WHOSE PASTURE ARE WE IN
Tuesday – May 21, 2019, Iyar 16, 5779
Greetings precious and loved saints, loved by this Ministry and loved in an unfathomable way by our Lord and Savior and His Father. Welcome back to these teachings of The Truth from the Bible Book of John. If you are reading this on Facebook, I encourage you to take a moment and share this teaching with your friends, and give me a heart of thumbs up. Come on, you can do it. The featured pictures this week will be of various outdoor scenes here in Maine. Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text and read it aloud.
John 10:2-6 (KJV)
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
What a fascinating and instructive study especially if we take the time to meditate upon and investigate what is being said by the Head of the Church. All of the Word of God is for our instruction, there is a lesson to learn either of what to do or what not to do. Both are indispensable to our walk with the Lord, our obtaining victory, triumphing over our enemies to further the Kingdom of God, to build the family name as good sons. Let’s pick up again with verse three of our text. Jesus has told those gathered that the Father, and the Father only (Porter) opens the door for a person to be the legitimate shepherd of any given sheepfold or flock. Next, we see that the sheep of that fold will hear the voice of the legitimate shepherd. We must never say that we do not hear the voice of God, of our Lord Jesus. Understand that this voice I am referring to and Jesus is talking about that day is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. This voice will suddenly become prominent in our mind, not as an audible voice or sound but as a knowing rising up within us that strikes and noticeably impresses us at the time. These things are not to be ignored but examined with great care and written down. The most common time this happens with me is while reading or studying the Word of God and in the context of my thoughts at the time a verse or section will just fly off the page as mine to stand upon and declare in my life or perhaps the life of another as an intercession opportunity.
We then see that the God appointed shepherd calls each of the sheep assigned to that fold by name. Our Lord and Savior Jesus knows our name and not only knows our name but calls us by name. Listen for your name! You can practice hearing the voice of God in very simple ways. For example, say “I love you Jesus” and He will answer saying “I love you too (your name)”. I ask Him for example what tie to select for a given day and immediately I will see a particular tie in my mind. He will do and is doing the same for you. Be looking for it, believe me, He wants to talk with you more than you want to talk with Him. Subdue the fear dear saints.
His voice, the leadership of the Holy Spirit will take us where we need to go and to whom we are called any particular day. Our path on any given day should be a path of receiving blessings (empowerments of all sorts) and more importantly being a blessing to others. We need to leave every person and every situation better than we found them or the situation. That is our eternal mandate! Verse four makes it clear that He, Jesus, not only leads us out but has gone where we are going already. That does not mean He is doing our assignment, our responsibility, but He has (by the Holy Spirit) prepared the ground for victory. Dear brothers and sisters it is all setup for us to defeat our spiritual enemies, we in Christ Jesus can win every battle, every encounter, do we believe it? If we will take the time and the honesty to know ourselves and know the wiles of the devil it is in the bag and the devil knows it. He also knows if we believe it or not, if we are listening to the Master or not, and if we are walking in obedience or not. Everything is setup for us to walk in victory and to walk in triumph.
When we have practiced the voice of the true Shepherd, we will discard the voice of another and continue to listen for the One who loves us and has nothing but good on our God ordained path. Our God is nothing but good! We must be determined to flee, run from, any and all voices that are not of the Shepherd. This is in the context of the one leading, is it the Shepherd Himself, an under-shepherd through whom He is speaking, or is it a stranger?
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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