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Hearing the Shepherd

Hearing the Shepherd
Words of Faith 12-6-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 10
[19] At these words the Jews were again divided. [20] Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"
[21] But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

How do we respond to the Good Shepherd? How do we respond to this exceedingly wonderful revelation that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows the sheep and is willing to lay down His life for them? There were two responses to the revelation of Jesus regarding His love. They are not exactly what we might expect.
Among those listening:
1) Some thought Jesus was demon possessed.
2) Others realized that a demon could not do the sort of things that Jesus had done and were therefore at least passively open to Him and His teaching.
Demonic forces can do certain tricks and counterfeits “signs” that are impressive but the healing of the man born blind was different. It is described as a “creative” miracle because Jesus apparently caused something organic to be created that would cause the man to see. This was something only God could do.
Today we seem to see a different range of response.
1) People are very exuberant in accepting and praising Jesus.
2) They are passively noncommittal saying that Jesus is a good man but they are not ready to say He is the Lord or trust Him in a personal way.
Not too many today suggest that Jesus was demonic. Yet we may wonder if the “passive noncommittal” response to Jesus is really much different. Given the claims of Jesus about Himself, “passive noncommital” says “Okay, whutever” in today’s vernacular.
Nonresponse essentially says “I think you are a liar” or “You must be nuts” but I am too polite to actually say that. Passive noncommittal is really a rejection.
Some of the people in the time of Jesus were bold or honest enough to say “There must be more here because of the facts that I see. He can’t be a demon…” These people seemed at least interested enough to explore who this Jesus was. This is the place where a genuine spiritual journey can begin.
Where are you in your journey with Jesus? Passive noncommittal is certainly one option but don’t mistake it for “openness”. It is really a rejection of Jesus. The options that make sense are…
1) At the very least to explore whom this Jesus is until you find out. If He is who He says He is, absolutely nothing could be more important in all of life.
2) Embrace Him by faith and see what happens. If you take Jesus at His word and depend upon Him for life and salvation, you may discover a Good Shepherd who will speak to you, know you, love you and who has already laid down His life for you. Trust Him one step at a time.

Jesus, draw me close to You. Let me hear your voice. I am listening. Guide me, Good Shepherd as I depend upon You. In Jesus’ name I pray.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.