12/22/2020 – “Caring for His Own Sheep” from truthforlife.org – The Bible-teaching ministry of Alistair Begg.
I am going to type out not only the main verse here but three referenced verses in the article. I am preaching to myself included here: We should constantly strive to read reflect and prayer over referenced bible verses in an article. It is the amazing journey of being shown the unfathomable joy behind God’s Truth. I have called it the sublime (unexplainable) experience of the full “connectivity” of God’s Truth, using the example of being able to stand back and look at the whole quilt, not just one little patch.
Ok , one verse here and the others at the bottom:
Theme verse with verse 5 connected to it, John 10: 4-5: “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet, they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
| Daily UpdateDecember 22Hear Today’s Program |
| Caring for His Own SheepThe sheep follow him, for they know his voice.John 10:4What is it that provides the infallible evidence that you are a child of God? It is a foolish presumption to answer this by our own judgment; but God’s Word reveals it to us, and we may walk confidently when we have revelation as our guide. We are told concerning our Lord, “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”1 So if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing in the name of Jesus Christ.If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ’s name—that is, simply from my heart entrust myself to the crucified but now exalted Redeemer—I am a member of the family of the Most High. Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege of becoming a child of God. The Lord Jesus puts it in another way: “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to His own sheep, not to others. As soon as He appears, His own sheep perceive Him—they trust Him, they are prepared to follow Him. He knows them, and they know Him; there is a mutual knowledge—there is a constant connection between them. And so the evidence, the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption, is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in doubt, are you uncertain about whether you are one of God’s children? Then do not let an hour pass until you have said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”2 Do not linger here, I warn you! If you must linger anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter—your health, if you wish, or the title deeds of your home. But about your soul, your never-dying soul and its eternal destiny, I urge you to be in earnest. Make certain of this eternal issue.1) John 1:12 2) Psalm 139:23 |
Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth For Life with written permission.Share this devotional:    Email a Friend |
| One-Year Bible Reading PlanToday’s Reading 2 Chronicles 26Revelation 13Zechariah 9John 12 From Alistair BeggToday’s ProgramChristmas in Genesis (Part 3 of 6)Listen to the Entire Sermon |
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John 1:12 – 13: “But as many as received Him, to them he gavee the right to become children of God to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood , not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God.”
I would submit, this too is a critical prayer, even for lifelong Christians:
Psalm 139: 23 – 24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Soli Deo Gloria! – Always connected by His grace and prayer….