Let's turn our Bibles this morning to John chapter 9.
Next week it's really important if you want to understand the region and the
warfare that needs to be done and who we're connected into and all that, you need to be here.
We're going to be bringing different people in that we actually are connected into
to take this region. They all can't be here, but I'm going to be
describing how that all works because we have people in the house that are ministering outside the
house and a lot of you don't even know what's happening, right? And they're having an effect
and it's it's pretty cool. So I am going to be doing that next week. I had all kinds of stuff
planned for last week and this week and last week didn't turn out the way I thought it was
going to end, so this week's the same thing. So interesting that Abby started the phrase
which you could say, well, that's what you say on resurrection is right. He is a resurrection and
the life, but I shared in this this morning that I was, I woke up just like a just like that
two nights ago and it was loud within me. I'm not saying I heard him audibly, but I heard
I am the resurrection and the life. And I was like, what? I sat up and I was like, okay,
you know, and I just began to worship and different things like that. But it happened twice
last night. So I need to say I got up early this morning and I thought, well, I'm going to
relook at that phrase. And we're going to talk about that here a little bit. But I want to
read in chapter nine, because there's principles that he also told me before I got here this
morning that there will be people here that need to hear this. So it's going to be like a
dual message machine gun in you. Are you ready? Okay. All right, because I got to put a lot of
stuff in a short period of time. Let's read chapter nine. As he passed along, he noticed
a man blind from his birth to his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents
that he should be born blind? Jesus answered it was not this man or his parents sinned,
but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested
or displayed or illustrated in him. We, I like the word we so I circled it because it didn't say I
must work the works. It says we to the disciples must work the works of him who sent me and be
busy with his business while it is daylight. Night is coming on when no man can work. And I
also love the phrase with his business. You know, if your business isn't working,
be about his business and he'll be about yours. Right? So he's about business. As long as I am in
the world, I am the world's light. When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay
with his saliva and he spread it as an ointment on a man's eyes. And he said to him, Go,
wash in the pool of psyllium, which means sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing
when the neighbors and those who used to know him by sight as a beggar saw him, they said,
is this not the man who used to sit and beg? I like that the story so far is saying that
his norm was to sit and beg. And then Jesus tells him to do something completely opposite,
like go, go wash, right? He doesn't keep him like sit here, continue to beg until it manifests.
He's like, that's who you were. Now here's where you're going to go. And so he went from
sit and beg to go. Some said it is he, others said no, but he looks very much like him. But he said,
yes, I am the man. So they said to him, how were your eyes open? And he replied,
the man called Jesus made mud and smeared it on my eyes and said to me, Go, once again,
to psyllium and wash. So I went and washed and I obtained my sight. They asked him,
where is he? He said, I do not know. When they conducted to the Pharisees, the man who had formerly
been blind, now it was on the Sabbath day that Jesus mixed the mud and opened the man's eyes.
So first, you know, people are asking, but then they're like, we better take him to church.
So I don't know if you're allowed to do this, you know, let's go check it out. So they get
him, they get him there and it's on the Sabbath day and everything's just out of order now.
So now, again, the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight and he said to them,
he smeared mud on my eyes and I washed. He smeared, I washed and now I see.
Then some of the Pharisees said, this man Jesus is not from God because he does not observe the
Sabbath. So now they're going to pick at how he went about this because that's what persecution
does. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner, a bad man, do such signs and miracles?
So there was a difference of opinion among them. When God moves, opinions move.
Right. Can I get a tissue? I don't know what's happening. I don't even have a cold,
but suddenly my nose is crying. So not just my eyes. So, so far we know he was told to go.
He washed his eyes. Jesus prepared the mud. So there was a duel working between the two of
them. But when God moves, opinions move. He did not observe the Sabbath, but others said,
because you got more than one opinion coming at him, how can a man who is a sinner, a bad man,
do such signs and miracles? So there was a difference of opinion among them. Accordingly,
they said to the blind man again, what do you say about him seeing that he opened your eyes?
I mean, and he said he is, he must be a prophet at least, right?
You know, I'm trying to figure out what gave him this power. However, the Jews did not believe that
he had really been blind. And now we're going to go all the way backwards. I don't even know if
you were blind. He'd been sitting there for years, but now we're going to have to take
this whole thing versus our opinions. And then we're going to go and totaled out and spread
that. And that he had really been blind and that he had received his sight until they called or
summoned the parents of the man. Now we're going to get witnesses. We're going to investigate this,
because I don't know if I believe this. They asked them, is this your son whom you reported as
having been born blind? How then does he see now? Interesting reaction and how much control was
in what they would call the church. His parents answered, well, that this is our son and that
he was born blind. But as how he can now see, we do not know, or who has opened his eyes. We
don't know. He's of age. Go ask him. Let him speak for himself and give his own account of it.
So now opinions and then almost calling him a liar. All of this is taking place.
And at the same time, even his own parents weren't going to step up because they're like,
I don't, I don't want to get in trouble. And it says right in verse 22, his parents said this
because they feared the leaders of the Jews. For the Jews is already Jews had already agreed that
if anyone should acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, which means the anointed one and his
anointing, he should be expelled and excluded from the synagogue. So they don't want to get
kicked out. Even though this is their son, right? Loyalty just went like right out the window.
Hey, there's something there. Just like, it's off me. Put it on him. He's an adult.
On that account, his parents said he is of age. Ask him. So the second time they summoned the man
who had been born blind and said to him, now give God the glory or the praise. This fellow
we know is only a sinner, a wicked person. Then he answered, I do not know whether he is a sinner or
wicked one or not. But one thing I do know that whereas I was blind before, now I see. So miracles
make people pay attention. And also a miracle or even the potential of America causes opinions to
pop up. You don't talk about miracles and everyone goes, oh, okay. Boom. They just start
popping up. Well, I don't even know. Do they even do that anymore? All this stuff, right? I'll just
stop. Start popping up and can have arguments, accusations. And now we got to go to church
and figure this out because we're in trouble. And they, I'm going to go to verse 28. And they
stormed at him and they jeered and they sneered. They reviled him and retorted.
You are his disciple yourself, but we are the disciples of Moses. See? So then it's a
bragatory. So there's so many characteristics that really stink in the story of what's happening.
But this is what can come out of flesh and religion. We know for certain that God spoke
with Moses. But as for this fellow, we know nothing about where he hails from. The man replied,
well, this is astonishing here. A man has opened my eyes and yet you do not know where he comes
from. That's amazing. Oh, they're having a conversation. That's pretty good. We know
that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is God fearing and a worshiper
of him and does his will, he'll listen to him. Since the beginning of time ahead has never
been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. So this is a shock and awe
since the beginning of time. This has never happened as their, like, their thought pattern.
If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything like this.
They retorted, or the word retorted means labeled, you were holy born in sin from head to foot.
So when they retorted, they attacked him. They were like, you're the one who's in sin.
That's a cause of the blindness to begin with. And do you presume to teach us so they cast him
out through him clear outside of the synagogue? Well, that kind of stuff happens too. When
miracles come on the scene, you can look at just these different things, kind of like what
Pastor was talking about. You speak into the region, whether we saw something or not,
its deliverance is the working of miracles. So what we were doing last Sunday was the
working of miracles. I don't know if you caught that, you were part of that, but that's
what happened, right? And so where am I here? They retorted, which means they labeled him.
You were holy born in sin from head to foot. And do you presume to teach us like who do you
think you are? So they cast him out through him clear outside the synagogue. Jesus heard that they
had put him out and meeting him, he said, do you believe in and adhere to the Son of Man
or the Son of God? See, he wanted to minister to him. Like, let's take this a little bit
further. And he answered, who is he, sir? Tell me that I may believe in and adhere to him.
The word adhere means to rely on, trust in, stick to like glue is another word picture
when you adhere to something. That's a pretty big question. Instead of saying, do you know there
is a God? And most people go, yeah, I don't know there's a God. But do you adhere to him
is far deeper. It's far deeper. It's like I'm stuck to him. I go where he goes. I'm a follower.
I totally solely believe in him. And so he's being asked a really big question.
He answered, who is he, sir? Tell me that I may believe and adhere to him. Jesus said to him,
you have been, you have seen him. In fact, he's talking to you right now.
All of that takes place. And then God reveals who he is. Sometimes we can have a lot of
movement, a lot of attacks, a lot of accusations, a lot of labeling, a lot of,
let's talk to the church and see who's in, out, what's going on, criticism, all that kind of stuff.
But when you get in the face of Jesus and just say, I believe, he'll reveal himself to you
even now. Just say, I'm here because I believe he's God and I'm not.
I don't have anything else, but my belief that he's God
I couldn't heal myself. I couldn't deliver myself. I couldn't do anything.
I couldn't clear up blindness in my eyes, but I do believe he's the Son of God. So the most
important thing through this whole story of this whole event is that he had come to conclusion.
You know, I want to believe or where is he? I'm right here.
I'm right here. Sometimes those aha moments happen outside the church many times.
If the anointing is in a church, a person will sit there and not even anyone talk to him.
How many of you had that happen? And you just realize he's God.
He's God. He's who I need. I have to have him.
Then Jesus said, I came into this world for judgment as a separator in order that there
may be separation between those who believe on me and those who reject on me.
Big statement, the church of Jesus Christ all across the world. We have to get this.
Jesus came to separate out. Well, that's not a loving God.
That's what a lot of people would say.
Everything that's presented that is truth will cause you to make a choice.
Causes me to make a choice.
Truth isn't truth if you don't have to make a choice.
Right? Because we can talk flower, we can talk nice and everyone goes,
Oh, praise God, and we leave. But it didn't make you mad, sad, or glad, or have to make choice.
We have to choose you this day whom we're going to serve. Choose life that we might live.
Choose to see and believe he's actually the savior.
He's the one. Anything good that has happened in your life, by the way,
you didn't produce. Even financially, I love how the scripture says,
don't forget, I'm the one who produced this, right?
Says it in a different way, but I'm just saying it so it's really understandable.
It is I who give the power to get wealth, he said.
Right? So we can't even say with my business, and I do well without serving God,
it's like you wouldn't even have your business if it wasn't for him.
Right? He's the separator.
So here's the thing, you try to separate out, let's say you've got a friend and you really care about
them and you want them to have truth. And so you speak truth to them in such a way that you're
just like, I'm going to tell you this and it better separate you out, you know.
Well, you're going to be bossy and everything else to try to get that to happen and it'll
be a turn off. But when you know God and you exude the anointing of God and speak to them
in love, that will separate them out. Then they're going to have to make a choice.
Right? Everything's about a choice. This man had to make a choice. He could have said,
nah, I don't believe in you. I don't know how my eyes got healed, but no, I'm good.
Right? So he's a separator. He brings us back together, but he brings the body of
Christ together while he's working on people that need to be separated out till they make a choice.
And then who's supposed to spread the good news? Who? The evangelist. No. Everyone's supposed to go
and share the good news. Everyone. And when we share the good news, it separates things out.
If you show up in a place just to pray you haven't talked to anybody, the anointing coming
off of you will separate people out their heart. Yeah? One time I took a group of prayer warriors with me
that hadn't been very long in the in the word and all those things, but they're excited. So
we went with me. We first started the church and we stopped. We were driving around and
just praying in neighborhoods and all of a sudden I just felt the stop in front of this house
and I prophesied and they watched me prophesy and I said these people will be coming to church.
I see it and I'm not making this up. This is what came up out of me. This is what's
going to happen. There's going to be a dividing out. There's going to be a clear
way that they're going to see blah, blah, blah, and I went down the line. And then after
the anointing left off me, I was like, I hope that was right. You know how you do that?
You're just like, well, all right, I said that in front of a bunch of people.
The very next Sunday they came to church. I didn't know that. I saw visitors are here or
whatever and I started talking to them and and all of a sudden she goes, I just don't know why,
but I just felt really around the time and then on the same day we prayed. I just felt
really strongly, we have to go to church. And we heard about this. This isn't the modular,
which is hard to find. You know, if you're looking for church, it's kind of, you know,
back then it was like hard to find that and they found us and repented.
I never talked to them. The people went with me and never talked to them,
but prayer divides things out. He's a separator. He separates to make the sightless see and to
make those who see become blind. So Pharisees who were near hearing this remark said to him,
are we also blind then? I like putting voice tone because that's really kind of,
they talk kind of snotty potty. Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin,
but because you now claim to have sight, your sin remains. Really, what he's saying is you think
you know, you're still stuck in your pride. You're still stuck in sin. You think you see,
but really you're blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but because
you insist, we do clearly. You are unable to escape your guilt. Wow. Then let's go on verse
chapter 10. So the word is preaching this morning. I assure you most solemnly, I tell you, he who does
not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way elsewhere from some
other quarter is a thief and a robber. So just like now, I assure you, this is still
part of the same conversation, the same story. It didn't start a whole thing new. That's just
how they lay out the Bible so we can find verses. But he's saying all of this happened, the blind
man, all of this, he dealt with the sin part and how they're seeing theirself. I assure you,
most solemnly, I tell you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up
some other way elsewhere from the same other quarter, some other quarter is a thief and a
robber. So to get, to assume that you can get into the kingdom of God, to just by getting
in leadership in a church, right, be the head of the nursery or whatever, you've never
repented, you've never realized a sin and you never allowed him to separate you out,
you're trying to steal something that don't belong to you. You're a thief, right?
I read that when I first got saved, I was like, oh, I think that's what I was doing
for years. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
The watchman opens the door for this man. The watchman opens the door, that's the sentinel,
that's the person who prays, opens the door for this man. And the sheep listen to his voice
and heed to it. And he calls his own sheep by name and brings and leads them out. He called
us by name and brought us out. If you have not had that experience, you can't get in
the gate where he's calling you without going through his name. We can't go around it, you
can't climb the wall, you can't hand some money and see if he can get in. You can't,
you have to go through the gate. And that gate requires a separating out, because that's
what he's here for. That's what his power is here for, to separate sin away from us so we can see
and we can repent of that very thing. All right, I'm headed somewhere, stay with me, all right.
The watchman opens the door for this man and the sheep listens to his voice and he
eats it and he calls his own sheep by name and brings and leads them out. When he has
brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them and the sheep follow him
because they know his voice. So there's a characteristic of knowing God, it's that you follow.
I meet people all the time like, yeah, I know God.
There's no indication they're even following him in anything. Oh yeah, I know him, I know him.
See, we're going back to trying to jump the fence. Can't jump the fence, can't get in here,
any other way. There's no name written among men under heaven, whereby we must be saved,
but the name of Jesus Christ. See, I'm just preaching basic gospel. You might sit there and go,
well, I already know this. We need to be reminded. Sometimes now in churches there's prayers where
it's like, you don't need to pray. I'll go ahead and pray the sinner's prayer for you.
Don't help them jump the fence. Lead them through being a watchman, lead them so the
door may be opened. Right? And they can come under the great shepherd and know his voice,
and then they will follow. But when we do this cheap way of doing things, because it's,
you know, we don't want to, you know, I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. I do.
I want to make people uncomfortable. You don't get separated out. I can speak the most loving
thing coming out of the gospel, and it will, you'll be rent to the heart. It will separate you out.
And you'll be uncomfortable. If I don't see that, I question if you're really getting born again.
I'm serious. So, and then we're going to follow his voice, and then we're going to follow him.
Verse five says, they will never on any account follow a stranger, but will run away from him
because they do not know the voice of a stranger or recognize the call. That's a pretty intense thing
to say too. First, we can't jump the fence, but when we go in the right way, we're going to
know his voice. He's going to separate us out. We're going to give our heart to him,
and then we want to follow him and no one else to the point. We're like, that's a stranger.
I don't want to hear from you. That is not the voice of my father. I don't want to hear
from you. That's not the voice of my savior. Don't want to hear from you.
Right? This is a measurement to be able to make sure we're on track, but also we're going to be
leading a lot of people to Christ this year. I'm informing you in case you didn't know.
Just letting you know. A little side thought. And we're not hucksters that we're going to sell
them into something. Come to Word of Life. We'll give you a free pan and a mug.
You also get a free cup of coffee when you come or whatever it is. And somehow
out of all that, they get to jump the fence. Now you got to go in the same way I went in.
Same way the Bible says to go in. Amen. So Jesus said again, I assure you most solemnly,
I tell you that I myself am the door for the sheep. There is no other name written among men
under heaven but the name of Jesus. So there's tricksters. There's witchcraft. There's all kinds
of things. You know, you can do that. All roads lead to God. No, they don't. They may lead to A
God, small G. Right? The demons try to make them seem like they have power.
Big G. God is the one with the power. Jehovah. Yeah. So Jesus said, I assure you most solemnly,
I tell you that I myself am the door for the sheep. All others who came as such before me are
thieves and robbers but the true sheep did not listen to and obey them. So it's been going on
for a long time. I am the door. Anyone who enters in through me will be saved, will live.
He will come in and he will go out freely and will find pasture. It's going to be a good life.
He's the door. He's the way. He's the truth. The thief comes only in order to still kill and
destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance to full till it
overflows. Then he's the good shepherd. He's a lot of things. Man, I could just go, I love
the video because it said so many things and still didn't cover it. He just went on and on but
still didn't cover it. I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd risk and lay down his life for
the sheep. So there's a cost to be a good shepherd. And when you go back, he's the
door. He's the way. He's, you know, he's the good shepherd. He's the one who came that we
might have life. So I in operating in evangelism, I mean, I do many other things, but I've
ran into so many people that got in the cheap way. Well, they weren't in, but they thought they were in.
You know, you can assume you're saved through osmosis because your grandma took you to church
and you sat next to her. Now you're saved. Because I always went to church. That's what I'll hear when
I try to leave people to Christ. I'll give them the good news and they'll be, yeah, I go to church.
I go to church. A lot of times I'll go with my grandma or I'll go with whatever. Okay, cool.
Did you go through the gate? How'd you get in? Right? Because I'm also looking for thieves
and robbers as a watchman. You know, we've had people come and want to get on leadership stuff
right away. That question if they were even saved. See? It didn't sound like they went through the
gate. They'll talk like they're going through the gate. Then you'll follow like they went through
the gate and they don't hear like they went through the gate. So when we're dealing with
witchcraft, you can be saved and have gone through the gate the right way. Well, when you do that,
there's going to be a separating out. That's what he's doing in us. He's like, get the rebellion
out of us. I always call it the rebel lion. Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. Rebel
lion is rebellion. Right? So it wants that out of us. I know what that exactly feels like.
I lived in rebellion so I know what it feels like. And then you get saved and you're in
there and you're following him and you're going along really good. And then all of a sudden there's
this thing that comes up and it's got to get out. So then the prayer application comes in the
next chapter. We're going to go over not the whole chapter, but the fact that he's a resurrection
in the life. First, we got to get in the right way though. I took communion when I was a kid
just so I could say I drank wine. I was like, you know, eighth grade and I finally got to
take communion. It was like, I'm cool now. I'm an adult because I can take communion. I graduated
whatever, you know, the classes we had to do. I didn't know half of what I talked about or
didn't answer the questions. They skipped over me. Usually, you know, when you graduate from that,
they'll ask a few questions. I'm pretty sure they skipped over me because like,
she didn't even know what we're just going to pass her through. So I didn't memorize most
of the stuff they said to memorize. So in that way, I was like, I can just get in.
I just climbed the gate, climb over the walls. I mean, I'm in, right? I didn't know.
But then as I began to be exposed to the actual gospel, it separated me. I thought I was going to
die. My emotions were just... it cut me so to the heart. I saw that I was a sinner and I saw
that I was without him and I saw that I needed him. And I was like, where do I follow? How
do I get? Where's the gate? Right? Where's the gate, God? Where's the gate? And I found him in 1981.
And so I'm bringing this up. The Lord's, before we can get to the resurrection of life,
I don't want anything assumed for those who are watching online or those who will watch
this in the future. Or if you're sitting here and you're like, I don't know, I went to a
church service and now I guess I'm with God. Maybe. Well, I did communion when I was
eighth grade. Good. Okay. Did you climb the wall? Is there a thievery heart going on? Because
rebellion has that using heart. Like I'll just get in and do things and then I'll take
the goods and go. That's a thief. Sometimes we're living that life and all of a sudden we
need the real thing. Like, I need healing. I mean, they just gave me a cancer diagnosis.
So where's the gate? Where's God? And people thought you were safe for years. Don't be in that spot.
Today's the day of salvation, by the way. Now. Right now you can use now faith to come through
the door. So, but he's a resurrection in the life and we'll show how that applies here.
The thief comes only in order to still kill and destroy. I am the good shepherd. The good
servant who was merely served for wages. That's called the hireling and he goes on and talks about
how a wolf comes and tries to attack the church and the person you hired to just be over something.
They take off running. That's how you can tell the the pastor or the leaders or whatever in your
life are true blue. They ain't gonna run. Things get hard or whatever. They're not running.
I'm not a hireling. You don't have to pay me to do what I need to do because I'm following him.
Right? Now it's nice to have payments so we can eat. That's appreciated.
You know. And so that's appreciated and you know and a servant's worthy of their hire and
all of those different scriptures. But when you look at it to be a hireling or have a
hireling's heart is also a user. So now we have those sitting in congregations who didn't get the
gospel or don't want to do what the gospel said, but they still attend church. It's a thing you do,
right? And then we got leaders that are hirelings. They're hirelings. You're like,
how much do you pay at the church? Oh, okay. Then I can golf on Fridays and do this and go
over here or whatever. Their attitude is not, I'm laying my life down for a group of people
because I'm following him and I really want them to come through the same gate and find
the truth that will set them free. I'm just clearing the air. You might also already know this,
but there's something about, we just prayed over witchcraft. We just stuck a knife into this
thing or whatever, and it's wailing. It's crying about stuff right now. At the same time though,
we have to make sure we know who we are in Christ. Know the day you went through the gate.
Know the time that was like, and that's when I accepted him.
Yeah. And someone else didn't accept him for you.
You actually raised your hand. You actually went to the front. You were not ashamed of the fact he
was going to do this. I don't like that where it's kind of like, I don't want you guys to feel
uncomfortable. So just stay where you are. Everyone close your eyes, hurry. Close your eyes.
We're not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the power of God onto salvation,
which means you're going to be cut to the heart and the limits are coming off your life.
I'm excited about that. I want the whole world to see that. And Heaven rejoices when your name
is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And now we're going to like,
Seeker sensitive, user friendly. That was taught in the 90s for sure. Conference were
had like that. Teaching pastors how to keep everything secret sensitive. So it's really
about all what you think you need. So I have to tone down the gospel, not show you where
the gate is, because I need to really try to be a Seeker sensitive. Well, if you're a Seeker and
you're truly looking, you'll find it without me then. It's easier when the gospel's coming
forth in the church. But if you truly seek him, you will find him. The Bible promises that if
you ask and you continue to ask, he'll answer. You seek him, you will find him. Amen. You
knocked the door will be opened. If I didn't know where the gate was and I didn't have the gospel
shared me, I've been knocking on walls and been like, where, where, where are you? Right? Till I
found it. You can't blame our life. We can't blame our life if we are looking like, why is
everything falling apart and we haven't did the effort to find him? Cannot blame that on God.
I did the where, where were you God? The Lieutenant Dan on the top of the boat yelling at him.
You guys know what I'm talking about? You know, having it out with God and really sharing with him
how he was so wrong. Like, he was so wrong. If you're even real. Still, you're wrong,
even if you're not. You know, it was like that. But I didn't know where the gate was.
Those are desperate times. I don't want anybody else to go through that.
It's so sad that there's areas, there is no gospel being preached.
So sad that they don't know where the gate is. And the church's job is to show them the gates
right there. And we make straight the path for the Lord to show up. And we make a straight path
so they can clearly see the gate. Right? That's what I'm doing right now. Just making
sure. Because we're going to lead a lot of people to Christ this year. And it isn't us doing it. It's
just like, there's a path. Let me, I'll walk with you. Come on. Let's go. Right? But nobody's jumping,
jumping the walls. We ain't doing that. I know some of you are rock climbers. No.
Some of you are good repelling with ropes. No. Not going to let it happen. Okay?
So, then we go on. He says, he's the door. He's the great shepherd. He's not
a hireling. He's a good shepherd. And then the difference is he lays down his life. He's not
going to take off running when a wolf comes. Even as truly verse 15 says, the Father knows me,
and I also know the Father. And I am giving my very own life and laying it down on behalf
of the sheep. And I have other sheep besides these that are not of this fold. I must bring
and impel those also. And they will listen to my voice and heed my call. These are
characteristics of knowing God. You listen to his voice and you heed his call. It's a measurement,
my friend. Jesus is saying, this is how you know. This is how you know. You'll hear his voice
and you'll heed his call. And so they will become one flock under one shepherd. For this
reason, the Father loves me because I lay down my own life to take it back again. So,
then it goes down verse, I'm going to skip some things just for time, verse 19 says,
and a fresh division of opinion arose. Here we go again. Opinion. If you look up the word
opinion, I think I've said this here before, it's like a porcupine. Those are opinions
technically, right? They're fine, you know. It's like their hair is slicked back. That's
how they look when they're walking through the forest. But you disturb them, you bring
something to them. That's the picture of opinions. Like, that's fine, eyes all slicked up, you know.
And walking through somebody says something, a miracle happens, or what are opinions,
right? Don't touch me, I'll poke you. It's that type of feeling. That same thing happened
all over again. So, lots of opinions, lots of things are going on here. Then a fresh
division of opinion arose. Just a fresh one among the Jews because of his saying these
things. They're starting to get really ticked off. And many of them said, he has a demon,
he is mad, he's insane, he raves, he rambles. Doesn't that sound like the same kinds of
things they say against men and women of God? Hey, just talk trash. You go online,
and it's like some of these people have worldwide ministries. Thousands upon thousands
of people have gone in through the gate. They've been healed. Their lives have been
changed, but somehow they're all those things. Be careful. Be careful that you don't fall
into that. If you were never there, you didn't sit under the ministry of whatever. Zippo.
Shut the pie hole. All right. Yeah, because opinions are going to pop up. And then
once you start having an opinion, you have to base that on something. Which means you're
going to believe that opinion the most because it's your opinion. And you're like this.
So you have to rehearse why you are doing this. Because everyone's kind of noticing you're doing
this. See it? So here we are looking. There's fresh opinions that are always coming. Be
watchful of that. That's a form of witchcraft. We're supposed to guard our hearts with
all diligence for out of it comes the wellspring of life. So if rebellion is still in our
flesh and it's trying to get out and God's trying to separate this outlet, let it go.
Don't hold on to it because you'll end up wrestling with your own rebellion calling it a demon.
It's not a demon. It's whatever is inside of you.
Right? We like to blame shift a lot. That's what we do as a church. I'm talking about the body
of Christ. Okay, so he's mad. He's insane. He's all of these different things. All of
this takes place. They go after his credentials verse 26, but you do not believe and trust
and rely on me because you do not belong to my fold. So we're wondering how people can't see
that he's the Christ. We haven't give them a clear way to the door. First of all, our nation
has been blinded for years. We have to make a clear path. The gospel has to come across
the way that it is. Absolute truth. In love, but truth. Right? We backed out. We whisked out on
all kinds of things. I was just being truthful. I've seen it and I don't like it. And so he talks
about how the sheep are his own and he clarifies the being a part of the father he goes on.
And then chapter 11 leads up to the chapter now that many times we'll do the same thing.
You hear me say this over and over? Okay, he dealt with all those issues now. Totally separate
thing, not even in the movie. Totally a separate thing. We're going to talk about Lazarus. No,
it's the next event that took place in the storyline. So when we look at Lazarus,
he was sick. They tried to get Jesus to come there. And he didn't, he was not really
motivated to, you know, get on a motorcycle and ride fast. I mean, he was, he just,
it wasn't. And, but he was going to go there and Mary and Martha loved him and, and the family
loved him and everything, but he didn't show. Then it goes all the way down to when he does show.
And Martha says to him, verse 20, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him
while Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, Master, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died. We have those kinds of reasonings when we go through something. If
you would adjust, if you could just, if you woulda, coulda, shoulda, all of those different things,
and this would not have happened. And even now, I know that whatever you ask from God,
he will grant it to you. So she still had faith. She's questioning like it's over. But,
you know, if you say something, I still believe in it. Jesus said to her, your brother shall rise
again. And she went right for the earthly thing and said, Martha replied, I know that he will rise
again in the resurrection on the last day. And Jesus is going to reveal this even deeper.
Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. I am, you've heard me say over and over,
means complete, the all of. So he's not sort of the resurrection. He's not sort of the life. He's
the all of. You can't subtract from it, and you can't add to it. He is all and all, the resurrection
and the life. She needed this revelation. The body of Christ needs this revelation as we go through
times of suffering and things like that. Where were you? All of those questions. I know that
he will rise again. She says in the resurrection, Jesus said to her, I am, myself, the resurrection
and the life. Now the life there is Suki or Suki, depending on who pronounces it. I'm going Suki.
Anyways, that is spiritual life. That will cut through your soul. That's the all of what
we need. We have to have that life to be changed. That's who he is. He's that to us.
And the resurrection, I just thought, man, you know, well, okay, that raises things from the dead,
right? That's a resurrection. Well, I looked that up, and it was the craziest in the Greek.
I've never seen this before. It said, nothing artificial made without human hands.
That's the main meaning for the word resurrection. Like he's not a faker. This is not something
you can put together with human hands. And he is the life that will breathe through your mind,
your will and your emotions, your soul, your spirit takes care of the whole thing.
He is not artificial. He is not man made. He is not in the place of. And then the second
meaning is to bring about change. But in the Greek, the first one, every time you see that
referring to this claim is that he's not artificial. Now, you saw how the blind man switched over,
and he had revelation. But he also, right in the middle of that, he's got to go through the gate.
Everybody got to go through the gate. That gets all clarified. He sets the church straight on
that. And then now here we are. He's got to close out this with Lazarus, and he did
raise him from the dead. But the announcement that if I am the all of the resurrection, not
artificial, and I am the suki, which will bring you complete life, I am complete.
What is he lacking then that our need is not met? Like, what are you doing, Jesus?
Is it you or me? I keep looking at you, Jesus. I keep looking at you. Let's stand.
I keep looking at you, and I'm thinking something must be wrong. Something I don't
even know if he's real. I don't know. He is the all that will sweep through your soul
that will cause a division inside of you that will bring out the dross that will change.
He is the I am of nothing artificially made that is not, he's not man-made.
This isn't a storybook. It's the real meal deal. And you can't jump the fence and try it and
then jump over like a thief does in the night. I looked in there, I saw some things, but you
know. And then I got out, tried to get something while I was there. You got to go through the
gate. I want to say we're about to take communion. And part of taking communion
is acknowledging what we're remembering. Right? Do this as oft as you do this, right?
Remember. What are we remembering this right here? That he's the all. He's the resurrection
in the life. So what you got going on right now that he's wronging you somehow,
that he's coming up short. I'm pretty sure the measurement is probably on the side.
And it's not condemnation. It's reality. I need him more than he needs me. You need
him more than, right? He needs you, except he died for you while you were yet a sinner.
He loves you that much. That's how much he loves us. So just think for a moment. Where
has he gotten the blame? Before we remember what he did here, apply that to our bodies and our
mind. We have to remember he's the all. There's no one higher than him. He's the complete.
There's nothing fake or artificial in him. How when we remember, we ask forgiveness, Lord,
and I would do this, do this with me right now. We ask forgiveness, Lord,
for anything that is unbelief within us or any ought we have against someone else,
including you, Lord.
We choose to forgive others
and we choose to be forgiven. We're looking to follow. We're looking to hear and do.