Follow Where He Leads - July 19, 2026

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When the Calf Leaps at the Sound of Your Voice

The relationship between sheep and shepherd begins with familiar intimacy. Just as the unnamed calf recognized its caretakers’ voices through daily feeding and care, believers grow to know Christ’s voice through intentional presence. This requires more than Sunday rituals – it demands abiding in His word when making decisions, facing fears, or celebrating joys. Jesus calls His sheep by name, not by crowd. Recognition grows in the quiet moments of bottle-feeding faith. [57:10]

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane moment today could become holy ground if you paused to listen for His voice? Where has busyness muffled His familiar call?

Day 2: Gaps in the Gate Demand Daily Repairs

A broken gate leaves sheep vulnerable to distractions and predators. Like the pastor’s dog escaping through damaged fences, we risk wandering when our access points to Christ develop cracks. Jesus as the Gate requires maintenance – not of wood and hinges, but of surrendered areas we’ve tried to barricade. Protection comes through honest inventory: where have we patched holes with hurry, self-reliance, or half-hearted prayers? [01:08:16]

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3a, ESV)

Reflection: Which “gap” in your spiritual fence most urgently needs repair? What one step will you take today to restore full access to the Shepherd?

Day 3: The Grind’s Volume vs the Shepherd’s Whisper

School bells, sports schedules, and work demands amplify like cattle drivers’ shouts. Yet the rancher’s quiet signal redirects the herd from danger. Jesus’ leadership often comes through gentle nudges – a verse recalled during stress, a sudden conviction to apologize, an unexpected peace when choosing rest over productivity. His voice persists beneath life’s noise for those who’ve learned its cadence. [55:50]

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.” (1 Kings 19:12, ESV)

Reflection: What practical adjustment could help you better distinguish His whisper today? Which “loud” obligation might He be asking you to release?

Day 4: From Feedlot Rituals to Pasture Relationship

Religious routines become feedlots – confined spaces where sustenance is delivered but movement restricted. The Pharisees reduced faith to pen maintenance; Jesus tore down fences to lead sheep into open pastures. True access means following Him into unpredictable spaces – workplace conversations, inconvenient service, vulnerable confessions. The Gate exists for going out as much as coming in. [01:10:11]

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, ESV)

Reflection: What religious routine have you mistaken for relationship? Where is Jesus beckoning you beyond the pen’s false security?

Day 5: Hoofprints Leading Away From the Pen

Empowered exits leave traces. The shepherd’s voice echoes through believers who counsel coworkers, coach teams, or comfort neighbors with His accents. Like John the Baptist pointing beyond himself, transformed sheep become signposts. The gate’s purpose culminates not in safety, but in sentness – walking where the Good Shepherd first walked toward the lost. [01:16:41]

“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21, ESV)

Reflection: Whose path will intersect with yours today? How can your words carry the Shepherd’s distinctive tone to someone straining to hear Him?

Sermon Summary

John 10 sets Jesus in front of the Pharisees, the spiritual leaders who were supposed to guide God’s people but were leading them into spiritual ritual and spiritual decay. Jesus confronts the lie that God’s love and grace can be earned by doing the right things the right way. The truth of God’s grace had been getting overshadowed by selfish ambition and legalism, so Jesus brings out the picture of a shepherd, sheep, a sheep pen, and a gate.

Access becomes the big word. Familiarity with that word can overshadow the transformation that comes from it. Jesus gives his people access to the Father, but Jesus also wants access to the whole life of his people. Not just Sundays. Not just Wednesdays. Not just prayers before a meal. All of it.

The shepherd’s voice has to be recognized. Sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice, and that kind of knowing does not come from occasional contact. The calf on the ranch trusted the ones bringing life because it spent time with them. In the same way, the word, prayer, abiding, and remaining in Jesus train the heart to hear his voice above the volume of schedules, school, sports, work, and the grind.

Jesus then makes it even clearer: “I am the gate.” The gate protects, equips, and empowers. A broken gate lets the wrong things in and lets the dog run out into danger, but Jesus is not a gate without life. The gate is a person, and his name is Jesus. Running through the gate means surrendering to him as Lord and Savior, being protected and equipped by him, and then running back out empowered by the gospel.

Jesus also says, “I am the good shepherd.” The good shepherd knows his sheep by name, lays down his life for them, and calls them to follow completely, not selectively. Relying on him looks like surrender, laying down the parts of life that keep saying, “Nah, I got this.” The voice of Jesus leads, guides, calls, corrects, and sends.

John 10 ends with many believing in Jesus because John told the truth about him. The church is called to be like John, to tell people about Jesus wherever two feet take them. The mission field is work, school, vacation, the coffee shop, Aiken County, and the world. Jesus gives access, and Jesus asks for access, so that more sheep may be brought into one flock under one shepherd.

Key Takeaways

1. Recognize the Shepherd’s voice The Shepherd’s voice does not become clear by accident. The heart learns that voice through time in the word, prayer, abiding, and remaining close enough to know what life sounds like when Jesus is speaking. The volume of life gets turned up fast, but access to Jesus cannot stay conditional on a quiet calendar. [56:03]
2. Access is more than ritual Religious rhythm can become a shell when Jesus only gets Sundays, Wednesdays, and meal prayers. Access means the whole life opens to him, including the schedule, the thoughts, the work, the family, and the hidden places. The branch bears fruit only by remaining in the vine, not by being near the vine once in a while. [58:30]
3. Run through the living gate Jesus does not point to a gate as an idea, system, or religious checklist. Jesus says the gate is himself, and that gate protects, equips, and empowers. The sheep enter for safety and formation, then go back out carrying the life and mission of the Shepherd. [66:54]
4. Surrender lets the Shepherd lead The good shepherd does not ask for a selective following. His voice leads, guides, calls, corrects, and sends, which means surrender reaches into the small stuff and the big stuff. The life crucified with Christ no longer belongs to self-protection, self-direction, or “I got this.” [72:38]
5. Every step has a mission The mission field is not only a faraway place or a church program. The mission field is wherever two feet take a disciple, from school to work to the coffee shop to the neighborhood. Jesus equips and empowers his people to make it easy for one more person to meet him.

## [75:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[43:55] - A Battle and the Presence of Jesus
[45:43] - The Word Access
[46:48] - John 10 and the Pharisees
[50:27] - Ranch Life and Shepherding
[54:28] - What Gets to Shepherd Life
[56:03] - Recognize the Shepherd’s Voice
[58:30] - Jesus Wants Access to All
[61:31] - Jesus Is the Gate
[66:54] - Protected, Equipped, Empowered
[72:03] - Rely on the Good Shepherd
[75:09] - Wherever Two Feet Take You
[76:20] - Be Like John and Tell People
[77:35] - What Is Your Move?
[87:03] - Sent to Make a Difference

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 10:1-16
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and 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. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” [48:20]

John 15:4-5
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” [59:05]

Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [01:13:31]

Hebrews 13:20-21
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” [01:10:40]

Observation questions

In John 10, what are some of the different actions Jesus says belong to the shepherd, the sheep, and the stranger?
What were some of the specific things that can get so loud in life that the Shepherd’s voice becomes harder to hear? [55:23]
In John 15:4-5, what words are repeated to describe the connection Jesus wants with his people, and what does Jesus say happens apart from him?
What three purposes were tied to the image of the gate: what does the gate keep out, allow in, and send back out to do? [01:06:34]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says his sheep know his voice and will not follow a stranger. What does that suggest about the kind of relationship Jesus wants, and why is casual or occasional contact not enough?
Jesus says, “I am the door,” not “I will show you a door.” Why does it matter that access to God is a person and not a religious system? [01:11:21]
John 10 speaks about false shepherds, and the people in that setting had been led into legalism and spiritual ritual. How can religious activity still hide the grace of God if a person is not really trusting Jesus? [01:02:16]
Galatians 2:20 says the believer’s life is now lived by faith in the Son of God. How does that connect with the picture of surrendering to the Good Shepherd in everyday life? [01:12:38]

Application questions

What tends to be the loudest “voice” in this season of life right now—schedule, work, school, stress, comfort, fear, success, somebody else’s expectations? How is that voice shaping daily choices? [54:28]
Jesus does not only want Sundays, Wednesdays, or quick prayers before meals. What part of life is still being kept at arm’s length from him right now—home life, thought life, money, calendar, friendships, entertainment, or something hidden? [58:30]
The Shepherd’s voice becomes clearer through time in the word, prayer, and abiding. What is one realistic change that could help create steady time with Jesus this week, even if the calendar is full? [59:33]
Running through the gate means trusting Jesus for protection, equipping, and empowerment. Which of those three is most needed right now, and why? [01:09:44]
Following the Good Shepherd is not selective. Where does the heart most naturally say, “I got this”? What would surrender look like in that exact area? [01:18:29]
Jesus sends his people back out with purpose. Where do two feet usually take each person in this group during a normal week, and which one of those places may be the clearest mission field right now? [01:15:22]
Many believed because John simply told the truth about Jesus. Who is one person that could be encouraged, invited, served, or spoken to about Jesus in the next few days? What might be a simple first step? [01:16:26]

Sermon Clips

48s

#AccessJesus

“Y'all, we must access the gate by running in through it before we can access the gate by running out through it empowered, equipped by the gospel to reach the lost. See, our gate isn't a gate without life. Our gate is a person and his name is Jesus. And as we go into this new school year, as we go into this new season, we need to be reminded of that. We need to be reminded that we can be protected, that we can be equipped, that we can be empowered if we access Jesus.”

60s

#SurrenderToTheShepherd

“Millbrook, we don't stay where we are when we rely on him. Relying on him looks like surrender, it looks like laying down our life to surrender to the one who sacrificed it all for us. Jesus, our good shepherd, knew our names then and he knows our names now. He knows each and every one of your names and so you might be in a place this morning where you're just like, God, where are you? I don't know what you wanna do with me. I'm just kinda moseying on, doing my own thing. I'm just waiting on you to show up. No. Why don't you access him? Why don't you just rely on the good shepherd and allow him access to you? See, as sheep, we don't just follow our shepherd selectively. We follow him completely.”

70s

#VoiceTransformsAll

“See, we have to be reminded that the voice of Jesus leads us, it guides us, it calls us, it corrects us, and it sends us. It sends It sends It sends us to make it easy for one more person to meet Jesus. That excites me. I'm ready for it. See, following Jesus completely proves that we give him access to transform each part of our lives. Transform each part of everything that we do, whether it's the small stuff or the big stuff. Because we have to know that following him and entrusting him with our life, that he is for us. That he is for you as we go into this new season, this new school year. Be reminded to access him and to allow him access to you.”

55s

#AbideIntentionally

“We must spend time in the word. We must spend time doing more than just the religious rituals of coming to church, of coming to Millbrook Baptist Church on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. No, Jesus wants access to all of our life, not just our Sundays and our Wednesdays y'all. Not just our our prayers before we eat. He wants access to it all, not just the religious rituals. And that comes, the access comes from intentionally, from the intentionality and the priority we give to the time that we spend with our shepherd by way of abiding, by way of remaining”

68s

#GoBeTheChurch

“See, when we run through the gate, we're saying is that we've recognized Jesus' voice for one. And when we recognize Jesus' voice, then what we're saying is that we've surrendered to him as Lord and Savior and that we want him to protect us, we want him to equip us and we want to run back through the gate empowered by him to reach people, to reach one more for Jesus, to reach 500 new families in three years, To be all about the mission, about what we're supposed to do. It's about being a disciple who makes disciples. About being people who don't just come in here and sit and be fed, but have the opportunity to be proactive and go out and go like Jesus calls us to do. Millbrook, that's what we're called to do. We're not called to just sit in here on a Sunday, we're called to be the church outside these walls. These walls are just a building, the church is you. And”

59s

#YourTwoFeetMission

“Live your life to bring more sheep into the pen, more sheep into the flock Because that's what you're called to do. That's what Jesus has for you before anything else is to live for him, to go on mission for him, to make an impact in our world for him. And our world right here, right now is Aiken County. It's around The United States. It's around the world as a whole when we do missions. Y'all, we're on mission right here wherever our two feet take us. That's your mission field. That's your mission field because God has called you to it.”

65s

#JesusIsTheGate

“a gate has multiple purposes. It keeps things out for one, right? It lets things in and it lets things out. So if it keeps things out, what it's doing is protecting. If it lets things in and stay in, what it's doing is equipping. And if it lets things back out, then what it's doing is empowering. Empowering. And so if Jesus calls himself the gate and if Jesus is telling us that we must number two, run through the gate to allow him to protect us, to equip us and empower us, see Jesus wants that relationship with us. We have to access the gate to be equipped, to be empowered, to be protected by him.”

57s

#ShineEverywhereForJesus

“Millbrook, let's be like John. Let's tell people about Jesus. Let's be equipped and empowered to come into the pen through the gate. And then to leave the gate and go into the world empowered to reach people with Jesus. To tell people about Jesus. You don't just have to be the religious rich go through the religious ritual of coming here on Sunday. It's when you go to work. It's when you go to school. It's when you go on vacation. It's when you go to the coffee shop. It's when you go to Aiken County whatever to pay your water bill or whatever it might be. Are you shining your life for Jesus? Do you recognise the call that he has on you?”

45s

#KnowTheShepherdsVoice

“and so, but we had this baby calf and we would, we would access this baby calf by by the gate, we would come to it and this this calf would access us because it was excited for the life that we brought it, it followed us wherever we went. It trusted us, it knew us, it recognised us, it heard us and you know why? Because it spent time with us. It spent time with us and if we want to really know and really recognise our Shepherd's voice, then we must spend time getting to know his voice.”

77s

#PrioritizeHisVoice

“How do we respond as Millbrook Baptist Church to the call that God has on each and every single one of us to reach one more for Jesus? To make it easy for people to respond to prioritizing Jesus' voice and turning up his volume rather than the volume of your calendar? So this morning, as we go into a time of response, What's God speaking to you right now? Do you hear his voice? Is it is it time for you to access the gate because you've just been holding back and going through the religious ritual? Is it time for you to really truly and honestly rely on the good shepherd to be your leader in all areas of your life.”

36s

#SurrenderHiddenAreas

“Do you need to do business with him this morning at the front? Do you need to come and pray? Do you need to bring somebody with you? Do you need to come and do you need to access the gate for the first time? And do you need to surrender your life to him because you hear his voice calling you? you need to surrender an area of your life that you've been holding back from Jesus saying, nah, I got this. I don't want you to transform that because I like the way it is.”

54s

#GraceNotEarnings

“See, the Pharisees, they were leading these Israelites by telling them that they had to be good in order to earn favor with God, but remember, God is a God about love, God is a God about grace in spite of our shortcomings. In spite of what we do or what we don't do, and the reason that He's a God of love and a God of grace in spite of what we do is because of Jesus. Because he gave us Jesus, our good shepherd, to lead us, to guide us, to bring us back to him, to be a bridge, to reconnect from the sin that separates us.”

57s

#AbidePersonally

“See, I'm being completely honest, I find myself in in seasons where I'm not allowing myself access to the father because I forget. I allow my schedule to get in the way and I think I don't I don't think I'm probably not the only one. See, I I I am the student pastor, but I'm also not perfect. I'm also the same person that you are. I have my struggles, I have my doubts, I have all of my insecurities, but I've gotta find myself resting in the father and abiding in him and learning more about him through his word, not just relying on somebody else to show me and to teach me, I've gotta do it myself because he wants a relationship with me, not through somebody else to get to you necessarily.”

75s

#LifelongSanctification

“It doesn't matter if you're two, or 82. Your life can continue to be sanctified to where you're made more like Christ. So this morning, as the music plays, as you do business with Jesus, this isn't the time for you to just just do what you wanna do. This is the time for you to do business with Jesus. So as the music plays, you pray. You come to the front. I'll be down here. If you wanna come and and pray with me, come pray with me. Let's pray.”

33s

#CheckYourShepherds

“And when I look at this story Jesus was sharing with these religious leaders, I can't help but think about the things in our life, the things in your life, in my life that we allow to shepherd The things that we allow to to determine our steps. The things that we allow to take the place as our shepherd.”

49s

#VictoryInJesus

“I've just feel I've been feeling battle. I feel like the the enemy is trying to take place and to kinda step in front of me, all that kinda thing, and and and so just singing that last song, I could've just stayed in the presence of Jesus. And and and so I think it's just good that all of us right here, right now, if you haven't felt the Holy Spirit in this place today, he's here. I promise you he's here. He's here with us no matter what. It doesn't matter what battle you're facing today. It doesn't matter what the enemy is trying to tell you you can't do, you can because of Jesus. That's right. That's good stuff right there. That's good stuff.”

50s

#RediscoverAccess

“He said, Rhett, I've been preparing you for this day coming up long before now. been preparing you so much for where you are right here, right now, and it's been he's been preparing me with this word, this word that we're all familiar with and it's the word access. It's the word access and so and so I think I know that I know what the word access means And I think you know what the word access means and what sometimes we allow our familiarity, if that's a word, whatever it is, to to to overshadow the transformation that comes from the word access.”

50s

#StopSpiritualRitual

“So Jesus is is talking to the spiritual leaders of the day, the Pharisees, those that he's put in place to lead his people, the Israelites. And so he was he was kinda upset. He was kinda upset with these Israelites because what these Israelites were doing is leading these these or I'm sorry. What the pharisees were doing was leading these Israelites into a place to where it was all about what they did and how they did it. And so really what he was leading them into was spiritual ritual. Spiritual ritual of coming here on, of coming to church, of of taking communion, of doing all of these different things just so that they could earn God's love.”

60s

#ShepherdGuardsTheGate

“And every night, when they when they came to a place where they needed to stop and where they needed to rest, these shepherds would kinda make a makeshift pen. They would make a makeshift pen to keep these sheep in that would protect them. But there was a, there was this place of the pen where there was a gate of sorts. And the gate was the only way in and it was the only way out and the shepherd, what the shepherd would do is he would come and he would just, he would lay and he would rest beside the gate to make sure that his sheep were protected. To make sure that nothing entered that wasn't supposed to enter, that nothing exited that wasn't supposed to exit. That nothing would try to come and get the sheep and take the place of their shepherd's leader as their new leader. See, the shepherd was sold out to the mission of the protection of the sheep.”

38s

#ChooseTrueShepherd

“See, if we go back and we remember the context that that that we talked about at the beginning, Jesus, he's talking to these Pharisees but these Israelites, Jesus' people were all around and they were being, they had been being falsely shepherded by these religious leaders. They had been falsely shepherded into into into ways of of legalism, into through ways of like, you gotta do this right, you gotta do that right, and if you want Jesus to love you, you gotta be good.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Millbrook Aiken This sermon · AI assistant

How can Christians recognize the shepherd's voice?

What does entering through the gate symbolize?

How should believers give Jesus access daily?

Follow Where He Leads - July 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When the Calf Leaps at the Sound of Your Voice

Day 2: Gaps in the Gate Demand Daily Repairs

Day 3: The Grind’s Volume vs the Shepherd’s Whisper

Day 4: From Feedlot Rituals to Pasture Relationship

Day 5: Hoofprints Leading Away From the Pen

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Follow Where He Leads - July 19, 2026

Share