Jesus Christ Who is my Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:1-18)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.” May the work of the Holy Spirit of God take place upon all the members of the church and the regional churches that are worshiping in the field. How can we live our walk of faith? Our life and our walk of faith are not separate things, they are together, and if you live your walk of faith in the world, then you will receive your answers in the world as well. First and foremost, you must acknowledge in your mind that your walk of faith is your life, you must receive that thought first to be aligned with God, but you’ve already determined by yourself that this aspect of your life is your walk of faith, and a separate life for your family, and a separate life for your job, but that image is something you just made up on your own, that’s why your walk of faith is not taking place. If your walk of faith is taking place, it means you acknowledge that God is alive and working and there is evidence of His work in your life. Because God is alive, you rightfully and naturally will receive answers.
If you have a living plant or an animal in your home, you can see that, every day, it changes, but if something is dead, then it’s always the same. As we live our walk of faith, God is alive and He is moving, so in every situation, our answers are different. That’s what it means that our walk of faith and our entire lives are the same. This means that God is alive and is giving us answers in every aspect of our life.
1. Jesus Christ
So, the title of today’s message is, “Jesus Christ Who is my Good Shepherd.” Who is the Shepherd of your life? You need to confirm that in your heart today. Are you the shepherd of your own life, or is Jesus Christ your Shepherd? If I am my own shepherd, then what’s really my shepherd? Is it money? We need to think about that. The reason our lives do not have answers is because we have not designated the correct shepherd. That is the content that Jesus is telling the Pharisees through today’s scripture.
The way Jesus talks to them, He says there is a True Shepherd and a fake shepherd, and there are even true sheep that the Lord has prepared, and He tells what the characteristics of the true sheep are. If there are any of you who are goats instead of sheep, I hope you will quickly change yourself to be a sheep. It’s okay even if you’re diseased sheep, it’s okay even if you’re a sheep with a destroyed business, it’s okay even if you’re a sheep with depression; what’s really important is, are you a True Sheep? Then all you have to do is meet the True Shepherd. But the problem is difficult: if I’m not a sheep, then I’m a goat. The characteristic of a goat is they don’t listen to the words of the Good Shepherd. Goats have their horns and they always try to fight and live for their own greed. That’s not a sheep.
Are there any of you who are sometimes goats but sometimes sheep? In the past, we used to be goats, and then we were changed into sheep, but inside of us, there may still be some goat-ish tendencies that want to butt heads, but right now, we’re not talking about you butting heads with the pastor, we’re talking about you butting heads with God. If you’re discouraged in life, that means you’re butting heads with God. Isn’t that right? God is alive and we need to listen to Him and follow the voice of the Shepherd, but if you are discouraged yourself, then you are not listening. So, we may face situations where we are knocked down, but we need to follow the voice of the Shepherd. Yes, in our lives, it is very important for us to do our best and work hard and diligently, but most importantly, is my heart ready to follow the voice of the Shepherd?
You and I are not shepherds, so we may not be able to understand today’s parables very well, but the Israelites were typically shepherds, so they understood Jesus’ parable well. For the Israelites, they designated one person in their family as the shepherd, and that shepherd watches over many sheep. So, in the daytime, the shepherd takes the sheep to go eat food and drink water, and at night, they must be put into a safe area. So, the shepherd puts the sheep into a pen, and in order to prevent wolves from coming and taking the sheep at night, there either must be a door in the pen, or a shepherd must stand watch. Because every family has their own designated shepherd, there are multiple shepherds inside the village, so each of them would take rotations watching the sheep throughout the night. Then, in the morning, all the shepherds would gather at the pen and call their sheep by name to leave the pen. But the characteristic of the sheep is that they recognize the voice of their shepherd so well, and they can recognize their own name. That’s the characteristic of the sheep.
Why are they able to do that? There have been thousands of years of shepherd practices that have been developed, and this begins when a sheep is born. When a sheep is born, they starve the sheep almost to death, and then the shepherd or owner will feed the lamb while letting the sheep hear his voice. Then that lamb can remember the shepherd’s voice. The way that the sheep remembers that voice is, “Oh, this is the voice that feeds me and takes care of me,” so the characteristic of the sheep is, no matter who else is calling, they only follow their shepherd. If a family has too many sheep, they will hire other people to help with the sheep, but the sheep do not belong to the person who is a hired hand, that person is just there to get their money; they don’t really care about tending the sheep. So, you need to know all of this information and context in order to understand today’s scripture.
1) Gate for the sheep (Jn. 10:7)
In order for the sheep to go into the pen, there must be a door or a gate. In Jn. 10:7, Jesus says, “I am the gate.” This means that only through Jesus Christ can you enter into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God can mean the eternal Kingdom of God you go to after you die, but it is also referring to, while you are on this earth, being under the control of God.
(1) Whoever enters through Jesus (Jn. 10:9)
(2) Will be saved (Jn. 10:9)
(3) Find pasture (Jn. 10:9)
In Jn. 10:9, it says they will be saved and that whoever enters or comes out will find pasture. We can receive salvation through only Jesus Christ, so what is salvation, actually? Is going to church “Salvation”? Is not going to church “Salvation”? We can only receive salvation if we believe that Jesus is the Christ. People use the word, “Salvation” a lot. Some people say, “I was starving to death and someone fed me a warm meal, and that person saved my life.” That is how people use the word “Salvation,” but the way the Bible uses the word “Salvation” is, being set free from the beginning and most fundamental source of problems. The most fundamental source of all problems is the disbelief, of not believing in God. If a child does not trust in their parents, that is the beginning of that child’s problems. Can that baby live on their own? If humans do not trust in God, then that is sin, and that results in curses. And the result of that sin is death, both the physical death and the spiritual death, and we live our entire lives under the fear of death. We are in a state of death; even though we should be alive before God, we are spiritually dead.
2) Reason Jesus came (Jn. 10:10)
After our physical death, we go through a second, spiritual and eternal death. That’s why we are afraid; we don’t know why but we’re just afraid. It’s a fear of death. We ourselves are not aware of it; even though we do not know we’re going to hell, our spirit knows, so our spirit is afraid. The one who is ruling over those sins and curses is Satan. If you are liberated from sin, then Satan cannot budge. Satan works upon nonbelievers and upon disbelief; Satan cannot work upon the righteous. That is why, through Jesus Christ, you have been set free from the law of sin and death and have been moved into the Law of the Spirit of Life. Now, God is reigning over and ruling over us through His Law of Spirit and Life. The way to go into that is by believing in Jesus Christ Who is the gate.
(1) Have life (Jn. 10:10)
In today’s scripture, Jn. 10:10, Jesus Christ says, “I have come to give them life to the full.” Yes, we have our physical life, but He has come to save our spiritual life as well. If our spiritual life is dead, it means we are dead before God. Then, that person can never know God. They only know the devil. In other words, they only know or think about themselves; that’s what it means. They only know how to steal because they are seized by the devil. The devil is a liar and a murderer and a deceiver from the beginning. Yes, we do need money, but the moment you are seized by money, you are actually seized by Satan. God gave us emotions so that sometimes we feel sad or sometimes we feel good, but Satan actually makes us controlled by our emotions. God gave us emotions so that we may have joy in God and sadness in this world, but the devil makes you trapped in a certain emotion so you cannot escape. It is only through Christ that you may receive life in that situation.
(2) Have it to the full (Jn. 10:10)
In Jn. 10:10, it goes on to say, “That you may have life to the full.” There’s a difference between when we are full and abundant than when we are lacking. In Psalm 23, King David confessed, “My cup overflows,” that God works upon me with abundance and sufficiency through Jesus Christ.
(3) Lays down his life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11)
In Jn. 10:11, Jesus Christ says, “I have come to lay down My life for My sheep,” that is why He is the Good Shepherd. The reason Jesus is saying this is because the Pharisees called themselves the shepherds, and Jesus is saying that they’re fake. Jesus is saying, “You can never die for your sheep on the cross.” Jesus Christ is saying, “Only I can be the Good Shepherd of the sheep.”
3) Good shepherd (Jn. 10:14)
(1) Knows His sheep, sheep know the shepherd (Jn. 10:14)
Jesus Christ Who is the Good Shepherd says that He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. As I said earlier, the sheep are really good at recognizing their shepherd’s voice. In your field, at your school and at your job, if there’s someone there who is prepared by God to be a sheep, then they will understand the words of Jesus very well. What does it mean to relay the words of Jesus Christ to them? It means to tell them about the cross, and they will understand. On the other hand, if someone has not been prepared by God from long ages past, then they are not a sheep, and they cannot understand, no matter how much you tell them. When the parents are waiting to pick up their kids, they see a lot of kids coming out of the school, and the parents are able to spot their child. Even if that child is coming from far away and they’re in a group of other kids, the parents can locate them, and the children can also recognize their parents from far away as well. Those who recognize Jesus Christ are His sheep. No matter what kind of situation you may be in now, there’s nothing else that a sheep can do; the only thing we can do is listen to and follow the words of our Shepherd.
If we are not the True Sheep and we are goats instead, then we have to live our own lives, and if we do not have the ability, then we fall off a cliff and die, or wolves will come and eat us. But the sheep, all they have to do is listen to and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd. So, what must happen to your life? It must become a life that listens to and follows after the words of Jesus Christ. No matter how intelligent or skilled you may be, if your life is not lived following the words of Jesus Christ, you will be devoured by wolves. “According to my thoughts, there should be a lot of grass and water here, because I’ve experienced something similar before,” and you might get it right a few times, but I’ve found that as I’ve lived my life like that, one day, there is no grass and no water. Turns out, it was actually a dangerous situation where if you fell into the water, you could drown, why? It’s because you’ve lived according to your experiences, you’ve lived your life relying on your ability, that’s why the Lord is telling the sheep to listen to the voice of the Shepherd and follow.
David was a shepherd when he was a young boy, but actually, David was not the Shepherd. In Psalm 23, David confesses, “The LORD is my Shepherd.” The president must not become the president; God must become the president of the president in order for God to be carried out in the country through the president. If you think that you are the owner of your business, that is a large misconception; God is actually your owner, and He is running your business to establish God’s Kingdom. Therefore, if your walk of faith becomes your entire life, you will have victory. If there are any of you who are discouraged or struggling, it’s not because of your lack of ability; it is because you’re not able to listen to the voice of the shepherd. If you’re just able to listen to and follow the voice of the Shepherd, you would be fully restored.
So, our walk of faith is our entire life, and our walk of faith is about being the true sheep that follows the voice of our Good Shepherd. Inside of that is true joy and peace. But if you ignore the voice of the Shepherd and go however you desire, that is not true freedom, because one day, you will fall into an animal’s snare. Our life is bound to get trapped somewhere regardless of what we desire.
2 Timothy 3:1-2 says that you will suffer if you love yourself, money, or pleasure more than you love God. We need to truly love listening to and following the voice of the Shepherd, but instead, if you say, “Oh, I want true freedom, which is doing whatever I want,” that actually leads to suffering. The Good Shepherd replies that there is still work remaining, that is, the sheep that are not inside of His pen yet, must be led to the Good Shepherd’s pen. What this means is that there are nonbelievers in the world that are seized by incorrect shepherds. In 2 Timothy 4:3, it says, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear,” so they carry their own shepherds to fill their own greed, that can be someone like a teacher or mentor or hero or leader, but that’s not the correct Shepherd; the Good Shepherd is only one, Jesus Christ.
But as we read books when we are young, we might have a hero that becomes our shepherd. When people ask me, “Who is the one whom you respect the most?” Instead of saying Jesus Christ, some may say, “I respect Abraham Lincoln the most,” or “Napoleon,” or, “My father the most,” instead of Christ. There is only one Good Shepherd in our lives and it is Christ alone. Are there any of you where your wife is your shepherd or your husband is your shepherd? No, they’re not. Yes, they might help you to be led by the Good Shepherd, even our parents can only guide us so that we may be led by the Good Shepherd. We call that “Education.” Why do we work in the world? It’s because there are sheep that God has prepared from long ages past in the world, and my number one mission must be to use my business to guide these lost sheep back to the Shepherd.
(2) Father knows Jesus, Jesus knows the Father (Jn. 10:15)
(3) Guide the other sheep that are not of this sheep pen (Jn. 10:16)
The Bible keeps telling us to do something first. First, do His Word, then everything else, including all of your physical needs, will follow as well. If you change the order of priority, then you will get caught. You need to have your first priority be God, and God’s work must be your first priority. In order to do God’s work, that’s why we study and work. That’s why morals and ethics follow. If your ethics or morals take precedence, that’s a big problem. If some leader of morals and ethics becomes your shepherd, that’s a big problem, because yes, there are some very good religious leaders who can lead us in good ways, and the democratic ideologies can be good, but those things cannot become the Shepherd that leads you.
Inside of you, you must only have Christ as your Shepherd, but you have different shepherds. We call those, “Idols,” and idol worship is a channel to worship Satan. “I did this thinking that I liked it and it’s good, but I was actually being seized by the devil.” May only Christ become our True Shepherd, our entire life must be organized and complete with this. If you live your walk of faith correctly from a young age, then as you get older, your life becomes more simple but also more diverse. On the other hand, if you’re not able to come to the complete conclusion of the simplicity of the gospel, then your life becomes very complicated, trying to gain answers from many sources. Let’s say, for example, we have keys that go to our office, our house, and our car, but it’s so complicated; why can’t we just have one key? So, if you run many businesses, your life becomes very hard, because it’s very confusing, you don’t know which key goes where. “Pastor, nowadays there’s a master key and you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” that’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m saying, we need a master key that can open up any lock, that no matter where you put it, you can open this lock.
It must be very simple but it must be applicable to everything. That Jesus Christ must be my Good Shepherd and we must conclude with that. No matter what problem you face, when you take Jesus Christ to it, you hear the voice of God’s Word. In every single problem, Jesus Christ becomes your key. That’s what it means for Him to be your Good Shepherd. You need to come to one conclusion in that Good Shepherd alone, but instead you’re not, and that’s why your life is so confusing, trying to come to an answer in this or that. Even in your business, Jesus Christ is your Good Shepherd. In your athletics, in the military, Jesus Christ is your Good Shepherd. Whether someone is a politician or an educator, or no matter what their career path is, Jesus Christ is their good Shepherd. The problem is, your life is not concluded in that, so things are complicated and confusing. Because all you need to do is use the key of Jesus Christ, but you try to use your different keys with your experience. Because you’re using different keys, it might seem like it works sometimes, but there are times where your lock should unlock, but it doesn’t. It should be able to unlock with my skills or experiences, but it’s not.
That’s what we’re saying today, that your Good Shepherd must be Jesus Christ. For the Sheep, no matter what situation you’re in, if you just listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, your life will be restored. But there are people who don’t listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and they just remain in despair, they don’t recognize that they are sheep, they think that they are the shepherd. When that nature inside of you changes, then no matter what happens, you’ll be okay. No matter what problem you face, there is nothing that is a problem to the Good Shepherd because He is the True God and He is the Creator. He is the One Who can create something out of nothing. Even if your brain is completely destroyed from drug abuse, God is the One Who can do the work of recreation. God is the Creator; He created everything out of nothing. Because we don’t have God, we think, “Oh, what can we do about this?” But God is the One Who can make it again. Even if you’re up against a cliff, God is the One Who can flatten that cliff and make it a path. If you’re facing a crisis in your business, God is the One Who can reign over that crisis. But the problem is, I don’t recognize myself as a sheep. We need to follow only the Good Shepherd, but we’re confused, and it takes a long time for us to readjust. So, may you conclude your entire walk of faith with one thing only, Col. 2:3 says that everything is hidden within Christ.
2. Pharisees
1) All who have come before Jesus (Jn. 10:8)
(1) Thieves, robbers (Jn. 10:8)
(2) The sheep have not listened to them (Jn. 10:8)
(3) Hired hand (Jn. 10:12)
In today’s scripture, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees who called themselves the shepherd and the teachers, and Jesus Christ is saying, “Anyone who comes before me is a robber and a thief,” because before Jesus Christ came, the Pharisees were teaching the law. Through the Law, they should have led the people to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, but they actually used the Law to block people from Jesus. So, they taught the incorrect things and got money for it, and were actually exalted in position for it. That’s why they’re a robber, thief, or a conman. If there’s a hired hand that is hired to take care of the sheep, then they only care about the money, so if there is a problem, the hired hand will run away from the sheep. However, for the Israelites who belonged to Jesus Christ, they did not listen to the words or the teachings of the Pharisees. You guys may be stuck in some religion, or know someone who is; even though they are listening to that religion, it’s not an answer for them. That is the person who is the Sheep, prepared by God, from long ages past, and if you relay the words of Christ to those people, they will listen so well. That is the sheep.
2) The reason the thief comes (Jn. 10:10)
(1) To steal (Jn. 10:10)
(2) To kill (Jn. 10:10)
(3) To destroy (Jn. 10:10)
All around the world, there are sheep who God has prepared, who are stuck in different religions in the world. Inside of the field, you are playing the role of the guide who is bringing these lost sheep back to the Good Shepherd, so, you are the field missionaries, the pastor is the church missionary. The pastor is the one who guides the church to Christ. If the pastor is continuing to deliver messages that do not guide the people to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, then that pastor is a conman. If, in the field, you are not using the people in your business or around you in your life and guiding them to Jesus Christ, then aht is a fake believer. That is a person who is only interested in money and focused on making money, that’s a fake believer. That’s what today’s scripture means. We can never become shepherds ourselves; we are the guide who brings people to the shepherd. Sometimes, a guide might be missing an arm, and we might think, “Why is this person missing an arm? Shouldn’t this guide have both arms?” Then this person’s walk of faith won’t work. Through the guide, you should be looking at the Good Shepherd, but you keep on looking at the guide.
Let’s say you’re on a tour and there’s a tour guide explaining all of the things you’re seeing, but instead of focusing on the tour itself, you’re thinking, “Oh, why isn’t this guide wearing makeup,” or, “I don’t want lo listen to this person’s voice,” why does any of that matter? What’s important is that, through a tour guide, you’re getting information about the tour. That is the role of the tour guide. Our mission is to be a guide, there are guides who are well educated and guides who are not well educated. Jesus Christ says that the Pharisees were robbers and thieves, and they only come to steal, kill, and destroy. If you and I are not playing the role of the guide correctly in our fields, then we will kill the lives around us. That’s why God gave you your specialization and your business to save people, that must be imprinted very deeply inside of you. That person will not fall no matter where they go. Have you ever seen a shepherd knock down their sheep? The shepherd will always save their sheep, but the devil kills me and destroys me, and because you are following the words of the devil, that’s why you are perishing.
3) Not the shepherd (Jn. 10:12)
(1) Does not own the sheep (Jn. 10:12)
(2) When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away (Jn. 10:12)
(3) The wolf attacks the flock and scatters it (Jn. 10:12)
Jesus Christ, without a doubt, saves us. No matter what great problem you face, He will save you in a great way. No matter what crisis you face, the Lord can change that into an opportunity. It is not the person who is next to you; it is only Jesus Christ Who can do that. So our eternal shepherd is Jesus Christ. But people are under a misconception, “This person treats me so nicely and they’re so good to me,” so if you are somebody who makes people rely on you more than they really should so that they rely on you and follow you, you are not the correct guide. People keep raising other people to follow them, and just think about it, if you’re omniscient and omnipotent, that’d be great, but you’re not. Every single human is bound to face their limitations at some point. When you are raising your children, you must not raise them to rely on their parents. That’s the reason your children get lost into the future, you must become the guide parent so that, through me, my children actually hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. There are some pastors who say they are the shepherd, and they call the members of their church, the sheep. But can they really be the Good Shepherd? They’re a guide. Only Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd. We must not follow the pastor. Through the words of the pastor, through the words of the guide, we must help people focus on Jesus Christ, that is how you can take on these sheep.
Is that how you’re raising your children? Then your child will be okay no matter where they go because all they have to do is listen to one thing. Inside of that one thing is contained everything. But if that’s not how you raised your children, then that’s a big problem. May you and I receive and enjoy this blessing first.
3. Reason why He lays down His life (Jn. 10:17)
Jesus Christ says, “The reason I lay down my life is so that I may have my life.” In the Kingdom of God, we throw away; on the other hand, the world tells you to get more and more to fill your greed. That is the way the devil deceives us, but our walk of faith is actually about throwing ourselves away. When I say, “Throwing ourselves away,” I don’t mean to sell your house or sell your car. I’m just saying, “Change the goal of your life.” Satan placed greed into the hearts of mankind so that we have a desire to be like God. So, every single person who is living on this earth is living for their own greed and desires. If I believe in Jesus Christ, it means the old “me” that lived for my greed and desires of the world, is crucified on the cross. How can that “Me” be crucified? By faith. Where does that faith come from? It comes from God’s grace. So, when you come to church, you’re not coming here to satisfy your greed. That greed actually kills you. My greed must be crucified on the cross and now Christ lives within me; that is why we come to church. The Bible says that I have been crucified on the cross, meaning that all of my greed and desires in the world have been crucified, so the world has no power over me, but Jesus Christ did not die by force; He chose His own death. He says, “I lay it down on my accord because I have the authority to lay down my life and the authority to take it up again.”
1) To take up His life (Jn. 10:17)
(1) Father loves Him (Jn. 10:17)
(2) Authority to lay it down and take it up again (Jn. 10:18)
(3) Cross – Death, resurrection (Jn. 19:30)
So, why did Jesus Christ die on the cross? It was to save us. Why do I have to crucify my greed on the cross with Christ? To live with the Lord. If the Lord lives within me, then now, I listen to His voice, and I follow Him. That is what it means to believe in the death on the cross and the resurrection. Because Christ lives within me, Christ reigns over me. The responsibility of a US citizen living in America is to follow the American laws. If you break these laws, then either you get deported or you’re put into prison or jail so that you cannot live in society. Then, you lose your freedom. The children of God are the ones who listen to and follow the voice of Jesus Christ. That is called the “Kingdom of God.” The Holy Spirit inside of us teaches us and reminds us of the words of Jesus Christ.
2) Reason why I live when I die
(1) Greed of the world – Dead, Jesus’s life lives (Gal. 2:20)
(2) God’s kingdom – Reign, mission (Ac. 1:3)
(3) Filling of the Holy Spirit – Authority, Witness that saves (Ac. 1:8)
So, the mission and the goal of my life is now to spread the Kingdom of God into this world. For students who are in school, I hope you will study inside of this, and for people who are working, I hope you will work for the mission of God’s Kingdom. Then, God will pour upon you the blessing of answers. What does it mean for me to die? It means the Holy Spirit lives, completely filling me. My thoughts completely go away and the Holy Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of Christ, completely fills me. Yes, the Holy Spirit dwells within me, but if I use my own thoughts to overpower the Holy Spirit, that’s how I kill myself, because the Holy Spirit is not oppressed by me. Because I’m oppressed by the Holy Spirit, it’s suffering. That is why I attach myself to the Holy Spirit so He completely fills me and works upon me. We call that the filling of the Holy Spirit.
If you’re full of your own thoughts, without a doubt, it will result in mental problems. If you’re full of your own fears, then without a doubt, you will face mental problems. But, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, then without a doubt, you will receive power and be a witness of Jesus to the ends of the earth. How can I receive the filling of the Holy Spirit then? You just ask for it. We don’t have the ability to make it ourselves, but we’ve been promised it, so we can just ask for it. But there’s one condition: in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I must let go of my own things. If you’re filled with your worries, then that’s you being filled with your worries; not the Holy Spirit. As Christ becomes your Lord, you let go of everything of your own self and you’re filled with the Holy Spirit instead. Then, amazing things happen. You will be able to see things that were once invisible because God is allowing you to see them. I used to think that this was a problem, but now I can see the answer. I thought this was a crisis, but because the filling of the Holy Spirit comes upon me, I see the opportunity. May you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit right now. May you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit in your job field or in your academic field. May you receive the filling of the Holy Spirit to the greatest extent, today, on the Lord’s Day. That’s the reason we let go of all our work and concentrate on Christ on Sunday. Then God drives me. The Good Shepherd is leading me.
3) Triune God
(1) Covenant within me – Stronghold, Bartizan that saves
(2) Time of concentration – Summit time
(3) Problem, Conflict, Crisis – God’s guidance
Now, what do I believe in? It’s that the Triune God is my fortress, and the fortress cannot be broken down, no matter who attacks it. The stronghold is able to overcome the attacks of anything in the world, and that is the Triune God as my stronghold. The Lord is my Shield, the Lord is my Fortress, the Lord is my Healer, the Lord is my Victor. You need to finish everything with one thing. You don’t even know that much but if you try to pretend to know everything, it’s just going to be a headache. King Solomon confessed that he had the greatest knowledge and wisdom, but all of that was in vain. He married thousands of times but he said that was in vain as well. In terms of success in the world, he became a king and he said it was all in vain; only fear of the Lord, only His Word alone is truth. Then, no matter where you are, God opens the way. Even if the world turns upside down, God carries out His plan.
Conclusion
1. The way to save me – Voice of the good shepherd (Jn. 10:3)
2. The way to save to church
3. The way to save the world
In conclusion, what is the way to save myself? It is not the people around me. Only the voice, the Word of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, can save me. What is the way to save the church? It is not your hard work; the voice of the Shepherd. What is the way to save the field of the world? It is only by the voice of the Good Shepherd. The true conclusion, how can you listen to that voice? The Holy Spirit inside of you promised to reveal it. If you truly desire to listen, then God will reveal His Word. Anyone can hear. May you have victory throughout the week.
Message Prayer
Let us pray together holding onto the Word we have received.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We have returned your materials as offering. We pray that you will bless the hands that have given this offering so that everywhere this offering is used, the lost sheep may hear the voice of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and come to the Good Shepherd. We pray that You will bless the hands that have given the offering as well as their businesses and studies, so that they may receive the answers of 30, 60, and 100 fold answers. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Announcements
1. Online zoom early morning prayer (Mon.-Fri. 5:30, Sat. 6AM) – Raise the bartizan of prayer
2. Florida Camp/Hollywood Camp – Temple
3. 10/31 (Thurs.) Holy Wind Camp
4. Teacher’s meeting, 3:30PM.
5. LA United Choir, Orchestra – From 5th grade. Please send list of names to kakaoID: lyoo2004 by 10/28.
6. Offering can be given to the church venmo: @Antiochmissionchurch
Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, and the indwelling, guidance, and working, fellowship, and filling of the Holy Spirit, be upon the heads of all the people of God, the people of all nations, and the remnants who desire to follow only the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, to save this world, be with them from now until forevermore always, amen.