Called by Name: The Good Shepherd's Secure Rest

And without him, there's not abundance. Without him, you don't have safety. You don't have access. You don't have security. You don't have life because everything goes through this gate, through this shepherd, into this security of this sheep pen. In other words, he's saying it's resurrection life flowing from the shepherd who went through death and hell, who was eaten by the lions and the tigers and the bears, who had the robbers take him and hold him captive and crucify him. He did that. He took that so that we and they would have life and have it abundantly. [00:52:13] (37 seconds)  #AbundantLifeInChrist

The shepherd claims the ones that the world passes over, they are his. That man who wondered about his identity, who wondered about his security, would anybody love me? Jesus says, I love you. He does the same for you and me. And here's the reality that we are his forever, permanently numbered in the shepherd's flock. Held there by his resurrection, held there by his authority, held there by his victory over sin and death, and it's an unbreakable covenant that will last forever and ever. You see then our place of acceptance lies there. It peers into an empty tomb and it hears the voice of the shepherd calling us home. You are mine. I love you. And nothing's going to change that. [00:59:39] (58 seconds)  #ForeverShepherdsLove

The security then is grounded entirely in who the shepherd is. And his faithfulness to them, his protection of them, his initiative, his voice, his sovereign choice to call them that sheep by name, grace goes first. Calling goes first always. And in verse three is the heartbeat. In verse four is the melody. Then maybe verse five gives us a guitar solo. The sheep of Christ have been given a capacity to recognize the true voice above every other competing sound around it. [00:44:57] (43 seconds)  #KnowHisVoice

They didn't have word processors in the first century. They didn't have boldface italics. They didn't have neon flashing signs. They didn't have Twitter or x, whatever you call it. They didn't have Instagram or Facebook. They had repetition. And repetition says, this is important. You need to pay attention when things are repeated. Here's what you need to hear. Here's what you need to know. This is the thing that you need to see. I lay down my life for the sheep five times. He repeats this. [00:53:19] (31 seconds)  #FivefoldSacrifice