Follow Him:

John 10:27-29
27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 “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.

            We are His, and we’re supposed to know His voice when He calls. We can only do that as we practice listening to Him. We can’t hear Him if we don’t listen. When we hear His voice, then we can follow Him. He will lead us in the right direction. He also gives us eternal life … not just eternal in length, but also in quality. It starts right now in this life. In Greek the word translated never is actually two words that are a double negative. In English that means a positive. In Greek it is a very strong negative. We will never, no never perish. He holds us in his hand, and no one is capable of snatching us out of it. To try and snatch us out of Jesus’ hand is like trying to snatch us out of the Father’s hand, and no one is dumb enough to try that.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are My sheep little children. There is no other shepherd who would lay down His life for you. You are Mine … My special lambs. You know who I am, and you that I am trustworthy. You know that you can follow Me without fear. No one can harm you while you are in My care. I will never let anyone harm you. You can trust Me to take care of you. So relax in My presence and allow Me to minister to you. That is what I do. I take care of you daily as you allow Me to. You cannot survive without Me, and you cannot fail with Me.”

            33. I will follow Him, for He is my Shepherd and I know His voice.

One in Christ:  

Galatians 3:28
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

            There is no group of people that is better than any other. We are all the same. Males and not better than females and vice versa. The Jews are not more highly favored than the Gentiles. We are one in Christ. We need each other to complete the body of Christ. As we move closer to Him, we come closer to each other. We are not many separate groups or individuals. We are one. If we don’t start acting that way on our own, He may turn up the heat so we have to trust each other.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is no division in My Body. It is one whole. There is neither male, nor female; young or old; black or white; neither Jew nor Gentile. There is only one Body. You are part of My Body. You need the other parts; for without them you are incomplete. My plan is for all My Body to come into fellowship with one another. You cannot survive what is coming upon the world without each other. Trust in Me to lead all of you into the unity necessary for you to be one with each other.”

            32. I am one in Christ with all of my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Our great High Priest:  

Hebrews 4:14
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Hebrews 7:26
26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

            He is our great High Priest. High priests offered sacrifices for the people when they sinned. They lifted up the people to God for His blessings. They even sought His will at times for the kings. Jesus does this for us. He offered up Himself, once for all. He no longer needs to offer sacrifices for us. When He died on the cross, that was all that was needed. Daily He lifts us up to God for His blessings. He also seeks the Father’s will for our lives. And when we sin, He intercedes for us according to the will of God.

            Unlike the earthly high priests, He did not and does not need to offer up sacrifices for Himself. He never did anything that needed sacrificing for. He is a living example of what we can and should do through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have passed this way before you. You do not have to go into unknown territory; for I will show you the way to the Father. I will show you the way into the Throne Room. I have gone this way before you that you might have free access to the Father. You may come into His presence without fear. You may come boldly before Him to make your requests known. Come unto Him and fear not for I will lead you into those paths of righteousness that will bring you unto the Father. He will be pleased at your presence. He desires to give you many things and to grant your every request. You must follow in the path that I took. It is not an easy path, but one that leads to glory.”

            31. Jesus is my great High Priest. He is my go between to the Father and presents my petitions to Him.

What He Became to Us:

           

            Mind of Christ:  

1 Corinthians 2:16
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

            Too many times we Christians act like we have a mind of mush. We do things that cause us to get into trouble. Too often it is because we tried to think our way out of a jam and did something that got us into a worse situation. This verse says that we have the mind of Christ. That doesn’t mean that our minds will always think like Him. However, our minds do have at their disposal everything that is necessary to solve our problems. We have to allow Him to supply us with the solutions and then obey His instructions. This doesn’t mean that we wait until there is a problem to seek His thoughts. We need to seek Him every day. Then when the time comes to resolve an emergency situation, we will not be at a loss as to how to receive His directions for our lives.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You do need to worry about how to do this or to do that. I will show you how to do everything that you need to do. I will instruct you in the ways of righteousness as you go from day to day. You need not worry about the things that come against you. I will show you the way to be an overcomer. You need not fear failure and defeat. I was not defeated, though everyone believed I was. You will not ever be defeated if you listen to My Spirit as He guides you in everything you do.”

            30. I, together with my brothers and sisters in the Lord, have the mind of Christ. Thus, I should no longer rely only on my own thinking but should trust in His wisdom that comes to me and to those believers whom I trust.