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July 25, 2022 · 26 min · Pray Radio
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Richard Ellis Talks exists to communicate to all people the good news of the life, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, making disciples of all people.
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0:00 Welcome to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. Thanks for allowing us to share this time with you. Honestly, it's our favorite time of the day where we get to hang out together and talk about0:11 how truth of God's word can make a huge difference in your life. And that's what we're going to hear from Richard in a way that only he can do, with words of hope, insight, and humor. You may be stuck0:23 in traffic or stuck in life. Either way, today's message is going to help get you on the right track as you learn how much God loves you right where you are. So let's get right into today's talk. Here's0:35 Richard Ellis.0:37 The title of today's message is sheep sheep. So sheep. 1 of my favorite things about this word is it is the same whether you are 1 or many sheep.0:49 You are a sheep and you are sheep. Now you can have sheeps, but only if that's possessive, and we are sheep. And you say, well, are all of us sheep? And I'm not1:01 gonna spend a lot of time on this today, but if you look in the scripture, not everyone is a sheep. Some people are goats. I know that's a terrible thing to say to somebody because sheep does look and sound a1:13 little better, unless you're doing yoga, and that seems to be the thing. So sheep, let me read you some interesting things. This is not everything in this article, but I found an article about sheep. 1 of the things is1:24 flocking behavior. Sheep are best known for their strong flocking or herding and following instinct. They will run from what frightens them and band together in large groups1:36 for protection. This is the only protection they have from predators. Now listen as I read this. Sheep don't fight. Sheep don't attack. They're just1:48 not built that way. The only protection they have from predators is to herd, is to flock together. There is safety in numbers. It is harder for a predator to pick a sheep out of2:00 a group than to go after a few strays. Flocking instincts varies by breed with the fine wool breeds being the most gregarious. In other words, they stick together. Now you2:12 say, well, was this some Christian article? No. This is just what sheep do. Follow the leader. Another item he says, When 1 sheep moves, the rest will follow even if it's not a good idea.2:23 Social behavior. Sheep are very social animals. In a grazing situation, they need to see other sheep. In fact, ensuring that sheep always have visual contact with other sheep will prevent2:35 excess stress when moving or handling them. According to animal behaviorists, a group of 5 sheep is usually necessary for sheep to display their normal flocking behavior. A sheep will2:47 become highly agitated if it is separated from the rest of the flock. Normal sheep behavior. Changes in normal behavior can be an early sign of illness2:59 in sheep. The most obvious example of this relates to the sheep's most natural behavioral instinct, their flocking instinct. A sheep or lamb that is isolated from the rest of the flock is likely showing3:10 signs of illness. And then in parenthesis, he adds this, unless it is lost. Even the last sheep through the gate should be suspected of not feeling well, especially if it3:22 is usually 1 of the first. Appetite. Appetite is another strong indicator of health. Healthy sheep display normal eating and cud chewing behavior. They will chew their cuds for several hours3:34 each day. Healthy sheep are eager to eat. They're almost always hungry. They will overeat if we let them sheep bleat in anticipation of being fed and will3:45 rapidly approach the feeding area. Lack of appetite is probably the most common symptom exhibited by a sick sheep. Said, well, why are reading all this? Because if we are described3:57 as sheep, why would God choose sheep to describe his people individually and collectively? A sheep that cannot relax is under stress.4:09 Now, you say, well, does that define us? In many ways, it does. Now go to Psalm 23. For some of you, you can quote this. So this is a shepherd writing this Psalm to his4:21 shepherd and about his shepherd. Who knows more about a shepherd than a shepherd? And so in the 20 third psalm, David says this, and it's a very personal thing. The Lord4:33 is my shepherd. K? Now just that by itself, if you understand anything about sheep and shepherds, for a shepherd to write about having a shepherd, and he is a tremendous4:44 shepherd, stories about David protecting his flock from wild animals. I mean, he literally died for his sheep. He understood what it was to have a great shepherd. So he was a shepherd to sheep and now he says the Lord4:56 is my shepherd, which means if the Lord is your shepherd, you're gonna be okay. And he gives you some categories for this. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In other words, I'm not gonna go without5:08 anything. He is going to take care of me. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. Sheep will only lie down if they feel safe or they're5:19 full. You gotta have a shepherd to make you feel safe. You're with other sheep and you have to have been led somewhere to eat, so you're full and you say, okay, I can rest. And they sleep about 15 percent of the time.5:29 Well, just a little trivia there. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters, places where you can get a drink. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness5:41 for his name's sake. Not just for my sake, but for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. And this is old testament where he describes God5:53 as being with him. When you become a Christian, the holy spirit lives in you, so he's not just with you, he is literally in you. So you can never be by yourself. Your rod6:05 and your staff, they comfort me. And by the way, what are those symbols of? A rod, a staff. 1 could be used to protect from something that comes against the flock, but it can also be used to6:17 kinda move the sheep along, discipline the sheep a little bit. And there is comfort in knowing that he has a rod and a staff. He's gonna protect us, but sometimes he protects us from ourselves.6:29 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. And by the way, let me ask you a question. Does your cup run over? Or you6:41 just think, well, I just barely got enough for me. My cup usually runs over. And if you stop a minute and pray and say, Lord, what does that mean in my life? Does my cup run over? You start thanking God for6:53 health, strength, family, church, whatever you've got, salvation, your cup's gonna get full pretty quick and begin to run over. And when it runs over, there's not just enough for you, there's enough for everybody around7:04 you. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's a shepherd talking about his personal shepherd. And it is a7:16 very intimate description where he feels safe, protected, guided, provided for everything that he needs. Now go to Isaiah chapter 53, few pages to the right.7:28 And in Isaiah 53, this passage is actually quoted, I think, in Acts chapter 8 where the Ethiopian eunuch is going back to Ethiopia. Philip goes down, and the Ethiopian eunuch7:40 actually has a scroll, Isaiah, the scroll Isaiah, and he's reading it, doesn't understand it. Philip comes along and explains it to him, and they were at this chapter of all things.7:52 Either he had just opened it up, put his finger down, which I doubt, or he had been reading along and gotten to this point, what we call Isaiah 53. And in verse 1, he says, who has believed our report and to whom has the8:03 arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of the ground. He has no form or comeliness. And when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is8:15 despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. You say, well, who's this talking8:26 about? And this is hundreds of years before Jesus ever shows up. It's Jesus. And you'll see the farther this goes, how it's clearly him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him8:38 stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. By his stripes, we are8:50 healed. And then look at verse 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.9:02 He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. And by the way, something about9:14 sheep, when you go to slaughter them, there's no screaming, there's no any no bleeding, a lot of bleeding, but no bleating. They will just let you sacrifice them, just let you kill them, nothing. They won't say anything.9:26 And that's why he's described in this way. So not only are we sheep, but he's described as a lamb that is slaughtered on our behalf. And if you go into the New Testament where9:37 Jesus went to be baptized by John the Baptist, When John saw Jesus coming, he said, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And all of that is traceable. We're not gonna go there today except to9:49 mention it. But in the Old Testament, animals had to be sacrificed in order to atone for sin. And in the New Testament, Jesus comes and is literally the lamb of God that is sacrificed his bloodshed10:00 in order to make provision for our sin, for the remission of our sin. Go to Matthew chapter 7. And while we're on being sheep and gathering as sheep as a10:12 flock, this is something pretty intense and there's tons of verses that reflect this idea. But look at Matthew chapter 7 verse 13, and this is Jesus talking. He says, enter by the narrow10:24 gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. And10:36 then he jumps in verse 15 and says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. So you say, well, we hear this phrase,10:48 wolves in sheep's clothing. Let me tell you what it doesn't say. It doesn't say wolves in shepherd's clothing. It's wolves in sheep's clothing. So part of my job, part of our job is the10:59 elders in this church, and frankly, part of your job is to pay attention. You say, well, aren't we excited about everyone who comes to the church? Maybe. You say, well, what does that mean? That means that the enemy11:11 can send people into a body of believers into a flock. You say, well, what does that look like? It looks like literally if a wolf could do this, they'd get off and have their wolf meeting and say, wait, we can't seem to11:22 attack them when they're together. How are we gonna attack them? Let's attack them from the inside. Okay. Well, we killed a sheep over here. Let's take its skin. We'll wrap it around us. They're not paying attention.11:33 We'll sneak in in 1 of their sheep skins, and we'll infiltrate the body and we'll hit them where they didn't know it was coming and we'll take them out from the inside out. And you say, well, who are you talking about?11:46 Not sure. Maybe maybe go sniffing through the crowd here and find out, you know, where the wolves are. He said, I'm not a wolf. Good for you. But don't think that we're doing this and that the enemy is not trying to11:58 infiltrate this. And if he can't peel you off, pick you off, and get you isolated and take you out that way, then they come in from the inside. You said, well, what does that look like? It looks like somebody coming12:10 in. And what is the context of even the verse what he says here? Who are these people? They are false prophets. And just listen very simply to this. Pay attention to what people12:21 tell you and make sure you can back up what they say to you with the total all of scripture, not 1 jerked verse. Well, someone said, you know, this and this spurious thing12:33 and this is what's really about. And you go, oh, wow. I've never heard that before. Stop chasing stuff unless you can substantiate it in scripture. Just because someone decides to tell you something doesn't mean it's12:44 truth, and they can get you pulled out in entire sects of religion and churches and and just gatherings are nothing but some weird little twist on something and people get led completely astray.12:56 Pay attention to who's around you and who's leading you. John chapter 10, and you could spend your whole day in this 1 chapter in this category. So I'm gonna read through this and highlight a few things13:08 and then we're almost done. This is so simple. And in their day, and if you come from an agrarian place, in the country with animals, especially with sheep, this is gonna be13:20 extraordinarily simple. John chapter 10 verse 1, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber, but13:32 he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. Of course, that makes sense. To him, the doorkeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them13:44 out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. Now I've hit this hard recently a little bit and I'm adding something to it. Jesus13:56 said, my sheep hear my voice. But the other thing he says is that when his sheep hear his voice, they follow. Some people hear his voice, they go, yeah, that was Jesus,14:08 but I ain't doing that. I'm not going there. I'm not doing that. I'm out. What kind of crazy sheep would hear the voice of its shepherd, the 1 who leads, protects, does everything you need? You're14:19 not in want because of him, and he calls you and says, we're going this way, and you go, I'm not going that way. And then you wonder why you get pounced on, devoured wolves, all these terrible things that happened14:30 because you didn't follow him. Now some people hear all this and go, yeah, whatever, dude. Now let me tell you something about your whatever dude. Your whatever dude is gonna come around where you're listening really14:40 closely because not following him, you will end up in some bad places and you will go crying out searching for him and saying, yes, sir. Thank you, sir. No, sir. Whatever, sir.14:52 Because by ourselves, we end up in very bad places. The sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings15:04 out his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him for they do not know the voice15:16 of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door15:28 of the sheep. Now he's not just saying he's the shepherd. Now he's saying I'm the door of the sheep. All whoever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone15:40 enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and to destroy. I have come that they might have life and they might have it15:52 more abundantly. Pick a plan. Steal, kill, destroy life life more abundantly. What plan have you picked? You say, oh, I don't think I've picked life and life more abundantly. Then you pick16:03 steal, kill, and destroy. Who would do that? And then you look at your life and go, that's the picture of my life. It's like the enemy has stolen everything I have. He's trying to kill me. He's destroying me. Then pick a16:15 different plan. Verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep, but a hireling, he was not the shepherd, 1 who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming. And by the way,16:27 he owns the sheep. I am a sheep, and I am owned by the shepherd, bought and paid for. 1 who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf16:39 catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he's a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and I am known by my own. As the father knows me, even so16:50 I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be 1 flock and 117:02 shepherd. The only way you got saved, if you're saved, if you're a Christian, is you heard the shepherd's voice. There's no other way to do it. And you say, well, how does that work? If you're a Christian, you know how17:12 that works because you heard his voice. I've never heard an audible voice. God has never spoken to me in an audible voice, but I have heard his voice repeatedly because my inner man has ears too and can hear the17:23 spirit's voice. Therefore, my father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No 1 takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I17:35 have power to take it again. This command I have received from my father. Therefore, there was division among the Jews because of these sayings and many of them said, he has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to him?17:47 Others said, these are not the words of 1 who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? Now it was the feast of dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.17:59 Then the Jews surrounded him and said to him, how long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my father's name,18:10 they bear witness of me. But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. And these are the religious leaders. You do not believe because you are not of my sheep as I said to you. My18:22 sheep hear my voice and I know them and what? They follow me. 1 of the no brainer indicators that you are a sheep, you're a part of this flock, is18:34 that not only you hear his voice, but we will find you following. So what has he said to you? You've heard his voice. He says, this is where I'm taking you. Follow me. And what did you say? Well,18:46 I'm I'm scared. I'm not gonna follow you. The only reason you would not follow this shepherd is that you think he's lying to you, which he's not, or you're afraid. Why would you be afraid of a shepherd who saved you and18:56 gave his life for you? Well, I just think I know what's best for me. When has that ever worked out for us? Not once. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow19:07 me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no 1 is able to snatch19:19 them out of my father's hand. I and my father are 1. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him, but he got away. It wasn't his time. Now you may say, I don't hear anything. I don't know what you're talking19:31 about, this shepherd mess. I tell you when you're gonna hear him, if you ever hear him in this lifetime, the first time you hear him, it will be to trust him and allow what he did19:43 laying down his life, allow that to have been done for you as well and acknowledge that when he died, he died for you. When he was buried, he was buried for you. When he was raised from the dead, he was raised from the19:53 dead for you. And you personalize it and you say, okay. I can't explain what I'm hearing, but I've never heard anything like this before, and I believe it's God talking to me. Respond to that.20:05 If you hear his voice, respond to that. Now you say, well, I've already responded to that. Then keep responding to that. Now I know this sounds oversimplified, but the whole thing is20:16 so simple. My sheep, hear my voice and do what? And follow me. So when you pray a prayer and say, Lord, show me what to do. And he says, we're doing this.20:28 Follow me. You have to get up and follow him. So if you pray and say, God, give me strength. And he says, okay. You gotta get out of this situation, then you have to follow him out of the situation, which means20:40 you don't have to get out of it by yourself. You follow him out. You're not alone. And when you follow him out, you may be leaving someone behind, but you don't end up alone when you leave.20:53 Just because someone tells you what you wanna hear does not mean what you heard was the truth. Beware of teachers with very long nails that wanna scratch your21:05 itching ears and tell you what you wanna hear. We lose a lot of people who say, you know what? I don't have to listen to that, and they're right, but they're not gonna end up living right either. You can always find21:16 someone to tell you whatever it is you think is right and whatever you wanna believe, but that will not change your life like truth. So keep people around you who know God, who follow God, who know his word, and they21:27 answer your questions with scripture. What does God say about it? And it's not a verse jerked out of nowhere. Last verse is in first Peter chapter 2. And in21:39 first Peter chapter 2 verse 18, the context here is of servants as of being submissive. And in 18 and following, he says, servants, be submissive21:51 to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and the gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable if because of conscience toward God, 1 endures grief suffering wrongfully. For22:03 what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called22:15 because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was22:27 reviled did not revile in return, when he suffered he did not threaten but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we22:39 having died to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. And then verse 25, for you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the22:51 shepherd and overseer of your souls.22:54 We'll get back to Richard in a moment to close out today's talk. But first, I wanna share something about our program. Our mission is actually very simple, to take the planet. So it's our prayer that these23:06 daily talks from Richard aren't something you only hear and enjoy, but that they inspire you to share with others. Together, we can do this. The message of the gospel is something everyone needs to hear, and that's23:18 why it's such a priority to us. So join us in this important mission. Call us at 8 50 five-six RICHARD to say you're in, or you can get on board with us through our website, richard ellis talks23:30 dot com. Well, here's Richard with some closing thoughts for us.23:35 I can't do it without you. I'm not supposed to, and I can't. Being a part of a church, I promise you, and this is a horrible thing to admit, but I'm afraid it is true.23:47 If I extracted myself from this church, just went out, stopped reading my bible, stopped attending a gathering of believers, just shut down. I could end up so far from23:59 God, you cannot even imagine because we do not do well as sheep without the sheep. And you say, well, I don't want anybody knowing what I'm doing. Then you're in24:10 trouble. Isolation leads to devastation. So again, I'm talking to people in this room. You say, well, we're here today. You are here today.24:22 There's no guarantee you'll ever be back because the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the enemy picks believers off all the time, sucks them out, the undertow is very strong, and you end up out there24:34 distracted and gone. And again, to those believers that are listening beyond here and you got no church, I'm telling you straight up, find a body24:46 of believers and get connected or it's not going to go well for you because it's probably not going well for you. You're alone. You're probably lonely, and you're isolated, and your impact is tied24:58 to the body of Christ and being a part of a local body of believers.25:03 This has been Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. There's only 1 reason we do this program, to take the planet with the good news of Jesus Christ. That's our message and our mission, and you have a vital part25:15 of doing that along with us. If you've been encouraged by these talks with Richard, be sure to share with someone about the change they've made in your life. And we'd love to hear your story as to how the talks have made25:26 a difference to you. Give us a call. We'd love to talk with you. 8 55 6 Richard. You can also reach us through our website, Richard Ellis talks dot com. And while you're there, check out25:38 all the fun and informative pages we put together for you. Richard Ellis talks dot com. While you're there, be sure to click on the contribute tab at the top to send your generous gift. If the program is making a25:49 difference to you, your gift will make a big difference to us. Until next time, thanks so much for listening to Richard Ellis Talks.
