Abundant Life

Usually takes just a moment to get acclimated to this, by sitting over there in the corner, it’s a little dark. The other thing that is hard for me, this is my second service. That song that they just sang moved me so much in the first service. Now in the second even more, so I don’t want to get up out of my seat, I rather just sit over there and you know, come on back out here. sing Hallelujah to the light of the world. Yeah, this may take me a moment here. Jesus said, I’m the light of the world. That’s not the text we’re going to look at this morning. The text we’re going to look at this morning is John chapter 10, where he says, I am the good shepherd. But elsewhere, he did say I am the light of the world. So when we say sing Hallelujah to the light of the world for saying sing Hallelujah to Jesus again and again and again and again. So anyway, Merry Christmas. Good to see you here. You know, I was gonna ask Margaret. Good. Put that. Yeah, thanks.
This is the series that we’re in for Advent, why Jesus came. I love that phrase, we’re gonna get into one of the reasons why he came. That’s going to be for the next half hour or so. But one of the reasons I have loved this series is a small thing. But for me, it’s a little bit bigger thing. That is the picture, that kind of back lays this phrase that we have, because I love that picture. Because it reminds me of where we used to live, upstate New York, right in the middle of the Adirondack Park. I know that a lot of you guys have come with us on some of our wilderness trips. I remember even from LDT first cohort, some of the women came along, we got you into the high peaks as well. But to be up above treeline, at night, with the Milky Way like that. This is my Christmas wish for you. I know that we can’t put all of you there. But I wish that I wish, you know, as one of your pastors here that you would have the feeling of closeness to Jesus Christ this season. That that place when I’m there, physically there at that time of day brings me I wish that for you, the closeness to God. Just kind of the rawness when the wind is ripping over the ridge, like right there. I wish that for you. So Merry Christmas. All right.

Like I said, we are going to be looking at why Jesus came this morning. We’re going to start with John 10, verses 10 and 11. Is the tax that’s kind of the chief overriding, overarching text this morning, John 10:10, and 11. So that’s going to be up on the screen. But open up your Bible if you’ve got it, or your device, if you prefer that. John 10:10 and 11. In it, Jesus is speaking and He says this, The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But he starts by talking not about himself. He starts about talking of the other person, or the other being that person, the other being in the text, who gets identified as the thief who is in fact Satan. He talks about the thief. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. That Satan’s M O we know that he exists. We know that Satan, ie the devil, ie the evil one he gets labeled. We know that he exists and here’s some things about him. I’m not going to talk long about him. I don’t want to but here’s some things about him. He is not all powerful. He is not all knowing he is not present everywhere. In other words, he is not omnipresent. Now he’s got a lot of help, because there are a lot of demons in the universe. So there’s a lot of angelic beings on his side. But he is not these attributes that we can characterize only God with. He’s not, but we do know that he exists, and that he’s out there somewhere, and that he’s working his evil way. So we know that we read, In James four, we’re told to resist the devil so that he will flee from us. We’re told that he shoots flaming darts, in Ephesians, chapter six, we’re told that he asked to sift Peter in so Jesus prayed for Peter in the gospels there. We also read in Job chapter one, that there was an occasion where all the angels of heaven somehow happened to be gathered at the throne of God, and it was God, not Satan, but God, who actually brings Job to Satan’s attention by saying, Have you considered my servant Job, there’s no one like him on the planet. blameless, like he fears me. He’s not perfect, like he’s sinned. But he’s trying to walk that life that honors me, and have you thought about him before. So we know that Satan exists. We know what he is up to. We know what he’s up to. My thought is that as he gets characterized in the text as being a thief, being a murderer, being a destroyer, that one of his favorite things to do is also in accord with his character. That is to deceive, that he looks to deceive, and that he looks to blind us. It says that in Second Corinthians four that He’s blinded the minds of unbelievers. So we know this to be true about Satan. One of the things that I want us to do kind of kind of the crux of today, as you look on one hand, at Satan, but on the other hand, it Jesus is to see the difference between the thief and what he would even want to trick us into believing is abundant life for us. Versus the Good Shepherd, Jesus, who in fact, came to bring us abundant life, as he defines it. Satan will come at us. He’ll say to us, that you know what, you are awesome. You are awesome, I don’t need you to believe that I’m awesome. I just need you to believe that you’re awesome. You are awesome. However you want to go ahead and define abundant life, go ahead, by all means, you can come up with a real sweet list as to what your abundant life could comprise. Go ahead. See this kind of thing. You know, in our culture, we’re told essentially, I think anymore, that the individual is God, you are Lord of your own destiny. You have the right to chart your course, however you see fit. So you’ve heard this acronym before, right? YOLO. Have you heard that, I guess it’s become a thing. You only live once. Right? You only live once, baby. So get on out there, get what you want. Once you get it as fast as you can, then just pad your nest for the rest of your life. Doesn’t matter how many people you step on, just so long as you kind of smile along the way so that they don’t feel manipulated by you. Because that might cut across the grain of your own purposes as you serve yourself. These are the sorts of lies that the enemy, Satan is happy to have us believe, as we pursue abundant life on our terms, but those aren’t the terms of Jesus Christ. Those aren’t the terms of the Good Shepherd. They’re not. So what I’m hoping for today is that we would, we’re going to go back and we’re going to look at a person in the Old Testament, Jacob by name and the book of Genesis. We’re going to kind of trace quickly through his life and see how it is that God’s sanctified him over the course of his life by shepherding him every day of his life, and he’s going to make mention of that, at the end of his life, Jacob is so we’re going to do that. We’re going to look at a person, Book of Genesis. Then we’re going to look at a Psalm, my favorite Psalm, Psalm 23. I just love to talk about that as often as I can. So there Look at Psalm 23 again, and see how it is that God not only sanctifies, but that he just loves us, the shepherd, as he shepherds and brings abundant life, He loves us. So we’re gonna look at that. Then we’re going to third, look at the parable of the lost sheep. In Luke chapter 15, we’re gonna see how the Good Shepherd, as Shepherd is willing to leave 99 sheep behind and go after just one and then we’ll look till he finds it. So I’m already looking forward to that point in the sermon. And then finally, we’re going to look at prophecy. Micah, chapter five is pretty well known Christmas text, and Micah chapter five, and give us something to really anticipate down the road is a reality of the rule of Jesus Christ. So we’re gonna look at that too. Then we’ll wrap it up, and we’ll be seeing it again, it’s going to be a good morning. Okay.

So go ahead, and let’s turn back to Genesis, take a turn back to let’s chapter 28. Turn back to chapter 28. We’re going to be looking at this man whose name was Jacob. Just some things you need to know, ahead of time about Jacob. In a word, at this point in his life, he is a jerk. He’s just a jerk. So he has, you know, gotten kind of greedy, he wants to steal the blessing. So he’s going to end up lying to his dad, he’s going to end up stealing from his brother, the birth right or the blessing. So when he does that, though, his older brother is upset. His mom happens to know that this is going to all unfold this way. So she says to him, You know what, you need to go away for a while. In fact, you probably need to run for your life, get out of town. So she sends him back and says, the best place I guess, for you to go is going to be to your uncle Laban. So he lives a long way away. So kind of hit the trail now, and get there as fast as you can. That way you will escape your brother, okay. So that’s what he does. He hits the road, he’s running away. He ends up at a place called Bethel. The sun has gone down, and he’s getting tired, he takes a rock he lays down, puts his head on the rock, and he goes to sleep. That’s important to know that he’s asleep. When what we’re about to read happens, it’s important to know that Jacob is asleep. Because all that Jacob has brought to the commitment that God is about to make to him is the fact that he’s been a coward. He’s been a thief. He’s been a liar. These sorts of things. Now he’s gone to bed for the night. This is what God says to him. In Genesis 28:15, just the first part of the verse says this God speaking to him, during his dream, Jacob is unconscious. God says to Jacob, while he’s unconscious, unable to respond, there’s no interaction here. Jacob is just receiving this in his dream. God went to the jerk. Seriously, God went to the jerk. This is what he’s passing on. Behold, I am with you. We’ll keep you wherever you go. What you think Jacob deserved that? No. That’s not looking for us to earn is looking to extend his grace and Christ. Behold, I am with you, and we’ll keep you wherever you go. So Jacob wakes up, he makes his way, ultimately to to his uncle Labor’s home, which is far away, and then he spends a lot of time there. He falls in love pretty early on with one of the daughters. Her name is Rachel. He works seven years to win her hand, because that was the number that his uncle had given him. Then his uncle, you know, there’s all sorts of shenanigans and he ends up with Lea, the older daughter whom he did not want instead, and so then he ends up having to work for another seven years now. He’s working 14 years to get by Both of these daughters, and then he’s still there for time on top of that, and there’s just stuff going on and corruption and shenanigans, and he just can’t get a straight answer from his uncle. Flip the page over to chapter 31. I want to read verses 41 and 42. So this is Genesis 31, verses 41 and 42. And they say this. Now, Jacob speaking these 20 years, I have been in your house, I served you 14 years, for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages 10 times. It’s messing around. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, don’t you love that? The God of Abraham and not fear of ice, I’d love that had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty handed. God saw my affliction. God saw my affliction. You see, he starts out. And he’s just rascal. Time goes by God sanctifying amidst the shepherding, giving him abundant life. Hard, hard, but it’s working its way upon him and into him. Hard life confusing, for sure. It’s confusing for long stretches, confusing. 20 years rolls around. He’s able to say now, you know, whereas he had been asleep. Here God’s say, Behold, I am with you. And I will keep you in all places, wherever you go, there’s no place you could ever go, that’s going to be outside of my watch care of you. 20:15. Now he’s able to say 20 years later, God has seen all along the way. So that as I’m interacting with you, my uncle who’s just crooked, I’m referencing back to God, and I’m seeing his blessing in my life. He was on my side. He’s been with me, he’s kept his promise. So I’m going forward. Jump over to chapter 32. And in chapter 32, I want to read verses nine and 10. Now Jacob, by the way, he’s he’s not. He’s moved from talking about God, to now he’s talking to God. I think that there’s something there also, over the span of Allah. You there yet in your own life, to where it means more to you to talk with God, than maybe to get to talk about God? You see, to me, it means a lot to talk about God. But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to go and be with him. Jacob said, Oh God, if my father Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac, oh Lord, who said to me, return to your country and to your Kindred, that I may do you good. I am not worthy. I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love, and all the faithfulness that you have shown already these 20 years to your servant, for with only my staff, I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. That’s his way of saying, Man, I’m a wealthy guy. Now 20 years later, and it’s only because you have blessed me to the extent and in a way that you have you’ve just blessed me. So we get scared, but guess what happens over the course of his shepherding the abundant life into us. We become genuinely more humble to the point where we say I am not worthy. Like I’m looking back now. Like at the front end, I was asleep. I was a jerk. I’m looking back now. 20 years later. I I am not worthy of the love and the faithfulness that you have extended to me. I probably missed it along the way, in large part. But I’m looking back now, and I am overwhelmed. Looking back now, and I’m overwhelmed. Further into chapter 32, I want to read this verse 26. So Genesis 32:26. Then he said, let me go for the day has broken, who’s speaking there? The Lord, speak in there, that somehow, as God has called Jacob, out of the land of, of Syria, essentially, and from where Laban lived, and he’s calling him back into the promised land back into Israel. Now, he’s about halfway home, but he’s getting scared. He’s getting scared, because you know, what, 20 years ago, 20 years have gone by, that doesn’t mean necessarily that II saw my brother has forgiven me. I’m scared. I don’t know what to do. So I come up on the banks of this tributary to the Jordan River, you know, the Jabbok River, and it’s after dark, and this one comes in is wrestling with me. It happens to be the Lord. I don’t believe by the way that this is just metaphorical. I believe that somehow, you know, he’s actually wrestling with the Lord. The sun begins to come up. The Lord says, Okay, time for me to leave. You’ve wrestled. We’ve been actually wrestling for a long, long time. But now, finally, Jacob is to the point where he says, I can’t live life without you. I’m not going to let you go, I will not let you go. I have to have your blessing. Do we pray that way? By the way? Do we crave and in a sense, humbly demand the blessing of God that way we you know, even as we pray, I will not let you go on until you bless me, God is about to reward him. You’re gonna give him a new name. He’s gonna, and he’s gonna commend him by saying, hey, you’ve wrestled with me and you’ve won, you prevailed. So he’s gonna bless Jacob, Jacob’s gonna head back home. He saw we’re gonna wrap one another up in their arms and everything’s gonna be okay. Flip. Then finally, to the one last text here in Genesis 48. Genesis 48, verse 15. Coming to the end of Jacob’s life, says elsewhere in Scripture that he’s leaning on his staff worshiping, he’s probably leaning because the Lord struck his hip. Right? So he had that wound to carry with him, says Bower, and we’re not surprised by that. It says in Scripture that the Lord does wound, but that he also heals. So that’s what happened in Jacob’s life. Yeah. The Lord wounded him, and healed him. Now he’s at the end of his life, is looking to bless his sons and his grand sons. He just refers to God this way in Genesis 20, or in Genesis 48:15. He says, The God before whom my fathers Abraham, and Isaac was the God who has been my Shepherd all my life long to this day. He recognizes the blessed, shepherding the abundant life meant to sanctify over the course of his whole life, then he acknowledges it. It’s how he begins to refer to the to God. It’s how he refers to God here. The God who in another version that God who has been my Shepherd all my days, awesome. So the man Jacob, just and to see the kind of abundant life not always easy, for sure, but so blessed. You see how Jacob became more like Jesus over the course. There were times that he was still going to fall even after the stuff we read early on there in his account chapters 28 to 32 You know, he’s still going to you get a scratch your head say, Well, no, Jacob, I thought you knew better God is still his shepherd over the course of his life and at the end of his life, he says so.

Alright, let’s move to let’s move to Psalm 23. I was going to share Psalm 23. I like to do this from memory but I’ve memorized it years ago in the old King James Version because my mom would said to me back in those days and I’m sixth grade, whatever it is, and if you memorize this whole song, I’m gonna give you a gigantic chocolate Cadbury bar. Remember cat I don’t even know if they have Cadbury anymore, but they were the most mammoth chocolate, they were huge, like the size of a book. And you could eat that thing. I would try to eat it all in one sitting and get sick but it didn’t matter. Memorize Psalm 23 It goes like this. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. They’ll prepare us to table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou annoying, test my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell on the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23, did you hear the first phrase, The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. It doesn’t say the Lord is our shepherd. I’m not about to preach some kind of, you know, rugged American individualism. This is something that really means something to me. I hope to you that he doesn’t say the Lord is our shepherd. He says The Lord is my shepherd, or is my shepherd one on one, the Lord can be your shepherd. I trust for many of us. He has been your shepherd in the singular, okay? That he looks out for that for us that way, you know, when I feel alone, when I’m in that place that I pointed to early on, and said, I wish that you had that feeling of closeness to the Lord, and I’m by myself up there, and I feel so close to God. But maybe I feel a little bit lonely, too. I’m alright. He’s there. He’s my shepherd. There’s never a need, that I could experience as he defines the need, that will go unmet. By him, there is never a need that will go unmet. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He cares about me. He cares about me so much. Listen to this, you know, further, I think, on the abundant life, it says He makes me lie down in green pastures. When he knows I need to rest because I’ve just been running. You know, maybe I’ve half lost my mind, but life is just too. It’s, it’s, it’s overwhelmed me. You need to just take a season and be replenished. In his grace in His love, He will make me lie down. That is the right word there. Thank God for that word. He doesn’t invite me. In His love, He makes me I will make you because I love you that much. I’m not going to invite you and risk you choosing to do something other than what I know to be best for you. I love you too much. So in my love for you, I will make you lie down. If I know that’s what you need. He’s done that for me in my life plenty of times. Says He restores my soul. Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. Jesus said, Matthew 11 I’ll give you rest. Rest for your soul. He says, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Have you ever had this situation occur in your life where you’ve got a decision in front of you, and you don’t know which way to go, but you’re pretty confident that you know, what is going to be the easy thing and versus the hard thing. It happens that the easy thing is going to be the wrong thing. The hard thing is going to be the right thing. Boy, I want to do the right thing, but I just don’t know that have it in me. Count on his leadership in those moments. In those decisions, He leads me in the paths of righteousness. Not only is he going to do that, to be a blessing to give me abundant life that way, he’s going to do that to be a blessing to himself to further his reputation that way through me, that’s part of the abundant life. I get to live when you get to live. Praise God. Then he gets to, I think it’s first four. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, you know, because you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. I don’t think that David meant to necessarily turn his back on others. But he got so swept up in what he’s talking about, that he stopped talking about God, to whomever and just wanted to turn to God just wanted had to turn to God and say when I’m in the valley, when I’m in the valley, that no matter how deep that valley is, that that’s when I know you’re with me. When I’m in the deepest Valley, that’s when you’re closest. Also that your rod and your staff that come from me you know you I know I’ve shared this before you know the staff is what you see in the pictures of you know something a piece of wood it’s got a crook on the end of it, that the shepherd could take and you know use to keep his balance or or rescue the sheep. You know, if the sheep is in the thicket are down in a dead she snags the sheep under the ribcage hauls it out. That rod is pretty wicked looking thing. You know, it’s kind of akin to a tomahawk, you know, the ancient shepherds would take a piece of wood, they might pound nails, or, or stones or something through it to make it a real heavy or sharp club. It was used to protect the sheep is never ever, even a consideration to use that on the sheep. Never. The good shepherd would never use the rod on the sheep. But he uses it to protect the sheep is the room in our understanding of who Jesus Christ is for that picture of Christ carrying both staff and rod. David was comforted by that. So I’m comforted by that. I like to know that my Shepherd is armed. I hope you do, too, goes on from there that prepares to table before me and the presence of mine enemies. That’s one of the blessings that God sends our way. It’s a little bit counterintuitive, maybe at least in our American worldview, that He in His love, and in His grace, He will give us enemies has God given you enemies? I mean people who will who will dislike you and perhaps even hate you because of your commitment to Jesus Christ. Has he given you enemies. One of the reasons why that is such a blessing is because he says in the Sermon on the Mount, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. He’s going to bless us by giving us enemies, so that we can follow through on his will and know the blessing of in a sense overcoming our own fleshly regard for others, and say no, I want to pray for someone, even if they don’t like me very much. But then he takes it further and says you know what? I’ve given you these enemies. You’ve done well to pray for them. You’ve done well to love your enemies. But I’m going to throw in a little bit of a reward here, you know, at some point, you know, and I’m going to really heap on the blessing. I’m going to prepare a banquet feast. Then I’m going to take them and maybe put my hand on top of their heads and I’m going to turn and make them fix their gaze at you while you just enjoy that meal that prepares the table before me. The presence of my enemies. I’m going to make your enemies watch how good I am to you, not them. Spring that though anointing my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Yeah, God does have a sense of humor. I think. I envision that God when He pours blessing into our lives, and we’re trying to make sure that we contain it all, but that there’s only so much you know, that our cup can hold. When it gets to the top, we’re trying to balance and keep every last drop that we can, and it just starts spilling over. That’s about the time when God starts laughing. I want to be that lavish in your life, and just keep pouring and watch what you do. As you try to just make the best of everything I’m sending your way. You see the love, just love the love, that the shepherd Can’t you know, the abundant love of life. Shepherd just brings, you get to linger with him. Surely, goodness, and mercy goodness, is the overarching kindness just fill in the synonyms there of God just day after day after day. And when I sin, a mercy. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I get to be around him. Dwell on his house forever.

Okay, so you have the person Jacob, you’ve got a psalm 23. Flip over if you want to. Luke 15, Luke 15. Or it’s going to say this Did Jesus told them this parable saying What man among you, if he has 100 sheep, and has lost one of them does not leave the 99 in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it. When he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Then over 99 righteous persons who don’t need to repent or who don’t think they need to repent is the idea there to wrap up the interpretation of that parable. Three things I want us to see in this parable. Jesus says Good Shepherd is willing to and wanting to leave 99 to go after one. That he will look until he finds him or her. Compelled to times just be quiet for a moment. Let that settle a little bit more deeply. That idea that Jesus doesn’t come along. After a while, just get tired and angry, irritated. How dare you keep yourself last for this long I have other things to do. That’s not Jesus. It says in the parable, that the good shepherd the shepherd looks he searches until he finds the sheep. That’s huge. Like you might be praying for someone you might be praying for a sheep, maybe a spouse, a child, the grandchild a friend. Do not give up. Don’t give up praying on that. Don’t give up preying on that. If it’s if Jesus says if it says in the parable, that the shepherd Jesus is our good shepherd, The Lord is my shepherd Devereaux, if the shepherd is going to look until he finds the sheep, then God give me the strength of my faith, my resolve to pray until you find this sheep I’m praying for even when I’m praying for this particular sheep for years. Keep praying. Because you can I promise you, based on the Word of God, I promise you that he’s still looking and when the time is Right, he knows just where the sheep is. When the time is right, according to his will, he will grab that sheep, he will take that sheep. He will make that sheep his own. As that’s the first thing. Second thing, when he finds the sheep, you know what it says? It says that he lays the sheep on his shoulders rejoicing. Catch just the magnificent security of that location for the sheep, but this sheep who has wandered off and finally, God, when God, perfect timing, caught up with that sheep rescued that sheep. He didn’t just, you know, like it’s been long enough, let’s go. The sheep believe the sheep to kind of tumble and stumble along behind him, takes the sheep fixes that squarely on his shoulders. Right ? I remember, you know, we long time ago, and our kids were still little, we get one day off a week when we work in summer camp, a camp in the woods, and we would go down to the mall, you know, our kids just lived an outdoor life. So they would always say, hey, for, for our day off, can we just watch TV? Or can we go to the mall. I can remember we go to the mall, and I put my son or my daughter up on my shoulders, walked the concourse of the mall all day long, all day long. You know, a little taller hands are a little bigger. So I would, I could have both feet by the ankles right here. Just be walking along all day long. My kid on my shoulders. That that’s Jesus. That’s what he does. Jesus does that to me. Jesus takes me and puts me on his shoulders. I’m not going anywhere. And that’s the point. Not going anywhere when he has me on his shoulders. The third thing says when he comes home, he calls together as friends and his neighbors saying to them rejoice with me for I found my sheep, which was last a party says he loves me so much. He’s glad that glad to have me. Got you’ve now and it feels good. Is this what Jesus is saying? I’ve got you now that feels so good, that I’m going to invite others. We’re just going to have a party because you know what? I’ve got you. Got you. Feel so terrible.

And then finally prophecy says in Micah chapter five, you can turn there if you’d like. pretty famous Christmas text. It goes like this. But you Bethlehem Africa, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come from me, one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old from ancient times. It’s talking about Jesus. Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth, talking about Mary. The rest of his brothers returned to join the Israelites that’s talking about us it’s talking about the Gentiles. Then it says this in verse four, he will stand and shepherd his flock, in the strength of the Lord in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they will live securely. For then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth, and He will be there peace. Two things I want us to say first, that when Jesus comes to shepherd, you talk about anticipation. That’s one of the words that Pastor Trent has been using anticipation of fulfilled prophecy that’s still coming our way. There is a time when Jesus Christ will actively visibly and absolutely reign as sovereign to the ends of the earth. That’s still coming our way but that is a reality that we can anticipate which be blessed in that anticipation. Says he will stand and shepherd he will stand. Love the the omnipotent immovability of the stance of Christ that when he is standing to shepherd. He doesn’t have to be mobile because his greatness will reach to the ends of the I don’t have to go somewhere. Because I know that wherever I would, might happen to go, my will is already being done. I’m going to stand and you cannot push me. Off off, if can’t push me. I’m immovable their security to be found in that their security found, I think also in the phrase where it says, They will live securely. Did you know that in Hebrew, it doesn’t even have that word? Securely, it just says and they will dwell. That’s all it says in the Hebrew. But it’s the right translation to add the concept of security to the dwelling. Because when that Shepherd shepherds, when that Shepherd stands to shepherd, then we’re perfectly secure. We can live that way without, without fear. You live without fear.

The last thing I just want to share is this that we don’t have to wait. We don’t we don’t have to wait until the end times, to enjoy life inside that secure dwelling. says in Psalm four, verse eight, is just David right and about himself. The precious verse, last verse of the Psalm, He says, I will lie down and sleep in peace. Because you alone, oh, Lord, make me dwell, dwell in safety. stave and say, You know what, Nate? Like, like, thanks for talking about the eschaton that thanks for talking about what’s going to happen either before, during or after the millennium whenever you know, but that thank you. I appreciate the theology, that the reign of Christ will be perfectly extensive. Thank you for that. But like I gotta go to sleep tonight. David, David, in Psalm four verse it says, I will lie down and sleep in peace. Because you alone, oh, Lord, make me dwell in safety. Just the kindness of the Lord admits to sovereignty, says in Psalm 127 That he God gives to His Beloved us, even in our sleep, he gives to us even in our sleep, I don’t know what kind of blessing God gave you last night. Had a guy man come up afterwards and tell me that God happened to wake him up at 4:30am this morning, and and lead him to pray for me for 15 minutes. That’s pretty cool. I wasn’t sure if I would, should apologize or not. But it was. Lord knows I needed it. God’s blessing, of course of our lives to shepherd us, bring us abundant life as He sanctifies us, bring us abundant life as he loves us, bring us abundant life as when the need arises. He rescues us and give us abundant life. Whether it’s tomorrow, however many years into the future. Or tonight, when I sure hope I get a good night’s sleep. God blesses. It’s a Wonderful Life. Let’s go ahead and pray. Father, we just acknowledged this. We thank You for it and we praise You for it. It’s abundant life as you define it. Paul said in the book of Acts that this life will contain many hardships for you. We know that to be true. So we don’t want to make the mistake of defining abundant life by the absence of trials in our life. But we do want to receive this abundant life by saying that no matter the trial, no matter how deep the valley, that you are with us, and that you bring comfort. And so Father, we again acknowledge this we thank you for it, we praise You for it and we asked for strength to live within it. So that all of us each one of us I can say at the end the God who has been my Shepherd all my days. That’s what we want. Because we know that’s what you want. In Jesus name, Amen