THE VOICE OF A STRANGER

KEY SCRIPTURE: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and 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.” ~ John 10:1-5 (ESV)

The voice of the Shepherd is still. And small.  (1 Kings 19:12) And kind. And loving. It’s always honest, but never cruel.

The voice of the stranger is loud. It is demanding.  It is brutal and mean. He is a thief and a robber. He comes to steal our peace.

I’m not going to focus on the devil, but I truly believe the only “power” satan has is the power of suggestion.  As the father of lies (John 8:44) he takes a tiny truth, (like our failing at something,) and he twists it into an enormous lie, (like we’re a complete failure at EVERYTHING!) He started this process when we were very, very young, and, since he can’t do anything on his own, he speaks through everyone and everything around us – from our parents, siblings and friends, to the advertising, programming and other subliminal messages from tv and the entertainment industry.  We’re told we’re a failure… as a child, as an employee, as a mother, as a wife, as a friend. We’re told we’re not good enough. We’re not smart enough. We’re not “pretty” enough. We’re too fat, or too skinny, or too tall, or too short, or our hair is too curly, or not curly enough, or our eyes are too big or too small or we have wrinkles or freckles or blah, blah, blah.  We’re told a million different lies, a million different ways, but truly, the message is always the same.  At its root the message is, “We’re. Not. Worthy.” We’re not worthy, of love. (Especially God’s love… which is his biggest lie.) (John 3:16) And this makes us feel horrible.

Our emotions are more often than not a result of our thoughts.  For example, if someone I know dies, I usually don’t get sad until I find out about their passing and start thinking about how I’m not going to see them again and how much I’m going to miss them and remembering all our times together.  But I wasn’t suddenly sad the instant they died 3 states away.  So, if I’m feeling something negative, especially something negative about myself, I need to check my thoughts.

We are told to take every thought and make it obedient to Christ. (2 corinthians 10:5) Christ is the Truth, (John 14:6) so what does HE say about these thoughts? Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He has called us into His fold. (John 10:16) We hear His voice and He says we WILL not follow the voice of a stranger. He doesn’t say we cannot, because clearly, we CAN. And He doesn’t say we DO not, because oftentimes we DO. He says we WILL not.  That means we have a choice. We must use our WILL to follow Jesus’ voice.

The voice of the Shepherd may convict us, but He never shames us.  There’s a huge difference between guilt and shame.  If someone says they’re going to be “brutally honest” with you, run away. The Truth may be difficult, but it doesn’t need to be delivered with brutality.  Yes, the Holy Spirit is our counselor (John 14:26) and has come to convict us, (John 16:8) but not to condemn us. (John 3:17) We may feel guilty over something we’ve said or done, but that is just a gentle tap of the Shepherd’s staff to redirect us back onto the path of righteousness. (Psalm 23:3) God never uses shame.  Even in the harshest rebuke from Jesus when He turns to Peter and says, “Get behind me satan!” (Matthew 16:23) He was not saying that Peter WAS satan, he was rebuking satan speaking through Peter. And Jesus didn’t then say, “You know, Simon, (I’m gonna call you Simon from now on, because you’re not very much of a “rock”!) I don’t know why I called you to be one of my disciples.  You’re emotionally unstable, you’re a horrible father, you have hideous BO, and really, you’re not even that good of a fisherman!”  No, Jesus spoke the truth in love, redirected him, and then moved on.

We must be aware (beware!) of what we hear, and what we listen to.  This is an exercise, and like any other exercise, this mental exercise takes practice.  We don’t just wake up one morning and drop to the floor thinking we’re gonna pump out 100 pushups.  No, at first we lie on the floor and use every ounce of willpower and quivering strength we have to barely push out 10! (Okay, maybe that’s just me!) But, when we do this day after day after day, eventually we may be able to pump out 100! And it’s the same with our thoughts. We must train ourselves to take our thoughts captive to Christ – to look at them objectively and see if they’re truthful or not. Listen to the Truth (maybe you DID fail,) but don’t listen to the lie, (you’re NOT a failure at EVERYTHING.) Flee from this voice. (John 10:5)

It takes work to develop this habit. It is a discipline.  But then… that’s why we’re called disciples. *smile*

SCRIPTURES

John 10:1-5 ~  Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and 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.

1 Kings 19:12  ~  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (KJV)

John 8:44  ~  …He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NIV)

John 3:16  ~  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

2 corinthians 10:5  ~  We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (NASB)

John 14:6 ~  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)

John 10:16  ~  I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (NASB)

John 14:26  ~  But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. (AMP)

John 16:8  ~  And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (NASB)

John 3:17  ~  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (NIV)

Psalm 23:3  ~  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (NKJV)

Matthew 16:23 ~  But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” (NET)

John 10:5  ~  A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers. (NASB)