God’s Sheep

John 10:^4-5 “After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

In John 10, Jesus uses two illustrations for the Shepherd and the sheep. The first is of a big sheep pen, with several shepherds each having their sheep inside the pen and the area is guarded by a gatekeeper. The second illustration is of one Shepherd, his sheepfold, and his pen. The principal safety of the sheep is in recognizing the shepherd’s voice and recognizing the stranger’s voice and knowing which to follow. This is so important because if we look at the analogy of several shepherds having their sheep in the same pen. We have been told that in the morning, the shepherds will come to the pen and each will call their sheep.

Imagine there are a thousand sheep in that pen; one shepherd has a hundred and fifty, another shepherd has four hundred, another has fifty, and yet another has three hundred. When the shepherds show up, they make some sounds, call their sheep, and begin to walk ahead. Even though all the sheep are intermingled, on hearing the call, each shepherd’s sheep follow him. The shepherds go in different directions with their sheep following the sound of their voice. There is no confusion, it is just beautiful. Similarly, as God’s sheep, we should not live life confused on the path we should take. We should not live life confused about the direction or the turn we should make. Make hearing God your priority and your obsession in life. It is totally indispensable. God likens us to spiritual sheep, our strength is hearing Him and following Him.

“They won’t follow a stranger…” There can be so many strangers and one sheep cannot possibly recognize the voices of all the strangers. How are sheep able to recognize the voice of the stranger? The way the sheep recognize the voice of the stranger is purely by elimination. “…they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” The sheep recognizes one voice which is its own shepherd’s voice and every other voice is a stranger’s voice. So why is it that some Christians appear to only recognize satan’s voice? When you hear them speak, all they are talking about is what the devil said. Okay, that was what the devil said, but what did God say? And the same Christian is unable to tell me what God is saying but can tell me what the devil is saying. It is an issue of relationship. Every child knows the voice of his father or mother.

Growing up, when I am in the market with my grandmother for example, no matter how busy the market is, as soon as she calls me, I can hear her voice amidst all the noise. How do I know it is her voice? I just know it is her voice. Can you teach someone else to recognize your father’s voice? When we train people on how to hear from God, some people get it mixed up. They want me to teach them how I hear. No, you have to build your own relationship hearing and it is personal to you. How God speaks to me may not be how He wants to speak to you.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, train my ears to recognize Your voice and when I hear You, help me follow the leading and guidance of Your voice, in Jesus Name. Amen!