Read John 10:3-6. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Digging Deeper.
Do you love, like, or just tolerate your pastor’s sermon? Listening on YouTube or on the Christian radio station, your pastor may not be able to compare with nationally recognized Christian pastors and speakers. We may wish that he would be more dynamic, expressive, perhaps less theological or more systematic in his preaching. We know our pastor’s voice.
Jesus says that my sheep know HIS voice. Have you wondered, “How do I know the voice of Jesus?” Better yet on Sunday morning, “Whose voice are you and I listening to?” We see our pastor preaching the sermon, but can we “see” or perceive by the Spirit of God that God is speaking through the pastor to us?
Jesus knows His sheep and His sheep know His voice, “because they know His voice.” The voice of Jesus leads us closer to our God. The voice of Jesus calls us to be godlier in our daily life. Yes, even the voice of Jesus confronts us with our sins in our lives. If the messages are just about making me “feel” good, be a good person without repentance, then perhaps that is not the true shepherd’s voice.
If we don’t spend time in the Word on our own with the Lord, listening to Him on a daily bases, we can be easily deceived. If we spend time in the Word, we may be able to discern whether the words that our pastor speaks is from the Lord or from himself.
So let’s ask ourselves, “Do you know the voice of Jesus or do you just know the voice of your pastor?” Whose voice are you listening to each Sunday?
-Kingston