Whose voice are you listening to?

John 10:1-21

“I assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and robber”

 

“For a shepherd enters through the gate.”

 

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” 

 

“After he has gathered his flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice.”

 

“They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t recognize his voice.”

 

Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what He meant, so He explained it to them.  “I assure you, I am the Gate for the sheep,”  He said.

 

“All others who came before Me were thieves and robbers.  But the true sheep did not listen to them.”

 

“Yes, I am the Gate.  Thos who come in and through Me will be saved.  Wherever they go, they will find green pastures.”

 

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.  My purpose is to give life in all it’s fullness.”

 

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

 

“A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming.  He will leave the sheep because they aren’t his and he isn’t their shepherd.  And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.”

 

“The hired hand runs away because he is merely hired and has no real concern for the sheep.”

 

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know My own sheep, and they know Me,”

 

“just as My Father knows Me and I know the Father.  And I lay down My life for the sheep.”

 

“I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold.   I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and there will be one Flock with one Shepherd.”

 

“The Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I may have it back again.”

 

“No one can take My life from Me.  I lay down My life voluntarily.  For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it again.  For My Father has given Me this command.”

 

When He said these things, the people were divided in their opinions about Him.

 

Some of them said, “He has a demon, or He’s crazy.  Why listen to a man like that?”

 

Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon!  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

 

Because Jesus never sinned, death had no hold on Him.  No matter how badly He was beaten when He was nailed on the cross, He wouldn’t have died unless He gave up His own spirit.  He had the power to send legends of angels to His defense if He wanted to.  He had the power to disappear in the crowds so when others who hated Him wanted to arrest Him, they couldn’t – because it wasn’t His time.  Jesus did only what the Father sent Him to do.  It was planned before all creation for Jesus to come redeem mankind and to give His life for our sins.  The power and majesty of God is so far above anything we can imagine.  The people who didn’t know the Scriptures concerning the Messiah and in particular the passages in Psalms 22 that spoke of the suffering He would endure on the cross, also didn’t understand He was fulfilling prophesy concerning Himself.  Those who viewed Jesus through their own human understandings and limitations could not receive Him. They didn’t have faith and trust in God.  They weren’t looking for the Messiah, but a kingdom on this earth.  This world had become their home and they were looking for a king they could exalt and worship who would deliver them in a manner pleasing to their intellect and flesh.  They were looking for deliverance from their earthly enemies, not realizing that their greatest enemy was death and eternal separation for God is Heaven.

 

Heavenly Father;

Thank You for Your word that teaches us of Jesus, our Great Shepherd!  Thank You for Your magnificent love for us and for the power to live eternally with You in Heaven through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us.  Thank You for the blind eyes that Jesus has opened, those physically blind as well as those spiritually blind who love You and who love Jesus.  Thank You that You take such wonderful, tender care of us and refer to Your children as ‘sheep’ – so that we may have a visual of our deep, deep need for You and of Your deep, deep love and care for us.  Please work in our hearts and lives today that we may love You more, that we may listen to You with ears tuned in to Your voice and that we may follow You more closely.  As Your desire is to care for us, being closest to You is the very best place we can be.  Please help us to call out to You moment by moment in our heart of hearts that we may fellowship with You and be attentive to Your voice when You answer us.  Please help us to follow only You. There are many voices speaking for You,  but they are not all from You.  Please give us discernment to know Your voice, and especially when You whisper, that we may follow only no other voice or influence.  May You be glorified in our lives.  May we have Your peace which passes all understanding that we may shine Your light in this dark world and do that for which You’ve prepared for us to do.

 

Please help the team in Mexico this week.  Please strengthen our pastor and keep him healthy.  Please give him rest and deliver him from his migraines.  Please help each person there make time to get alone with You and spend time in Your word that they may be strengthened spiritually.  Please help the team to work together in unity and love.  Please guide them in their work.  Please give them safe food to eat and help them remember to keep their hands sanitized so that they may not have stomach problems.  Please bring safe water to the area where the missions base is being built.  Please touch the government’s heart to provide better provisions for the poor people in the work camps.  Please minister to the hearts of the people who live down there to hear the voice of their Great Shepherd calling their name that they may have life – abundant life today and eternal life to come.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Tags: being established in love, being strengthened with power, Death has nothing on Jesus!, God's Grace, God's Love, Jesus has Compassion for People in Need, Jesus is our Great Shepherd, Jesus is the Gate to God's sheepfold, Listening to God's Voice, Talking With Jesus, The Glorious Cross of Christ!, We are God's Beloved Children Through Redemption, Witnessing