Riff's Christian Journal

The 23rd Psalm begins with “The Lord is my shepherd”. Pretty much everyone knows that but have you ever heard the Shepherd’s voice?

I am sure that if you believe you are a Christian you will most likely say that you answered a call to accept Jesus and be saved. So, now that you have “accepted” Jesus as savior, you are now saved; right?

What if I told you that unless you have heard the Shepherd call you by name the chances are that you might not be saved! Scary thought is it not.

There was a moment when Jesus was talking with some Pharisees. At one point He made this statement found in John 10:

Joh 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2 But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

Read carefully what Jesus is saying, especially in verse 3. He says that being the Shepherd, His sheep will hear His voice and He calls His own sheep by name. Did you get that? Jesus states that He knows all His sheep and He calls them by name.

In verse 4, Jesus tells us that He will go before His sheep and as He calls them by their name, they will follow Him: for they know His voice. Only Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will they follow.

Later on, the Pharisees ask Jesus this question in John 10: 24.

Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long do you make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Here is the response that Jesus gave:

Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But you believe not, because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Jesus tells them plainly that the reason they do not believe is that they are not of His sheep. The only way they would believe on Jesus would be if they were of His sheep and He has called them by name to follow Him.

If they are not one of His sheep, He will not call them to follow Him and they will not believe on Him no matter what He says because they are not of His sheepfold.

You see, we are to “believe” on the Lord Jesus as we hear Him call our name to follow Him, and as we hear Jesus call our name, we will believe on Him as our Lord, our Shepherd, and we will follow Him willingly.

At this point you might be wondering whom it is who gave us to Jesus to be our Shepherd and us His sheep, to follow Him. In John 10: 29, 30 we read:

Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one. (Jesus is God)