Text- John 10:8, 5 – “All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them” “They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” For some days now, we have been examining scriptures to see what it says about a true sheep of Christ. We have seen that one of the things that mark a true sheep is that they are believers; we saw also that Christ’s sheep know Him, and they want more of Him.
We have also seen that every true sheep of Christ is teachable, and that they follow Him faithfully, instantly and joyfully even when it means having to jettison their plans, or kiss people good-bye.
Out of all the marks of a true sheep, one stands out – As we can observe from today’s text, true sheep do not listen to thieves and robbers. A true sheep of Christ will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him.
This implies that every true sheep of Christ does not respond to the voice of the stranger; he backs away from every voice which is not of God. A true sheep knows the voice of God; and will not be deceived by the voice of the devil, or the voice of man claiming to speak in God's name.
A true sheep of Christ will not accept anything that contradicts the word of God, as contained in scriptures; rather, he will totally reject and refute any such thing that is wrong, false, or impure.
Ephesians 4 says that Jesus Christ has given to the Church gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to train Christ’s followers… so that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.
As a sheep keeps following, and is submitted to learning and guidance by those whom God has called into the five-fold ministry offices, he is fortified and preserved by God’s providence and His Holy Spirit from the voice of strangers.
A true sheep does not heed the voice of those who are not genuinely called by God – he does not approve of false doctrine, nor take any delight in it, or receive any profit from it. Rather, he will shun such doctrines, as not only unpleasant, but unsafe.
Let’s also observe that apart from not following the voice of the stranger, a true sheep flees from the stranger, not because he is afraid, but because a strange word is a source of alarm to him. He doesn’t want to expose himself to contamination.
Matthew Henry says, “The sheep of Christ will observe their Shepherd, and be cautious and shy of strangers, who would draw them from faith in him to fancies about him.” Are you a true sheep?
PRAYERS
1. Father, I genuinely repent today of any way I have approved of false doctrine, taken any delight in it, or received any profit from it. Please forgive me in Jesus Name.
2. I make a commitment today, that I will reject and refute any such thing that is wrong, false, or impure.
3. Father, by your providence and by your Holy Spirit, fortify and preserve me from the voice of strangers in Jesus Name.
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