His Sheep Listen To His Voice

The Bible refers to believers as sheep. Over the years, I’ve heard preachers take this analogy to an extreme and come to some very unflattering conclusions about how dumb and helpless sheep are. But rather than coming to negative conclusions based on our perception of what natural sheep are like, we should look closely at how Jesus describes the relationship between himself and his sheep. Jesus makes some very positive and encouraging statements about the shepherd/sheep relationship.

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My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10:27 NIV)

The watchman 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 10:3-4 NIV)

In these verses, Jesus expresses a lot of confidence in the sheep’s ability to hear and follow him. He describes a personal connection and relationship with each of the sheep saying that He calls them “by name”. He also gives the sheep credit for being able to “know” his voice.  This means he is confident in their ability to distinguish his voice from strangers’ voices and to understand what he is saying to them. When he says “they follow me”, he expresses confidence that the sheep understand where he is going and will actually go there with him.

Some pastors misuse John 10:1-5 to establish themselves as the person that the sheep are supposed to follow. These verses say “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice”. Pastors will apply these verses to themselves, teaching that these verses establish them as the person the sheep are supposed to listen to and follow.

But understanding verse 6 is crucial to properly interpreting and applying the first 5 verses.

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. (John 10:6 ESV)

When Jesus spoke in the first 5 verses, they didn’t understand what he was saying because he spoke in the third person, referring to himself as “he”. So, because they hadn’t understood what he just told them, Jesus switched to first person, and verse 7 says he told them “again”, saying “I am”. This makes it clear that in the earlier verses, Jesus was talking about himself when he said, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out”. He goes on to reiterate these truths several more times with particular emphasis on his ownership of the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. (John 10:14 NIV)

To utilize John chapter 10 to teach that a man has sheep that are his own, and he leads them out, and they listen to his voice and follow him, is a serious corruption of God’s word. It takes the position of ownership and authority that belongs exclusively to Jesus and ascribes it to a man. It teaches people to esteem a man and relate to a man in a way that is reserved exclusively for Jesus.

There are many believers in many churches who have no idea they are called to live life knowing Jesus’ voice, listening to Him, being led out by Him, and going where He tells them to go. Not only do they lack the confidence to live this way, they also lack the desire. How sad that they have forfeited this amazing sheep/shepherd relationship with Christ himself and have settled for depending on men. When God calls men to shepherd His sheep, it is never with the intent that they stand in for Jesus, that they diminish in any way the personal connection and one-on-one leading the sheep are supposed to have with Jesus.

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What a wonderful and extraordinary thing God did when He sent the Holy Spirit to live within each and every born-again believer!

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13 NIV)

While the Bible recognizes that some in the Body of Christ have a special grace to teach the word of God, it is also clear that every born-again believer has the God-given ability to hear from the Lord and to be personally taught and led by the Holy Spirit.

“As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things… (1 John 2:27 NIV)

In the Old Testament, there were only a select few who had the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and everyone else depended on them to know about God and to get direction for their lives. This changes radically in the New Covenant, and the scriptures make strong statements that clearly communicate this change.

No longer [as in the Old Testament] will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. (Heb 8:11 NIV, brackets are mine)

Not only does the New Testament proclaim that each of us will personally understand God and His ways, it also says that every believer will actually have a role in teaching one another.

When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Cor 14:26 NIV)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Col 3:16 NIV)

This is totally different from the Old Testament, when Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and the people waited down below for Moses to come tell them what God said, or when Moses went into the tabernacle to meet with God and the people waited at the door of their tents for Moses to come tell them what God said. In the New Covenant, there is no such thing as someone who acts as a mediator between us and the Lord. The only mediator is Christ himself, and because of Him, each and every believer has access to God, and we are instructed to fully participate in this personal connection to the Lord.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb 4:14, 16 NIV)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (Jas 1:5 NIV

The Bible has a lot to say about how believers are to love and care for one another, but today many believers have developed such a dependence on other people that they are unable to get strength, comfort, guidance, and wisdom directly from the Lord. The Holy Spirit wants to impact our lives in very real and tangible ways.  The scriptures refer to Him as the Counselor, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of revelation, the Spirit of knowledge, the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of power, and the Spirit of life. The riches of God that are available to us through the Holy Spirit are absolutely amazing! However, each believer must make it their goal to pursue and depend on the Lord, so that they are consistently being filled with His Spirit.

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Jesus does not want us to just wander along with the flock, to periodically look around and feel safe and content just because we’re surrounded by other sheep doing the same thing we are doing. The scriptures instruct all of God’s people to be diligently seeking the Lord. Seeking the Lord is an ongoing, never-ending quest that every follower of Christ should be given to. It goes beyond a quick 10 minutes spent knocking out the daily bible reading. It involves a substantial amount of quality time spent studying, pondering, and absorbing His word. It also involves time in prayer; not just praying a needs-based checklist, but time spent pursuing and waiting on God. Many believers struggle with even the basic concept of seeking and pursuing God because they have adopted the attitude that their church looks after them and will tell them what they need to know. The hunger and desire that should be the driving motivation for seeking the Lord is often weak and has not been encouraged or cultivated. Spiritual discipline is sadly lacking because they have not been challenged with the Biblical concept that all believers are called to diligently pursue the Lord.

 Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. (Psa 105:4 NASV)

This scripture does not tell us to “find” the Lord; it tells us to “seek” the Lord, because no matter how well we know Him, no matter how much He has done in our lives, there is always so much more. God calls us to be “continually” seeking more and more of Him; deeply grateful but never satisfied.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matt 7:7-8 ESV)

In Greek, the words “ask”, “seek”, and “knock” are present imperatives that convey the idea of an ongoing action. So Jesus is telling us to keep asking, to keep seeking, and to keep knocking. We are called to a perpetual, ongoing, never-ending quest of all that God is and all that He wants us to be.

Along with desire and discipline, faith is also crucial to seeking the Lord.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb 11:6 NIV)

It pleases God when we seek Him, but without faith it is impossible to please God. We “must believe” that God will respond graciously when we seek Him; revealing Himself, drawing us close, and transforming us to be more like Christ.

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. (Prov 8:17 ESV)

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jer 20:13 ESV)

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Several times in the scriptures, we find prayers that Paul prayed for other believers. Since these prayers are recorded in the Word of God, we have confidence that they accurately express the heart of God for all believers.

We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Col 1:9 NIV)

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Eph 1:17 NIV)

These verses are not addressing church leaders or theologians or some super-elite class of believers; they are written to the church, and they convey God’s desire and expectation for every believer. If you are a born-again believer, if you are a follower of Christ, you need the faith and confidence that you have been enabled by God to hear His voice and to be led by Him. You also need the conviction that this is supposed to happen; not only are you able to do this, but you are supposed to do this.

The ultimate goal of having “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” is that we “may know him better”. That we have a deep and intimate connection with the Lord that leads to an understanding of his ways. That we live in genuine communion with Him so that His will is understood and lived out in our daily lives.

 …that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. (2 Thess 1:11 NIV)

 

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