Voice ID

John 10:³ “and because the gatekeeper knows who he is, he opens the gate to let him in. And the sheep recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, for he calls his own by name and leads them out, for they belong to him.” (TPT].

Yesterday, I shared that no matter how noisy the marketplace is, when my grandmother calls me, I hear her voice above all the noise. I cannot explain how I know her voice, I just know it. In an experiment [and you can attempt this as well]; a child and his friend were put inside a room. The child had the amazing task of explaining and attempting to teach his friend about his father’s voice. A total stranger that matches the exact voice description the child gave, was told to stand outside the door and call the child’s name. Let’s say the child’s name is Joshua, so the stranger said, ‘Joshua, it’s time to go.’ The friend heard the voice and said, ‘That must be your dad’ and Joshua said, ‘No, that is not my dad’. His friend said, ‘But he sounds just like you described’ and Joshua said, ‘That is not my dad”. Then his father spoke, and Joshua said, ‘coming, dad.’

How was he able to tell? It is unexplainable really, but it is borne out of relationship. You need to be in relationship with Him and hear His voice consistently until your ears are trained to hear Him. John 10:³ “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him…” (emphasis added). The Shepherd makes the sound, the sheep hears His voice and they follow Him. Three things must happen for the sheep to be with the Shepherd. Three things must happen for that relationship to be built. Firstly, the gatekeeper opens the gates. Secondly, the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd. Thirdly, the sheep come to the shepherd.

As people of God serving God, particularly those of us who are on the service teams [workers] in our local churches, we are actually serving as gatekeepers, representing the one to open the door for the Shepherd to speak to people so they can follow Him. In our lives, with the people we do life with, we are to let Him in. We are the gatekeepers who will open the door for the Shepherd of our souls. John 10:³ “and because the gatekeeper knows who he is….” (TPT, emphasis added). We have a responsibility to know who He is and open the gate for Him to come into our spheres of influence at work, at home, in church, everywhere.

John 10:³ “…He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (emphasis added). He gives the sheep names. You may not actually have known this before now, but Jesus knows your name. Regardless of how complex or tongue-twisting your name is, Jesus actually knows it.  Jesus knows my name. By God’s grace, there is a way God calls me sometimes when I am ministering, and I know He wants me to slow down because maybe He wants to give a Word of Knowledge. It is only God that calls me like that, and the devil does not even know how God calls me. There is a way He calls me, and I am like, what have I done? There are ways He will call, that you know He is proud of you. Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with you and call you by name.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as You speak to me, as You call me by name, my own ears will hear You and my own feet will follow the leading and guidance of Your voice, in Jesus Name. Amen!