The Shepherd and His Flock
1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
…My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
My Understanding: Jesus Christ is our good shepherd. He is the caretaker of God’s holy people, the church. Yet, God has also assigned human shepherds to watch over his flock. He has given them great responsibility to care for the Lord’s sheep until Jesus Christ returns to earth and sets up his kingdom reign of a thousand years here on the earth, and he becomes our only shepherd. There are also government shepherds, i.e. our government leaders whom God has placed in positions of leadership over nations. And he has, as well, given them great responsibility to care for the people of the earth.
The sheep pen represents the body of Christ, his church. The entrance gate into the pen is Jesus Christ, and we enter the pen (church) through genuine faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Yet, there are human shepherds of the sheep who have not come through the gate, but who have climbed into the pen by some other way. They are thieves and robbers. Sadly there are many such “thieves and robbers” among church leadership today who have come into the fold by another way other than through genuine faith in Jesus Christ, so we must be discerning about who is really of God and who is a robber of the sheep. I believe these “thieves and robbers” can also include political figures who present themselves as Christians in order to capture the sheep (believers in Jesus) in their traps.
In contrast to those “thieves and robbers” who climb into the pen by another way is Jesus Christ, who is our true shepherd. The sheep who have come in through the gate listen to his voice and they follow him. The sheep who are listening to the good shepherd and who are following him will never follow a stranger, because they will not recognize a stranger’s voice. In fact, they will run away from strangers. I believe this calls for spiritual discernment. If we are truly listening to Jesus Christ and we are truly following him, we should recognize the voices of those shepherds who are strangers to the flock and those who have climbed into the pen by another way, and we should not follow them. And, in fact, we should run away from them.
Then, Jesus contrasted the difference between those shepherds who were “thieves and robbers,” and himself. He said that, not only was he the good shepherd of the sheep, but he was the gate to the sheep pen, i.e. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father and to eternity in heaven with God. Whoever comes into the church through genuine faith in Jesus Christ will be saved. Though the thief comes to kill and to destroy, Jesus has come to give us life that is full to overflowing with his Spirit, his love, grace and power. Many leaders within our churches and within our government are “thieves and robbers” who have only come to destroy the church and our nation, not to help it, but oftentimes they will come to us as wolves in sheep’s clothing, which is why we need to pray for much discernment.
A hired hand is someone you pay to do work for you, but he or she does not usually live in your house and is not part of your family. Jesus referred to some of these human shepherds as “hired hands” who care nothing for the sheep. They are just doing a job. So, when they see a wolf coming, they abandon the sheep and run away. Then, the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. And, again, this is true of many religious leaders as well as government leaders of the people. They are just a doing a job they were hired to do, and many of them truly care nothing for the people, though for a time they may give the pretense that they do. So, when the enemy infiltrates the church and/or our nation, these “hired hands” easily surrender to the enemy and allow them inside to attack the flock.
Yet, Jesus Christ loved us so much that he lay down his life for the sheep. He died on a cross for our sins so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal punishment in hell) and free from the control of sin over our daily lives. Those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ are saved from sin, are free from the control of sin over our lives, and we are given the hope and promise of eternal life in heaven with God.
This is how we know we have truly come to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus said that his sheep know his voice, they listen to him, and they follow him (obey him). For those who are truly listening (actively following) Jesus’ teachings and are obeying what he has taught us, we are given the hope of eternal life, we will never perish and no robber and thief can ever snatch us out of our Lord’s hand.
Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011
Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead alway.
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/jesus-lead-me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg
DREAM: Our youngest son (US military) told us he had leukemia, and he had until January to live. END
Leukemia – is “an often fatal cancer in which white blood cells displace normal blood, leading to infection, shortage of red blood cells anemia, bleeding, and other disorders.”
Cancer – “a malignant tumor or growth caused when cells multiply uncontrollably, destroying healthy tissue. The different forms are sarcomas, carcinomas, leukemia, and lymphomas.”
Cell – “politics - a small group of people who work together and are part of a larger organization, especially members of a political organization who work in secret.”
My Understanding: My son usually represents the US government and military in my dreams, so I believe the Lord is saying that our US government and/or military has “leukemia,” i.e. there are secretive political cells within our government body which are displacing the normal cells. These abnormal cells are multiplying within the body of government in the USA uncontrollably and will inevitably cause the death of the US government and/or military as an independent republic.
The Lord does not usually give me timetables. Since my son is symbolic of our government/military and “leukemia” is symbolic of secretive political cells which have infiltrated our government and are displacing the normal workings of our government body, are multiplying greatly, and will eventually kill our present form of government, it is possible that January is representative merely of a new beginning of a new government in the USA. Yet, it could be literal, too.
I believe the Lord gave me this dream in connection with this passage of scripture from John 10 because he was showing that these “leukemia” cells are these shepherds who have come inside the pen by another way, that they are hired hands, they care nothing for the sheep, and when the “wolf” shows up, they will abandon us and will allow the wolf to consume us.
No comments:
Post a Comment