"And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." -John 10:4
A man was arrested and charged with stealing a sheep. But he claimed that it was one of his own sheep that had been missing for many days, that he just went to get him back. When the case went to court, the judge was puzzled, not knowing how to decide the matter. At last he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom. Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside and call the animal. The sheep made no response except to raise its head and look frightened. The judge then instructed the defendant to go to the courtyard and call the sheep. When the accused man began to make his distinctive call, the sheep bounded toward the door. It was obvious that the sheep recognized the familiar voice of it's master.
In John 10 Jesus gave a similar illustration when speaking of His own sheep, who hear His voice, and follow His lead. If you are truly His sheep then He is your Shepherd, and you will hear His voice and you will follow Him wherever He leads. There are three things we must avoid as sheep: 1) We must avoid going ahead of the Shepherd. When we get ahead of Jesus we are no longer following Him but ourselves. We do this when we attempt to lead ourselves by putting other "priorities" before Jesus instead of waiting for God to move. 2) We must avoid straddling behind. When we live in cowardice and question God's word and love for us we get left behind. 3) We must avoid listening to another's voice. When we allow ourselves to be influenced by other things or people not in the fold of Christ we are being led astray from Christ. This creates distance from Jesus and the farther we get from the Lord the more vulnerable we will be to the attacks of the wolf. So remember as sheep let us follow His voice and His footsteps and create closeness not distance from Jesus!
In John 10 Jesus gave a similar illustration when speaking of His own sheep, who hear His voice, and follow His lead. If you are truly His sheep then He is your Shepherd, and you will hear His voice and you will follow Him wherever He leads. There are three things we must avoid as sheep: 1) We must avoid going ahead of the Shepherd. When we get ahead of Jesus we are no longer following Him but ourselves. We do this when we attempt to lead ourselves by putting other "priorities" before Jesus instead of waiting for God to move. 2) We must avoid straddling behind. When we live in cowardice and question God's word and love for us we get left behind. 3) We must avoid listening to another's voice. When we allow ourselves to be influenced by other things or people not in the fold of Christ we are being led astray from Christ. This creates distance from Jesus and the farther we get from the Lord the more vulnerable we will be to the attacks of the wolf. So remember as sheep let us follow His voice and His footsteps and create closeness not distance from Jesus!
- WHICH OF THE THREE EXAMPLES GIVEN DO YOU NEED TO WORK ON? HOW ARE WE LIKE SHEEP?
- "The Lord is my Shepherd, that's relationship" -Anonymous