Tag Archives: follow

The Future Is Assured

Bible Study, , , ,

THE FUTURE IS ASSURED

“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6.

Surely? David is making an assumption, but based on what? If this is what the past has taught me, then surely my future is assured. Past experience has shown me that I have a shepherd who has cared and provided for me throughout my life, rescued me from my own foolish ways, and brought me this far in safety. Surely, then, I can say that the same goodness and love that has followed me all my life will be there to take me home.

What is this goodness and love that has followed me all the days of my life? If we replace the word “goodness” with the word “functionality”, something amazing comes to light.

“And God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” Genesis 1:31a.

“What did God mean when He said, “It was very good”? Was is pleasing to His eye? The Hebrew word tov is best translated as “functional” rather than “good”. God saw His creation as functioning properly, or, as we might say, working like a well-oiled machine.” (The Living Words Volume 1 by Jeff Benner, published 2007 by Virtualbookworm.com Publishing Inc, P O Box 9949, College Station, TX 77845, USA).

God’s creation worked. Everything functioned perfectly and interactively, revealing a God of perfect order and unity. Since God is good (functional), everything He made was functional because it reflected Him. It was Adam, through his disobedience, who introduced dysfuntionality, causing every part of the universe to go out of sync.

David learned through the course of his life that, when he submitted himself to the shepherd and walked in His ways, he became functional, all the circumstances of his life working together for his benefit. He also learned, to his dismay, that disobedience plunged him, his family and his kingdom back into dyfunctionality. Unfortunately, the consequences of disobedience were far-reaching, bringing dysfuntionality to generations after him which not even repentance could reverse.

Now let’s read this verse with new understanding:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.

And we know that God is using all the circumstances of those who love Him to restore them to functionality again because that’s His purpose. He wants us to live in harmony with Him and with each other just as His Son, Jesus did as a human being on earth. Since it is He determined goal make us functional again, He will dog our footsteps, day and night, with goodness to achieve what He has set out to do.

And what about love? The King James Version translates the word chesed as “mercy”. It is the mercy of God which He shows to us within a covenant bond in which He pledges His everlasting love. It is an unbreakable bond which has been sealed in blood. God has promised to do good to His covenant people always. His goodness and mercy are relentless companions wherever we go because He cannot and will not break His promise.

“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” Jeremiah 32:40.

In spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness, God pledged to do good to them within the covenant of His chesed, His loving kindness.

Because Yahweh, my shepherd’s goodness and love relentlessly pursue me, day after day in this life, I am assured that I will eventually be made to abide and remain forever, in His eternal day, in His name, which is a fortress of safety and protection.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

My Sheep Listen To My Voice

Bible Study, , ,

MY SHEEP LISTEN TO MY VOICE 

“Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around Him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.'” John 10:22-26 NIV.

That’s putting it bluntly!

These Jewish leaders were like a pack of wolves circling around their prey, each one coming in for a bite whenever they got a chance. It was the same thing over and over again. They did not want an opportunity to believe in Him. They were looking for His weak spot; looking for a way to catch Him out so that they could arrest Him on some trumped-up charge and get Him out of their hair.

Jesus was too smart for them. He knew what they were up to and He showed them no vulnerable place in His defences. At the same time He was not afraid to tell them the truth because it was the truth that would be their judge in the end. Every time they opened their mouths, they exposed what was in their hearts. He knew that they had no intention of believing in Him. It was clear to Him that they were not interested in knowing God. They were too busy protecting their own interests.

“‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.'” John 10:27-30 NIV.

Once again, in the middle of this ongoing heated debate between Jesus and His enemies, comes this gem of truth to which we cling as a precious promise of God! What Jesus said here draws a line right down the middle of humanity and even down the middle of those who claim to be His disciples.

What distinguishes a true disciple from one who thinks he is but is not of the flock?

There is an intimate and personal interaction between the Shepherd and His sheep. The sheep listen for and respond to the voice of the Shepherd. How do they know His voice? They recognise it from the instructions He gives to them that reflect His disposition — compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness — Exodus 34, 6, 7. They do what He does because it is the way of a disciple.

It is union with Him and a lifestyle that flows from that union that produces real life. A life of selfishness and greed must come to an end because it contradicts everything that God is. The writer to the Hebrews said, “At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” Hebrews 12:26, 27 NIV.

Only that which is joined to God in union and in harmony will remain. “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17 NIV.

By their words and their behaviour, the Jewish leaders who were continually challenging Jesus showed that they were not a part of His flock. Likewise, it is not those who preach most eloquently, or who “serve” the Lord most diligently or carry out their rituals most faithfully, who are of the flock, but those who listen to the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him.

Because they are joined to Jesus in a union of faith and obedience, they are already in His kingdom and experiencing His everlasting life. They are held secure in the Father’s hand and nothing, not even death can separate them from Him.

The key is: Do you hear His voice? Are you following Him?

The Shepherd And His Sheep

Bible Study, , ,

THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP 

“‘Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 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 ahead of them and they follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.’

“Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what He was telling them.” John 10:1-6 NIV.

Jesus was obviously familiar with the ways of the Middle Eastern shepherd and his sheep. Unlike countries where sheep dogs are used to herd sheep or where the shepherd drives his flock instead of leading them, as a young lad Jesus had probably watched the sheep following the shepherd like pets. They knew his voice among the voices of many shepherds and followed him out of the communal pen in the mornings when he took them to the best pastures and the quiet waters.

We need to read John 10 in context to understand what Jesus was saying. He was in the middle of a serious debate with the Pharisees. They had accused Him of being demon-possessed because He had healed a blind man on the Sabbath and, according to them, desecrated the Sabbath. They claimed to be followers of Moses, although Jesus knew it was a smokescreen for their wickedness.

As spiritual leaders and faithful shepherds of their people it was their duty to care for the “flock” but they were actually false shepherds because they refused to access the sheep pen by the gate. Moreover, they accurately fitted the accusation God had levelled against the shepherds of Israel through the prophet Ezekiel.

“The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?

“‘You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth and no one searched or looked for them.'” Ezekiel 34:1-6 NIV.

What an indictment against the leaders of God’s people! It was as relevant to the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus’ day as it was to the leaders in Ezekiel’s time.

“Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.'” John 10:7-8 NIV.

Just so that no one would misunderstand Him, Jesus spelled it out clearly. His people were leaderless and scattered. “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 NIV. Their leaders were cruel and heartless taskmasters, not shepherds who cared for the flock. They were hirelings who were only out to plunder the sheep.

Once again He placed before them the startling truth – ‘I AM’! “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them…I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered…I will shepherd the flock with justice.” Ezekiel 34:11-16 NIV.