The Kingdom Light – Episode 1112
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A while back, I did a Bible Study post dealing with sheep and goats. It was about how God separates His followers from those who don’t follow Him on the day of judgment. He refers to us, His followers, as sheep.
But we’ve seen the term sheep receive a bad reputation. Today, people are called sheep when they seem to blindly follow the wrong person or mindset, prone to believing lies rather than the truth. Why do you suppose this has happened? Could it be the world sees us as foolish for believing the Bible? Of course it does! But there’s more to it. We’ll get into that in a minute.
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Satan is sneaky. He’s very good at infiltrating our societal lexicon of words and expressions and turning them to promote his own agenda. We are living in the prophesied times when people are falsely calling evil good and good evil. The same has happened with the figurative sheep and goats.
Just as sheep have metaphorically gotten a bad rap, goats have gotten a good one. In the biblical metaphor, it is the wicked who reject Christ that are referred to as goats. But today, we call someone who excels in a position to the point of being the best ever at it – the GOAT, or the Greatest Of All Time.
Everything is backwards. No one wants to be called a sheep but instead glorifies and adores those they call a GOAT. Yeah, I think it’s part of a subtle plan to alter our perceptions of good and bad. Call me crazy if you want, but I’m about to explain, and you haven’t seen crazy yet.
This past week as I was driving to work one morning, I felt the Holy Spirit come over me as I was praising God. What happened next was indescribable. I began preaching. Alone in the car, but not really alone, I felt the Spirit of the Lord compelling me to preach. To whom? I don’t know. Perhaps just to the angelic beings in the spirit realm around me. Regardless, the words had to come out.
Understand something, I’m not prone to doing things like this. It was a surprise to me. But God had put a word on my heart, and it had to be preached…powerfully. Anyone passing by the car, if they saw me, probably thought I was nuts. But here is the gist of what came to me…
Being a sheep isn’t what the world says it is. Jesus called us sheep for a reason – a very good reason. It wasn’t an insult. It’s not because we blindly follow just anyone. You ready for this? It’s because we know His voice. Hear that again. It’s not because we’re idiots who fall for anything, to the contrary – it’s because WE KNOW…HIS…VOICE.
Look at what the Word of God says…
John 10:26-28 (Jesus speaking)
“But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Look closely at this passage. I believe there’s a strong message here for us today. It applies to the world we’re living in, why some people believe lies, and why others hear and know and trust and believe what the voice of truth says.
You see, sheep do NOT blindly follow anyone. That’s not who they are. That’s not in their character as sheep. Instead, it is those who are NOT sheep who refuse to listen, hear, and believe the Master. Jesus says here, you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
Meanwhile, it is His sheep that hear Him, and KNOW HIS VOICE. We, as sheep in His fold, follow Him because we recognize His voice as the voice of truth. So we follow Him. We believe. We’ve learned to differentiate the Master’s voice of truth from the enemy’s voice of lies. Otherwise, we’d be suseptible to following just any voice – any deception.
I want you to hear and truly receive what I’m saying here. And because I know someone out there is gonna make this political, let me say this in addition. Donald Trump is not our master. His is not the voice we follow. Not Elon Musk, not JD Vance, not anyone else except the One and Only Person of Jesus Christ. He is our Master, and it’s His voice we recognize and follow.
I know there are some of you who believe a lot of the propaganda. You ask things like, how can you support the awful policies of this administration? First, you’ve been lied to about those policies. If I believed what you believe is so, I would be just as outraged as you are. I don’t, so I’m not.
Second, I don’t automatically trust what I hear. It has to line up with what I KNOW to be true for me to believe it. And that which I KNOW to be true was given to me by the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit has taught me to recognize truth. Therefore, I also recognize what is not truth.
This isn’t some superpower. I’m not necessarily more intelligent than you. I’ve simply plugged into the Ultimate Source of Truth through my relationship with Jesus. It is that connection that gives me a spiritual understanding and discernment.
I know the voice of truth, and I follow it. Now you may get defensive here and ask, are you saying you’re a better Christian than I am? The answer is no because I don’t view it as a competition.
I’m not trying to belittle you or your walk with God, if indeed you claim to have one. I’m trying to encourage you to go deeper and be as intentional as you possibly can about your relationship with God. Why? Because I know just a few of the benefits I’ve received by doing just that.
What you should ask yourself is, do you know how to recognize the voice of truth? Do you know the Master’s voice? Are you spending time with Him every day? Is He being welcomed to be an active part of your life? You have to want Him there. You have to realize your need for Him. Then let Him speak to you and guide you.
Folks, I can’t get by without talking to my Lord each day. I need Him. I thank God I’ve cultivated a relationship with Him to the extent I have, and I know I need still more of Him in my life. I’m grateful to have learned to hear His voice. He teaches, guides, corrects, and protects me with that voice. That’s a blessing I wouldn’t have without His welcomed presence in my life.
What’s more, I remember quite well what is was like trying to live day to day without His constant presence. I was conflicted. I was frustrated. I heard one convincing narrative over here, but a contradictory narrative over there, and I didn’t know for sure what to believe. Even as a professing Christian, I was still suseptible to the constant programming the enemy was engaged in to trick me.
As I sought to get closer to Jesus, I started to notice a few things clearing up in my mind. But I still struggled to believe all of it. Finally, I got so frustrated with the diametrically opposing narratives that I decided to pray a very specific prayer. It was probably the most adamant I’ve ever been with the Lord.
My prayer was simple, but God knew I was serious about it. I voiced my aggravation regarding the conflicting worldviews, and I boldly insisted, “Lord, I want to know the truth. I don’t want to fall for lies and be lead away from You. Please, help me see things more as You see them.” He heard me.
Now let me warn you, don’t pray a prayer like that unless you really mean it. I meant it, but I had no idea what it was I was really praying for. The answer to gaining that kind of spiritual insight had to come through a closer, more intentional relationship with Him. That part is great, and I highly recommend it. But certain knowledge comes with responsibility and it will radically alter how you see the world.
I’ve been calling myself a Christian all my life, but there are depths of spiritual understanding that I never came to realize until after the age of 50. In fact, most of what I’ve learned which has so radically changed my worldview has only happened within the last 2 or 3 years.
I’m only now beginning to realize how that was all ordained by God. Prior to 3 years ago, I was leading worship at Grace Pointe Community Church in Dacula, GA. I was overseeing the audio visual department there. I was very busy doing the Lord’s work, but God knew it was time for me to take a deeper dive spiritually.
I always felt like it was mainly for family reasons that I picked up and relocated back to Tennessee. Now I see God’s hand in it for other reasons. He knew better than I did what I really needed. At some point, we all have to move out of our comfort zone in order to grow. I’m so thankful to have a Heavenly Father that cares enough to put me where I need to be, just so I can grow in Him.
Wherever you are right now with your walk in Christ, you can never be too close to Him. He’s not done working on you until He calls you home. This life, right now, is so precious. All I’m asking is that you don’t squander it by becoming content and complacent with where you are.
There’s always more you can learn from the Master if you’re willing to spend enough time with Him to know His voice. If not, you’ll be suseptible to any and every voice out there. You will be deceived. That’s just a fact, y’all. It’s how things work.
This is where Christianity differs from every religion – it’s not about a struggle to reach the divine, but rather about realizing the Divine One has already made a way for you to reach Him, and He desires a relationship with you to seal the deal.
Pursuing the relationship with God is what changes you. That’s where you learn to hear His voice. So know this: it’s okay to be a sheep, as long as you’re in the fold of the Good Shepherd – Jesus Christ. That’s where lies become easy to spot, and truth is illuminated by the Kingdom Light.
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