Is He Yours?

Is He Yours?

by David Brenneman 

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.  He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.  Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalms 23:1-6.

"But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” John 10:26-30.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10.

I do highly recommend the book "A Shepherd's Perspective on Psalm 23".  That author used to shepherd sheep and takes the reader down the path to understanding each verse that David wrote to all of us. 

There's so much more involved in a sheep than what we've been lead to believe.

His sheep hear His voice. 

As strange as this may sound, this is one of the easily top 10 deceptions that Satan will use with you:  that you're not important enough with Jesus to be heard by Him.  Akin to this deception is another: you're far too dirty in your sins to ever be completely clean before Jesus.  The stains you have from sin just go too deep.  You're never going to amount to much in the Kingdom of God. 

Sheep can believe many things if they don't stay close to their Shepherd.  Shepherd's are to take great care in whatever circumstances the sheep may find themselves in.  A shepherd's responsibility is to not just see to their welfare that is far off, but to examine them individually to make sure no parasites are causing them harm.  

These sheep know their own masters voice and come when called.  Sheep may look alike to the outsider but to whom they belong the shepherd knows by name. 

It's a Heaven or Hell difference in being one of His sheep.  It's way more than mere religious thinking.  It's coming to Christ in faith to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins.  Without this there is no becoming one of His sheep.  

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’" Matthew 7:21-23.

Without fully understanding that Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life, there is no salvation for anyone.  There are no other ways to Heaven.  There are no other names under Heaven by which we must be saved.  

When you look back over your life, do you see evidences of the hand of God in it?  Do you see a history of Jesus being your Shepherd?  Salvation isn't a ticket to get to Heaven and then you run off to live as you please.  Salvation is Jesus saving us so that we might live for Jesus.  

Just as it is with new sheep to the fold, so it is with new people saved by Jesus Christ, all priorities change.  New sheep are educated by their shepherd to trust him or her in all things.  The Shepherd lays down His life for his sheep.  This should sound familiar.  Jesus said that of Himself. 

Some say that God doesn't speak to them.  Can't state it enough that you believe a lie when you believe that. 

Jesus Christ always has His attention on every single Believer as if they were His only sheep to care for.  

A life in Christ is going to be different and at times difficult.  But our Shepherd is always already ahead of us to know what is best for us. 

"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you." Jeremiah 29:11-12.

I encourage you to take the time to be still and know that He is God. 

I encourage you to stop and listen for your Shepherd's voice. 

If indeed you are saved in Christ there will indeed be His voice to listen for.  

All New American Standard Bible Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. A corporation not for profit.