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Listen, Know, Follow

Listen, Know, Follow
Words of Faith 12-7-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 10
[22] Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. [24] The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
[25] Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, [26] but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. [27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

The Feast of Dedication is also called Hanukkah and took place in the winter. The Feast reminded the Jewish people of their last great deliverance from their enemies.
The eight-day celebration of lights in the Temple was beautiful and many pious Jews from nearby Galilee would come to Jerusalem. The Feast commemorated the re-consecration of the temple by a cherished leader named Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C. after it was desecrated by Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), one of the most horrible enemies of Judaism.
The season of Hanukkah would have sparked the memory that in times of great oppression, God sends a leader to liberate the land and people of God. Many people were looking for the coming of the Messiah to set the people free from the tyranny of Rome. It is little wonder that they gathered around Jesus to ask if He was “the Christ”-- the Anointed One or Messiah-- the ultimate Judas Maccabeus.
Sometimes we cannot see something right in front of us because of the filters through which we are looking. Many of the people gathered in the Temple were looking specifically for a Messiah who would be this military leader.
Jesus obviously had the presence and command of the people to be such a leader. He had the power of God and the popularity to sway masses of people. We do not know what Jesus looked like but He likely had the stature and strength to inspire people to take up arms. Yet, Jesus had none of the rhetoric of a zealot.
Jesus talked of a Kingdom but it was quite different from any earthly Kingdom. This surely puzzled the “Messiah seekers”. Of course, the plan of God for the Messiah was different from what any could have ever imagined. Jesus had come to suffer, serve and conquer through love.
Jesus answered with words that give us a window into the truth of God and the mystery of His calling. "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me.”
The clear proclamation of God through a precise group of miracles had been that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ of God. So why couldn’t they see this? Jesus revealed, “You do not believe because you are not my sheep.”
So what is it that makes one a sheep of Jesus? Without debating whether sheep choose the Shepherd or the Shepherd the sheep, there are three things that clearly mark the sheep.
1) They Listen.
2) Jesus knows them.
3) They follow Jesus.
Many of those in the Temple had not been listening. They had been talking of their own plans. They had not opened themselves to know Jesus and be known by Him. They were not looking to follow Jesus; they were looking to direct Him. They were looking for the way that He would fit into their revolutionary plans rather than how they were to fit into His.
Are you a sheep of Jesus? Here is how. Listen to Him. Get to know Him. Follow Him.

Lord, I want to be the sheep of Your flock. I want to follow You as the Messiah of God. I am listening. I want to know you and be known by You. I am following. In the name of the Great Shepherd.

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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.