
I said, when I leave forvacation, would you please make
sure that my guitar gets putback in my office, all right?
And so I get back home from my10 days gone with my brother and
the guitar's not hung up on thething, and for a second, like a
week later, I misplaced theguitar and I'm like, and then I
misplaced the guitar and I'mlike, and then I realized that's
(15:27):
the guitar that I played.
And I asked my family one thing.
This is the story I'm tellingmyself.
I asked one thing and I haveexperienced my family, my sons
and all their great power andglory.
(15:47):
They have left things in thecar before Once or twice, max,
and they've sometimes put theguitar and I ask them to bring
it in, put it in the living room.
It's not so.
I have experienced some things.
I have some reasons to have mystory.
(16:07):
But, boy, when I realized myguitar wasn't where, I asked, I
went six guns, a blazing.
I'd like to tell you I'm theredeemed of the Lord and I never
misbehave.
But I had a moment, just amoment.
Church, in a series of glory,that I walk in the cloud of
power and might, that yourpastor just walks in.
(16:30):
And in a day I had a moment andI said where's my guitar?
Did you sell it?
Did you do it?
I knew they didn't sell it, butI just.
My story was they left it inthe car and it's been baking out
there for two weeks in the heat.
That's the story.
And it's been baking out therefor two weeks in the heat.
That's the story.
And heather didn't get offendedat what she's rightfully should
(16:51):
have got offended on theaccusation, because that's all
it was.
My story just was filled, and Iwonder how much story your
story has filled with accusationagainst you, god, against your
spouse.
And so Heather said well, youknow, I don't remember where it
is, that was two weeks ago, butI'm sure we would have you know,
(17:12):
did you look in your office?
Because that's where we wouldhave put it.
I said, yes, I looked in myoffice and I bring that guitar
home every week.
I put them in the gig bags,because that's how I carry my
guitars and whatnot.
And then she's like did you lookaround?
Yeah, I looked around, but Ihave learned something that
there's a way that a man looksand there's a way that you're
(17:32):
actually supposed to look.
So I went back in and I saw ahard guitar case that was out of
place.
They're stored in the closet.
And so I opened up that guitarcase and, lo and behold, my
guitar was in my office in adifferent case.
And then I remembered, oh yeah,I put it in a case that I never
(17:53):
put it in because I knew that Iwas going on vacation and I
figured it better be safe.
And so the story I had was I'velooked in every gig bag in this
house and you guys have doneand my story and my wife was not
smug at all, she forgave me forthis and then we began to talk
(18:16):
about in our own lives how muchdoes our story?
matter dictate the fact that wedon't even see what's right in
front of us because of our story, the wrong story and the guitar
was always in my office, butbecause of the story that I told
(18:40):
myself, I was convinced that myfamily wasn't good and that I
was somehow forgotten andneglected.
And I wonder how much yourstory shakes a finger at God and
his inability to care for you,to take care of you, and I
(19:01):
wonder how much.
And I just been thinking aboutthat and I have sorrow and I
repent to Heather in front ofall you and and if I did that,
all services would be filled upwith just me standing here
repenting from.
So we'll save that for anothertime, but but I want you to
learn from this, because I'mconvinced I'm not the only one
(19:23):
that walks around with the storyright.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Right after this happened, I began to ask myself
by the Holy Spirit.
There are questions that I haveasked God, there are things
that I feel like I would need toknow, and it feels like God is
sometimes silent.
I don't know if you've everexperienced that, but I have
experienced what sometimes feelslike an unanswer and I begin to
(19:48):
ask God is it possible that inmy own life you have given me an
answer, but it is in a casethat I do not recognize, so I
have not even opened it.
I wonder if there is peaceavailable to me and it's right
there, but it's in a case that Ididn't say that that's where it
would come from.
(20:09):
And I think this is what Jesusis inviting us all into
reminding us we are not alone.
We are never alone.
There is a good shepherd who iswith us and Jesus is saying
these things and he's at thetemple and these people have
believed him.
And the people surrounded himsaid how long are you going to
keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah, tell usplainly.
(20:33):
And Jesus said I already toldyou and you don't believe me.
The guitar is in the case.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
It's exactly where I said it was going to be.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Jesus said I told you , and you don't believe me.
The proof is in the work that Ido in my father's name.
The proof, beloved is in thegood.
The proof is in the good.
We as people doing the good, weas people following this
ministry of reconciliation.
I have already told you and youdon't believe me.
(21:09):
This is one of my favoriteprayers to respond to, because I
love to tell Jesus.
If you already said it and Idon't believe you, can you give
me the faith to believe?
There's a scripture that tellsus that there will never be a
temptation that we're in, thatthere will not be a way of
escape.
I have failed to find ways ofescape before beloved.
(21:29):
I don't know if you have.
So one of my other prayers thatI love to pray is could you put
an escalator in a neon signover the way of escape, because
I really want to get there but Idon't seem to be able to.
How am I not going to repeatthese patterns, these ways of
thinking or these ways of being?
And the invitation by Jesus isinto this gentleness and this
(21:49):
tenderness.
We pause here for a moment tothank you for joining us today,
if you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
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This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
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If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
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(22:13):
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subscribe.
Do you know how often it feelslike in this world there is so
much riding on us?
Do we make the right decision?
Do we listen to the rightpeople?
Do we make the right decision?
Do we listen to the rightpeople?
Do we do the right things?
It feels like a stress and theinvitation from Jesus is to rest
(22:36):
.
Beloved, you have a goodshepherd.
It is an invitation to rest allof the stress that is in our
mind and to remember that whenwe need food, he will guide us
to that.
When we need protection, heremember that.
When we need food, he willguide us to that.
When we need protection, hewill protect.
When we need the beauty of aliving water that takes away our
thirst.
(22:56):
That he will do that.
And I love the scriptures.
Go back and rehearse them toyourselves, remember them, but
over and over again, jesus talksabout the scriptures talk about
the psalmists, talk about howgentle he is with mothers, and
he gently leaves those who haveyoung, because mothers have a
(23:17):
lot of stress.
We have a lot of worry, I don'tknow.
I think it happens to us whensomebody puts a very helpless
person in front of us and saysthis is supposed to grow up, and
now you remember that this isall on you, and so the
invitation then is to rememberthat the mother sheep is not the
only one who is responsible forthe lamb, it is the shepherd.
The mother sheep gets toparticipate in the flock, but it
(23:39):
is the shepherd that protectsthe lambs.
It is the shepherd that leadsthem all.
And Jesus is saying this.
I know I already told you thatthis is coming, and the reason
they couldn't see it and thereason they kept asking was
because it was so different thanwhat they expected.
They really thought that thekingdom was going to come with
might.
They thought the kingdom wasgoing to look like every other
(24:01):
Kingdom.
They thought the kingdom wasgoing to come with Empire and
with rules that changed, andJesus came with a basin and a
towel.
If Jesus ever looked like amother with a basin and a towel.
Somebody asked me years ago andI was new in the ministry and
kind of young I think it was inmy thirties and they said what
(24:23):
is your ministry?
And I said I feel like myministry is wiping.
And they were like what?
And I was like I find, foryears all I've been doing is
wiping wiping countertops,wiping faces, wiping behinds,
wiping doorknobs.
I was like wiping.
This is sometimes how weactually love people is in the
service and the care of people,and so we remember this is the
hope for us that Jesus also tooka towel in a basin and he said
(24:47):
whatever keeps you from thetable of the Lord.
I'm removing that and we have abeauty and a good shepherd, but
Jesus is saying the proof is inthe good.
Look for the good beloved, lookfor the good.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I don't know if you've ever done that where I
mean, literally I opened up thathard case and there I saw the
guitar.
And then I remembered, you know, and it was like it all flooded
back to me.
I remember exactly what I wasthinking put it in that case
because you're going to be gone.
But I mean, I was convinced ofthat because I always put them
(25:27):
in the soft cases and it wasn'tthere and obviously every soft
case was empty and so clearlythere was a soft case somewhere
with a guitar in it and I wasforgotten.
You know, and and I just Ithink about that, the the times
where mary and then the twodisciples on the road, uh, were
(25:47):
um em yeah.
Emmaus were, like you know,didn't realize it was Jesus
until that moment that he brokebread or Jesus revealed.
It's me, mary, you know.
And there has to be that place,and so ask for that awakening,
where I can see the story, I cansee the good, you know, because
(26:11):
right now all I'm seeing is,you know, uh, heather and I were
talking about that.
You know, this joy that godsays have joy, may your joy be
full.
Well, I want that, but but I Imean I'd be lying to say that
I'm not feeling joy at all, thatwe're feeling a lot of struggle
(26:31):
and pain.
There's some growing pains inwhat is going on in your
pastor's marriage and in ourwalk with Jesus and our
relationship with others.
And it's not a pain in the neckbecause you're not doing what
we want.
It's a birthing pain of godwanting to do something new and
(26:51):
good.
And it's so hard to see andfeel joy in the middle of that
pain.
You know, uh, and then I'mreminded that you know, we can
be people that carry both hopeand sorrow.
You know that's what the, theseason that we went through
(27:12):
before christmas, reminded us of, you know, and then, and that
there's that for you and I, uh,there, there's, there's a truth
of what we're experiencing, butthere is a greater truth, and
that is that we have a goodshepherd and that god has good
for us.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And you know, uh, and , and that hope sustains me but
you don't believe me because youare not my sheep.
My sheep listen to my voice, Iknow them and they follow me.
I want to tell you a very quickstory about someone that we met
who is a shepherd and he wasnew to shepherding.
(27:53):
He bought a farm and there werealready sheep on it, so he had
a flock that he actually boughtfrom a shepherd that they had
already known and he was veryexcited and he was taking his
sabbatical from ministry and wasdoing a particular vocation and
he was on the countryside andnow he was going to be a
(28:15):
shepherd and he said he went outthe very first day and he
called the sheep so they wouldcome from their pen and take
them to the field.
And he said the biggest sheepcame and knocked him right over.
He said flat on his face and hesaid, oh, that must be because
they don't know that I'm good.
And so he opened the gate forthem and did this.
And he said it was a terror forhim to wake up every day and
(28:36):
know that he had to go out therewith those sheep and they would
terrorize him, they would runafter him, get him to the wall.
He'd have to leap over a wall.
They did not want anything todo with him.
And he said and then this wasin the fall as his sabbatical
came and he said he hated thesheep.
He would go out every day andbe like I hate you.
Why do you do this?
All I'm trying to do is goodand you are knocking me down.
(28:57):
Why will you do this?
And he said if he would callthem, they would literally.
He said the entire turd wouldturn the other way in opposition
.
I will not.
And he said.
Then a very early freeze camethat nobody had expected and a
bunch of the sheep gave birth tolambs.
And he said he went out in themorning and he said it was a
(29:19):
horror scene Little tiny lambs,frozen, little tiny lambs,
overwhelmed.
And he said he didn't realizehis very young daughter came out
and looked at him and looked atthese tiny lambs and she said
to him Daddy saved them.
And he said he looked what am Isupposed to do?
And he said she looked at mewith that beautiful smile and
(29:39):
said Daddy saved them.
And he said so we picked upthis lamb half frozen.
He said with all the stuff inhis mouth.
And he said he thought tohimself I cannot get this out.
And he said, and there was hisdaughter, save them.
And he said so he put his mouthon the sheep's, this little
lamb's mouth, and he said and hesucked out the gunk and he spit
(30:02):
it on the floor.
And he said he was disgusted,he almost vomited on top of it.
And he said, said he went aroundfreeing these lambs from this
thing and these tiny lambs,giving them back to the sheep,
and then he goes in filthy, hesaid the kind of filth that no
one should ever have.
He was filthy and he went andwashed himself.
He said he came back out and hesaid ready to be knocked down.
(30:23):
And he said I went to open thedoor, he goes.
And I heard a sound I had neverheard before and he said it.
I went to open the door, hegoes, and I heard a sound I had
never heard before and he saidit was all the sheep getting in
line behind me.
And he said I opened the doorand he said the very first sheep
was that mother whose baby Ihad saved.
And he said never again didthey push me down.
(30:46):
But every time I went out hesaid the sheep greeted down.
But every time I went out, hesaid the sheep greeted me and
followed me wherever I went.
Beloved, we are those angrysheep who are knocking down the
shepherd.
We forget that he is saving ourlambs, that we ourselves have
been saved and the shepherd willsave us.
And Jesus is telling us I amthe good shepherd, my sheep
(31:18):
listen to my voice, I know themand they follow me.
I give them eternal life andthey will never perish.
No one can snatch them awayfrom me.
This is very reminiscent ofJohn chapter 3.
This is very reminiscent ofJohn chapter 3, for God so loved
the world that he gave his oneand only son that whoever
believed in him would not perishbut have eternal life.
For God did not send Jesus intothis world to condemn the world
(31:40):
, but that the world, throughJesus, might be saved.
No one can snatch them awayfrom me, for my father has given
them to me and he is morepowerful than anyone else
beloved.
I remind you of that.
God is love and love is morepowerful than anyone else.
No one can snatch them from thefather's hand.
(32:03):
The father and I are.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
You know I'm not going to argue with anybody
about doctrine.
I just won't do it becausedoctrine is concocted by man.
But I want you to kind of,maybe in your own time, go back
to 29 and 28 here in John 10,and I want you to kind of think
about so many of us.
We really have our faith in whycertain family members aren't
(32:31):
in.
You know, because they livethis lifestyle or they behave
this way, or they even said outof their own mouth, you know,
and so we really, you know wehave our faith somewhere.
You know, and I'm not going toargue with you about your
doctrine.
If you want to have it and beunhappy sitting there with it.
(32:54):
God bless you.
There's nothing I can do aboutit, but I love reading that
verse.
I give them eternal life andthey will never perish and no
one can snatch them from me.
He said that, yeah, but youknow, but you got to understand.
You know they didn't do.
You know what it says over hereand there, and we start our
(33:17):
deal of dissent into fear andreason.
And but what does it do to yourspirit when I tell you that
that person that you'reconvinced you'd be separated
from is not out of the reach ofGod's hand and that no one's
snatching them.
What's?
it do to your spirit.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
I read to you from Romans, chapter 8.
What can we say about suchwonderful things as these?
If God is for us, who can beagainst us?
I love to pray this over mychildren.
What can we say about suchwonderful things of this?
If God is for my children, whocould ever be against them?
(33:59):
And then I remind you, you areGod's child.
Who could ever be against you,since he did not spare even his
own son, but gave him up for us?
Won't he give up everythingelse?
Won't he give us everythingelse?
Who dares to accuse us, whomGod has chosen for his own?
No one, for God himself hasgiven us right standing with
(34:20):
himself.
Who, then, will condemn us?
No one, for Christ Jesus diedfor us and was raised to new
life for us and is sitting atthe place of honor at God's
right hand, ever interceding forus.
Can anything ever separate usfrom Christ's love?
Does it mean that we no longerare loved if we have trouble or
(34:42):
calamity, or are persecuted orhungry or destitute or in danger
or threatened with death?
No, despite all of these things, overwhelming victory is ours
through Christ, who loved us,and I am convinced that nothing
can ever separate us from God'slove.
(35:03):
Neither death nor life, norangels nor demons, not fears of
today or worries about tomorrow.
Not even the power of hell canseparate us from Christ's love.
No power in the sky above or inthe earth below.
Indeed, nothing in all ofcreation will ever be able to
separate us from the love of Godthat is revealed to us in
(35:27):
Christ, our Lord.
You have a good shepherd, Ihave a good shepherd, and there
is nothing that will separate usfrom the love the shepherd has
for us.
The Father and I are one.
What a powerful reminder of theoneness.
(35:53):
A little bit further, in John 17, jesus prays for us, for those
who will hear the message andbelieve.
He's praying for us.
We are ones who have heard themessage and believe, and he said
, father, make them one, as youand I are one.
We bless your families thismorning with oneness, with unity
(36:13):
, and the oneness that we blessthem with this morning is the
oneness with the love of God.
May God's love bring such unity, may the love that you know
flow into the family of theworld around us.
But may you know that Jesus ispraying that we would see each
(36:34):
other, that we would be in witheach other in oneness.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
You know, when I hear that, and maybe just for years
years, it went in one ear andout the other, but it seems to
me that you don't pinpoint likea million prayers that Jesus is
praying over you.
It's like, you know, there's avery few things here and those
are going to be the importantthings.
(37:00):
You know, it's clearlyimportant, this unity, this
oneness, it's super importantand I don't know if it's just
the time of my life or wheregod's.
You know my, my intersectionwith god concerning this issue,
but I've just, I've just beenbulldogging it.
You know what it means tobulldog something you know, like
a, like a bulldog will grab ahold of a bone, try to get it
(37:22):
out of their mouth, and I'vebeen like that.
I want this onenesseness, Iwant it with God, and so that
means I need to strive, pursue,make efforts towards that with
the people around me, because itseems like experiences events,
(37:43):
that works really hard andstrives to create separation.
And people in traffic.
They are gifted at creatingseparation for me and them, and
so I have to practice in my car.
That's my brother, that's mysister, I prefer them over
myself, and what I think shouldhappen in this traffic line I I
(38:07):
need to.
You know, consistently in mylife, you know, prefer.
Um Heather said something to me.
She asked me would I dosomething for her and and the
request made no sense to me.
I don't know how I can do whatyou're asking anymore, or I
(38:28):
don't understand how you don'tsee that I'm already doing this
and there's a thing that risesup in me and it's probably just
me, but it's to become realdefensive about me and my
efforts.
And don't you see me?
And I do, instead of going,wait there, I want oneness and
(38:54):
my wife just gave me the pathand I'm gonna fight her about it
.
That doesn't seem like I'mheaded towards the path.
Oh no, no one else probablydoes this.
But I looked at that and Irealized I don't see it.
I don't see what she's.
I'm frustrated, frustratedright now, in this very moment.
I don't see it because I wantto do it.
(39:16):
So, lord, instead of takingthat rage and that frustration
and just dumping it on theperson that I say I love, I
could take that and go.
Lord, help me see, open my eyes,because I want oneness with her
.
I want to provide that, I wantto be that, I want to be that
(39:37):
for my wife, whatever it is?
Don't you want to be that foryour children and for your
spouse?
And so you're going to run intoit, if you haven't already run
into this wall of I don't see it.
Help me see the storydifferently.
I don't know how to do whatyou're asking me to do and so
quickly I can defend myself andpull myself or wait.
(39:58):
No, I can double down on thisoneness.
And, lord, help me become onewith this woman and help me be a
better father and a betterhusband.
Help me see that she wasn't justsitting around the house.
Let me see if I can pick at himIn a moment of vulnerability.
(40:19):
She asked me this is what Ineed from you, and I'm telling
you this oneness.
It is the most important thingfor us as followers, because
that's what he asks of us thatwe would be one, like he and the
father are one.
They don't have the struggles.
You and I have the father andjesus.
They're not walking around withthe discontent, the anger,
(40:43):
problems and the lack and thefrustration and the doubt, and
that's us and he's offering usthis way, and I'm already seeing
it as I'm, as I'm surrenderingto that oneness, I'm walking in
a greater anointing from God, agreater experience of joy and
his presence.
But I got to tell you, once youremove the blinders and you
(41:06):
begin to see the story, you'regoing to see how you're woefully
short in some areas.
Are you ready to look at thatand surrender it to God?
I know I am.
I'm tired of playing the thegame and the effort of trying to
hide it.
Let's just get it out and getit gone.
That's just me.
Nobody else in this place hasthat problem but stretch your
(41:35):
hands out towards the pastor.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Let's read this morning again from Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want he makes melie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths ofrighteousness for his namesake.
Even though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, I
(42:01):
will fear no evil, for you arewith me, your rod and your staff
.
They comfort me.
You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shallfollow me all the days of my
(42:25):
life and I will dwell in thehouse of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Would you take a moment with usthis morning and would you bend
your heart toward the good?
Would you bend your hearttoward the love?
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Towards oneness, unity.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
And whatever is on your heart, like big, like feels
like burdensome, feels likepain, feels like heaviness.
Would you hold that with openhands and exhale?
I have a good shepherd.
(43:10):
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at.
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
florida.
This is John's Gospel and thisis the fourth Sunday of Easter
time and this is such abeautiful portion of the
scripture and we got togetherthis morning and we sang songs
(00:23):
to remind us of our place in thebeauty and in the family of
Christ.
On the 23rd of this month is aFriday night and we're just
going to come here and you'reinvited.
We would love for you to comeand bring someone with you, but
we're just going to sing thehymns.
If you thought, wow, that wasgreat, but that was only one of
the songs, like I'm sure thatyou grew up, like I did, with a
hymnal.
There's a lot of songs and so,while we won't sing the entire
(00:46):
hymnal, we will sing a lot ofthe songs, and so we invite you
to be a part of that.
But we go here to John's gospeland John has a really unique way
of telling things and he'sreminding us even from the
beginning of John.
He says in the very beginning,god was with God, that love was
(01:06):
with God, that the Logos wasthere, and we begin to see a
retelling of the story, andsomething that we've been
practicing in Eastertide are twoparticular things.
One of them is we arepracticing making the beautiful
the story.
Whatever the stories that youtell yourself in your mind, the
stories that you tell otherpeople, find the beautiful and
(01:29):
make that the story.
Let us practice resurrection,let us practice new life.
The other practice that we dois following Mary Magdalene, who
is the first personcommissioned by Jesus to preach
the resurrection, and she says Ihave seen the Lord, I have seen
the Lord, and so this is apractice for us.
Where have you seen the Lordthis week?
(01:50):
Where have you seen goodness?
Where have you seen beauty?
Where have you seen hope?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
You know, and you and I've been talking about that a
lot in our own personal life isthe uh, the need to retell the
story sometimes, and I thinkthat some of us were handed
religion and so the story in theBible became cumbersome for
some of us and a true burden andfor this huge cross to bear.
(02:17):
And when we find out thatChrist's work is completed and
we walk into that kind of loveand grace and forgiveness, it's
a different story and maybe thatstory needs to be retold.
And uh, and your own story.
I was talking to somebodyyesterday and he said I wonder
how my story is going to end upand and it made me think of of
(02:40):
uh, the greatest story ever told.
Uh, and and all of the storiesthat would inspire us are
inspired.
We're inspired because of thestory's arc and then it's draw
from obscurity to greatness, youknow, and really for us to be
(03:00):
outside of God's grace and to benow in the family of God we are
among and in and hopefullywould really experience that
greatness, amen.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
I remind us that this particular portion of the text
that we're reading comes rightafter Jesus has healed the blind
man, and so it's important toknow what Jesus has already done
.
People are asking questions.
In fact, this is the questionwhere somebody says you know who
are?
You Tell us who you are in thisparticular chapter.
And so when Jesus says thesewords, it's a response to what
(03:33):
has happened.
It is a response to healing ofblindness, and I wonder this
morning if we could, by theprocess of the Holy Spirit
expanding our imaginations, butif we could imagine that there
may be areas in our life wherewe experience blindness.
There may be things in our lifethat we see and we might need
(03:56):
the healing power of God tochange the way that we see
things.
And in fact, I believe that'swhy Jesus begins sharing this,
begins telling this, becausethere are many of us that suffer
with all kinds of blindness.
Jesus says this to the peoplewho are listening, to the people
who have just witnessed a blindman being healed, and he says I
(04:18):
am the good shepherd, I know myown sheep and they know me.
This verse is such a comfort tous it really is, if you would
think about the fact that how itstarts is I know my own sheep,
beloved.
You are known by God, you areknown and you are loved.
(04:42):
And the God who reminds us thatJesus said this I wished that I
could gather you like a hengathers chicks.
I wish that I could protect youfrom all of the danger around
you and just bring you close tome.
This is an invitation for us tohave a healing in our mind that
says I am known by God, I am nota stranger, I am not an orphan,
(05:05):
I am known by God, I am not astranger, I am not an orphan, I
am known by God.
I know my sheep and they knowme.
And just as the Father knows meand I know the Father, so I
sacrifice my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep too that arenot in in this sheepfold and I
(05:26):
must bring them there also, andthey will listen to my voice and
there will be one flock withone shepherd.
I love this verse becausesometimes, when I don't
understand what something ishappening, I love it because it
reminds me oh, they might be ina flock that I'm not aware of.
That's that the good shepherdis in charge of that.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And and and the good shepherd is bringing all of the
sheep to himself and I justreally hope that today, as we're
sharing this entire messagethat it's, it would stir
something in us to be, uh, justkind of remembering or maybe
realizing that God is a goodshepherd, that Jesus is this
(06:12):
good shepherd to us, becausemaybe Jesus has been the
taskmaster.
You know, you make sure you'rekeeping those commandments right
.
You know, have you been doingenough?
Have you been telling enoughpeople about me?
You know, I've noticed thatyour numbers are down this
(06:32):
quarter.
That is not the voice of theSpirit, my love.
So you know that feels like theaggressive boss being not the
good shepherd, and so I want youand I to experience the good
shepherd, because you know the,the, the pushy boss, is making
(06:52):
us meet quota, but as we learnand know the good shepherd, we
can't help but share.
You know you can't help butwant other people to know that
peace.
And so, uh, the good shepherdis, um, is concerned for the
well-being of the flock.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
You know, is it knows that you're there, knows you
and loves you the father lovesme because I sacrifice my life
so I may take it back again.
No one can take my Again.
We're asked here to see adifferent way, that we're asked
(07:40):
to see that the power insacrifice not that it is owed,
not that it is expected, butthat's how love behaves in this
cruciform shape giving, and thisis an invitation for us to
allow goodness to really besomething that leads us.
In fact, when Mary Magdalenebegins to speak of Jesus and
(08:00):
begins to tell, she reminds usreturn to the good, it is the
good.
It is that word that reallyidentifies, reminds us return to
the good, it is the good.
It is that word that reallyidentifies who Jesus is.
Jesus is good.
Jesus went about doing good andhealing all those oppressed by
the devil.
And this hope and thisinvitation to us is that we also
would follow the good, that wewould be people who would do
(08:22):
good everywhere we go.
And this is an invitation notto see it as something that is
demanded, but it's an invitationinto loving the world the way
that Christ does, lovingourselves the way that the good
shepherd does, and hearing thegood and listening for the good
and practicing resurrection.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
You know, the Bible's filled with names that God has
called.
But I mean, that's my favorite.
The Good Shepherd yeah good, youknow, because it helps us line
with what's going on.
Because sometimes, you know, inthis part of the story, it's
(09:09):
the part before the glory, thefirst act, that sets up what's
going on and the evil in theuniverse and all that, and we
haven't maybe seen the partwhere God comes and makes the
big rescue, you know.
And so in that part we have toremind ourselves sometimes that
(09:31):
I'm not abandoned, that I'm notforgotten, that there's a good
shepherd who's looking out forme.
And that's why I say sometimeswe need to read, tell the story.
You know I love Star Wars.
You know, is Luke just anorphan on an obscure planet, you
(09:51):
know, where he's just flyingaround shooting swamp rats, or
is he destined to?
And that's why that story stirs, you know, because he's
destined to be a part ofbringing the force to the
universe and bringing change anddestruction of the oppression,
(10:12):
and be a part of that rebellionthat stands up against that
system and that stirs within us.
But what part of the story doyou see?
And sometimes we need to retellour story, because in our story
we're just the orphan who'sstuck.
So I'm excited, I'm reallyexcited about what is the what's
(10:34):
, what's the rest of your story?
Speaker 1 (10:37):
and I asked this morning by the holy spirit if
you would open yourself to beable to maybe become aware of
the fact that maybe the storythat you have told yourself, to
be able to maybe become aware ofthe fact that maybe the story
that you have told yourself orothers have told you is
incomplete or it isshort-sighted, and if you would
allow the Spirit to minister toyou this morning or expand in
(10:57):
you that you have a goodshepherd and what a hope it is
for those of us who havechildren for us to remember that
our children also have a verygood shepherd and there is a
peace for the whole world, forplaces that we cannot comfort,
for people that we cannot bewith in their grief.
(11:18):
They have a very good shepherdand there is a hope for us in
practicing this peace.
So Jesus says I am the goodshepherd, the father is in me, I
know this, I submit to this.
And then it says and when hesaid these things, the people
were again divided in theiropinions with him, and so I
remind you of this, because youwill hear people talk about
(11:40):
Jesus and they will have dividedopinions.
This is what has been happeningsince the beginning.
Beloved, don't panic.
We have a very, very goodshepherd.
Some said of Jesus, of theChrist, of the Messiah.
He's demon possessed, he's outof his mind.
Why listen to a man like that?
(12:00):
This seems ridiculous to us,because that is not how we see
Jesus.
We see Jesus as someone we love, as someone we can trust.
But Jesus was saying things tothe people there that were so
different than what they knewthat they thought oh no, this is
something else.
This, perhaps, is ademon-possessed person.
(12:21):
We have to be careful.
We cannot listen to this kindof goodness.
But, beloved, I want to remindyou you know who Jesus is, I
know who Jesus is.
The Spirit testifies to us ofwho Jesus is.
You have a good shepherd, andothers said that doesn't sound
like a man possessed by a demon.
(12:42):
Can a demon open the eyes ofthe blind?
And I remind you, this is aconversation that we are still
having thousands of years later,when someone says it's too good
To have a God.
Who is that good?
Who is the good shepherd who'sgoing to make everything right?
(13:02):
I don't think that could work.
And then I remind you he is thesame Jesus who opens the eyes
of the blind, and may theirblindness be open.
May that healing be opened.
Now it was winter and Jesus wasin Jerusalem at the time of
Hanukkah, at the festival ofdedication.
This particular little portionof the text is essential to us
(13:24):
if we understand the time thatit's in.
It's the time of reded.
Portion of the text isessential to us if we understand
the time that it's in.
It's the time of rededicationof the temple, which meant at
one point the temple wasbeautiful and offered to the
Lord, and then it was defiled,and then people that did not
belong in the temple did thingsto it that made it no longer
able to worship there, butsupernaturally, by the Spirit,
(13:44):
the oil was replaced, and soeverybody had in their mind this
is the time when what wasdesecrated is now being
re-offered, and there is a hopeand a beauty in that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Amen, I think, for you and I, we can count on these
temples that God has given us,for it to be transformed, for
you and I to be consecrated, foryou and I to be cleansed, amen,
amen.
And I think that, again, I'mjust so stirred on the idea that
(14:23):
when we're talking aboutHeather saying in the beginning
of the service, consider yourblindness.
And then I heard so many peoplesay, well, I can't see it.
Okay, and here's the problem,here's the problem, the story
that we're telling ourselves,that's the thing that we
authentically believe.
(14:44):
So why would I, why would you?
I just I can't see it, I can'tsee another story.
Well, that's why we asked theHoly Spirit to open up, because
I mean, if you just see thingsI'm going to wrap myself out
here real quick but I asked onething.
I asked one thing of my family.
I asked one thing.
(15:05):
I asked one thing of my family.
I said, when I leave forvacation, would you please make
sure that my guitar gets putback in my office, all right?
And so I get back home from my10 days gone with my brother and
the guitar's not hung up on thething, and for a second, like a
week later, I misplaced theguitar and I'm like, and then I
misplaced the guitar and I'mlike, and then I realized that's
(15:27):
the guitar that I played.
And I asked my family one thing.
This is the story I'm tellingmyself.
I asked one thing and I haveexperienced my family, my sons
and all their great power andglory.
(15:47):
They have left things in thecar before Once or twice, max,
and they've sometimes put theguitar and I ask them to bring
it in, put it in the living room.
It's not so.
I have experienced some things.
I have some reasons to have mystory.
(16:07):
But, boy, when I realized myguitar wasn't where, I asked, I
went six guns, a blazing.
I'd like to tell you I'm theredeemed of the Lord and I never
misbehave.
But I had a moment, just amoment.
Church, in a series of glory,that I walk in the cloud of
power and might, that yourpastor just walks in.
(16:30):
And in a day I had a moment andI said where's my guitar?
Did you sell it?
Did you do it?
I knew they didn't sell it, butI just.
My story was they left it inthe car and it's been baking out
there for two weeks in the heat.
That's the story.
And it's been baking out therefor two weeks in the heat.
That's the story.
And heather didn't get offendedat what she's rightfully should
(16:51):
have got offended on theaccusation, because that's all
it was.
My story just was filled, and Iwonder how much story your
story has filled with accusationagainst you, god, against your
spouse.
And so Heather said well, youknow, I don't remember where it
is, that was two weeks ago, butI'm sure we would have you know,
(17:12):
did you look in your office?
Because that's where we wouldhave put it.
I said, yes, I looked in myoffice and I bring that guitar
home every week.
I put them in the gig bags,because that's how I carry my
guitars and whatnot.
And then she's like did you lookaround?
Yeah, I looked around, but Ihave learned something that
there's a way that a man looksand there's a way that you're
(17:32):
actually supposed to look.
So I went back in and I saw ahard guitar case that was out of
place.
They're stored in the closet.
And so I opened up that guitarcase and, lo and behold, my
guitar was in my office in adifferent case.
And then I remembered, oh yeah,I put it in a case that I never
(17:53):
put it in because I knew that Iwas going on vacation and I
figured it better be safe.
And so the story I had was I'velooked in every gig bag in this
house and you guys have doneand my story and my wife was not
smug at all, she forgave me forthis and then we began to talk
(18:16):
about in our own lives how muchdoes our story?
matter dictate the fact that wedon't even see what's right in
front of us because of our story, the wrong story and the guitar
was always in my office, butbecause of the story that I told
(18:40):
myself, I was convinced that myfamily wasn't good and that I
was somehow forgotten andneglected.
And I wonder how much yourstory shakes a finger at God and
his inability to care for you,to take care of you, and I
(19:01):
wonder how much.
And I just been thinking aboutthat and I have sorrow and I
repent to Heather in front ofall you and and if I did that,
all services would be filled upwith just me standing here
repenting from.
So we'll save that for anothertime, but but I want you to
learn from this, because I'mconvinced I'm not the only one
(19:23):
that walks around with the storyright.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Right after this happened, I began to ask myself
by the Holy Spirit.
There are questions that I haveasked God, there are things
that I feel like I would need toknow, and it feels like God is
sometimes silent.
I don't know if you've everexperienced that, but I have
experienced what sometimes feelslike an unanswer and I begin to
(19:48):
ask God is it possible that inmy own life you have given me an
answer, but it is in a casethat I do not recognize, so I
have not even opened it.
I wonder if there is peaceavailable to me and it's right
there, but it's in a case that Ididn't say that that's where it
would come from.
(20:09):
And I think this is what Jesusis inviting us all into
reminding us we are not alone.
We are never alone.
There is a good shepherd who iswith us and Jesus is saying
these things and he's at thetemple and these people have
believed him.
And the people surrounded himsaid how long are you going to
keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah, tell usplainly.
(20:33):
And Jesus said I already toldyou and you don't believe me.
The guitar is in the case.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
It's exactly where I said it was going to be.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Jesus said I told you , and you don't believe me.
The proof is in the work that Ido in my father's name.
The proof, beloved is in thegood.
The proof is in the good.
We as people doing the good, weas people following this
ministry of reconciliation.
I have already told you and youdon't believe me.
(21:09):
This is one of my favoriteprayers to respond to, because I
love to tell Jesus.
If you already said it and Idon't believe you, can you give
me the faith to believe?
There's a scripture that tellsus that there will never be a
temptation that we're in, thatthere will not be a way of
escape.
I have failed to find ways ofescape before beloved.
(21:29):
I don't know if you have.
So one of my other prayers thatI love to pray is could you put
an escalator in a neon signover the way of escape, because
I really want to get there but Idon't seem to be able to.
How am I not going to repeatthese patterns, these ways of
thinking or these ways of being?
And the invitation by Jesus isinto this gentleness and this
(21:49):
tenderness.
We pause here for a moment tothank you for joining us today,
if you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(22:13):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
Do you know how often it feelslike in this world there is so
much riding on us?
Do we make the right decision?
Do we listen to the rightpeople?
Do we make the right decision?
Do we listen to the rightpeople?
Do we do the right things?
It feels like a stress and theinvitation from Jesus is to rest
(22:36):
.
Beloved, you have a goodshepherd.
It is an invitation to rest allof the stress that is in our
mind and to remember that whenwe need food, he will guide us
to that.
When we need protection, heremember that.
When we need food, he willguide us to that.
When we need protection, hewill protect.
When we need the beauty of aliving water that takes away our
thirst.
(22:56):
That he will do that.
And I love the scriptures.
Go back and rehearse them toyourselves, remember them, but
over and over again, jesus talksabout the scriptures talk about
the psalmists, talk about howgentle he is with mothers, and
he gently leaves those who haveyoung, because mothers have a
(23:17):
lot of stress.
We have a lot of worry, I don'tknow.
I think it happens to us whensomebody puts a very helpless
person in front of us and saysthis is supposed to grow up, and
now you remember that this isall on you, and so the
invitation then is to rememberthat the mother sheep is not the
only one who is responsible forthe lamb, it is the shepherd.
The mother sheep gets toparticipate in the flock, but it
(23:39):
is the shepherd that protectsthe lambs.
It is the shepherd that leadsthem all.
And Jesus is saying this.
I know I already told you thatthis is coming, and the reason
they couldn't see it and thereason they kept asking was
because it was so different thanwhat they expected.
They really thought that thekingdom was going to come with
might.
They thought the kingdom wasgoing to look like every other
(24:01):
Kingdom.
They thought the kingdom wasgoing to come with Empire and
with rules that changed, andJesus came with a basin and a
towel.
If Jesus ever looked like amother with a basin and a towel.
Somebody asked me years ago andI was new in the ministry and
kind of young I think it was inmy thirties and they said what
(24:23):
is your ministry?
And I said I feel like myministry is wiping.
And they were like what?
And I was like I find, foryears all I've been doing is
wiping wiping countertops,wiping faces, wiping behinds,
wiping doorknobs.
I was like wiping.
This is sometimes how weactually love people is in the
service and the care of people,and so we remember this is the
hope for us that Jesus also tooka towel in a basin and he said
(24:47):
whatever keeps you from thetable of the Lord.
I'm removing that and we have abeauty and a good shepherd, but
Jesus is saying the proof is inthe good.
Look for the good beloved, lookfor the good.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I don't know if you've ever done that where I
mean, literally I opened up thathard case and there I saw the
guitar.
And then I remembered, you know, and it was like it all flooded
back to me.
I remember exactly what I wasthinking put it in that case
because you're going to be gone.
But I mean, I was convinced ofthat because I always put them
(25:27):
in the soft cases and it wasn'tthere and obviously every soft
case was empty and so clearlythere was a soft case somewhere
with a guitar in it and I wasforgotten.
You know, and and I just Ithink about that, the the times
where mary and then the twodisciples on the road, uh, were
(25:47):
um em yeah.
Emmaus were, like you know,didn't realize it was Jesus
until that moment that he brokebread or Jesus revealed.
It's me, mary, you know.
And there has to be that place,and so ask for that awakening,
where I can see the story, I cansee the good, you know, because
(26:11):
right now all I'm seeing is,you know, uh, heather and I were
talking about that.
You know, this joy that godsays have joy, may your joy be
full.
Well, I want that, but but I Imean I'd be lying to say that
I'm not feeling joy at all, thatwe're feeling a lot of struggle
(26:31):
and pain.
There's some growing pains inwhat is going on in your
pastor's marriage and in ourwalk with Jesus and our
relationship with others.
And it's not a pain in the neckbecause you're not doing what
we want.
It's a birthing pain of godwanting to do something new and
(26:51):
good.
And it's so hard to see andfeel joy in the middle of that
pain.
You know, uh, and then I'mreminded that you know, we can
be people that carry both hopeand sorrow.
You know that's what the, theseason that we went through
(27:12):
before christmas, reminded us of, you know, and then, and that
there's that for you and I, uh,there, there's, there's a truth
of what we're experiencing, butthere is a greater truth, and
that is that we have a goodshepherd and that god has good
for us.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And you know, uh, and , and that hope sustains me but
you don't believe me because youare not my sheep.
My sheep listen to my voice, Iknow them and they follow me.
I want to tell you a very quickstory about someone that we met
who is a shepherd and he wasnew to shepherding.
(27:53):
He bought a farm and there werealready sheep on it, so he had
a flock that he actually boughtfrom a shepherd that they had
already known and he was veryexcited and he was taking his
sabbatical from ministry and wasdoing a particular vocation and
he was on the countryside andnow he was going to be a
(28:15):
shepherd and he said he went outthe very first day and he
called the sheep so they wouldcome from their pen and take
them to the field.
And he said the biggest sheepcame and knocked him right over.
He said flat on his face and hesaid, oh, that must be because
they don't know that I'm good.
And so he opened the gate forthem and did this.
And he said it was a terror forhim to wake up every day and
(28:36):
know that he had to go out therewith those sheep and they would
terrorize him, they would runafter him, get him to the wall.
He'd have to leap over a wall.
They did not want anything todo with him.
And he said and then this wasin the fall as his sabbatical
came and he said he hated thesheep.
He would go out every day andbe like I hate you.
Why do you do this?
All I'm trying to do is goodand you are knocking me down.
(28:57):
Why will you do this?
And he said if he would callthem, they would literally.
He said the entire turd wouldturn the other way in opposition
.
I will not.
And he said.
Then a very early freeze camethat nobody had expected and a
bunch of the sheep gave birth tolambs.
And he said he went out in themorning and he said it was a
(29:19):
horror scene Little tiny lambs,frozen, little tiny lambs,
overwhelmed.
And he said he didn't realizehis very young daughter came out
and looked at him and looked atthese tiny lambs and she said
to him Daddy saved them.
And he said he looked what am Isupposed to do?
And he said she looked at mewith that beautiful smile and
(29:39):
said Daddy saved them.
And he said so we picked upthis lamb half frozen.
He said with all the stuff inhis mouth.
And he said he thought tohimself I cannot get this out.
And he said, and there was hisdaughter, save them.
And he said so he put his mouthon the sheep's, this little
lamb's mouth, and he said and hesucked out the gunk and he spit
(30:02):
it on the floor.
And he said he was disgusted,he almost vomited on top of it.
And he said, said he went aroundfreeing these lambs from this
thing and these tiny lambs,giving them back to the sheep,
and then he goes in filthy, hesaid the kind of filth that no
one should ever have.
He was filthy and he went andwashed himself.
He said he came back out and hesaid ready to be knocked down.
(30:23):
And he said I went to open thedoor, he goes.
And I heard a sound I had neverheard before and he said it.
I went to open the door, hegoes, and I heard a sound I had
never heard before and he saidit was all the sheep getting in
line behind me.
And he said I opened the doorand he said the very first sheep
was that mother whose baby Ihad saved.
And he said never again didthey push me down.
(30:46):
But every time I went out hesaid the sheep greeted down.
But every time I went out, hesaid the sheep greeted me and
followed me wherever I went.
Beloved, we are those angrysheep who are knocking down the
shepherd.
We forget that he is saving ourlambs, that we ourselves have
been saved and the shepherd willsave us.
And Jesus is telling us I amthe good shepherd, my sheep
(31:18):
listen to my voice, I know themand they follow me.
I give them eternal life andthey will never perish.
No one can snatch them awayfrom me.
This is very reminiscent ofJohn chapter 3.
This is very reminiscent ofJohn chapter 3, for God so loved
the world that he gave his oneand only son that whoever
believed in him would not perishbut have eternal life.
For God did not send Jesus intothis world to condemn the world
(31:40):
, but that the world, throughJesus, might be saved.
No one can snatch them awayfrom me, for my father has given
them to me and he is morepowerful than anyone else
beloved.
I remind you of that.
God is love and love is morepowerful than anyone else.
No one can snatch them from thefather's hand.
(32:03):
The father and I are.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
You know I'm not going to argue with anybody
about doctrine.
I just won't do it becausedoctrine is concocted by man.
But I want you to kind of,maybe in your own time, go back
to 29 and 28 here in John 10,and I want you to kind of think
about so many of us.
We really have our faith in whycertain family members aren't
(32:31):
in.
You know, because they livethis lifestyle or they behave
this way, or they even said outof their own mouth, you know,
and so we really, you know wehave our faith somewhere.
You know, and I'm not going toargue with you about your
doctrine.
If you want to have it and beunhappy sitting there with it.
(32:54):
God bless you.
There's nothing I can do aboutit, but I love reading that
verse.
I give them eternal life andthey will never perish and no
one can snatch them from me.
He said that, yeah, but youknow, but you got to understand.
You know they didn't do.
You know what it says over hereand there, and we start our
(33:17):
deal of dissent into fear andreason.
And but what does it do to yourspirit when I tell you that
that person that you'reconvinced you'd be separated
from is not out of the reach ofGod's hand and that no one's
snatching them.
What's?
it do to your spirit.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
I read to you from Romans, chapter 8.
What can we say about suchwonderful things as these?
If God is for us, who can beagainst us?
I love to pray this over mychildren.
What can we say about suchwonderful things of this?
If God is for my children, whocould ever be against them?
(33:59):
And then I remind you, you areGod's child.
Who could ever be against you,since he did not spare even his
own son, but gave him up for us?
Won't he give up everythingelse?
Won't he give us everythingelse?
Who dares to accuse us, whomGod has chosen for his own?
No one, for God himself hasgiven us right standing with
(34:20):
himself.
Who, then, will condemn us?
No one, for Christ Jesus diedfor us and was raised to new
life for us and is sitting atthe place of honor at God's
right hand, ever interceding forus.
Can anything ever separate usfrom Christ's love?
Does it mean that we no longerare loved if we have trouble or
(34:42):
calamity, or are persecuted orhungry or destitute or in danger
or threatened with death?
No, despite all of these things, overwhelming victory is ours
through Christ, who loved us,and I am convinced that nothing
can ever separate us from God'slove.
(35:03):
Neither death nor life, norangels nor demons, not fears of
today or worries about tomorrow.
Not even the power of hell canseparate us from Christ's love.
No power in the sky above or inthe earth below.
Indeed, nothing in all ofcreation will ever be able to
separate us from the love of Godthat is revealed to us in
(35:27):
Christ, our Lord.
You have a good shepherd, Ihave a good shepherd, and there
is nothing that will separate usfrom the love the shepherd has
for us.
The Father and I are one.
What a powerful reminder of theoneness.
(35:53):
A little bit further, in John 17, jesus prays for us, for those
who will hear the message andbelieve.
He's praying for us.
We are ones who have heard themessage and believe, and he said
, father, make them one, as youand I are one.
We bless your families thismorning with oneness, with unity
(36:13):
, and the oneness that we blessthem with this morning is the
oneness with the love of God.
May God's love bring such unity, may the love that you know
flow into the family of theworld around us.
But may you know that Jesus ispraying that we would see each
(36:34):
other, that we would be in witheach other in oneness.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
You know, when I hear that, and maybe just for years
years, it went in one ear andout the other, but it seems to
me that you don't pinpoint likea million prayers that Jesus is
praying over you.
It's like, you know, there's avery few things here and those
are going to be the importantthings.
(37:00):
You know, it's clearlyimportant, this unity, this
oneness, it's super importantand I don't know if it's just
the time of my life or wheregod's.
You know my, my intersectionwith god concerning this issue,
but I've just, I've just beenbulldogging it.
You know what it means tobulldog something you know, like
a, like a bulldog will grab ahold of a bone, try to get it
(37:22):
out of their mouth, and I'vebeen like that.
I want this onenesseness, Iwant it with God, and so that
means I need to strive, pursue,make efforts towards that with
the people around me, because itseems like experiences events,
(37:43):
that works really hard andstrives to create separation.
And people in traffic.
They are gifted at creatingseparation for me and them, and
so I have to practice in my car.
That's my brother, that's mysister, I prefer them over
myself, and what I think shouldhappen in this traffic line I I
(38:07):
need to.
You know, consistently in mylife, you know, prefer.
Um Heather said something to me.
She asked me would I dosomething for her and and the
request made no sense to me.
I don't know how I can do whatyou're asking anymore, or I
(38:28):
don't understand how you don'tsee that I'm already doing this
and there's a thing that risesup in me and it's probably just
me, but it's to become realdefensive about me and my
efforts.
And don't you see me?
And I do, instead of going,wait there, I want oneness and
(38:54):
my wife just gave me the pathand I'm gonna fight her about it
.
That doesn't seem like I'mheaded towards the path.
Oh no, no one else probablydoes this.
But I looked at that and Irealized I don't see it.
I don't see what she's.
I'm frustrated, frustratedright now, in this very moment.
I don't see it because I wantto do it.
(39:16):
So, lord, instead of takingthat rage and that frustration
and just dumping it on theperson that I say I love, I
could take that and go.
Lord, help me see, open my eyes,because I want oneness with her
.
I want to provide that, I wantto be that, I want to be that
(39:37):
for my wife, whatever it is?
Don't you want to be that foryour children and for your
spouse?
And so you're going to run intoit, if you haven't already run
into this wall of I don't see it.
Help me see the storydifferently.
I don't know how to do whatyou're asking me to do and so
quickly I can defend myself andpull myself or wait.
(39:58):
No, I can double down on thisoneness.
And, lord, help me become onewith this woman and help me be a
better father and a betterhusband.
Help me see that she wasn't justsitting around the house.
Let me see if I can pick at himIn a moment of vulnerability.
(40:19):
She asked me this is what Ineed from you, and I'm telling
you this oneness.
It is the most important thingfor us as followers, because
that's what he asks of us thatwe would be one, like he and the
father are one.
They don't have the struggles.
You and I have the father andjesus.
They're not walking around withthe discontent, the anger,
(40:43):
problems and the lack and thefrustration and the doubt, and
that's us and he's offering usthis way, and I'm already seeing
it as I'm, as I'm surrenderingto that oneness, I'm walking in
a greater anointing from God, agreater experience of joy and
his presence.
But I got to tell you, once youremove the blinders and you
(41:06):
begin to see the story, you'regoing to see how you're woefully
short in some areas.
Are you ready to look at thatand surrender it to God?
I know I am.
I'm tired of playing the thegame and the effort of trying to
hide it.
Let's just get it out and getit gone.
That's just me.
Nobody else in this place hasthat problem but stretch your
(41:35):
hands out towards the pastor.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Let's read this morning again from Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want he makes melie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths ofrighteousness for his namesake.
Even though I walk through thevalley of the shadow of death, I
(42:01):
will fear no evil, for you arewith me, your rod and your staff
.
They comfort me.
You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shallfollow me all the days of my
(42:25):
life and I will dwell in thehouse of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Would you take a moment with usthis morning and would you bend
your heart toward the good?
Would you bend your hearttoward the love?
Speaker 2 (42:45):
Towards oneness, unity.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
And whatever is on your heart, like big, like feels
like burdensome, feels likepain, feels like heaviness.
Would you hold that with openhands and exhale?
I have a good shepherd.
(43:10):
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
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