(To hear the podcast of this blog message on Spotify, click here. To listen to this podcast on YouTube, click here.)
Last year my daughter Mimi raised a lamb she named “Choppy” for auction at the fair. It was an incredible learning curve for us to navigate. It was such a positive experience that she is raising another lamb this year, affectionately named “Shank”. Both names indicate the future for these animals; they will be a lamb chop or lamb shank on someone’s dinner table.
I’ve learned quite a bit about how sheep and people are alike. My daughter is the shepherd, and when she calls to the sheep they listen. While they trust her, they still wander off and must be “herded” back to the barn. My friends who have cared for livestock for decades have said, “Sheep are always looking for a place to die.” They will eat strange things and make themselves sick. If you tie them to a different place in the barn to eat than where you normally feed them, they won’t eat. They hate change. Sheep are afraid of just about everything. Lambs need a shepherd, and without one, they don’t last very long.
In the Bible, Jesus refers to us as being like sheep, and He describes Himself as the Good Shepherd. The analogy is spread throughout the whole Bible. In the first book of the Bible, Genesis (chapter 48), Jacob, on his deathbed, declared that God had been his “shepherd all of his life to this day.” In the last book, Revelation (7:17), John speaks of the saints who have come out of the tribulation saying,
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.”
Psalm 23 is probably the most famous passage of Scripture worldwide, and it begins,
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Isaiah 53:6 explains that,
“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…”
We have a tendency to stop following our Good Shepherd and wander off.
In every age, there have been some earthly spiritual leaders who have been self-serving and haven’t taken care of the flock. Ezekiel 34 contains a stern rebuke of such leaders who have benefited from their position, but failed to strengthen the weak, healed the sick, or gone after those who have strayed and were lost.
Jesus is The Good Shepherd
Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd in John 10. In verse 12, Jesus contrasts his love and care for us, the sheep, with the lackadaisical job of a hired hand who doesn’t take his job seriously. He warns us that there will be some who are thieves and robbers that sneak into the sheep pen, seeking to injure or abduct us away from Jesus’ care. John 10:10, the Bible verse that we have at the center of our purpose statement at Neighborhood Church says,
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
When describing the efforts of the enemy of our soul, (John 10:5) Jesus mentions that the stranger or thief will call out to us – but like sheep, we will run away from a voice we don’t recognize.
The enemy of my soul will often lie to me and his thoughts will come out of nowhere to keep me from hearing God’s voice. Demonic thoughts are always sowing seeds of doubt, fear, worry, stress, condemnation and shame. When we experience them, it’s helpful to confess that to a friend and pray out loud to rebuke the enemy, simply saying, “I’m choosing to submit to Jesus, and I tell you, dark one, you have to leave and not speak anymore.” James 4:7 says,
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Instead of feeling guilty or shameful for a “stray dirty thought” that pops into your head out of nowhere, you just tell the enemy of your soul to leave, and you will clear your air space to hear God again. That thought wasn’t yours, so just throw it away and focus on Jesus.
Jesus says:
John 10:2-4 (NIV)
The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 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. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:11 (NIV)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:14 (NIV)
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”
John 8:47 (NIV)
"Whoever belongs to God hears what God says..."
So, as His sheep, Jesus cares for us and we recognize His voice.
Do you hear the voice of the shepherd, or are you still wondering who your shepherd is?
The Good Shepherd is Kind.
Jesus is always speaking to us as His sheep. He whispers to us kindly, to lead us out into green pastures and still waters where we can thrive. Jesus rescues us when we wander off and He is wiling to leave the 99 sheep to chase down the one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7). Even when we have turned to our own way, it is with kindness that Jesus leads us and helps us see the way back (Rom. 2:4).
So, we must learn to recognize the voice of Jesus, our shepherd. There are all sorts of competing voices and noise in our culture drowning out the “still small voice” of God (1 Kings 19:12). To help us hear the voice of Jesus, we must quiet ourselves to hear what He is saying. Psalms 46:10 encourages us to be still and know that God is present with us. Matthew 12:19 tells us that Jesus won’t raise his voice to compete with the noise of those on the streets with us. He is waiting for us to seek Him.
The voice of Jesus is rarely an audible voice in my life, but is more of a spontaneous thought that lights on my mind gently. It’s often so subtle that I dismiss it as my own thought. Jesus wants to walk with us, talk with us and have relationship – so it’s no surprise that He is speaking and leading us.
Just as you recognize the voice of a friend on the phone, or in a crowd – the more you are acquainted with what Jesus’ voice sounds like, the quicker you will be able to discern his voice in the noise of this life.
Three Ways to Recognize His Voice
- Read His Word. While God doesn’t use King James English with me, the Holy Spirit will often whisper a phrase from His written Word to me.
- Acting on impressions I get from God, then testing the fruit. If I get a picture in my mind, have a dream about someone, or have someone “randomly” come to mind, I pray, send them a prayer via text message, call them, and check in. If the timing is clearly miraculous, then I know that was God nudging me. I pay attention to what that was like to “hear” or “sense” God’s prompting.
- I take prophetic words that are given to me seriously. I take time to pray about and test any word from God that someone gives to me, often making sure it is in written form. As I see some words radically on target, I pay attention to the heart posture and “feeling” of the word. It tunes my ear to hear the kind, loving, leading, guiding tone of Jesus toward me. Words from God are NEVER condemning, but may be convicting (there’s a BIG difference).
I want to encourage you today to take time to quiet your heart and listen to the voice of the Shepherd. Jesus is always calling out to us, His sheep, and we need to learn to recognize His voice as He communicates to us Spirit to Spirit.
For the next few months we will be teaching, writing and podcasting about hearing the still small voice of God – come along on this journey of learning and awareness of what Jesus is saying and doing.
We invite you to come worship with us at Neighborhood Church in Chico.
Our Sunday Morning Worship Service at 10:00 a.m. is in the Dome.
You can also live stream our service on Facebook and YouTube at 10:00 a.m.
Need encouragement? Text the word Encourage to 530.296.3689 to receive an encouraging scripture or quote from me several times a week that is sent right to your phone.
