John 10:1-6 ESV
“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 strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
The Only Way
Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and no one
enters into God’s eternal kingdom except through him, and except through the
way of the cross, which is the way God provided. And, the way of the cross for
us is via dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his
righteousness, by God’s grace, and in his power and strength (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph.
4:17-24).
So, if anyone says he is a follower of Jesus Christ, and if
he says he is a preacher of the Word of God or a pastor of Christ’s church, His
body, but he has not died with Christ to sin; and if he is not, by the Spirit,
putting to death the deeds of the flesh; and if he is not walking in obedience
to the Lord, but he is still walking according to the flesh, then he is a liar
(Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:4-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Gal. 5:16-21; Lu. 9:23-26; Tit. 2:11-14).
The fact that he “climbs in” by “another way,” other than
through the door (Jesus Christ), also suggests he has entered into the fellowship
of the body of Christ deceitfully. He has come into the fellowship of Christ’s
body by a way other than through God-given faith in Jesus Christ. And, he has
done this through trickery, with the full intent to cause a disturbance, and to
intentionally lead the sheep astray from their pure devotion to Jesus Christ.
An Uninvited Guest
By breaking in to the sheepfold, he has done so uninvited,
and he is butting in where he is not welcome. For, he is meddling in the
affairs of God where he has no business sticking his nose into God’s business.
And, once inside, he is interfering with the teachings of God’s truths, and he
is interjecting his own ideas (notions) into the gospel message of salvation
from sin.
For, he is attempting to influence the sheep to go by a
different way other than the one God laid out for us to abide by. He is telling
the sheep that they don’t have to live separate from the world, but that they
should blend in with the world, and that they should immerse themselves in
today’s culture in order to identify with the people of the world, so that they
can reach the people of the world, but for what? Not for Jesus Christ, but for
their human-based businesses (churches) which they market just like any other
business.
He is also breaking into our intimate relationship with
Jesus Christ in an attempt to pull us away from Jesus, and to attempt to get us
to follow after our flesh and after the gospel of men, instead. He doesn’t want
us to live in fidelity to our Lord, so he claims that God requires no such
submission or obedience, and that we don’t have to turn from our sins.
Yet, this would be a whole lot like a marriage ceremony
where the preacher tells the bride and groom that they can continue to live as
though they are single, that they can sleep around with other people, that they
can have intimate relationships with people other than their spouse, and that
anytime they want they can leave their spouse for someone else – no commitment!
United with the World
And, he is attempting to return us to what we were like
before we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, for he is attempting to get
us to abandon our faith in Jesus Christ entirely, and to join with the world in
a one-world religion where all the people of the world join hands and hearts
and sing “Kumbaya” together in unison. He wants us to abandon the true gospel,
our fidelity to Jesus Christ, and to unite with the world with one voice.
But, for those of us who are following our Lord in
obedience, we should recognize his voice as a voice of a stranger, not the
voice of a true shepherd of the sheep who would be looking out for our best,
who would protect us from wolves in sheep’s clothing, and who would tell us the
truth, not lies.
We should know our Lord’s voice, and we should be able to
discern the difference between truth and lies, and what is real from what is
fake. We should be able to discern error and deception and manipulation from
the truth of God’s Word, if we are truly following our Lord in obedience. So,
we should not fall into the trap of this liar and deceiver. We should not fall
under his influence and believe what he tells us.
But, he can be very convincing. He can appear like the real
deal outwardly. He can be very charming and winsome, and melt your heart. And,
if you are not discerning, you can fall for his tricks. For, he is a great
actor, and he is really good at faking it. He is good at faking love, devotion,
and concern for you and your situation. For, he knows how to perform for an
audience.
The True Thief
John 10:7-10 ESV
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. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and 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.”
And, who is he who climbs in by another way? Primarily he is
Satan, for Satan is the one behind these false shepherds of the people,
including many or most of our government leaders, the media, and many of our
church leaders, too.
But “he” is also man, the flesh, and those who serve Satan
and his purposes by how they live their lives, and by what they do, especially
the ones who bully others for their own advantage, but who may do it in a
secretive and manipulative way to where you might not even be aware that you
are being bullied.
And, many of these “bullies” are our political and church
leaders, and/or they are prominent and influential business leaders in our
communities, but who are actors, playing their roles in a Ponzi scheme in order
to defraud the people of their nations. So, we have to be very discerning, and
we have to stop taking people at face value and believing whatever we hear,
read, or see from our government, the media, and many pastors of churches, too.
For, although they may be acting as though they are on your
side, or that they are trying to help you, or that what they are doing is for
your best, or for your protection, they are actually doing the opposite. And,
what they are doing, in reality, is for your harm. So, although they have
promised to protect you and to do what is your best interest, they are not.
They are really the enemy feigning friendship with you in order to take you
down.
They Follow Him
John 10:27-30 ESV
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
So, we are supposed to flee from the strangers. But, how do
we know who “they” are?
We can only know if we pull away from the influences of the
world, and if we get alone with God, and if we call on God in prayer, in
repentance, and in obedience, and with sincere hearts that desire to know and
to do God’s will. And, then we have to inquire of the Lord regarding who “they”
are so that we don’t fall into their traps. But, we can only do this through
testing what we see, hear and read in prayer, sincerely seeking to know the
truth.
For, Jesus sheep listen to him, i.e. they hear what he is
saying, and they follow him in obedience. They are not those who merely profess
faith in Jesus Christ, and they are not those who think that faith in Jesus
Christ is freedom to do as they please while proclaiming God’s grace covers it
all.
But, although “they” (false shepherds) might be temporarily
successful in their scheming, in their deception, and in their manipulation of
minds right now, they are going to one day reap what they have sown.
For, if we are sowing to please the flesh, from the flesh we
will reap destruction. But, if we are sowing to please the Spirit of God, then
from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).
Footprints of Jesus
Lyrics by Mary B.
Slade, pub. 1871
Music by Asa B.
Everett
Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!
And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.
Though they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains,
Seeking His sheep;
Or along by Siloam’s fountains,
Helping the weak.
If they lead through the temple holy,
Preaching the Word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly,
Serving the Lord.
If Thy way and its sorrows bearing,
We go again,
Up the slope of the hillside, bearing
Our cross of pain.
Then, at last, when on high He sees us,
Our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus
End at His throne.
Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where’er they go.
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