Beyond Sunday: Led by a Good Shepherd
Catch up: this week’s Sunday morning message.
God is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is both the Lamb and the Good Shepherd. Redemption comes through the Lamb and the Shepherd leads to abundant life. Do we desire to be led to springs of living water and comforted by this Good Shepherd?
Catch up: this week’s Sunday morning message.
-
00:00:10 Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Beyond Sunday where we desire to take the conversation deeper beyond Sunday. And so I'm here today with Shay in person. Welcome. Thanks. How you doing? Good. Good. Ready to do this? Yeah. Okay. Hey, before we dive into the conversation, take a look at this video. Heat. Heat. All right, welcome back. , as we get into this conversation and discussion, , what was the big idea for this week? , the scriptures we were in. Yeah. So, we're talking about being led by a
00:01:23 good shepherd, right, in this series of getting to know the guides. So, Jesus we've talked the last couple weeks, he's the lamb. and so, this week kind of was like Jesus is the lamb, but he's also the shepherd. we were in Revelation 7, John 10, Psalm 23. yeah, and Psalm 23 being if you're going to talk about a shepherd, Sure. you're going to read Psalm 23. Yeah. and also John 10 where he says,"I am the good shepherd." Yes. But but actually I started with Revelation 7 because I loved that it took both. it says the
00:02:00 lamb on the throne will be their shepherd. and that especially coming out of a couple weeks of talking about Jesus as the lamb and even with Easter, right? That's the whether we use that word or not, the idea that Jesus as the lamb is the sacrifice. , so he's that, but in in Revelation 7 that even just in one sentence, those two things together. , that idea of like he's everything. So he could have just been a sacrifice and like, okay, I've covered you now figure it out on your own. Yeah.
00:02:30 Sins are forgiven, right? Yeah. But he's like, let me also be this good shepherd. And here's what a good shepherd does. Psalm 23. Yeah. Lead you into good pastures beside quiet waters. even when we're in trials about the shadow of death, he is with us. Yeah. Protects. He comforts. Yeah. and then the abundant imagery in Psalm 23 like he'll prepare a feast more than you need or want or deserve. and he the end of that he pursues the shepherd pursues you. Yeah. So all of that. , so yeah, Jesus
00:03:10 is the lamb, but but this week he's also the shepherd. Yeah. And and then you take John's gospel and in John's gospel, there are seven I am statements all the way through the gospel. In chapter 10 where we were at, there are two of those seven. I am the gate and I am the good shepherd. Mhm. And this part of for me in in in John 10 of I am the gate and I know who come and goes and anyone who like just goes over not through the gate is like a thief. and and it's like be be
00:03:50 there are those in the world that would would try to hop in or try to to join and not come through the gate, not come through Jesus, right? and which he's already made that statement I am or that's coming later. I am the way, the truth, and the life. It's coming later in John. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. And again, for me, that alludes to this gate piece. You you're going to you have to come through go through Jesus. U but also being the
00:04:23 gate. It's protection. It's safety. It's the our coming and going that he's looking over us, watching over us, and in the way that he's the the good shepherd that we know his voice. And for me, that was a a sort of inviting place for me as I was in prep preparation for this message on this this last Sunday. But the the sheep know my voice, right? And if they hear another voice, they don't recognize it and they don't, you know, aren't drawn to it. But but but we can know the voice of
00:05:08 Jesus. Yeah. That's what that's what I I God woke me up with on Sunday morning actually because I I was planning to I thought I was going to spend more time on the fact that like I just said Jesus is the lamb and the shepherd and how he is it's just there's something really I don't know it moves me to gratitude to re recognize like he's everything. He's all of like we we talked a couple weeks ago about Jesus was like was and is and is to come. He's there at the beginning. His work is not done with
00:05:44 the Easter story. So he he always has been. He always will be. and also he's all of the things that we need. And you just said we're we're moving towards John 14. He's the way. so that's what I thought that this week was about was going to be about. And on Sunday morning early in the morning, I just that that piece of like here's what Jesus is offering as the good shepherd. and we just called it all out right in Psalm 23. It's in John 10:2. But so he's taking care of my my daily needs and
00:06:17 he's protecting and he's guiding and he's like, "I will do all of these things for you." And we read Psalm 23 and there's this like wouldn't that be so great? and all of those things. He's ready and willing and he wants to give us those things if we will hear his voice. And I for me that was you said invitation. There's absolutely invitation in that. for me there's conviction. as I and I think especially coming off the week prior which was a hard week a hard week for me and I spent a lot of we spent a
00:06:57 lot of time in prayer like like daily and then God spoke very loudly in multiple ways throughout the week and so for me there's this conviction maybe on behalf of God's people on behalf of the church that I've been called to shepherd of like what what if we're not hearing his voice? This is what he wants to offer. This is what we all want. I can't hear the shepherd's voice for you is what I that that's where I kind of landed. And that's what I I was offering was like church, I can
00:07:31 hear him. and I am hearing him and he's speaking to me. and I get to choose to listen with intention and I get to choose to respond, but I can't hear his voice for you. and he wants to do this for you, too. And so I yeah, I don't know. I that that was a heavy heavy conviction on Sunday morning early in the morning for me. and do you recognize do you know his voice? it was Mother's Day, right? And so even that that image that God offered of like knowing your mom's voice. I
00:08:07 have had some like teenagers and whatever come up and then I had a bunch of women come up and it was like okay the the teenagers don't look and see if you can tell which one is your mom. So they each just said one word whatever hello or whatever. Okay. Can you tell which number was your mom? And they all got it right. Shout out to illustrations when they look. because we know we know our are the voice of somebody that we spend a lot of time with who is like your mom is guiding you and and protecting you and
00:08:35 all of those things. you know not not as well as the good shepherd but that's that's what we do as parents. And so do you know the voice? Yeah. You know your mom's voice. And as a mom I know my kids voice. I think I told you this but I got to have a baby this week. I got to babysit and it's been a long time since I've had a like little little one and we were at the park and like as a parent when your kids are little you know like if you hear a cry on the park different kind you're like
00:09:05 oh that one's not mine I don't have to worry but I'm watching someone else's kid so every child that cries or makes a noise I'm like is that the one I'm supposed to be watching I don't I don't actually know the voice of this one spent that that kind of time and so there's just something in that even that God's like, "Yeah, do you know do you know my voice? Are you even listening for that right at the park when I'm in I'm in charge and responsible and and I need to know like I'm I'm talking
00:09:31 to other parents, but I'm like listening. and so there was just something in that God's like you you read Psalm 23 and you want all these things. Are you listening for my voice? Do you know my voice?" Yeah. Yeah. Dang. That will preach. I I hope it did. Yeah. Because there is there is such a connection there when it's like yeah, we we know certain voices and we also know certain tones of voices. Shut your face. That's recorded for all to hear. You tell me all the time not to hear tone. Well, I said we I mean as a
00:10:10 collective that's a it's a known thing that that tone tone matters. You can hear tone. I mean, I I when I speak, you don't hear a tone, just hear the words. You don't hear some special. It's just the words. Oh my gosh. Double standard much. Well, I don't speak with a tone. You do speak with a tone. Speak with words that you hear a tone. May or may not be accurate. Ridiculous. Back to the back to the topic at hand. But we can recognize the voice and and even like you said like at the park
00:10:46 or with our kids we we can I could even I can even tell the kind of cry is it severe? Yeah. Is it it's okay? It's just we're going to be fine. Brush it off. Yeah. Or I need to step in. Yeah. Yes. Correct. , and yeah, I I believe that's in those ways of of what God recognizes within us. I I I believe that. But also, I hear the voice of the shepherd still like, "Okay, here we go. Come follow me or here. Let's go this direction here into this pasture. Here by by the by this stream here, I've got
00:11:26 this for you. Here I prepared this in advance for you to come and and step in. Here I have given you my spirit so that you might reflect me and glorify God and others would see me through the way that you're showing up. They would see a reflection right of me. And I hear that in in in the shepherd's voice. I hear that in in God's invitation for me. The piece that that stuck for me was not in in the message necessarily, but was is still even stuck with me today was Jesus's statement at the end of the portion of
00:12:06 John 10 that we were reading that he says, "I and the father are one." And we went to Revelation 7 where he's laying out the lamb and the shepherd are there on the throne. but this statement, I and the father are one. If you keep reading past what was that in 30? If you keep reading past verse 30, right? The those who oppose Jesus are just ready to stone him. They're ready to pick up stones and to and and to get rid of him because it's blasphemy. In this statement, they're hearing Jesus say, , you are one with
00:12:45 God, right? You are God. They're equating I and the father are one with you are saying you are God. Right? No man can be God. and even Jesus's response to them as they're ready to stone him. His response to him even is like this well articulated hold on now. one in the in the way of character, essence, not necessarily identity. Mhm. We're not a Jesus in that statement in in the way it's translated from Greek. It's like not nec it's not a a one for one, a one equals the other, but it is a in my being and in my
00:13:30 essence, in my character and and in my authority, I am here speaking on behalf of my father. Yeah, I don't do I only do what my father you know prepares or or or or has called me to do. And it's this as he's talking with the crowd who's ready to stone him and kill him that he even makes the statement later on there in John 10 of are haven't I said that I'm the we're son of God. Yeah. And then then they're they're still ready to grasp him and and haul him off and and he escapes
00:14:11 their grasp at the end of 10 and goes off to on the other side of the Jordan where he gathers with many other disciples and many come to believe that he is the son of God, he is the Messiah, he is the savior. But in that interaction with the crowd of this blasphemous statement that they're hearing to no I I've this is why I've come I have I have come to be about my father's business about my father's work about even what Paul says in in 2 Corinthians 5 come like to reconcile and that's
00:14:53 what he's here for and what he gave his life for and resurrected and now what we as followers of him are being called into. and so I think for me in that way it's like I have an opportunity to actually echo the voice of the of the shepherd. I have an opportunity to amplify the the voice of the shepherd to those who are are desperate to hear where are you? Yeah. Where what does your voice sound like? that for me there's a sense in there of of and a conviction of am I reflecting the glory of God? Am
00:15:35 I amplifying the voice of the shepherd? Would people know that the shepherd's calling them and inviting them, guiding them? All the things we read in in Psalm 23. , and , and I so desire for that to be true. And as I reflect on my on the realities of my life, there are moments that it's not. And there are moments that that it is. Yeah. Well, and I think there's a distinction in that of living in such a way that Yeah. that people recognize like there's a shepherd that that's calling and wants to speak to them versus
00:16:22 that maybe maybe it's a pendulum thing that because the other side of that is people like okay so he's speaking to you so you just tell me right so we've talked about this before but like even this this is like even the the people in Moses on the mountain and God's like come and hear my voice and they're like you just go Moses and and so there's there's a piece of that that's like I I do I want to live in a way you know we talk about a Jesus shaped life. I want my life to like you're saying amplify I want it
00:16:55 to glorify the father and I want people to look at me and go wow there's a shepherd calling me. I don't want them to look at me and go oh you just tell me what God said. And even as as you were just talking, I was thinking like maybe this analogy of like as a parent like I've got two kids. We we both have two kids. If we chose to only speak to one I'm still going to parent like okay. So, I'm still going to parent my my second born, but anything that he needs to know, I'm just going to tell my oldest everything and like you
00:17:28 you tell you tell him. , you know, well, think about that. That'd be ridiculous, right? So, for so many reasons that doesn't work. , and I mean, we could spend that that they're all all the all the pieces of that are flooding in why that's not going to work. First of all, my oldest would be like power. Yeah. , but here's what I need you to know. Yeah. Right. But the biggest piece of that is that my relationship with my child is more than just me telling him what to do or what not to do or whatever. There's a
00:18:01 relational aspect that we can't even really fully. I don't know. There's probably science or something. I don't know. But there's science probably. I don't know. There's It doesn't matter. science. Yeah. The science doesn't matter. But the point is, oh, okay, this conversation. , because I'm not going to pretend to know something I don't know. , just want to offer it up. Yeah. If there's somebody very sciency, they could, you know, people do that. What are they going to do? People do that on podcast. If there's something,
00:18:33 if you are listening and you know the science behind this, you can drop it in the comments or something. I mean, is that what your thing is? I've heard people say that on the podcast. It's like it's a safe place. You can offer your lack or your lack of notes. Go ahead. That's what I'm saying. I don't I It's a theory. Anybody can throw it out there. I did say that. Oh. Oh my gosh. Okay. The point is now I don't know the point. Oh yeah, I do. Okay. The point is that there's more to relationship than just me saying
00:19:02 don't do this, don't do that. And if I chose to only parent or be in relationship like that with one of my kids, the other one like potentially could they grow up and stay alive and like yes like probably could keep them alive that way. there's something missing. And so likewise as a Jesus follower, if I'm only if I'm just expecting like you just have relationship with God and then you tell me y man I'm missing and that is what so many I don't know I that's such a because that was my story before a few
00:19:39 years ago when I there's this moment in me and that's the other thing I talked about on Sunday like one of the coolest things for me in the last couple months is multip multiple spaces recognizing that at nextstep our kids and our teenagers they are they are growing up in a culture where they are not questioning whether God will speak to them. and and that's a broad statement but but that's that's the truth. I our teenagers and our kids have actively are practicing hearing from God. That was not my story. that
00:20:15 that was not in in fact it was quite the opposite for me of like no you come to church and get told by somebody else who's knows better who went to school who whatever get told by them how to follow Jesus and live and whatever. , and I just so I there's just so many people who are Christians trying to follow Jesus, whatever, who are just depending on somebody else to tell them what God's saying. , and I do I mean there's all while the shepherd desires for you to hear his voice. Yeah. Yeah. Because he
00:20:54 because I was I was listening for the attendant. Right. Right. But but he wants you to hear his voice because he wants to offer you more than just I think that maybe that's the piece I'm even sitting in right now. Like it's more than just let me guide you and keep you from whatever. That's part of it. I want to guide you. I want to protect you and whatever. But also like I want to be with you. and I want you to be with me. And and when you don't hear my voice directly from me, you're not you're
00:21:23 missing that heart. , and there's something about I and then also something about doing that in community. , because I'm not saying that we shouldn't, right? Oftentimes, and I I said this too on Sunday as I was I was offering like here's all the ways God spoke this week cuz he was quite loud. , or I just was listening better than normal. but so many times in this even just this last week it was like through relationship with other people and community that was like oh that's what God's saying. and so it's
00:22:01 not that we do this alone but do we realize that the shepherd's speaking to every one of us and then together as a flock? What's that what's that look like? What's that word? Right. And then and then how are we walking that out as a flock? Yeah. following Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. Because I had the opportunity of shephering my oldest in a part of life and standing in a place of I know you can't see this yet, but here's what I'm here's what I'm off with as as your father who desires good things. which is just a
00:22:42 taste and a small pit of what God invites him into and desires for him. and so in that moment I I was standing in a place of protection for something he cannot see yet. and and that I love him, right? And that which is yeah for me just a glimpse of what Jesus as the good shepherd's offer good shepherd offers me. Yeah. All right. So as we wrap this up today what's what's the kairos from this week from this Sunday from this message? I think the the this is funny because Kairos like
00:23:34 what's God saying? God's reminding me he's saying he's speaking. he speaks and he speaks often and loud and so I guess that's just I mean that seems so simple but even yesterday right we so we're working on stuff and and some specific stuff God speaks and I guess maybe maybe that's like not not I've heard heard God speak many times. , but not putting that into this is how God speaks to me. , because even in this last week as I'm thinking back to the places and the ways that I've heard heard God, it's been in
00:24:24 different spaces. It's been alone. It's been in community. It's been a word for me. It's been a word for more than me. It's been all sorts of things. And so that reminder of like I just want to listen to everything he's saying. Maybe that's that that's what it is. And not not think that he'll only speak in this space or place or circumstance or Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe that's I need to sit with that a little bit longer. What about for you? for me it's it it comes out of we've been doing this
00:25:08 in our in our group a prayer practice and and we were we were invited challenged to pray specific prayers and and so I did that and yeah I I while we were fasting that that was the other yeah yeah specific praying , and I sense God speak and and answer. And , so out of this John 10, part of the way through before he says, I'm the good shepherd says, I've come that you may have life and have it to the full. The prayer I was praying and and being specific while fasting was for an abundance was for
00:26:03 like I don't know the week before is like all right God thank you right grateful for what was provided and prayed for and six days later the prayer was answered And it it was like it would have been enough to stay 6 days later earlier and say and be in a place of gratitude and thanksgiving. Thank you, Lord, for just your presence and being here and being my shepherd and guiding me to that that moment on that day of hearing God of I've come to give life and give it to the full and trust me in that. Trust me. yeah.
00:26:58 Not like Yeah. In some ways, I want to move I I so don't want to see it as like this genie of I prayed this and like I wished and it took it came about. But I had sensed God saying pray this in this specific way and and and pray that and trust and so I I I had to and I thought six days prior to that moment that I was like, "Okay, thank you Lord. Thank you for your presence." but and and and who you are and that I can be with you and then in that space six days from that moment it was
00:27:37 like in here you were thanking me for being with you and being your shepherd. I now want to remind you that I've come to give life and prepare a feast. h. Yeah. Some of that too though in in your prayers in that week before was the specific and the thank you thank you for you know it would have been enough and all of that but also there was a there was a moment of like if I've asked if I've given you this specific prayer to pray and it doesn't will I still be God will I still be your good shepherd and I know that you
00:28:15 wrestled with that or or maybe not wrestled but you you had to verbalize maybe even like yes God okay I'm going to pray this thing and I'm going to trust that even if but you've given me to pray even if you you invited me to pray this specific in this specific way and if it doesn't exist if it doesn't come to fruition does that change who God is right I believed it to be true that it it wouldn't I believed on the front end but I had to yeah I had verbalize. I had to cement it in my heart of you've
00:28:52 asked me to pray this specific prayer. I will I will be faithful to do that. whether or not it it happens, right? He's still God. He's still the good shepherd. He's still leading me in in good ways and protecting me and in all the things that the good shepherd does that we hear in his voice. So, , but in in that moment, it was one of those, , , don't you see? Mhm. But the thing that was, you can't you perceive I'm doing a good thing, right? But the thing that is, the thing that's
00:29:25 cool about that is that there was celebration in you before the abundance. Yes. So, Monday, Yeah. we're praying. Yeah. And and you're like, God is good. I prayed the specific prayer that God told me to pray and it didn't in that moment. It we we didn't we didn't get there and I didn't see that. But God is good and you're calling out this good shepherd and and so there's already celebration. That's such a like I'll just follow you. I just I you're good. And then so that a week later when it two days later after
00:30:04 Monday Yeah. that I you're like what? Yeah. What? And and then there's celebration in here. I I think it was so the celebration already took place prior to even the answer. The celebration was God you but it was confirmation that the celebration was a a place where I needed to be. Well, what it was is God to even I'm I'm thinking this now. It's like God was reorienting your heart. Celebrate what matters. What matters is you just recognized I am good and I'm the good shepherd. This other thing that is also it's good but it's
00:30:42 temporary. celebrate the eternal truth that I'm the good shepherd and you did and you're like you are good. And then he's like you could also have this that's fine. I can do that for you. But but the celebration like that's a heart posture of like yeah celebrate what what's important and what matters. And that's what resonates out of verse 10 of chapter 10. I have come that you may have life and have it to the full. There's fullness in him. It is good. All right guys, thanks for joining us this week on Beyond
00:31:19 Sunday. And we hope and pray that your conversations are going to be on Sunday in in ways that God is leading and that yeah, who knows even in spaces conversations that we've had that there are insights and truths and invitations that you're hearing from God and that you're able to have those breakthroughs in conversations like this. Take care.
