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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

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This week we're going to spend our entire week in one chapter of Scripture that is very, very near and dear to my heart, and that is John, chapter 10. John 10 says this 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 the stranger. This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

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Verse 7,. 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 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 I 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.

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You see, in the gospel of John Jesus has seven I am statements. I am is the covenant name of God. Seven is the number of completion. So essentially, what Jesus is saying throughout the gospel of John is that Jesus, the Christ, is the son of God and he is equal with God. And what I want to focus on this week is that Jesus is our shepherd, not just our shepherd, but our good shepherd. Well, if you and I are Jesus followers, then we are called to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. So every man that is a follower of Jesus in essence is supposed to be conformed to the likeness and image of jesus. That means we're supposed to be like him. So if jesus is a shepherd, then guess what boys you and I are supposed to be shepherds, whether? Whether that's the shepherd of a company, the boss of a company, the coach of a team, maybe the most important one Is to shepherd your own family. Or it could be like, in my role, I'm the shepherd of this church.

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Well, the problem in the 21st century is that we got a lot more cowboys than we have shepherds. Now, let me just go on record here especially if we got some cowboys listening, ain't nothing wrong with cowboys. In fact, cowboys are cool, have you? Have you been watching Yellowstone and all the cowboy movies? Okay, I'm not condoning or endorsing it, I'm just saying Rip is the coolest guy I've ever seen on television. Who doesn't want to be like that? So I'm not saying anything derogatory about cowboys. I'm just telling you the Bible has not called us to be cowboys, though the Bible has called us to be shepherds, and these are very different things. You see again, cowboys are cool, shepherds are not cool.

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I mean, I wear cowboy clothes all the time. Right, I got cowboy boots and cowboy jeans and cowboy hats and cowboy belt buckles. There are cowboy stores where you can go dress up and act like a cowboy, but I don't know if you realize this there are no shepherd stores. Nowhere in Jacksonville can I roll in and get a robe and a little crook and, you know, some little goofy sandals to look like a shepherd that is not what you do. And some little goofy sandals to look like a shepherd? That is not what you do.

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But the Bible has called us to be shepherds and not cowboys. You see, what a cowboy does is a cowboy counts head of cattle, but a shepherd knows his sheep. A cowboy gets at the back of a herd and pushes them where they don't necessarily want to go, but a shepherd goes first and says follow me, and the sheep follow the voice of the shepherd. A cowboy fattens the cattle for auction, but a shepherd feeds the sheep because he loves them. This is very different.

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So, fathers, let me ask you this question Are you more concerned about where your kid's going to spend the next 40 years of college or where your kid is going to spend eternity?

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That's the difference, and maybe one of the biggest differences cowboys love being a cowboy and shepherds love the sheep. I mean, there are cowboy games where cowboys go to compete against one another to see who can be the best cowboy. Like I just said, I have all kind of cowboy clothes hats, pants, shirts, boots and I don't know a cow and there's a lot of people that love the role that God has given them as father or boss or leader, but they don't necessarily love the people that they get to serve. So let me ask you this question, as we follow in the footsteps of our good shepherd are you more like a shepherd to the people that God has put under your care and authority, or are you more like a cowboy? May you and I be like our good shepherd. May we know the sheep. May we feed the sheep. May we love the sheep, because the good shepherd loves us, amen.

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