Main Thing Podcast
This podcast encourages others to love God and people by leading them to know and follow Jesus’ truth.
Main Thing Podcast
Jesus - The Good Shepherd Who Leads Us
We look at Jesus as the Good Shepherd in John 10 and the deep comfort of Psalm 23, then get practical about hearing his voice, counting the cost, and leading our families with balance in a busy world. We challenge the myth that busyness equals faithfulness.
• Jesus as the Good Shepherd who knows our name
• Changed lives and the real cost of following Jesus
• Practical balance for families under schedule pressure
• Youth sports, finances and setting healthy limits
• Raising kids to know Jesus, not just church culture
Main Thing Podcast with Pastor Steve, equipping you to respond and thrive in the world we live in today. Keep the main thing the main thing has been a saying that Pastor Steve has told for decades. It means no matter what is happening around us, Jesus is what we need to have front and center in our lives. There couldn't be a more powerful reminder for us to recall in today's divisive and dark culture. From foundational truths and scripture to the hot topics of today's culture, allow this podcast to inspire and motivate you on your faith journey. Well, hello, Pastor Steve. Hello, hello. Welcome back to your podcast. Good to be here. Yes. Glad for everyone joining us today. Today we're going to be uh talking about Jesus as the good shepherd.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:So we're going to read John 10, 11 through 16 first. And uh we have a couple of different passages that we're going to read today. So John 10, starting in verse 11, Jesus says to his disciples, 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 is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because I'm gonna keep reading, he flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me. Even as the Father knows me and I know the Father, I laid down my life for the sheep. And then we also have the famed passage that is almost at every funeral, Psalms twenty-three. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul, he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So those are two powerful passages. I just want to share a little historical context to set us up. In Jesus' day, the shepherds were very important, but they weren't viewed as important. Um a few of their responsibilities were grazing the sheep in open fields, leading sheep to water sources, protecting them from predators, counting them regularly to make sure they didn't they didn't lose any, treating injuries. Um the shepherds would normally sleep across the open door of the sheepgate, the uh the boundary for the sheep, to protect them. Uh, this was something they did. They were old rabbinic writings actually depict shepherds as disgusting people because they were always defiled. They worked on the Sabbath, they took care of animals, um, and were never clean. And so it's interesting that in the text, Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd, you know. Um, of course, we know in scripture he's also the line of Judah, but Jesus chose the shepherd as the main example. And uh Jesus calls himself shepherd, he seeks the lost sheep and he knows their name. And then, of course, he lays down his life voluntarily. So, with that in mind, Pastor Steve, let's jump right in. What does it mean that the shepherd knows his sheep by name? Why why is that significant?
SPEAKER_00:Well, the shepherd is representative of Jesus. Uh the Bible is picture language, it's always given us metaphors. Um, and if you're not careful, you can get so literal reading scripture, you miss the metaphors. Right. Because it it's one big picture story to us. And uh Jesus represents uh the Savior to us in the form of our shepherd. And the shepherd, his job was to literally lay down his life for his sheep. And so when you talk about knowing the shepherd, uh our relationship with holy God is a personal one. And so if you know him personally, you know his voice. Uh and if you don't, you won't. I'll never forget years ago, a buddy of mine was praying at a football game, and I was sitting with his wife and his little boys. Little boy was about 18 months, two years old, and so his name was Butch. And Butch comes over the speakers at the stadium and starts to pray. And his son goes, Daddy, daddy, you know, he he immediately knew his voice. But why? Because he he had a personal relationship with him. And so uh we we know him if if we've truly been saved, and he knows us.
SPEAKER_02:Right. So I guess it would be fair to say, you know, when people say, I don't hear from God, I don't know him, it would be fair to say that they're just not spending time with him to know his voice and recognize it, right?
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. Yes. Yeah, you gotta spend time with somebody to know him. Right. We got a uh we we got a world full of people in modern day Christianity uh who just see this faith thing as something you do for an hour, you check a box or you believe this, um, but they're they've not met the savior, they've not fallen in love with the savior. They don't know they're a shepherd.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I think that that plays out in everyday life in their in our actions. You really know, you really know what people believe by the way they act.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. That's right. Yeah, I I do not believe a person can have the Holy Spirit of God come into their life and still live a deliberate, sin-filled existence. Amen. And so I think for that reason, I'm not trying to be harsh, sure. I believe there are a lot of people who identify as Christians who who are not Christians. Uh, they're religious. But when you look at their lifestyle, you're like, there's no way that they've met Jesus. Right. You know, because Jesus will radically change your life and give you a new existence. And uh the old things, as Paul said, are passed away.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:You don't have those in you anymore. Your your appetites change, your desires change, your worldview changes. All of that is is totally new inside of you. So if you're gonna tell me that he's your shepherd, he's your savior, and you can still live like you're lost, I I have trouble believing you're saved.
SPEAKER_02:Right. Yeah. It makes you appreciate the story of Nicodemus. Although later on, um, most scholars believe he probably came to a full saving knowledge of Jesus. Um, but at first it was tough for him because Jesus told him what it would cost. Yes. You know, and and and the the biggest cost was you would be born again. Everything will be changed.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And if you're self-centered, that is a cost. Right. See, if you can freely give your life to Christ and trust him, uh, the cost doesn't hurt. You know, it's not you don't see it as expensive. But if you want to order your own path, if you are insistent on being in charge of yourself, then that cost is high.
SPEAKER_02:Right. Yeah. And thinking about cost, I mean, this this is fresh in the news. Uh Christians in Nigeria being slaughtered. Yep. Their cost is different than our cost. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. The average American, uh, we have no clue what true sacrifice means.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:You know, they we we have people who believe because they actually got out of bed and came to a church service, they've made a sacrifice.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Uh well, the the uh definition of a sacrifice is giving up something precious, something important to you. Um, and I know they would argue my sleep's important or something like that. But I mean truly important.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah, not frivolous. Absolutely. And talking about Psalm 23, so Psalm 23, I've I've done many funerals, nowhere near as many as you, but uh I would say at least 85% of them, the family requested Psalm 23. It that's not only a passage that's great and comforting for the family when a death happens. I mean, that is a powerful truth for us today. How how is that passage a powerful truth for us today?
SPEAKER_00:Well, what that passage does is it teaches us who our shepherd is. What does it mean? He's our shepherd. Well, it means he's our provider, he's our caretaker. Um, he meets our needs. Uh he he um you know, when you think about a sheep, you know, he he gives them the grazing land, he leads them to the good water, uh, he makes them lie down in green pastures. What does that mean? That's comfort assurance. Oh, there's plenty of food around me. I'm in a good place. Um you know, he walks with me through the valley of the shadow of death, a statement that the the most difficult times of my life, I'm not by myself, he's my comforter, see. Um and so what what Psalm 23 is saying is that he is my everything, he's sufficient for me. When I trust him, when I trust the shepherd, uh I I I don't have any more worries. Uh He's got me, right, is the way we might say it today. He's got this, yeah, you know. So uh yeah, it's powerful in that it gives us a picture. We're we're looking at the names of God. Uh He is powerful, He's provider, He's caretaker, He's counselor, He's all of those things to us in the form of the Good Shepherd. Right. Yeah, so yeah, I I personally I know why people choose it. Uh it is it is so powerful, speaking to the character and nature of God, and yet it's so comforting uh to them in very difficult times.
SPEAKER_02:What is what is David saying when when he wrote uh the oil in my cup is overflowing?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. Well, I don't remember it being oil. He said my cup overflows.
SPEAKER_02:Did he say oil? The oil might be in a separate spot. I could be wrong there. You have anointed my head with oil, my cup overflows.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, two different things.
SPEAKER_02:Two different things, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Uh the shepherd's sheep, I grew up on a small farm. When I was about 16 or so, uh, we always raised, we had cows and chickens and pigs, and you know, and a garden. Uh my daddy thought a garden was 10 acres. Okay, so we had a we had a garden. Yeah. Um, and um along about my sophomore year in high school, he decided we were gonna do sheep too. And uh I learned a lot from that. Sheep are the dumbest animals on planet earth. They've got no sense of direction, they don't know north from south. They're 85% water and body content.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, really?
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So if they lie down going uphill or downhill, sometimes they can't get up. And you gotta help them up. I mean, they they're pathetic little creatures, they can't defend themselves in any way, you know. Um, so when I became a Christian, I began to read my Bible and I saw that God called us sheep. I thought, oh, you didn't think too much of us. Yeah. But now that I've been doing this 47 years, uh, we really are sheep. Yeah. Uh we have a way, just like the animal, of getting off the beaten path, getting out into briars, getting into bad places. So those sheep had a they had a habit of sticking their noses where they didn't belong. Sound like a human being for sure. And they'd stick it in ant hills and termite mounds, and they'd get all bitten up. Uh so the sh the shepherds would coat their snouts and their heads with a thick oil as a protective coating. And it came to symbolize uh God's protection on our lives. And so to anoint a human being with oil is a symbol of God's protection upon that person's life. And so then the cup running over is a symbol of God's provision. In the Middle Eastern world, and in some places, they'll do it even today. Um, if they pour you something, they will deliberately overfill the cup.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Because it's a symbol that they have plenty for you that they want you to partake and enjoy. And so uh, yeah, both of those are powerful statements to the care our Father has for us and the provision that he has for us.
SPEAKER_02:Amen. So I guess that that would relate to James whenever James says, if if they're sick, take some of the elders and anoint them with oil and pray over them. Yes.
unknown:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:I never made that connection between James and Psalm 23 or even the Old Testament. So that's that's awesome. The next one, Pastor Steve, is what what voices compete in today's world? You got Jesus the great shepherd that's trying to lead us down the path of righteousness, the narrow path, and then you have these voices that are out in the world that are trying to pull us away, go down that broad road to hell. What would you say are some of the greatest vices and voices in the world today that's trying to pull us away from that path?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, I mean, obviously there are wicked things that try to pull us away from that path. But I think for the average Christian, it's not bad things, it's good things. And so uh families get caught up in doing a ton of good things, but it's not the best thing they ought to be doing. And so nowadays, for example, uh our schedules are so busy. Uh, so many moms are working outside the home because they have to, so they can make it. Um the pressure young parents are feeling for their kids to fit in to be able to perform. I'm finding whether it's band, whether it's cheerleading, whether it's athletics, this stuff has all become very demanding uh in the development of a child. Um so there are a lot of really good things that's pulling people away from the shepherd.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And uh they they don't even realize it because they're not doing anything wicked. They're trying to serve their kids. They're trying to serve their kids, they're trying to do life. Right. Um, it's not evil, but it's not the best thing they can be doing. And so I I think um what's the old saying? Um, good is the enemy of great. And uh so they're doing a lot of good things, but what could be great in their lives, uh, they're missing.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So we have a lot of young families in our church. Our church is is is filled with babies, young families, which is an absolute blessing. Yes. And it's growing. What would you say to the families listening that are finding themselves in the midst of this struggle? They they know they may be putting too much too much investment, too much resources, too much time in all these other things, and not enough time in what's happening here or or or even Christ in their family. Um, what what's your words of encouragement to them or how to prioritize what's important in their life?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, what I'm gonna say, I've lived. Okay. Um three boys, we did everything with a ball connected to it from the time they could walk till they finished high school, and some of them went on and played college ball. Um you gotta work hard at finding balance. You want your kids to do extracurricular things, you want your kids to be good at those things. Just don't get caught up into that trap of thinking your kid's gonna be the best one in America because the likelihood of that's pretty slim.
SPEAKER_03:Right, right.
SPEAKER_00:And uh uh we're creating a lot of this anxiety that these middle schoolers and high schoolers have these days, and we're seeing that the country is just overroad with anxiety. These kids why youth suicide is up.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:A lot of this pressure is being put on these kids by their own parents and grandparents, and they don't even realize what they're doing to the kid, you know. Um, so I would strongly suggest you work hard at balance. We've got, I'm proud to say, we've got several young families in our church. They do the travel ball circuit and these kind of things, but I've known them to drive six, eight hours back home on Saturday night so they could be in church on Sunday morning. They they make the effort to make sure their children understand that being in the Lord's house is priority. Right. Uh, and and so they work hard at that. We've got some others that will seek out uh a good church if they're gonna be out of town and they'll attend church while they're out of town. Uh so they they hunt waves to provide that balance. Um, I'm afraid a lot of them are thinking they're raising their kids as Christians because they pray over a sandwich at a ballpark or an event somewhere, uh, but they're in church four or five Sundays a year. And their kids are gonna graduate high school and never have any use for the church. Um, and the parents are gonna be confused, right? Thinking they raised them Christian. They really didn't. They really raised them in a secular environment and convinced themselves they were doing the Christian thing. Right. So there's a lot of really good things like that. There's putting tons of stress on young families. Um, and and I would strongly suggest balance. Nothing wrong with doing those things. But you don't need to do it 365 days a year, you don't need to do it 12 months, you don't need to do it year-round. Even look, pro baseball has come out and said when you finish a baseball season, you have hundreds of micro tears and you're throwing arm muscles, and you need a minimum of two months where you don't pick up a baseball just to let your physical body heal. Um, but these parents are so bought into this idea that their kids are gonna be the next guy in the MLB draft. Um, and and so many of them, unfortunately, are living through their kids.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:You know?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And here's the odds. I'm gonna tell you, I've noticed it. Pay attention to how many names when you're watching a pro ball game. And that same name had a daddy that played 20 years before. Okay. Um most of the people that make it to the pros, their daddy was in the pros. Yeah, it's genetics, right? And so You can train to the cows come home. Uh you you may be a top chef ball player, but it is an elite top chef ball player that makes it to the pros. If you think about it, baseball players, and this is the one I've studied the most, is why I keep saying that. NFL, NBA is no different. Guys who play on your TV, there's 750 in the entire country of America. 750 ball players are at the top level playing on a pro team in America. And 50% of those are from Latin America.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_00:So you got about what you would call three, 350 uh American-born baseball players and the pros out of what 330, 40 million people. Right. So uh, and I don't mean to be negative, but most of them chasing a pipe dream.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So they need to step back and take a healthy approach.
SPEAKER_02:I I'm thinking of I know families that um are involved in gymnastics, and they're their little girls are in the gymnastics gym eight hours a week. I I can't I can't imagine that. That's a huge commitment, you know? And it's it's year-round. And so to your point, you said eight hours a week. A week.
SPEAKER_00:That's actually, I would think, on the small end of investment of what a lot of youth are doing now.
SPEAKER_02:And this is this is a six-year-old. Yeah. You know, and it increases as you get older.
SPEAKER_00:Most of them are doing six, seven days a week.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. And so I think like to your point, it it's it's consuming. And I think uh because I've experienced this too. It's hard to tell a coach no. When one of your kids is is athletically talented and they you know they're talented, you see their giftedness, but it doesn't fit in with the priorities of the family. Yeah, you know.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and the reality is, and I don't say this to be cruel, I coached most of my life. And and um most of the parents that you have the most trouble with that are pushing their kids the hardest are not the best athletes. You know, the parent has no understanding of what it is to play at the next level. Right. Six out of ten youth ball players will not play high school ball. Okay. Six out of ten.
SPEAKER_02:I bet that number's dropping with the competitive leagues around now.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, it's you you're either, you know, and this is the trap parents are in. If you don't have your kid doing all that, they can't compete. Correct.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:They're at a serious disadvantage. So it's a trap. Right. It's a trap. It really is. So look, we did it. We did it. And and I don't, I don't um make any judgment on any parent that's out there trying to have their kid invested and do sports and cheerleading, whatever it is. All I'm saying is you as the parent got to keep the balance. Right. And you got to remember uh they're gonna play ball for a little while. Even let's say your child makes it to the pros, they're not gonna be there long. The average pro football career is three years. Okay. So by 25, the average pro is done. So what's your kid gonna do for the rest of their life? Right. You know, and uh so I have actually known several kids in our church that they ended up with uh an injury that ended their play in time in high school or college, and they were relieved because the parents wouldn't let them walk away. And when they got hurt, they they had a reason to walk away. Um, and um parents are still walking around 10 years later going, I can't believe it, I can't believe it. And the kid's like, I don't care. Yeah, so um, yeah, they they gotta work hard for balance, it'll destroy your family, it'll destroy your finances. Um, I coached a travel baseball team for three years, and I deliberately stayed within an hour of home, and we did two what I call motel nights. We did two the whole 60-game schedule. And I just told my parents, if you want to stay in a motel every weekend, go get you one. I I don't have that kind of money, I'm not doing that. So many of these young families not only are creating an unhappy place for their children, uh, they're creating a financial tragedy for their family. They they're maxing out credit cards uh to the hilt left and right, they're taking second mortgages, so kids can do an activity. Right. And that's just not healthy. It's not healthy. So again, the important thing is balance. And ask yourself in that in that theater of balance, what is the most important thing? Right. And make sure it gets proper attention.
SPEAKER_02:And just like you said Sunday in in a podcast not long ago, that with the studies coming, it's a common sense study. The the teenagers and the young adults that have left the faith were never actually in the faith. They were never actually in the faith, they knew the idea of Jesus. Like you said, they knew the stories, they knew all this, they knew church structure, yeah, but they didn't know the actual Jesus, and so there wasn't faith there at all.
SPEAKER_00:And that's a trap for parents. You know, I I've had people say to me over the years, we don't understand, Brother Steve. We brought our kids to church, we raised our kids in church. Okay, sounds good. Did you ever actually, as mom or dad, sit down and talk to them about Jesus? You know, did you did you ever introduce them or did you just bring them to hear the Bible stories, to eat the pizza at youth night? You know, I mean, uh, I don't know how many times I've had discussions with parents in my ministry over the years, and they're concerned to make sure we're having fun in youth group. Well, you want to have fun in youth group, right? But that's not the main point of youth group.
SPEAKER_03:Yep.
SPEAKER_00:It's just to try to introduce them to Jesus. You play with them so you can get their attention. Right. See, but that's not what the parents are thinking. They want their kids to have fun. Yeah. Yeah. And um, then later on, they're they're devastated when their kid says, I don't need that.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Absolutely. One more question for you. Uh how can with this idea of being a balanced family and and pursuing the things of God, when when you're talking to younger families and you're talking to just families in general, how does that benefit the future of their family as a whole whenever they get that balance in their family and start seeking the Lord and start making him priority over their life?
SPEAKER_00:Well, the first thing it'll do is it'll it'll create a camaraderie in the family that's healthy. Families are so fractured right now. Even if mom and dad's still together, which is a problem in and of itself, uh, they're going to so many activities, they're involved in so many things, they're never spending any time together as a family. So if you establish that balance, you have family time. Uh, I don't know why they still put dining rooms in houses. Yeah. You know, I really don't. You know, um, in the 70s, 60s, and 70s, it was big to have a formal dining room because everybody ate together at every meal. And then as the 70s progressed, not so much. My generation pretty much grew up um eating TV dinners in front of the TV. You know, because our mom was working and uh she had to come in, throw something together, it was easy. And now I I don't know what they even eat in front of the TV.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Because so many of them are getting their information over their phones.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Um and so it it it'll create it'll create a camaraderie in the family that's not there. It'll create uh a much healthier situation and that they're not feeling all the stress. You know, um, my brother-in-law, uh, he and I were talking. My father-in-law, when he passed, had a fifth-wheel camper. And um it it was to be my brother-in-law's. Well, he sold it. So I asked him out of curiosity one day, I said, Man, why'd you sell the camper? He said, Man, you know, if you're going camping this weekend, you fly home from work on Thursday night, and you got all the stuff you got to do to the camper, get all the groceries ready, get everything right, get it ready to hook up for when you get in Friday evening. You fly home Friday evening, you hook it up, you drive three, four hours somewhere, you do a ton of work setting it up, you sit in a lawn chair for a day and a half, and then you gotta get home Sunday night and get it unhooked and get it cleaned out and all that, and get up and go to work uh Monday morning. He said, I'm not doing that. That's uh wear you out, you know. But that's what people do that every weekend, you know, and they're convincing themselves uh that it's good. Yeah, you know, and I'm not saying camping's bad. I'm just saying that scenario he described, I can see where that's bad. Yeah, you know. Um, I won't even take a vacation unless it's at least a week if I'm having to go somewhere. I'm not I'm not going somewhere for two days, turn around, come back. You know. But it it'll create, it'll create a healthier environment. Um it'll reduce the anxiety levels for everybody in the family, you know, and they'll actually have time to, if if, if they're so inclined, and we gotta be honest, uh a lot of parents, even though they identify as Christians, are not inclined to expose their children to Jesus and scripture and Bible study. But they they'll then have a much more comfortable place where they can invest in their children spiritually, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Amen. Amen. Well, that's it for this episode, Pastor Steve. Thank you. Thank you. Good to be here. See you guys on the next one.