Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Monday, June 25, 2012

Are you a Sheep?


Monday, June 25, 2012, 6:09 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “My Sheep” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read John 10:22-30 (NIV 1984):

Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

My Understanding: Jesus was addressing the Pharisees (see John 9:40-41) concerning their spiritual blindness, i.e. concerning their hypocrisy because they thought they could see, but they could not, and they didn’t even realize that they could not see, which was at the heart of the issue. Then, he went right into a discourse about the Good Shepherd and his sheep in contrast to the stranger (thief and robber) who entered the sheep pen by a way other than through the gate (Jesus Christ).

Jesus was both the Good Shepherd and the gate, and as the shepherd, he entered the sheep pen by the gate (himself; the only true way into the sheep pen). The true shepherd of the sheep laid down his life for the sheep, he calls his own sheep by name, they know his voice, they listen to him, he leads them out, and they follow him. Whoever enters the sheep pen (the kingdom of heaven; the true church) through Jesus Christ will be saved. They will have eternal life with God.

In contrast to the Good Shepherd is the stranger, i.e. the thief and the robber, i.e. the devil, the spirit of the antichrist, false teachers (or teaching) and/or false christs. Jesus’ true sheep will not listen to nor follow the stranger, in fact, they will run from him, because they do not recognize the voice of the stranger, and they are able to discern the error of his ways (Biblical error).

The thief (Satan; a false messiah; a false teacher) comes to steal, kill and destroy God’s work of grace in people’s hearts and lives. He may lead some back under bondage to the law, while others he will lead to a false grace that gives a free license to sin to its adherers, i.e. he will preach that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation, which is contrary to the teaching of scripture. He will twist and turn the scriptures with such agility and deception that the listeners will think they are hearing the truth when it is really lies disguised as truth, probably because it is a clever mixture of lies and truth packaged together in a way that is attractive and palatable to its listeners.

When the Jews heard these words of Jesus, they were divided. Some thought he was demon-possessed and raving mad (crazy), so why should they listen to him. Others questioned in their own minds and hearts how someone demon-possessed could say the things Jesus said, or how he could do the miracles of healing in people’s lives he performed.

I Did Tell You

Have you ever been guilty of not listening to someone speaking to you? I mean, you may hear his or her words, and you may even remember what he or she said to you, though you may not, but you didn’t listen with your heart. You may have even listened part way and decided what he or she was saying and so you stopped listening, and/or you interrupted the speaker, thinking you knew what he was going to say. There is a big difference between hearing with our physical ears and truly listening with our minds and hearts. And, I am certain we have all been guilty of not listening to others at one time or another.

It was winter. It was time for the Feast of Dedication (the Hanukkah of today). Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade (or porch). Jesus often spoke there, using it as an informal platform of sorts for his teaching and preaching. It was outside the institution of religion, yet it still reached that audience. I think of a parallel, of sorts, today, which is the Internet, i.e. in particular the use of blogs, Christian discussion sites or social network sites such as Facebook where people gather together more informally and where we can talk to people about what our Lord is teaching us daily.

The Jews saw him there, so they gathered around him, not to listen to what he had to say, but to question him, and perhaps to try to trick him in some way so they would have cause to accuse him more forcefully. They asked him if he was the Christ. Now, Jesus had already stated that he was, in one form or another. So Jesus said, “I did tell you, but you do not believe.” Basically he was saying, “I told you, but you didn’t listen.” Has anyone ever said that to you? Has God? It isn’t that they didn’t hear him say it before, but they refused to believe it. So, Jesus told them that the miracles he did in his Father’s name spoke for him, and they gave evidence that he was indeed the promised Messiah, Christ and Son of God.

Who are the Sheep?

Jesus said the reason they did not believe is because they were not his sheep. Then, he went on to describe the characteristic traits of his true sheep. And, this is critical that we get this, because so many false teaching today does not teach this. Jesus’ sheep:

·         Listen (not just with their ears, but with their hearts and minds) to his voice
·         They know him and he knows them
·         They follow him

Listen

To listen means to make a conscious (with the mind) effort to hear someone or something; to pay attention to something, and to take it into account (to think about it; consider it); and/or to heed (follow) [Source: Encarta]. If our minds are already made up, we can’t truly listen. If we don’t want to hear what the person has to say due to prejudice, hatred, jealously and the like, we can’t really listen. If we know the cost involved in truly listening and what we might be responsible then to do, we may block it out thinking if we don’t understand it we are not held responsible for it.

To truly listen means to open our hearts and minds to hear what another is saying and to be willing to make necessary changes in our lives, i.e. to be willing to look within our own hearts to see what is there and what needs to be changed. Obviously we are not to consider other religions or false teaching that is clearly against God and his word, though we should always be kind and respectful when refuting false teaching. Yet, it means that we must be willing to forgo prejudice, tradition, the teachings of men, and what we have always been taught, etc., and to be willing to have our hearts and minds opened to truth.

Know

To know something or someone means to believe firmly in the truth or certainty of something or someone; to understand through experience or study; to be associated or familiar with someone or something; to be intimate with someone (Encarta).

So, to know Jesus means we have a relationship with him, not just a religion. We know him through experience, study, invitation into our lives, obedience, surrender to his will, time spent with him at his feet, and belief in him and all his teaching and promises; through walking with him daily in communion and fellowship, having forsaken our lives of sin, and having made a conscious choice of the will to walk in faithful obedience in following Jesus wherever he leads us. We can’t know Jesus if we are not intimate with him on a daily basis in talking with him, in listening attentively to his words speak to our hearts, and then in obeying the truths of his word which he teaches us in all practical application to our lives.

John, in the book of 1 John, said that if we claim to have fellowship (be in relationship) with Jesus Christ but we continue to walk in darkness (in sin), we lie and we do not live by the truth. He said we know we have come to know God (Christ) if we obey his commands. “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar.” “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” If we love (have passion; desire for) the things of this world (sinful world), the love of the Father is not in us. “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

If what we have heard from the beginning of our salvation remains in us (continues in us), John said, we will remain in the Son and in the Father. No one who lives in Christ keeps on (continues; persists in) sinning. This does not mean we must live sinless and perfect lives, but that we should be conscious of sin in our lives, we should confess sin and repent of it daily, and we must ask for the assistance and power of the Holy Spirit daily in our lives in resisting Satan and in fleeing from sin, rather than having an attitude that it is ok to keep sinning just because we are now under grace.

Follow

Jesus said that if anyone would want to come after him, he must deny (die to) self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and the flesh nature) and follow him (obey; go where he leads). He said that if we want to hold on to our old lives of sin and selfishness that we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives (leave our old lives of sin behind) we will find them. Ephesians 4 says that when we come to faith in Christ, we should no longer live as unbelievers do. We did not come to know Christ that way! Grace is not a free license to continue in sin while you have your free ticket to heaven! The way we come to know Christ is that we must put off our old self (our former way of life of sin), “which is being corrupted by deceitful desires,” and we should be made new (via the Holy Spirit) in the attitude of our minds, and we should put on the new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This is not just a state of being, but it is a lifestyle change, and it is radical!

True sheep listen attentively to Christ and his words daily with a willing heart and mind to obey and to apply the truths we learn to our daily lives; to go wherever Jesus sends us and to do whatever he requires of us to do, being willing to be hated, rejected, persecuted, mistreated, falsely accused, slandered against and even killed for our obedience to Christ. Yet, we must be certain that we are truly listening to Christ and that the words we are hearing are truly from him. That is why it is of upmost importance that we are daily in the word and that we check out everything we hear against the word of God, and that we don’t buy into man’s teaching without knowing if what they are teaching is truly of God.

My Sheep / An Original Work / June 24, 2012

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
They know my voice, so they follow me.

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