My Sheep

John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

It's true of many domestically raised animals that they can tell who their masters are by their voices. Sheep especially in the Biblical times were well known to do this. If they didn't recognize the voice, they would run. It took time though for a sheep to learn its masters voice. All "good" shepherds would stay with the sheep they took care of 24/7/365. They would lead them to fresh pasture for grazing, they would lead them to still waters as fast moving water spooked them, they needed to guide them and correct them if needed, they would protect them from harm and they would lay their lives down to protect the flock.

Sheep were fully reliant on the shepherds for everything. If they listened to the shepherds voice, they would live a full and healthy life. If they went astray, correction would be applied by the rod and staff or in some extreme cases, broken legs. 

In case you haven't heard that story, here's the short version. There once was a young sheep that was always going astray. The shepherd knew this sheep would get into trouble so one day the shepherd had to break one of the legs of that sheep. He bound its leg then carried the sheep everywhere they went, setting it down only to eat and drink. By the time the leg healed, the young sheep had learned the shepherds voice and never ran off again. As Christians and sheep of our Shepherd, our task is to learn His voice so we won't follow another. 

Have you ever seen a dog so in tune with its owner that the smallest of commands makes the dog do something. I've seen dogs sit by there master as another person calls them to come and they won't budge until their owner says it's OK. Same principle applies to our Christian life. We are to create such a relationship with Him so that the voices of the world and there are thousands, won't make us go down the wrong path.

First thing we need to do is to swallow our pride. Forget everything you think you know about being a Christian and throw it out. If you've been raised in a church and you've been preached a doctrine all your life, even if it is all you know, discard it. The most dangerous voice out there is the voice of religion. Religion gives you power and control. Religion creates a comfortable environment to be in. Religion often times sees itself as being right and everyone else as wrong. Religion promotes itself. Religion often puffs you up and feeds your pride. Religion claims it's always right.

However,  relationship with Christ our shepherd takes a much different approach. Relationship takes sacrifice on our part. If we aren’t dying to self everyday then we aren’t in relationship. Relationship will not leave you comfortable. Relationship always loves and doesn't seek itself. Someone who has relationship will never promote themselves or their doctrinal beliefs. Relationship always points to the Father. Relationship will never get angry when someone comes against them.

A good test to see if you are in religion or in relationship is this. When someone comes up to you and becomes very hateful to you about your God and your church do you feel attacked and defensive or do you feel nothing but love towards them. I don't mean that you feel sorry for them because they're lost but do you feel genuine love; the lay down your life kind of love, even though they hate your guts. If you respond, I feel attacked and hurt and offended then your in religion. It's that simple. My second blog talked about the issues I had with another Christian I worked with. He hated my guts because I said something he didn't agree with. I in turn didn't like him because he wasn't nice to me. We were both in religion. Religion teaches self and relationship gives you life to where self is no longer in control. Religion always seeks itself and feels very threatened by any challenge to its control.

The religious leaders in Jesus’s time had Him crucified because He was upsetting their control. He preached relationship with the Father outside of the law and away from their religious system. 

I have probably made someone mad right now over this blog. They are in religion. Sorry you feel angry but you need to immediately seek Christ out and establish a relationship with Him.

The reason the voice of religion is so strong is because it promotes self. If you think someone is attacking your way of thinking it's because your identity is in that. Identity in anything but Christ is wrong. The world is going through an identity crisis right now and it all started in the church. You can't tell me that 30,000 or more denominations is not an identity crisis. The Father, Son and Spirit are in agreement with each other. We call them one because they act as one voice, wanting the same things and doing the same things. 

Can you imagine if they were in disagreement with each other, what a mess this would be. Well, the church seems to act like they receive different messages.

I've been in a situation where I taught Sunday school to adults. The curriculum was provided to me. All I had to do was study the curriculum, then read through it on Sunday morning, ask questions that were already written out for me and then we were done. The problem was, there was no room for the Spirit to teach us. As I read more, understood more and was leaning on the Spirit more, I asked the pastor one day if I could not use the materials and create my own lessons. He said no,  because if I did, they'd have no control over what I was teaching. I could be saying the wrong things. So, you see, control is a key factor to church. They want to control what you believe because they've been raised with that doctrine and they are comfortable in it. 

If we all sought after the Shepherd and we all heard His voice, would we not, like scripture says, follow another.

The fear of the church is that you'd have millions of Christians out there running around with their own opinions and wrong ideas if they didn't have someone guiding them along the way. There can be corruption but those that are corrupting will be called out and rooted out, they would be the exception not the norm.

We have corruption in the churches and no one questions it because it's the norm. If you have one person that came up in that church who was led by the Spirit they would persecute them and toss them out. Love through the voice of the Shepherd dispels darkness wherever it goes. It shines bright and makes those living in sin uncomfortable. 

No matter what doctrinal views are out their, they are all under the influence of some type of hidden sin. If they weren't, they'd be walking with Christ hand in hand and they wouldn't be split but one as He is one. More on this latter. For now, take stock in your relationship with the Shepherd. Do you know His voice? If you do, do you follow that voice? 

To God be the Glory!