John 10:1-18
…..the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them (his sheep), but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.
I don’t know if you picked up on the apparent contradiction in that passage. Jesus just declared to his sheep that they would hear his voice yet they did not really hear his voice. So what does that tell us? One observation; we can recognize his voice, not understand it, and still be his sheep. He doesn’t give up on us when we read the bible and don’t quite undestand it or when he is trying to speak to us through life’s circumstances and we are too dull or hardened to get it. He doesn’t abandon us to the wolves. Instead, as he did with the original little flock, he just patiently tries again……
So…… Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
A little flock of us men, 9 strong, took 12 months to take a close look at what it means to abide in Christ. We shared an intimate dialogue with each other that was provoked by The Journey, a course created by Rocky Fleming’s Influencers organization. While the curriculum was useful, there was another underlying component of our times together. There were 4 – T‘s always at work, building the foundations of our little community. They were; being together, Truth, time and transparency. As we took the time to be together we became transparent and the truth found its way into our hearts as it is apt to do when the Holy Spirit is moving among the two or three gathered together in his name.
From the light generated in our 2-or-more gatherings at least one common theme emmerged – a hunger for intimacy with God. Along side that same hunger were also varying degrees of frustration that this coveted intimacy seemed out of reach (possibly awaiting around the next corner?). Maybe you can relate to this.
I believe this sense of separation from God is a primary symptom of Religiously Transmitted Diseases (RTD’s) – something that Adam and all of us Eden-evicted decedents carry within us.
Because it is a common frustration I hear among my brothers, I addressed this letter to them.
Many who are freed from this condition report that their hearing improves dramatically and since the words expressed by his voice are what we must live by, greater levels of abundant life are regularly reported.
Father, May the full gail force your grace-winds sweep mightily through our hearts sweeping them finally clean of all the religious debris of the past. May our self doubt be exchanged for implicit trust in you creating the rest from our labors which is our destiny. May our identities become so firmly grounded in you that we no longer remain the easy targets of satan’s fiery missiles of condemnation. Help us to strengthen and hold fast to our profession as the children and friends of the KIng of Glory. Amen.