Notes from this week's podcast: Jo & Sydney: See Yourself as the Shepherd's Own Sheep
Who does God say we are?
Psalm 23 in a self-reliant lens. We want to lift that burden today. Shift our eyes to the Shepherd.
Sydney: I have a strong desire for God's people to feel the comfort and guidance and the covering of the Shepherd. Lean into our identity of being a sheep.
Jo: Get your eyes off of your burden -- of the weight, the thing that's got you downtrodden and put your eyes on the Shepherd. Purpose that you're not just going to tack Him on your burden.
Sydney: Of all the animals that we could be compared to, it's the sheep.
- Sheep are not load-bearing animals. They are only valuable for their wool, milk -- nothing that they could do. We're not meant to carry the weight.
Jo: He shows us how to handle those burdens -- pray into them, invite Him into, for Him to carry the burden.
Sydney: When we've hooked up with Jesus, He's our guide. We can follow Him with peace. That is available.
Jo: When we get our eyes off the Shepherd, we get our eyes on "me" and we try to get ahead and become unyoked. (I'm a sheep but I'm going to be the top sheep. I'm going to make myself known.) No, get back hooked with the Shepherd and make the Shepherd's name known.
Sydney: Jesus carried the cross. He carries our sin for this reason. We don't have to carry the heaviness. There is a way for believers to care but not carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. When we start carrying the weight, then we start to believe it's up to us. We don't have the power. God does.
Jo: When you start carrying that, that's when you know you're going down. As sheep, we're not made to bear that weight. Jesus was.
Sydney: We have what we need is present (tense). That alone is the treasure and the gift of the Lord's presence. Practically, what does this look like?
Jo: Where are your eyes? Be aware of His presence with you. His presence is among you.
Sydney: He is what we need. He's not withholding.
How do we do that? Trust Him. See His Work in your life. It takes experiencing God's hand in your life -- experiencing His work in your life and that is a reminder to trust Him. As you see God's hand in your life, through your family, through your friends, that builds your faith. You have peace because you trust Him. You experience His faithfulness.
Jo: Do we really believe He is our helper? Do we really believe that He is there to meet our needs? And the way we answer that is how we respond. Am "I" really giving this to Him? Or am I taking it back?
Sydney:
2. Sheep are radically dependent for survival. The have no claws, no teeth, easily lost. They will die without the Shepherd intervening. They're defenseless. They don't have the speed to outrun their predator.
We can be easily devoured by our time, our daily habits without the Shepherd's guiding or His rod to swat away. He is our defense.
Jo: Warning - Don't give the enemy too much credit for this. Take responsibility ourselves. It can be our own flesh because of what we want, the way we want it. Stop and identify where it's coming from. Get humble. Get back on your face before God. Confess that. Get that out of the way. That selfishness will rob you of the power of God.
Sydney: I fear no evil because You are with me.
Jo: We're not sufficient to think anything of ourselves. Our sufficiency really does come from the Shepherd.
Sydney: In our humility is where we're made strong.
3. Sheep, on their own, would die. Sheep will settle for less. They will stay in the dirty puddle of same grass area. They need the Shepherd to lead them.
Jo: God hasn't left you. He's leading you to that clean, fresh everflowing water that's going to satisfy your thirst. Get your eyes back on Him. Don't settle for less.
Sydney: He'll move us -- disrupt some things in our lives. He'll say no. He's picking you up from that muddy puddle to the fresh water that's around the corner.
Jo: Don't throw in the towel. Keep doing what God has told you to do.
Sydney: Lord, I want the everlasting water. Ask Him to daily lead us or we'll just be in the mud.
Jo: The world has a different purpose for your home, for the city than what God does.
Sydney:
4. Sheep are sensitive to the Shepherd's voice. When they learn the Shepherd's voice, they know it and they know what's not.
It's just proximity to Him. What doe we need to quiet in our lives?
Jo: Whose face do I need to be in front of today? Maybe it just needs to be me and God. Don't be afraid to be face to face with God.
Sydney:
5. Sheep function the most healthily, the best when they are stripped and sheered. What they produce on their own will eventually kill them -- heavy, matted. And they can't do it (sheer) themselves.
He died for us to cleanse us. We need to look at our sin like that -- to be grossed out by it.
Jo: That's where I want to get, God -- just cut it off of me.
Sydney: Walk lightly, in freedom, in peace with the Lord, in daily dependence.
Jo: God is doing something in you.
Reflect God's glory. None of us wants to miss what God has for us. Clean it up now.
Sydney: Sheep are created to be in a flock. Have a community. Follow the Shepherd.
Jo: He left the 99 to find the one. He sees you and is calling you back to Himself.
Scriptures for further study: Psalm 23:1-4, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 84:11, 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 34:8a, 1 Peter 5:8, Jeremiah 29:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 15:5, Ephesians 3:20-21, John 10:27, Psalm 51:10, Hebrews 12:11, Psalm 139:23-24, Matthew 9:36
