Following the Good Shepherd: Day 13 - Pastor Ryan Shook
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"I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”
John 10:14, 27 (NIV)
The psalmist said, “The Lord is my Shepherd ….” But the Lord can’t be your Shepherd until the Shepherd is the Lord of your life. Lordship simply means the one who is in charge, that you have given Christ control of your life. When you do, Jesus becomes the Shepherd of your life! He refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd. In John 10:11 (NIV) Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” Not only does He describe His love and relationship to the sheep, but then He tells us three great truths about the relationship of the sheep to the Shepherd. He says:
· My sheep know Me (Vs. 14)
· My sheep listen to My voice (Vs. 27a)
· My sheep follow Me (Vs. 27b)
When you and I share a relationship with Jesus as our Shepherd like that, what do we have to worry about? Our security is based on our Shepherd’s faithfulness and how well we have come to know Him. One of my favorite passages is in Philippians 3:10 from the Amplified Bible. It describes the desire of the great Apostle Paul to know Christ in all His fulness. He says, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly] ….” Is that your desire to really know Christ in an intimate and personal way that grows stronger and deeper each day? If it is, then nothing else will satisfy your pursuit. You will seek Him daily in His Word and spend time talking with Him daily in prayer. You will set aside time to listen to His voice as well and learn to distinguish it from your own thoughts or the clamor of others and the pressures you feel. One pastor said, “The voice you believe will determine the future you experience.” Listen to the voice of truth. You will also refuse to be distracted from following Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. Your fulfillment is determined by what you follow after. And what greater fulfillment could we experience than what the Shepherd promised those who follow Him in Psalm 23:6. It’s the last verse in this famous Psalm and it says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (ESV)
The Hebrew word for “follow” in this passage means “to pursue”. Vines Expository Dictionary on New and Old Testament Words says, “This is not with any intention to do harm to the one pursued but merely ‘to overtake him.” Think about it. When you follow after the Shepherd, in reality, He is pursuing you to overtake you with goodness and mercy! And His goodness and mercy span both time and eternity! “… all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever!”
Keep following your Good Shepherd. He’s pursuing you with goodness and mercy!