Saturday, May 6, 2006
John 10:4-5 "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."
A SHEPHERD'S VOICE RINGS TRUE
A shepherd doesn't need to sneak around at night and climb walls. He comes to the sheep pen when it's light. He comes to the front door. The doorman recognizes him and lets him in. This shepherd is anything but quiet and sneaky, he calls out to his sheep. And they aren't scared by his calling, because they recognize his voice. They know this voice and they know his ways. The sheep think, "This is the guy that takes us out to the green stuff. He leads us to the cool water." So when the shepherd has gathered out all of his sheep, simply turns and heads out to where there is good pasture. He knows the sheep will follow his voice.
The word "Pastor" is just the Latin word for "Shepherd". And the faithful Shepherd of God's followers acts in the same way as the shepherd that Jesus describes here. A shepherd sent from God comes openly. He speaks openly also, teaching God's flock by simply proclaiming God's Words from the Bible. The flock follows as the shepherd leads them to the green pastures of God's blessing. The shepherd doesn't need to drive the sheep up ahead of himself, whapping them with his staff. They follow because of the voice they hear. And really, the voice of every God-sent shepherd, is the voice of The Good Shepherd.
When I step out in to the sanctuary to lead worship, I pause to pray at the door. If I am about to preach something that has no foundation in God's Word, I pray that He would stop me from doing so. As a pastor I am privileged to stand in the pulpit, but it's not mine. It's the pulpit of The Good Shepherd, and any message but His message has no place there at all.
