Saturday, April 24, 2021
His Sheep Know His Voice
John 10:27-28
"27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
When we visited Israel a few years ago I went to the sheep pen to speak to the sheep. I have always loved animals and wanted to reach in and pet them.
The sheep were on the other side of the pen, I called to them to come to me. They ignored me as though they didn't hear me at all, and I spoke English so they didn't know what I was saying. These sheep belonged to a shepherd who spoke Hebrew.
The Shepherd saw that I was wanting to call them to me because of my hand gestures. He said something in Hebrew and all the sheep came running to him where I was. It was such a blessing to see this real-life application of God's Word.
When we are born again we hear the voice of God and we understand Him. He teaches us through His Word and through the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. WE KNOW HIS VOICE!
So what is wrong when someone claims to be a Christian but fights to defend their sin?
So many in these last days are apostate. They have no desire to honor or obey God, they only want His blessings. Sort of like an adult child who never comes around but is right there quickly when the parents die wanting their money and their things. They never wanted their parents but they wanted what their parents earned.
This is how many "Christians" who are pretenders treat God. They want to feel safe, they love His blessings of material wealth and healthy bodies, but they do not love Him. These people turn against God and God's people when they are chastised for their sin.
IF they loved Him they would read His word for instruction and obey it. They would grieve over their sin when they fail and confess to be cleansed. 1 John 1:9
The question to ask ourselves is; am I one who wants to be seen as a Christian to acquire His perks or am I an authentic believer who wants to grow in holiness?
The Evidence of an Authentic Christian
Someone who lives a life of sin even defending it when confronted has never been born again. Those who have been changed by Christ hate sin, agonize over it until they confess to be cleansed. When someone is born again they no longer think the same way they did before the transformation. The transformation is done by Christ not by our own flesh.
Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10-11 "…10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. "
The most frightening verse in the Bible for pretenders.
Matthew 7:21-23 "Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
I know many people who are deeply proud of themselves for who they think they have become in their own power. They say they are Christians but walk in pride and stubbornness. Even justifying and making excuses for their own sinful behavior as long as it isn't the big bad stuff that others do.
They defend their snarkiness, self-righteousness and selfishness as though they deserve to have what they want the way they want it without a thought to the needs or concerns of others.
If you sense that things are growing darker and meaner than you have ever seen it, you are experiencing the end times in which there is a form of religion but there is little godliness.
Religion is what unsaved people choose to make themselves feel special and safe. A relationship with Christ comes about because we see ourselves in truth, that is beggarly without the ability to be anything but selfish. It is when we get to this point, the end of self-righteousness that we can come to Christ to be changed by Him.
God will not change someone who believes they are changing themselves. He will only change those who admit they have no ability to be good unless He is the One doing the good in us.
Philippians 3:8-10 "…8 More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,"
Those who know their weak condition can come to Christ with great joy that they can leave the work of changing us to Him. All we have to do is want to be changed by Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Ephesians 4:22-24
"To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
John 14:21
"Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him."
God made it clear that we will live a lifestyle of obeying His commands if we are born again. This is not a command it is a promise.
However, we are trapped in this body of death. Our Spirit is Christ now, He has promised that we will live forever if we have trusted in Christ. It is the body that remains sinful and must be resisted and battled daily.
Galatians 5:16–18
"16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from."
When believers fall into sin even momentarily in their thoughts they hate it, they desire not to be sinful. This is why God said this:
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
Christ gives us a helper, the Holy Spirit Who speaks to us when we have fallen.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
If we do not confess when we sin we do not grow in holiness. God will not change the heart of someone who refuses to admit they need changing. This is why so many believers remain infants in their walk, they ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit and they do not seek the wisdom of God in His Word.
The good news is that all we have to do to be cleansed is to confess our sins to Him and ask Him to change us. The more we do this the less often we will fall into sin, the more we will catch the sin in the heart before it becomes an action.
Many Christians count themselves as being good because they are working hard to keep from sinning, following all the rules that make them feel spiritual but on the inside they are walking dead men because they think they are earning their way to heaven.
Matthew 23:27-28
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
It is not our own righteousness or good deeds that get us to heaven, it is a relationship with Christ based on Him, it's all Him. He responds to our desire to be changed by placing the Holy Spirit in us to be our guide for the rest of our life. We do not do the work but we want Him to work in us.
Hallelujah!
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