Listen Up!
August 17, 2021
Midweek study with Pastor Edith
Text: John 10: 2-4
This represents #4 of 12 “meditations” inspired by a sermon series I am sharing from God’s word with help from Max Lucado’s book Just Like Jesus. Today’s text brings us to Jesus, who is talking with his followers and giving them a true to life example of what it means to follow him. In this text, Jesus is comparing people to sheep. There are many occasions in the Bible where people are referred to as sheep, and with good reason. I haven’t spent much time around actual sheep, but I have learned that we have several things in common with them:
- We are easily distracted and lose our way, so we need a shepherd to guide us.
- We need somebody to feed us.
- We usually recognize the voices of those we trust.
In our text for today, Jesus is telling his followers to “Listen Up”! [my translation of John 10:2-4]: “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 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”.
So, here’s the question for today. Do you recognize the voice of the Lord? In other words, are you able to recognize when you are being led by God’s truth or a stranger’s direction?
When I use the word stranger, I want you to consider even those you know who may be giving you very “strange” advice. The best way to know the voice of God, is to become very familiar with what he says in his word, the Bible. Max Lucado puts it this way; “Spend much time reading about the listening life of Jesus and a distinct pattern emerges. He spent regular time with God, praying and listening...the gospel of Luke tells us, ‘Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed’ (Luke 5:16). Let me ask the obvious. If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to clear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same?” You should know that Jesus was the “Word made flesh”, “God incarnate”, meaning, Jesus embodied the word of God. We can connect with the word of God because of Christ’s life, death and resurrection on our behalf. So, do you recognize the voice of the Lord for your life and living today?
Here is a practical tool that I find very helpful; Schedule 15-30 minutes a day for just you and the Lord, reading his word, meditating on his word and making notes so as to put into a very personal prayer what his word is telling you. This is called a “discipline”, don’t panic, it won’t hurt, it just takes a commitment. You make time for everything and everybody else, why not “take time to be holy and speak oft with thy Lord” (From the hymn “Take time to be Holy” written by William Longstaff, 1882- United Methodist Hymnal #395).
AMEN!