Wed.9.9.15...The Good Shepherd...John 10:1-21

What's the most beloved passages in all the Bible? Many would vote for the 23rd Psalm. It's also known as the Shepherd's Psalm. You know it.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
   for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
   of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me 
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

As we look at today's passage in John 10:1-21, we see Jesus declaring, "I am the good shepherd." He is the embodied fulfillment of Psalm 23. We also see the blind religious leaders, who were opposing him, as the false shepherds. Ezekiel 34 tells of our Lord's indictment against the bad shepherds of Israel and how he himself would come to rescue and shepherd his people. Jesus is the fulfillment of that part of the OT passage too. Jesus also compares the Pharisees to un-devoted hired hands, who forsake the sheep in time of trouble. Worse yet, he compares them to thieves and robbers, out to steal, kill and destroy (a description worthy of Satan himself).

Remember that good Bible study begins with observation. So observe how Jesus begins by using an illustration about shepherds in John 10:1-5. But because the crowd didn't get it (10:6), he then makes it clear that he is talking about himself. Notice in 10:7-18 how he clarifies that he has been talking about himself as the good shepherd. He uses the word "I" 15 times. This includes two of the seven "I am" statements recorded in John's gospel. I'll let you discover those for yourself. When he is through, once again the crowd is divided regarding Jesus. Some were impressed, but many of them said, "He is demon possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" They didn't want to listen to him and follow him because they were not his sheep. Jesus makes it clear that his sheep listen to his voice and follow him. 

This leads me to a controversial issue that we need to tackle. What does Jesus mean by saying, "My sheep listen to my voice?" Some believers today act as if Jesus is continually talking to them. In a book, one woman recommends having coffee with Jesus. She recommends that you imagine that Jesus is seated across from you; then just talk to him as you would a friend. (You might want to have your cell phone out, lest people think you're crazy:) 

I have asked pastors and other men of God I respect if the Lord regularly talks to them. They have all given me the same answer- No. They may speak about how they have had impressions as to what they think he may want them do. But there is a big difference between hearing words from God on high and having mere impressions. For example, Moses didn't receive mere impressions. The Lord spoke sentences, even chapters to him. God also responded audibly to Moses' objections and prayers. Every time we read of God speaking to his people in the Bible, it was an audible voice, not some inner impression. 

I'm afraid many have created a new voice of God which they claim all of God's sheep should learn to hear. They coach you to get into an undistracted place, close your eyes, and really ask God to speak to you. But that's not what we read in Scripture. For example, Moses was busy tending sheep when God called him. He wasn't quietly seeking the face of God. Nor are we given instructions in Scripture on how to learn to hear the voice of God. There was no mistaking it. When the lion (the sovereign Lord) roared, who could but prophesy?! (Amos 3:8). 

Today's new voice of God has no scriptural support. It also is evidently hard to understand at times. In the books I've looked at on the subject, there is always a chapter on- "What if you get it wrong?" What if you thought God was saying, "Buy this house" but the deal falls through? "Prepare for a baby girl" but your wife delivers a baby boy. "You will land the job you have been praying about" but you don't. Ugh! We never read of such failures to rightly hear God's voice in Scripture, especially because it was supposedly so hard to discern. Can you imagine Abraham not clearly understanding God's voice when the Lord told him not to slay his son when the knife was above Isaac's chest? Oops! Disaster! Moses never got God's voice wrong, nor did any of the prophets or apostles. To get it wrong would mean they were false prophets, deserving death (Dt.18:20). Also none of them had to read books on learning to hear the Lord's voice. I am not denying that believers may have promptings or impressions, but let us not equate those with the voice of the Lord. Even lost people have impressions and speak about going with their gut. Then there is women's intuition. But even that has been proven to be far from consistently reliable. Just because you have a sense that you should do something, doesn't mean it is some divine leading. In people's zeal to be close to God, I fear they have equated noble thoughts with the voice of God. If you feel that the Lord is prompting you to do something, such as speak to someone about the Lord, by all means do it. But please be careful about saying, "God spoke to me and told me to do it." 

The Lord loves us and has spoken to us in his perfect word. He is continually speaking to us through the Bible. Sadly, some Christians would rather leave their Bibles on the shelf and just claim certain thoughts as God speaking to them. It seems so inviting and spiritual. How nice to never have to make a decision that would turn out poorly. Just ask the Lord first to speak to you regarding it. Yet others beat themselves up when things go South, feeling like they just didn't linger in prayer (or fasting) long enough to hear from God. Following their line of thought, if Jesus wants to speak to you about every area of your life, then why not ask him to speak to you about your finances? Ask him what stocks to invest in and when to get out of the stock market. Christians then would be so prosperous. Oh, but that leads us to another controversial subject, prosperity preachers, but we will have to deal with that some other day. If you'd like to read what Pastor John Piper has to say on the subject of hearing the voice of the Lord, here's a good, short article on such- http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-do-we-hear-the-voice-of-jesus

In Jesus' time, most people didn't have the money to own their own copies of scripture, so they listened to God's word being read and taught. They were hearing God's voice, God's word. Oh that more people would listen to God's voice in his word and read and study it. The Lord took 1,400 years and used 40 different authors, on three different continents, writing in three different languages to speak to us. How tragic that believers are ignoring it. I'm so glad you are not. You make me right proud!

1.- Read John 10:1-21 and share a verse that grabs your attention and some of your thoughts regarding it.

2.- Thanks for being a good shepherd to your teammates, especially to your wingmen (the men in your fire team). Give one or more of them a call. Let them hear your voice. Find out how they are doing. Way to go! 

3.- Are you up to date on putting your points on the board? Yes or No. (Not, Will do or Will be working on it :) Take the time to make it a Yes. Bueno!

Announcements
Happy Birthday Mike Dunn! Your band of brothers wishes you the best! 

And welcome Michael Johnson to a great band of brothers! Michael just got baptized in May at New Life Midway. I've enjoyed talking to Michael and he is excited to grow with us. 

Kudos also to Phil for first evangelizing and then later recruiting Michael "Jordan" Johnson to M3. Since Phil has already earned his Unstoppable award pin (being unstoppable on the blog for a month), he now graduates from Basic Training (aka boot camp). He is no longer a protege, but a coach. Congratulations Coach Phil "Jackson" Raymond :)

See you all this Sunday 2:00 at Jack's home 10749 Cherrywood Dr. in Palos Park for a very important M3 meeting. If you need a ride, just let us know.

Speaking of God speaking to us, I like Pastor Mike's recent witnessing story he shared.  He didn't say, "God spoke to me" but he felt the Lord wanted him to talk to a young man. I'll let him tell the story. 

"I was on the Orange Line L with my son as we were returning home. As we approached Pulaski I saw a young man sitting alone holding a large skateboard. He was either getting off at Pulaski or Cicero so either way he probably lives close to our Midway location. I felt that the Lord wanted me to talk to him, so it was good to have not only a church invite but a mini-movies card. I gave him both cards and talked to him a little. He didn't say much but he did take a long look at the cards. So hopefully we will see a young guy riding a large skateboard into a church service someday soon. It really is helpful to have the card that points them to something besides a church service. Most church websites talk mainly about the church so the greatest mini movies site really meets a big need." Excellent Mike!

Final thought on "My sheep hear my voice..." Sheep belonging to another shepherd could certainly also hear a neighboring shepherd's voice, but they would not follow him. What Jesus is saying is that his sheep hear and obey his words, which we now have written down to follow. The Jews who opposed him certainly heard Jesus' voice, but refused to obey him. Thus, to hear his voice, means to obey his words. Once again, I'm glad your heart is to do just that.