Dear Explorer,
Read John 10:17-18
Here again we see Jesus saying that He wouldn't be forced to die, He would choose to die in obedience to God's plan.
Read John 10:19-30
There will always be controversy about Jesus. Some people will believe, others will consider Him crazy.
Here Jesus returns to His message about being the Great Shepherd. There's a statement in John 10:27 that I want you to particularly notice.
Some translations say, “My sheep listen to my voice….” There's a wonderful promise hidden in this verse that is more clearly translated as, “My sheep hear my voice…” What does that promise mean to you?
It is one of the central truths behind everything that I'm trying to teach you! Learning to hear and recognize and obey Jesus' voice is critical. He speaks to us. Now that may not seem to be a big deal for you, but it is vital to your development as a follower of Jesus. There are millions of followers of Jesus today who do not know that God is speaking to them! They feel that God is a watchmaker God – He wound up the watch and now is in heaven watching it tick away without any further input into their lives. How sad!
Others feel that “hearing God's voice” is too close to “hearing voices in your head” and conclude that we are crazy – just like they accused Jesus!
If you do not believe that there can be daily – real time – interaction with God, then how will you carry out your life?
You will have to design your own belief system. It might even be based on the Bible or God's character – but it will still be directed by and centered on SELF. And as we've already talked about – following SELF is the definition of sin.
There's another very important promise embedded in this passage. Look at John 10:28. Once you have invited Jesus into your God-shaped vacuum, no one or nothing can change your position in His hand. That's really Good News!
Then finally, notice John 10:30. Jesus states clearly that He and God are one. He is the embodiment of God, the incarnation, the earthly representation of God. You can't have one without the other!
In His service, dale
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