We're back again in 2021! Thank you for all the prayers. God is Good.
1Peter 2:2 (Amp) says, "Like new born babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire), the pure, unadulterated Spiritual milk of the Word, that by it you may be nurtured and grow into completed salvation."
Jesus speaks about the Good Shepherd in John 10:4-5 (Amp), "When He has brought His Own sheep outside, He walks on before them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His Voice, they will never (on any account), follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers and recognize their call." I've heard many believers say, "God never speaks to me, like He does with others." And, even if they're told, "God told me to do this," then they don't believe it or sarcastically ask, "Oh, God speaks to you?"
I witnessed many Israeli citizens who have a sheep fold, which is like a parking lot for the sheep. Many shepherds leave their sheep there, when arriving in town to shop for supplies. There might be only 15 or 20 sheep in the sheep fold at any time. When the shepherds have finished their business and are ready to return home, they call their sheep out of the flock. Every sheep raises it's head and looks around, but only the sheep belonging to the shepherd who calls out, separates from the flock and follows the shepherd out. His sheep, by association, know and trust his voice. This was such a simple illustration to me and I realized it came from "knowing Him" in a way that is more intimate than a casual relationship.
Every individual sheep builds this relationship with the Good Shepherd, because His Voice never changes and they come to know His Voice. The shepherds didn't call each sheep by name and didn't need to call each one with a different voice, because each sheep knew it for itself. Christians too, must come to a place in our own lives where we don't need someone else to recognize God's Voice, but can recognize it for ourselves.
The Church still somehow sees God the Father and Jesus, as being two different Persons. Many see Jesus in His earthly ministry, as being different from God in the first covenant. We see God in one Light and Jesus in a different light. We've tried to fit both into our lives, but have failed to know the Voice of the One Who calls us. Jesus encountered the same problem when preaching Grace to people under the Law. They didn't know the Voice that called them. God didn't change, the people did.
Prior to Jesus' ministry, God required certain things of His people, in order to be able to do what He had always desired to do. His people were still carnal and couldn't do what was needed to walk and follow His people. God placed Laws in their midst, so they could follow by the flesh, until He could get Jesus into the earth.
The sheep in the sheep fold didn't follow the other sheep, because they had learned to know and follow the Voice of the Master. Today, we try following other sheep, instead of the Voice of the Master. If some of the sheep don't recognize His Voice and refuse to follow it, then we choose to stay behind with those sheep. Each sheep must become familiar with the Voice of the Master, instead of relying on someone else. Every flock of sheep is made up of individuals and must know the Shepherd's Voice for him/herself.
Many are still confused by trying to please and walk before two different Gods. They see the God of the first covenant and God of the last covenant, and don't know which to follow. They follow other sheep instead of listening to the Voice of the Shepherd and remain in the sheep fold, instead of the "green pastures and still waters" of Psalm 23. We must know the Truth that the Voice of Jesus is the Voice of God for our lives. We must recognize and listen to God's Voice and know His will for our lives, as we walk with Him.
Romans 12:2 (Amp) says, "Do not be conformed to this world (age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed), by the entire renewal of your mind (by it's new ideals and it's new attitude), so that you may prove for yourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you." Do you know what God's will for your life is?
We know that, as a whole, God's will is that "All should be saved and come to the knowledge of the Lord," but we also know that not all are saved or have the knowledge of God. Can God's will be ignored and passed over in someone's life? Yes, it can be. Was it God's will that millions of unborn babies be aborted? No, the Word says that God had plans for them from the womb, but those plans never came to pass. If we don't know or choose not to follow the Voice of the Shepherd, then the Plans God has for our lives might not come to pass.
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